Daily Bible CEV March 17 Verses

^*16Our stubborn ancestors refused to obey--

they forgot about the miracles you had worked for them,

and they were determined to return to Egypt

and become slaves again.

¹⁷But, our God, you are merciful and quick to forgive;

you are loving, kind, and very patient.

So you never turned away from them--

¹⁸

not even when they made an idol shaped like a calf

and insulted you by claiming,

"This is the god who rescued us from Egypt."

¹⁹Because of your great mercy,

you never abandoned them in the desert.

And you always guided them

with a cloud by day and a fire at night.

²⁰Your gentle Spirit instructed them,

and you gave them manna to eat

and water to drink.

²¹You took good care of them, and for forty years

they never lacked a thing.

Their shoes didn't wear out,

and their feet were never swollen.

²²You let them conquer kings and take their land,

including King Sihon of Heshbon

and King Og of Bashan.

²³You brought them into the land

that you had promised their ancestors,

and you blessed their nation with people

that outnumbered the stars in the sky.

²⁴Then their descendants conquered the land.

You helped them defeat the kings and nations

and treat their enemies however they wished.

²⁵They captured strong cities and rich farmland;

they took furnished houses, as well as cisterns,

vineyards, olive orchards, and numerous fruit trees.

They ate till they were satisfied,

and they celebrated your abundant blessings.

²⁶In spite of this, they rebelled and disobeyed your laws.

They killed your prophets,

who warned them to turn back to you,

and they cursed your name.

²⁷So you handed them over to their enemies,

who treated them terribly.

But in their sufferings, they begged you to help.

From heaven you listened to their prayers

and because of your great mercy,

you sent leaders to rescue them.

²⁸But when they were at peace, they would turn against you,

and you would hand them over to their enemies.

Then they would beg for help, and because you are merciful,

you rescued them over and over again.

²⁹You warned them to turn back

and discover true life by obeying your laws.

But they stubbornly refused and continued to sin.

³⁰For years, you were patient, and your Spirit warned them

with messages spoken by your prophets.

Still they refused to listen,

and you handed them over to their enemies.

³¹But you are merciful and kind,

and so you never forgot them

or let them be destroyed.

³²Our God, you are powerful, fearsome, and faithful,

always true to your word.

So please keep in mind the terrible sufferings

of our people, kings, leaders, priests, and prophets,

from the time Assyria ruled until this very day.

³³You have always been fair

when you punished us for our sins.

³⁴Our kings, leaders, and priests

have never obeyed your commands

or heeded your warnings.

³⁵You blessed them with a kingdom

and with an abundance of rich, fertile land,

but they refused to worship you or turn from their evil.

³⁶Now we are slaves in this fruitful land

you gave to our ancestors.

³⁷Its plentiful harvest is taken by kings you placed over us

because of our sins.

Our suffering is unbearable,

because they do as they wish to us and our livestock.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.