Daily Bible CEV March 30 Scroll

The Temple Will Be Destroyed
(Mark 13.1, 2; Luke 21.5, 6)

Matthew 24 After Jesus left the temple, his disciples came over and said, "Look at all these buildings!"

²Jesus replied, "Do you see these buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place."

Warning about Trouble
(Mark 13.3-13; Luke 21.7-19)

³Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, "When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?"

⁴Jesus answered:

Don't let anyone fool you. ⁵Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.

⁶You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. ⁷Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. ⁸But this is just the beginning of troubles.

⁹You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. ¹⁰Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. ¹¹Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. ¹²Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. ¹³But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. ¹⁴When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.

The Horrible Thing
(Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24)

¹⁵Someday you will see that "Horrible Thing" in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! ¹⁶If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. ¹⁷If you are on the roof of your house, don't go inside to get anything. ¹⁸If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. ¹⁹It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. ²⁰And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. ²²If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.

²³Someone may say, "Here is the Messiah!" or "There he is!" But don't believe it. ²⁴False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. ²⁵But I have warned you ahead of time. ²⁶If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don't believe it! ²⁷The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. ²⁸Where there is a corpse, there will always be buzzards.

When the Son of Man Appears
(Mark 13.24-27; Luke 21.25-28)

²⁹Right after those days of suffering,

"The sun will become dark,

and the moon will no longer shine.

The stars will fall,

and the powers in the sky will be shaken."

³⁰Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man. All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.

The Israelites Worship Baal

Numbers 25 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men had sex with Moabite women. ²These women then invited the men to ceremonies where sacrifices were offered to their gods. The men ate the meat from the sacrifices and worshiped the Moabite gods.

³The LORD was angry with Israel because they had worshiped the god Baal Peor. ⁴So he said to Moses, "Take the Israelite leaders who are responsible for this and have them killed in front of my sacred tent where everyone can see. Maybe then I will stop being angry with the Israelites."

⁵Moses told Israel's officials, "Each of you must put to death any of your men who worshiped Baal."

⁶Later, Moses and the people were at the sacred tent, crying, when one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman to meet his family. ⁷Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the priest, saw the couple and left the crowd. He found a spear ⁸and followed the man into his tent, where he ran the spear through the man and into the woman's stomach. The LORD immediately stopped punishing Israel with a deadly disease, ⁹but twenty-four thousand Israelites had already died.

¹⁰The LORD said to Moses, ¹¹"In my anger, I would have wiped out the Israelites if Phinehas had not been faithful to me. ^12-13But instead of punishing them, I forgave them. So because of the loyalty that Phinehas showed, I solemnly promise that he and his descendants will always be my priests."

¹⁴The Israelite man that was killed was Zimri son of Salu, who was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe. ¹⁵And the Midianite woman killed with him was Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite clan leader named Zur.

¹⁶The LORD told Moses, ^17-18"The Midianites are now enemies of Israel, so attack and defeat them! They tricked the people of Israel into worshiping their god at Peor, and they are responsible for the death of Cozbi, the daughter of one of their own leaders."

The Israelites Are Counted a Second Time

Numbers 26 After the LORD had stopped the deadly disease from killing the Israelites, he said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, ²"I want you to find out how many Israelites are in each family. And list every man twenty years and older who is able to serve in Israel's army."

³Israel was now camped in the hills of Moab across the Jordan River from the town of Jericho. Moses and Eleazar told them ⁴what the LORD had said about counting the men twenty years and older, just as Moses and their ancestors had done when they left Egypt.

^5-7There were 43,730 men from the tribe of Reuben, the oldest son of Jacob. These men were from the clans of Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁸Pallu was the father of Eliab ⁹and the grandfather of Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram who had been chosen by the people, but who followed Korah and rebelled against Moses, Aaron, and the LORD. ¹⁰That's when the LORD made the earth open up and swallow Dathan, Abiram, and Korah. At the same time, fire destroyed two hundred fifty men as a warning to the other Israelites. ¹¹But the Korahite clan wasn't destroyed.

^12-14There were 22,200 men from the tribe of Simeon; they were from the clans of Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul.

^15-18There were 40,500 men from the tribe of Gad; they were from the clans of Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli.

^19-22There were 76,500 men from the tribe of Judah; they were from the clans of Shelah, Perez, Zerah, Hezron, and Hamul. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan.

^23-25There were 64,300 men from the tribe of Issachar; they were from the clans of Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

^26-27There were 60,500 men from the tribe of Zebulun; they were from the clans of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

^28-34There were 52,700 men from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph; they were from the clan of Machir, the clan of Gilead his son, and the clans of his six grandsons: Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

^35-37There were 32,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph; they were from the clans of Shuthelah, Becher, Tahan, and Eran the son of Shuthelah.

^38-41There were 45,600 men from the tribe of Benjamin; they were from the clans of Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, Hupham, as well as from Ard and Naaman, the two sons of Bela.

^42-43There were 64,400 men from the tribe of Dan; they were all from the clan of Shuham.

^44-47There were 53,400 men from the tribe of Asher; they were from the clans of Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and from the two clans of Heber and Malchiel, the sons of Beriah. Asher's daughter was Serah.

^48-50There were 45,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali; they were from the clans of Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

⁵¹The total number of Israelite men listed was 601,730.

⁵²The LORD said to Moses, ⁵³"Divide the land of Canaan among these tribes, according to the number of people in each one, ⁵⁴so the larger tribes have more land than the smaller ones. ^55-56I will show you what land to give each tribe, and they will receive as much land as they need, according to the number of people in it."

