Daily Bible CEV March 31 Scroll

A Lesson from a Fig Tree
(Mark 13.28-31; Luke 21.29-33)

Matthew 24 ³²Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come. ³⁴I can promise you that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. ³⁵The sky and the earth won't last forever, but my words will.

No One Knows the Day or Time
(Mark 13.32-37; Luke 17.26-30, 34-36)

³⁶No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows. ³⁷When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. ³⁸People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. ³⁹They didn't know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.

⁴⁰Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. ⁴²So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come. ⁴³Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. ⁴⁴Always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.

Faithful and Unfaithful Servants
(Luke 12.35-48)

⁴⁵Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? ⁴⁶Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. ⁴⁷You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. ⁴⁸But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won't return until late. ⁴⁹Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. ⁵⁰If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. ⁵¹That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.

Regular Daily Sacrifices
(Exodus 29.38-43; Leviticus 6.8-13)

Numbers 28 The LORD told Moses ²to say to the people of Israel:

Offer sacrifices to me at the appointed times of worship, so that I will smell the smoke and be pleased.

³Each day offer two rams a year old as sacrifices to please me. The animals must have nothing wrong with them; ⁴one will be sacrificed in the morning, and the other in the evening. ⁵Along with each of them, two pounds of your finest flour mixed with a quart of olive oil must be offered as a grain sacrifice. ⁶This sacrifice to please me was first offered on Mount Sinai. ⁷Finally, along with each of these two sacrifices, a quart of wine must be poured on the altar as a drink offering. ⁸The second ram will be sacrificed that evening, along with the other offerings, just like the one sacrificed that morning. The smell of the smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

The Sacrifice on the Sabbath

The LORD said:

^9-10On the Sabbath, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices, you must sacrifice two rams a year old to please me. These rams must have nothing wrong with them, and they will be sacrificed with a drink offering and four pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil.

The Sacrifices on the First Day of the Month

The LORD said:

¹¹On the first day of each month, bring to the altar two bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ¹²Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ¹³and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. The smell of the smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

^14-15Offer two quarts of wine as a drink offering with each bull, one and a half quarts with the ram, and one quart with each of the young rams.

Finally, you must offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin.

These sacrifices are to be offered on the first day of each month, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.

The Sacrifices during Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread
(Leviticus 23.4-8)

The LORD said:

¹⁶Celebrate Passover in honor of me on the fourteenth day of the first month of each year. ¹⁷The following day will begin the Festival of Thin Bread, which will last for a week. During this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast.

¹⁸On the first day of this festival, you must rest from your work and come together for worship. ¹⁹Bring to the altar two bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. And then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ²⁰Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ²¹and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ²²Also offer a goat as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. ^23-24All of these are to be offered in addition to the regular daily sacrifices, and the smoke from them will please me. ²⁵Then on the last day of the festival, you must once again rest from work and come together for worship.

The Sacrifices during the Harvest Festival
(Leviticus 23.15-22)

The LORD said:

²⁶On the first day of the Harvest Festival, you must rest from your work, come together for worship, and bring a sacrifice of new grain. ²⁷Offer two young bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old as sacrifices to please me. ²⁸Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ²⁹and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ³⁰Also offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin. ³¹The animals must have nothing wrong with them and are to be sacrificed along with the regular daily sacrifices.

The Sacrifices at the Festival of Trumpets
(Leviticus 23.23-25)

The LORD said:
Numbers 29 On the first day of the seventh month, you must rest from your work and come together to celebrate at the sound of the trumpets. ²Bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. And then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ³Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with the bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ⁴and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ⁵You must also offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin. ⁶These sacrifices will be made in addition to the regular daily sacrifices and the sacrifices for the first day of the month. The smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

The Sacrifices on the Great Day of Forgiveness
(Leviticus 23.26-32)

The LORD said:

⁷The tenth day of the seventh month is the Great Day of Forgiveness. On that day you must rest from all work and come together for worship. Show sorrow for your sins by going without food, ⁸and bring to the altar one young bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ⁹Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with the bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ¹⁰and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ¹¹A goat must also be sacrificed for the sins of the people. You will offer these sacrifices in addition to the sacrifice to ask forgiveness and the regular daily sacrifices.

The Sacrifices during the Festival of Shelters
(Leviticus 23.33-44)

The LORD said:

¹²Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me.

¹³On the first day, you must rest from your work and come together for worship. Bring to the altar thirteen bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ¹⁴Six pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Four pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the rams, ¹⁵and two pounds of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ¹⁶You must also offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin. These are to be offered in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.

^17-34For the next six days of the festival, you will sacrifice one less bull than the day before, so that on the seventh day, seven bulls will be sacrificed. The other sacrifices and offerings must remain the same for each of these days.

³⁵On the eighth day, you must once again rest from your work and come together for worship. ³⁶Bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ³⁷You must also offer the proper grain sacrifices and drink offerings of wine with each animal. ³⁸And offer a goat as the sacrifice to ask forgiveness for the people. These sacrifices are made in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.

³⁹You must offer all these sacrifices to me at the appointed times of worship, together with any offerings that are voluntarily given or given because of a promise.

⁴⁰Moses told the people of Israel everything the LORD had told him about the sacrifices.

Their Friends Speak: Song of Songs 8 ⁵Who is this young woman coming in from the desert
and leaning on the shoulder of the one she loves?

She Speaks:
I stirred up your passions under the apple tree
where you were born.
⁶Always keep me in your heart and wear this bracelet
to remember me by.
The passion of love bursting into flame
is more powerful than death, stronger than the grave.
⁷Love cannot be drowned by oceans or floods;
it cannot be bought, no matter what is offered.

Their Friends Speak:
⁸We have a little sister whose breasts are not yet formed.
If someone asks to marry her, what should we do?
⁹She isn't a wall that we can defend behind a silver shield.
Neither is she a room that we can protect
behind a wooden door.

She Speaks:
¹⁰I am a wall around a city, my breasts are towers,
and just looking at me brings him great pleasure.
¹¹Solomon has a vineyard at Baal-Hamon,
which he rents to others for a thousand pieces
of silver each.
¹²My vineyard is mine alone!
Solomon can keep his silver and the others can keep
their share of the profits.

He Speaks:
¹³You are in the garden with friends all around.
Let me hear your voice!

She Speaks:
¹⁴Hurry to me, my darling! Run faster than a deer
to mountains of spices.

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.