Daily Bible GNT March 20 Scroll

Jesus Teaches about Divorce
(Mark 10.1-12)

Matthew 19 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him by asking, "Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reason he wishes?"

⁴Jesus answered, "Haven't you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? ⁵And God said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.' ⁶So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together."

⁷The Pharisees asked him, "Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?"

⁸Jesus answered, "Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. ⁹I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, commits adultery if he marries some other woman."

¹⁰His disciples said to him, "If this is how it is between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry."

¹¹Jesus answered, "This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it. ¹²For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so."

Jesus Blesses Little Children
(Mark 10.13-16; Luke 18.15-17)

¹³Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and to pray for them, but the disciples scolded the people. ¹⁴Jesus said, "Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

¹⁵He placed his hands on them and then went away.

The Second Passover

Numbers 9 The LORD spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert in the first month of the second year after the people of Israel had left Egypt. He said, ^2-3"On the fourteenth day of this month, beginning at sunset, the people of Israel are to observe the Passover according to all the rules and regulations for it." ⁴So Moses told the people to observe the Passover, ⁵and on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month they did so in the Sinai Desert. The people did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁶But there were some people who were ritually unclean because they had touched a corpse, and they were not able to keep the Passover on that day. They went to Moses and Aaron ⁷and said, "We are unclean because we have touched a corpse, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD's offering with the rest of the Israelites?"

⁸Moses answered, "Wait until I receive instructions from the LORD."

⁹The LORD told Moses ¹⁰to say to the people of Israel, "When any of you or your descendants are unclean from touching a corpse or are far away on a journey, but still want to keep the Passover, ¹¹you are permitted to observe it one month later instead, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the second month. Celebrate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹²Do not leave any of the food until the following morning and do not break any of the animal's bones. Observe the Passover according to all the regulations. ¹³But if any of you are ritually clean and not away on a journey and do not observe the Passover, you shall no longer be considered my people, because you did not present the offering to me at the appointed time. You must suffer the consequences of your sin.

¹⁴"If foreigners living among you want to keep the Passover, they must observe it according to all the rules and regulations. The same law applies to everyone, whether native or foreigner."

The Fiery Cloud
(Exodus 40.34-38)

^15-16On the day the Tent of the LORD's presence was set up, a cloud came and covered it. At night the cloud looked like fire. ¹⁷Whenever the cloud lifted, the people of Israel broke camp, and they set up camp again in the place where the cloud came down. ¹⁸The people broke camp at the command of the LORD, and at his command they set up camp. As long as the cloud stayed over the Tent, they stayed in the same camp. ¹⁹When the cloud stayed over the Tent for a long time, they obeyed the LORD and did not move on. ²⁰Sometimes the cloud remained over the Tent for only a few days; in any case, they remained in camp or moved, according to the command of the LORD. ²¹Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning, and they moved on as soon as the cloud lifted. Whenever the cloud lifted, they moved on. ²²Whether it was two days, a month, a year, or longer, as long as the cloud remained over the Tent, they did not move on; but when it lifted, they moved. ²³They set up camp and broke camp in obedience to the commands which the LORD gave through Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

Numbers 10 The LORD said to Moses, ²"Make two trumpets of hammered silver to use for calling the people together and for breaking camp. ³When long blasts are sounded on both trumpets, the whole community is to gather around you at the entrance to the Tent of my presence. ⁴But when only one trumpet is sounded, then only the leaders of the clans are to gather around you. ⁵When short blasts are sounded, the tribes camped on the east will move out. ⁶When short blasts are sounded a second time, the tribes on the south will move out. So short blasts are to be sounded to break camp, ⁷but in order to call the community together, long blasts are to be sounded. ⁸The trumpets are to be blown by Aaron's sons, the priests.

"The following rule is to be observed for all time to come. ⁹When you are at war in your land, defending yourselves against an enemy who has attacked you, sound the signal for battle on these trumpets. I, the LORD your God, will help you and save you from your enemies. ¹⁰Also on joyful occasions--at your New Moon Festivals and your other religious festivals--you are to blow the trumpets when you present your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings. Then I will help you. I am the LORD your God."

The Israelites Break Camp

¹¹On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year after the people left Egypt, the cloud over the Tent of the LORD's presence lifted, ¹²and the Israelites started on their journey out of the Sinai Desert. The cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.

