Daily Bible GNT March 06 Scroll

The Messengers from John the Baptist
(Luke 7.18-35)

Matthew 11 When Jesus finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he left that place and went off to teach and preach in the towns near there.

²When John the Baptist heard in prison about the things that Christ was doing, he sent some of his disciples to him. ³"Tell us," they asked Jesus, "are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?"

⁴Jesus answered, "Go back and tell John what you are hearing and seeing: ⁵the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ⁶How happy are those who have no doubts about me!"

⁷While John's disciples were leaving, Jesus spoke about him to the crowds: "When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? ⁸What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that live in palaces! ⁹Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. ¹⁰For John is the one of whom the scripture says: 'God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.' ¹¹I assure you that John the Baptist is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John. ¹²From the time John preached his message until this very day the Kingdom of heaven has suffered violent attacks, and violent men try to seize it. ¹³Until the time of John all the prophets and the Law of Moses spoke about the Kingdom; ¹⁴and if you are willing to believe their message, John is Elijah, whose coming was predicted. ¹⁵Listen, then, if you have ears!

¹⁶"Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, ¹⁷'We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!' ¹⁸When John came, he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, 'He has a demon in him!' ¹⁹When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and everyone said, 'Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!' God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results."

Animals That May Be Eaten
(Deuteronomy 14.3-21)

Leviticus 11 The LORD gave Moses and Aaron the following regulations ²for the people of Israel. You may eat any land animal ³that has divided hoofs and that also chews the cud, ^4-6but you must not eat camels, rock badgers, or rabbits. These must be considered unclean; they chew the cud, but do not have divided hoofs. ⁷Do not eat pigs. They must be considered unclean; they have divided hoofs, but do not chew the cud. ⁸Do not eat these animals or even touch their dead bodies; they are unclean.

⁹You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales, ¹⁰but anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales must not be eaten. ¹¹Such creatures must be considered unclean. You must not eat them or even touch their dead bodies. ¹²You must not eat anything that lives in the water and does not have fins and scales.

^13-19You must not eat any of the following birds: eagles, owls, hawks, falcons; buzzards, vultures, crows; ostriches; seagulls, storks, herons, pelicans, cormorants; hoopoes; or bats.

²⁰All winged insects are unclean, ²¹except those that hop. ²²You may eat locusts, crickets, or grasshoppers. ²³But all other small things that have wings and also crawl must be considered unclean.

^24-28If you touch the dead bodies of the following animals, you will be unclean until evening: all animals with hoofs, unless their hoofs are divided and they chew the cud, and all four-footed animals with paws. If you carry their dead bodies, you must wash your clothes, but you will still be unclean until evening.

^29-30Moles, rats, mice, and lizards must be considered unclean. ³¹Whoever touches them or their dead bodies will be unclean until evening. ³²And if their dead bodies fall on anything, it will be unclean. This applies to any article of wood, cloth, leather, or sacking, no matter what it is used for. It shall be dipped in water, but it will remain unclean until evening. ³³And if their bodies fall into a clay pot, everything that is in it shall be unclean, and you must break the pot. ³⁴Any food which could normally be eaten, but on which water from such a pot has been poured, will be unclean, and anything drinkable in such a pot is unclean. ³⁵Anything on which the dead bodies fall is unclean; a clay stove or oven shall be broken, ³⁶but a spring or a cistern remains clean, although anything else that touches their dead bodies is unclean. ³⁷If one of them falls on seed that is going to be planted, the seed remains clean. ³⁸But if the seed is soaking in water and one of them falls on it, the seed is unclean.

³⁹If any animal that may be eaten dies, anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening. ⁴⁰And if any of you eat any part of the animal, you must wash your clothes, but you will still be unclean until evening; any of you who carry the dead body must wash your clothes, but you will still be unclean until evening.

⁴¹You must not eat any of the small animals that move on the ground, ⁴²whether they crawl, or walk on four legs, or have many legs. ⁴³Do not make yourselves unclean by eating any of these. ⁴⁴I am the LORD your God, and you must keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. ⁴⁵I am the LORD who brought you out of Egypt so that I could be your God. You must be holy, because I am holy.

