Daily Bible Reading Plan

• Proverbs 16 (2:05)

Proverbs 16 1 The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives. 3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established. 4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. 5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD ; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. 6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil. 7 When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8 Better is a little with righteousness Than great income with injustice . 9 The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. 10 A divine decision is in the lips of the king ; His mouth should not err in judgment. 11 A just balance and scales belong to the LORD ; All the weights of the bag are His concern. 12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, For a throne is established on righteousness. 13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And he who speaks right is loved. 14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death, But a wise man will appease it. 15 In the light of a king's face is life, And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain. 16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold ! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil ; He who watches his way preserves his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. 19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20 He who gives attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. 21 The wise in heart will be called understanding, And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. 22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, But the discipline of fools is folly. 23 The heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips. 24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb , Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. 25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 26 A worker's appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on. 27 A worthless man digs up evil, While his words are like scorching fire. 28 A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. 29 A man of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good. 30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things ; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass. 31 A gray head is a crown of glory ; It is found in the way of righteousness. 32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD. [[slnc 10000]]

• Psalm 76 (0:49)

Psalm 76 1 God is known in Judah ; His name is great in Israel. 2 His tabernacle is in Salem ; His dwelling place also is in Zion. 3 There He broke the flaming arrows, The shield and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah. 4 You are resplendent, More majestic than the mountains of prey. 5 The stouthearted were plundered, They sank into sleep ; And none of the warriors could use his hands. 6 At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep. 7 You, even You, are to be feared ; And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry ? 8 You caused judgment to be heard from heaven ; The earth feared and was still 9 When God arose to judgment, To save all the humble of the earth. Selah. 10 For the wrath of man shall praise You; With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself. 11 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared. 12 He will cut off the spirit of princes ; He is feared by the kings of the earth. [[slnc 10000]]

• Psalm 77 (1:23)

Psalm 77 1 My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud ; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord ; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness ; My soul refused to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, then I am disturbed ; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah. 4 You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, The years of long ago. 6 I will remember my song in the night ; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders : 7 Will the Lord reject forever ? And will He never be favorable again ? 8 Has His lovingkindness ceased forever ? Has His promise come to an end forever ? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion ? Selah. 10 Then I said, "It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed." 11 I shall remember the deeds of the LORD ; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy ; What god is great like our God ? 14 You are the God who works wonders ; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. 15 You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw You, O God ; The waters saw You, they were in anguish ; The deeps also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water ; The skies gave forth a sound ; Your arrows flashed here and there. 18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind ; The lightnings lit up the world ; The earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known. 20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron. [[slnc 10000]]

• Psalm 78 (4:37)

Psalm 78 1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction ; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable ; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, 6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, 7 That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 8 And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9 The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows, Yet they turned back in the day of battle. 10 They did not keep the covenant of God And refused to walk in His law ; 11 They forgot His deeds And His miracles that He had shown them. 12 He wrought wonders before their fathers In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, And He made the waters stand up like a heap. 14 Then He led them with the cloud by day And all the night with a light of fire. 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. 16 He brought forth streams also from the rock And caused waters to run down like rivers. 17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert. 18 And in their heart they put God to the test By asking food according to their desire. 19 Then they spoke against God ; They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness ? 20 "Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing ; Can He give bread also ? Will He provide meat for His people ?" 21 Therefore the LORD heard and was full of wrath ; And a fire was kindled against Jacob And anger also mounted against Israel, 22 Because they did not believe in God And did not trust in His salvation. 23 Yet He commanded the clouds above And opened the doors of heaven ; 24 He rained down manna upon them to eat And gave them food from heaven. 25 Man did eat the bread of angels ; He sent them food in abundance. 26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens And by His power He directed the south wind. 27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust, Even winged fowl like the sand of the seas, 28 Then He let them fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their dwellings. 29 So they ate and were well filled, And their desire He gave to them. 30 Before they had satisfied their desire, While their food was in their mouths, 31 The anger of God rose against them And killed some of their stoutest ones, And subdued the choice men of Israel. 32 In spite of all this they still sinned And did not believe in His wonderful works. 33 So He brought their days to an end in futility And their years in sudden terror. 34 When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God ; 35 And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. 36 But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. 37 For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. 38 But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; And often He restrained His anger And did not arouse all His wrath. 39 Thus He remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passes and does not return. 40 How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness And grieved Him in the desert ! 41 Again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember His power, The day when He redeemed them from the adversary, 43 When He performed His signs in Egypt And His marvels in the field of Zoan, 44 And turned their rivers to blood, And their streams, they could not drink. 45 He sent among them swarms of flies which devoured them, And frogs which destroyed them. 46 He gave also their crops to the grasshopper And the product of their labor to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hailstones And their sycamore trees with frost. 48 He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones And their herds to bolts of lightning. 49 He sent upon them His burning anger, Fury and indignation and trouble, A band of destroying angels. 50 He leveled a path for His anger ; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave over their life to the plague, 51 And smote all the firstborn in Egypt, The first issue of their virility in the tents of Ham. 52 But He led forth His own people like sheep And guided them in the wilderness like a flock ; 53 He led them safely, so that they did not fear ; But the sea engulfed their enemies. 54 So He brought them to His holy land, To this hill country which His right hand had gained. 55 He also drove out the nations before them And apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. 56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God And did not keep His testimonies, 57 But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers ; They turned aside like a treacherous bow. 58 For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images. 59 When God heard, He was filled with wrath And greatly abhorred Israel ; 60 So that He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh, The tent which He had pitched among men, 61 And gave up His strength to captivity And His glory into the hand of the adversary. 62 He also delivered His people to the sword, And was filled with wrath at His inheritance. 63 Fire devoured His young men, And His virgins had no wedding songs. 64 His priests fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep. 65 Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, Like a warrior overcome by wine. 66 He drove His adversaries backward ; He put on them an everlasting reproach. 67 He also rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. 69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has founded forever. 70 He also chose David His servant And took him from the sheepfolds ; 71 From the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. 72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands. [[slnc 10000]]