¹³They began to march at the command of the LORD through Moses, ¹⁴and each time they moved, they were in the same order. Those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Judah started out first, company by company, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command. ¹⁵Nethanel son of Zuar was in command of the tribe of Issachar, ¹⁶and Eliab son of Helon was in command of the tribe of Zebulun.

¹⁷Then the Tent would be taken down, and the clans of Gershon and Merari, who carried it, would start out.

¹⁸Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Reuben would start out, company by company, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command. ¹⁹Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was in command of the tribe of Simeon, ²⁰and Eliasaph son of Deuel was in command of the tribe of Gad.

²¹Then the Levite clan of Kohath would start out, carrying the sacred objects. By the time they arrived at the next camp, the Tent had been set up again.

²²Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Ephraim would start out, company by company, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command. ²³Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was in command of the tribe of Manasseh, ²⁴and Abidan son of Gideoni was in command of the tribe of Benjamin.

²⁵Finally, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Dan, serving as the rear guard of all the divisions, would start out, company by company, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command. ²⁶Pagiel son of Ochran was in command of the tribe of Asher, ²⁷and Ahira son of Enan was in command of the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁸This, then, was the order of march, company by company, whenever the Israelites broke camp and set out.

²⁹Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Jethro the Midianite, "We are about to start out for the place which the LORD said he would give us. He has promised to make Israel prosperous, so come with us, and we will share our prosperity with you."

³⁰Hobab answered, "No, I am going back to my native land."

³¹"Please don't leave us," Moses said. "You know where we can camp in the wilderness, and you can be our guide. ³²If you come with us, we will share with you all the blessings that the LORD gives us."

The People Set Out

³³When the people left Sinai, the holy mountain, they traveled three days. The LORD's Covenant Box always went ahead of them to find a place for them to camp. ³⁴As they moved on from each camp, the cloud of the LORD was over them by day.

³⁵Whenever the Covenant Box started out, Moses would say, "Arise, LORD; scatter your enemies and put to flight those who hate you!" ³⁶And whenever it stopped, he would say, "Return, LORD, to the thousands of families of Israel."

Thoughts about Life

Ecclesiastes 7 A good reputation is better than expensive perfume; and the day you die is better than the day you are born.

²It is better to go to a home where there is mourning than to one where there is a party, because the living should always remind themselves that death is waiting for us all.

³Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.

⁴Someone who is always thinking about happiness is a fool. A wise person thinks about death.

⁵It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.

⁶When a fool laughs, it is like thorns crackling in a fire. It doesn't mean a thing.

⁷You may be wise, but if you cheat someone, you are acting like a fool. If you take a bribe, you ruin your character.

⁸The end of something is better than its beginning.

Patience is better than pride.

⁹Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.

¹⁰Never ask, "Oh, why were things so much better in the old days?" It's not an intelligent question.

¹¹Everyone who lives ought to be wise; it is as good as receiving an inheritance ¹²and will give you as much security as money can. Wisdom keeps you safe--this is the advantage of knowledge.

¹³Think about what God has done. How can anyone straighten out what God has made crooked? ¹⁴When things are going well for you, be glad, and when trouble comes, just remember: God sends both happiness and trouble; you never know what is going to happen next.

¹⁵My life has been useless, but in it I have seen everything. Some good people may die while others live on, even though they are evil. ¹⁶So don't be too good or too wise--why kill yourself ? ¹⁷But don't be too wicked or too foolish, either--why die before you have to? ¹⁸Avoid both extremes. If you have reverence for God, you will be successful anyway.

¹⁹Wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city.

²⁰There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.

²¹Don't pay attention to everything people say--you may hear your servant insulting you, ²²and you know yourself that you have insulted other people many times.

²³I used my wisdom to test all of this. I was determined to be wise, but it was beyond me. ²⁴How can anyone discover what life means? It is too deep for us, too hard to understand. ²⁵But I devoted myself to knowledge and study; I was determined to find wisdom and the answers to my questions, and to learn how wicked and foolish stupidity is.

²⁶I found something more bitter than death--the woman who is like a trap. The love she offers you will catch you like a net, and her arms around you will hold you like a chain. A man who pleases God can get away, but she will catch the sinner. ²⁷Yes, said the Philosopher, I found this out little by little while I was looking for answers. ²⁸I have looked for other answers but have found none. I found one man in a thousand that I could respect, but not one woman. ²⁹This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.

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.