One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible - Flipbook - Page 86
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January 21
sit, and to their amazement, he seated them
according to age, from oldest to youngest.
34 And Joseph filled their plates with food from
his own table, giving Benjamin five times as
much as he gave the others. So they feasted
and drank freely with him.
42:38 Hebrew to Sheol.
43:6 Hebrew Israel; also in 43:11. See
note on 35:21. 43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai.
MATTHEW 13:47–14:12
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and
caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was
full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat
down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but
threw the bad ones away. 49 That is the way it
will be at the end of the world. The angels will
come and separate the wicked people from
the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the
fiery furnace, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand
all these things?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious
law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom
of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings
from his storeroom new gems of truth as well
as old.”
53 When J
esus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the
country. 54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue,
everyone was amazed and said, “Where does
he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother,
and his b
rothers—James, Joseph,* Simon, and
Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among
us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And
they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Then J esus told them, “A prophet is honored
everywhere except in his own hometown and
among his own family.” 58 And so he did only a
few miracles there because of their unbelief.
14:1 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,*
heard about Jesus, 2 he said to his advisers,
“This must be John the Baptist raised from the
dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”
3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned
John as a favor to his wife H
erodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip). 4 John had
been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for
you to marry her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John,
but he was afraid of a riot, because all the
people believed John was a prophet.
6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s
daughter performed a dance that greatly
pleased him, 7 so he promised with a vow to
give her anything she wanted. 8 At her mother’s
urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John
the Baptist on a tray!” 9 Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow
he had made in front of his guests, he issued
the necessary orders. 10 So John was beheaded
in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on
a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her
mother. 12 Later, John’s disciples came for his
body and buried it. Then they went and told
Jesus what had happened.
13:55 Other manuscripts read Joses; still others read John.
14:1 Greek Herod the tetrarch. Herod Antipas was a son of King
Herod and was ruler over Galilee.
PSALM 18:16‑36
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He reached down from heaven and
rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too
strong for me.
They attacked me at a moment when I was
in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.
The Lord rewarded me for doing right;
he restored me because of my innocence.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I have not turned from my God to follow
evil.
I have followed all his regulations;
I have never abandoned his decrees.
I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.
The Lord rewarded me for doing right.
He has seen my innocence.
To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
to those with integrity you show
integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself
shrewd.
You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up my
darkness.
In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.
God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him
for protection.