• Psalm 79 (1:07)

Psalm 79 1 O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance ; They have defiled Your holy temple ; They have laid Jerusalem in ruins. 2 They have given the dead bodies of Your servants for food to the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth. 3 They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem ; And there was no one to bury them. 4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to those around us. 5 How long, O LORD ? Will You be angry forever ? Will Your jealousy burn like fire ? 6 Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You, And upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name. 7 For they have devoured Jacob And laid waste his habitation. 8 Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us; Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us, For we are brought very low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name ; And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name's sake. 10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God ?" Let there be known among the nations in our sight, Vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed. 11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are doomed to die. 12 And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. 13 So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture Will give thanks to You forever ; To all generations we will tell of Your praise. [[slnc 10000]]

• Psalm 80 (1:19)

Psalm 80 1 Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock ; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth ! 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And come to save us! 3 O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. 4 O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people ? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. 6 You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 O God of hosts, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. 8 You removed a vine from Egypt ; You drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shadow, And the cedars of God with its boughs. 11 It was sending out its branches to the sea And its shoots to the River. 12 Why have You broken down its hedges, So that all who pass that way pick its fruit? 13 A boar from the forest eats it away And whatever moves in the field feeds on it. 14 O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, 15 Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted, And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down ; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. 18 Then we shall not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. 19 O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. [[slnc 10000]]

• Song-of-Solomon 4 (1:38)

Song of Solomon 4 1 "How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil ; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead. 2 "Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. 3 "Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. 4 "Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with rows of stones On which are hung a thousand shields, All the round shields of the mighty men. 5 "Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle Which feed among the lilies. 6 "Until the cool of the day When the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. 7 "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you. 8 "Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, May you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of Amana, From the summit of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions, From the mountains of leopards. 9 "You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride ; You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand of your necklace. 10 "How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride ! How much better is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than all kinds of spices ! 11 "Your lips, my bride, drip honey ; Honey and milk are under your tongue, And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 "A garden locked is my sister, my bride, A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up. 13 "Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates With choice fruits , henna with nard plants, 14 Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices. 15 "You are a garden spring, A well of fresh water, And streams flowing from Lebanon." 16 "Awake, O north wind, And come, wind of the south ; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad. May my beloved come into his garden And eat its choice fruits !" [[slnc 10000]]

• 2 Kings 20 (2:20)

2 Kings 20 1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' " 2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly . 4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears ; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 "I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria ; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.""' 7 Then Isaiah said, "Take a cake of figs." And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD the third day ?" 9 Isaiah said, "This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that He has spoken : shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps ?" 10 So Hezekiah answered, "It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps ; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps." 11 Isaiah the prophet cried to the LORD, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures 12 At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon." 15 He said, "What have they seen in your house ?" So Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house ; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them." 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD. 17 'Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon ; nothing shall be left,' says the LORD. 18 'Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.' " 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days ?" 20 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah ? 21 So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place. [[slnc 10000]]

• 2 Kings 21 (2:34)

2 Kings 21 1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed ; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name." 5 For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD provoking Him to anger. 7 Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. 8 "And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them." 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel. The King's Idolatries Rebuked 10 Now the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, 11 "Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols ; 12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. 13 'I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 'I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies ; 15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.' " 16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another ; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah ? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son became king in his place. Amon Succeeds Manasseh 19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem ; and his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. 21 For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. 22 So he forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 23 The servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house. 24 Then the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah ? 26 He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place. [[slnc 10000]]

• Galatians 5 (1:56)

Galatians 5 1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free ; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law ; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well ; who hindered you from obeying the truth ? 8 This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view ; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted ? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves. 13 For you were called to freedom, brethren ; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control ; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. [[slnc 10000]]

• Luke 18 (3:28)

Luke 18 1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' 4 "For a while he was unwilling ; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.' " 6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said ; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth ?" The Pharisee and the Publican 9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt : 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself : 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people : swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week ; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner !' 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other ; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." 15 And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." The Rich Young Ruler 18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good ? No one is good except God alone. 20 "You know the commandments, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.' " 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack ; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven ; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God ! 25 "For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 26 They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved ?" 27 But He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." 28 Peter said, "Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You." 29 And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life." 31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 "For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33 and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again." 34 But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said. Bartimaeus Receives Sight 35 As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet ; but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight !" 42 And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight ; your faith has made you well." 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God ; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. [[slnc 10000]]