Daily Bible CEV March 29 Scroll

Matthew 23 ^13-14You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You won't go in yourselves, and you keep others from going in.

¹⁵You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You travel over land and sea to win one follower. And when you have done so, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.

¹⁶You are in for trouble! You are supposed to lead others, but you are blind. You teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the temple. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gold in the temple. ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

¹⁸You also teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the altar. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gift on the altar. ¹⁹Are you blind? Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰Anyone who swears by the altar also swears by everything on it. ²¹And anyone who swears by the temple also swears by God, who lives there. ²²To swear by heaven is the same as swearing by God's throne and by the one who sits on that throne.

²³You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your garden, such as mint, dill, and cumin. Yet you neglect the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the important things you should have done, though you should not have left the others undone either. ²⁴You blind leaders! You strain out a small fly but swallow a camel.

²⁵You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, while inside there is nothing but greed and selfishness. ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of a cup, and then the outside will also be clean.

²⁷You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You're like tombs that have been whitewashed. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth. ²⁸That's what you are like. Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good.

²⁹You Pharisees and teachers are nothing but show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You build monuments for the prophets and decorate the tombs of good people. ³⁰And you claim that you would not have taken part with your ancestors in killing the prophets. ³¹But you prove that you really are the relatives of the ones who killed the prophets. ³²So keep on doing everything they did. ³³You are nothing but snakes and the children of snakes! How can you escape going to hell?

³⁴I will send prophets and wise people and experts in the Law of Moses to you. But you will kill them or nail them to a cross or beat them in your meeting places or chase them from town to town. ³⁵That's why you will be held guilty for the murder of every good person, beginning with the good man Abel. This also includes Barachiah's son Zechariah, the man you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶I can promise that you people living today will be punished for all these things!

Jesus Loves Jerusalem
(Luke 13.34, 35)

³⁷Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed the prophets and have stoned the messengers who were sent to you. I have often wanted to gather your people, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you wouldn't let me. ³⁸And now your temple will be deserted. ³⁹You won't see me again until you say,

"Blessed is the one who comes

in the name of the Lord."

Balaam's Third Message

Numbers 23 ²⁷Balak said to Balaam, "Come on, let's try another place. Maybe God will let you curse Israel from there." ²⁸So he took Balaam to Mount Peor overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.

²⁹Balaam said, "Build seven altars here, then bring me seven bulls and seven rams."

³⁰After Balak had done what Balaam asked, he sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.
Numbers 24 Balaam was sure that the LORD would tell him to bless Israel again. So he did not use any magic to find out what the LORD wanted him to do, as he had the first two times. Instead, he looked out toward the desert ²and saw the tribes of Israel camped below. Just then, God's Spirit took control of him, ³and Balaam said:

"I am the son of Beor, and my words are true,

so listen to my message!

⁴It comes from the LORD, the God All-Powerful.

I bowed down to him and saw a vision of Israel.

⁵"People of Israel, your camp is lovely.

⁶It's like a grove of palm trees

or a garden beside a river.

You are like tall aloe trees that the LORD has planted,

or like cedars growing near water.

⁷You and your descendants will prosper

like an orchard beside a stream.

Your king will rule with power and be a greater king

than Agag the Amalekite.

⁸With the strength of a wild ox,

God led you out of Egypt.

You will defeat your enemies,

shooting them with arrows and crushing their bones.

⁹Like a lion you lie down, resting after an attack.

Who would dare disturb you?

"Anyone who blesses you will be blessed;

anyone who curses you will be cursed."

¹⁰When Balak heard this, he was so furious that he pounded his fist against his hand and said, "I called you here to place a curse on my enemies, and you've blessed them three times. ¹¹Leave now and go home! I told you I would pay you well, but since the LORD didn't let you do what I asked, you won't be paid."

¹²Balaam answered, "I told your messengers ¹³that even if you offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I would still obey the LORD. And I explained that I would say only what he told me. ¹⁴So I'm going back home, but I'm leaving you with a warning about what the Israelites will someday do to your nation."

Balaam's Fourth Message

¹⁵Balaam said:

"I am the son of Beor, and my words are true,

so listen to my message!

¹⁶My knowledge comes from God Most High,

the LORD All-Powerful.

I bowed down to him and saw a vision of Israel.

¹⁷"What I saw in my vision hasn't happened yet.

But someday, a king of Israel will appear like a star.

He will wipe out you Moabites and destroy those tribes

who live in the desert.

¹⁸Israel will conquer Edom

and capture the land of that enemy nation.

¹⁹The king of Israel will rule

and destroy the survivors of every town there.

²⁰"And I saw this vision about the Amalekites:

Their nation is now great,

but it will someday disappear forever.

²¹"And this is what I saw about the Kenites:

They think they're safe, living among the rocks,

²²

but they will be wiped out

when Assyria conquers them.

²³"No one can survive if God plans destruction.

²⁴Ships will come from Cyprus, bringing people

who will invade the lands of Assyria and Eber.

But finally, Cyprus itself will be ruined."

²⁵After Balaam finished, he started home, and Balak also left.

Another Dream

She Speaks: Song of Songs 5 ²I was asleep, but dreaming:

The one I love was at the door,

knocking and saying,

"My darling, my very own, my flawless dove,

open the door for me!

My head is drenched with evening dew."

³But I had already undressed and bathed my feet.

Should I dress again and get my feet dirty?

⁴Then my darling's hand reached to open the latch,

and my heart stood still.

⁵When I rose to open the door, my hands and my fingers

dripped with perfume.

⁶My heart stood still while he spoke to me,

but when I opened the door,

my darling had disappeared.

I searched and shouted, but I could not find him--

there was no answer.

⁷Then I was found by the guards patrolling the town

and guarding the wall.

They beat me up and stripped off my robe.

⁸Young women of Jerusalem, if you find the one I love,

please say to him, "She is weak with desire."

Their Friends Speak:
⁹Most beautiful of women, why is the one you love
more special than others?
Why do you ask us to tell him how you feel?

She Speaks:
¹⁰He is handsome and healthy, the most outstanding
among ten thousand.
¹¹His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy,
black as a raven.
¹²His eyes are a pair of doves bathing in a stream
flowing with milk.
¹³His face is a garden of sweet-smelling spices;
his lips are lilies dripping with perfume.

¹⁴His arms are branches of gold covered with jewels;
his body is ivory decorated with sapphires.
¹⁵His legs are columns of marble on feet of gold.
He stands there majestic like Mount Lebanon
and its choice cedar trees.
¹⁶His kisses are sweet. I desire him so much!
Young women of Jerusalem, he is my lover and friend.

Their Friends Speak:
Song of Songs 6 Most beautiful of women, tell us where he has gone.
Let us help you find him.

She Speaks:
²My darling has gone down to his garden of spices,
where he will feed his sheep and gather lilies.
³I am his, and he is mine,
as he feeds his sheep among the lilies.

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.