⁵⁷The tribe of Levi included the clans of the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, ⁵⁸as well as the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah. Kohath the Levite was the father of Amram, ⁵⁹the husband of Levi's daughter Jochebed, who was born in Egypt. Amram and Jochebed's three children were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. ⁶⁰Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁶¹But Nadab and Abihu had died when they offered fire that was unacceptable to the LORD.

⁶²In the tribe of Levi there were 23,000 men and boys at least a month old. They were not listed with the other tribes, because they would not receive any land in Canaan.

⁶³Moses and Eleazar counted the Israelites while they were camped in the hills of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. ⁶⁴None of the people that Moses and Aaron had counted in the Sinai Desert were still alive, ⁶⁵except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. The LORD had said that everyone else would die there in the desert.

The Daughters of Zelophehad Are Given Land

Numbers 27 Zelophehad was from the Manasseh tribe, and he had five daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²One day his daughters went to the sacred tent, where they met with Moses, Eleazar, and some other leaders of Israel, as well as a large crowd of Israelites. The young women said:

³You know that our father died in the desert. But it was for something he did wrong, not for joining with Korah in rebelling against the LORD.

Our father left no sons ⁴to carry on his family name. But why should his name die out for that reason? Give us some land like the rest of his relatives in our clan, so our father's name can live on.

⁵Moses asked the LORD what should be done, ⁶and the LORD answered:

⁷Zelophehad's daughters are right. They should each be given part of the land their father would have received.

⁸Tell the Israelites that when a man dies without a son, his daughter will inherit his land. ⁹If he has no daughter, his brothers will inherit the land. ¹⁰But if he has no brothers, his father's brothers will inherit the land. ¹¹And if his father has no brothers, the land must be given to his nearest relative in the clan. This is my law, and the Israelites must obey it.

Joshua Is Appointed Israel's Leader
(Deuteronomy 31.1-8)

¹²The LORD said to Moses, "One day you will go up into the Abarim Mountains, and from there you will see the land I am giving the Israelites. ¹³After you have seen it, you will die, just like your brother Aaron, ¹⁴because both of you disobeyed me at Meribah near the town of Kadesh in the Zin Desert. When the Israelites insulted me there, you didn't believe in my holy power."

¹⁵Moses replied, ¹⁶"You are the LORD God, and you know what is in everyone's heart. So I ask you to appoint a leader for Israel. ¹⁷Your people need someone to lead them into battle, or else they will be like sheep wandering around without a shepherd."

¹⁸The LORD answered, "Joshua son of Nun can do the job. Place your hands on him to show that he is the one to take your place. ¹⁹Then go with him and have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the Israelites. Appoint Joshua as their new leader ²⁰and tell them they must now obey him, just as they obey you. ²¹But Joshua must depend on Eleazar to find out from me what I want him to do as he leads Israel into battle."

²²Moses followed the LORD's instructions and took Joshua to Eleazar and the people, ²³then he placed his hands on Joshua and appointed him Israel's leader.

He Speaks: Song of Songs 6 ⁴My dearest, the cities of Tirzah and Jerusalem
are not as lovely as you.
Your charms are more powerful than all of the stars
in the heavens.
⁵Turn away your eyes-- they make me melt.
Your hair tosses about as gracefully as goats
coming down from Gilead.
⁶Your teeth are whiter than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly, not one is missing.
⁷Behind your veil are hidden beautiful rosy cheeks.

⁸What if I could have sixty queens, eighty wives,
and thousands of others!
⁹You would be my only choice, my flawless dove,
the favorite child of your mother.
The young women, the queens, and all the others
tell how excited you are as they sing your praises:
¹⁰"You are as majestic as the morning sky--
glorious as the moon-- blinding as the sun!
Your charms are more powerful
than all the stars above."

She Speaks:
¹¹I went down to see if blossoms were on the walnut trees,
grapevines, and fruit trees.
¹²But in my imagination
I was suddenly riding on a glorious chariot.

Their Friends Speak:
¹³Dance! Dance! Beautiful woman from Shulam,
let us see you dance!

She Speaks:
Why do you want to see this woman from Shulam
dancing with the others?

The Wedding Dance

He Speaks:
Song of Songs 7 You are a princess, and your feet are graceful

in their sandals.

Your thighs are works of art, each one a jewel;

your navel is a wine glass filled to overflowing.

Your body is full and slender like a bundle of wheat

bound together by lilies.

³Your breasts are like twins of a deer.

⁴Your neck is like ivory, and your eyes sparkle

like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.

Your nose is beautiful like Mount Lebanon

above the city of Damascus.

⁵Your head is held high like Mount Carmel;

your hair is so lovely it holds a king prisoner.

⁶You are beautiful, so very desirable!

⁷You are tall and slender like a palm tree,

and your breasts are full.

⁸I will climb that tree and cling to its branches.

I will discover that your breasts are clusters of grapes,

and that your breath is the aroma of apples.

⁹Kissing you is more delicious than drinking the finest wine.

How wonderful and tasty!

She Speaks:
¹⁰My darling, I am yours, and you desire me.
¹¹Let's stroll through the fields
and sleep in the villages.
¹²At dawn let's slip out and see if grapevines
and fruit trees are covered with blossoms.
When we are there, I will give you my love.
¹³Perfume from the magic flower fills the air, my darling.
Right at our doorstep I have stored up for you
all kinds of tasty fruits.

If Only You and I . . .

She Speaks:
Song of Songs 8 If you were my brother, I could kiss you

whenever we happen to meet,

and no one would say I did wrong.

²I could take you to the home of my mother,

who taught me all I know.

I would give you delicious wine

and fruit juice as well.

³Put your left hand under my head

and embrace me with your right arm.

⁴Young women of Jerusalem,

promise me by the power of deer and gazelles

never to awaken love before it is ready.

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.