⁴⁶This, then, is the law about animals and birds, about everything that lives in the water, and everything that moves on the ground. ⁴⁷You must be careful to distinguish between what is ritually clean and unclean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.

The Purification of Women after Childbirth

Leviticus 12 The LORD gave Moses the following regulations ²for the people of Israel. For seven days after a woman gives birth to a son, she is ritually unclean, as she is during her monthly period. ³On the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised. ⁴Then it will be thirty-three more days until she is ritually clean from her loss of blood; she must not touch anything that is holy or enter the sacred Tent until the time of her purification is completed.

⁵For fourteen days after a woman gives birth to a daughter, she is ritually unclean, as she is during her monthly period. Then it will be sixty-six more days until she is ritually clean from her loss of blood.

⁶When the time of her purification is completed, whether for a son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. ⁷The priest shall present her offering to the LORD and perform the ritual to take away her impurity, and she will be ritually clean. This, then, is what a woman must do after giving birth.

⁸If the woman cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall perform the ritual to take away her impurity, and she will be ritually clean.

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Proverbs 24 Don't be envious of evil people, and don't try to make friends with them. ²Causing trouble is all they ever think about; every time they open their mouth someone is going to be hurt.

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³Homes are built on the foundation of wisdom and understanding. ⁴Where there is knowledge, the rooms are furnished with valuable, beautiful things.

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⁵Being wise is better than being strong; yes, knowledge is more important than strength. ⁶After all, you must make careful plans before you fight a battle, and the more good advice you get, the more likely you are to win.

-22-

⁷Wise sayings are too deep for stupid people to understand. They have nothing to say when important matters are being discussed.

-23-

⁸If you are always planning evil, you will earn a reputation as a troublemaker. ⁹Any scheme a fool thinks up is sinful. People hate a person who has nothing but scorn for others.

-24-

¹⁰If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed.

-25-

¹¹Don't hesitate to rescue someone who is about to be executed unjustly. ¹²You may say that it is none of your business, but God knows and judges your motives. He keeps watch on you; he knows. And he will reward you according to what you do.

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¹³My child, eat honey; it is good. And just as honey from the comb is sweet on your tongue, ¹⁴you may be sure that wisdom is good for the soul. Get wisdom and you have a bright future.

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¹⁵Don't be like the wicked who scheme to rob honest people or to take away their homes. ¹⁶No matter how often honest people fall, they always get up again; but disaster destroys the wicked.

-28-

¹⁷Don't be glad when your enemies meet disaster, and don't rejoice when they stumble. ¹⁸The LORD will know if you are gloating, and he will not like it; and then maybe he won't punish them.

-29-

¹⁹Don't let evil people worry you; don't be envious of them. ²⁰A wicked person has no future--nothing to look forward to.

-30-

²¹Have reverence for the LORD, my child, and honor the king. Have nothing to do with people who rebel against them; ²²such people could be ruined in a moment. Do you realize the disaster that God or the king can cause?

More Wise Sayings

²³The wise have also said these things:

It is wrong for judges to be prejudiced. ²⁴If they pronounce a guilty person innocent, they will be cursed and hated by everyone. ²⁵Judges who punish the guilty, however, will be prosperous and enjoy a good reputation.

²⁶An honest answer is a sign of true friendship.

²⁷Don't build your house and establish a home until your fields are ready, and you are sure that you can earn a living.

²⁸Don't give evidence against others without good reason, or say misleading things about them. ²⁹Don't say, "I'll do to them just what they did to me! I'll get even with them!"

³⁰I walked through the fields and vineyards of a lazy, stupid person. ³¹They were full of thorn bushes and overgrown with weeds. The stone wall around them had fallen down. ³²I looked at this, thought about it, and learned a lesson from it: ³³Go ahead and take your nap; go ahead and sleep. Fold your hands and rest awhile, ³⁴but while you are asleep, poverty will attack you like an armed robber.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.