Daily Readings for April 12

Daily Readings for April 12
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Numbers 31

1.Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2."Avenge the children of Israel for the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."

3.Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh's vengeance on Midian. 4.Of every tribe one thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, you shall send to the war." 5.So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6.Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7.They warred against Midian, as Yahweh commanded Moses; and they killed every male. 8.They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword. 9.The children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their livestock, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey. 10.All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire. 11.They took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of animal. 12.They brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho. 13.Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them outside of the camp. 14.Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war. 15.Moses said to them, "Have you saved all the women alive? 16.Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh. 17.Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18.But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

19."Encamp outside of the camp seven days: whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives. 20.As to every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood, you shall purify yourselves."

21.Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, "This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses: 22.however the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23.everything that may withstand the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity: and all that doesn't withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water. 24.You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean; and afterward you shall come into the camp."

25.Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 26."Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' households of the congregation; 27.and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. 28.Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks. 29.Take it of their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for Yahweh's wave offering. 30.Of the children of Israel's half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the tabernacle of Yahweh."

31.Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Yahweh commanded Moses.

32.Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, 33.and seventy-two thousand head of cattle, 34.and sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35.and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him. 36.The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep: 37.and Yahweh's tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. 38.The cattle were thirty-six thousand; of which Yahweh's tribute was seventy-two. 39.The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred; of which Yahweh's tribute was sixty-one. 40.The persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Yahweh's tribute was thirty-two persons. 41.Moses gave the tribute, which was Yahweh's wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh commanded Moses. 42.Of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided off from the men who warred 43.(now the congregation's half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44.and thirty-six thousand head of cattle, 45.and thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46.and sixteen thousand persons), 47.even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the tabernacle of Yahweh; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

48.The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49.and they said to Moses, "Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us. 50.We have brought Yahweh's offering, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh."

51.Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels. 52.All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to Yahweh, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels. 53.(The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.) 54.Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh.

Proverbs 22

1.A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold. 2.The rich and the poor have this in common: Yahweh is the maker of them all. 3.A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it. 4.The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh is wealth, honor, and life. 5.Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them. 6.Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 7.The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender. 8.He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed. 9.He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor. 10.Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop. 11.He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king's friend. 12.The eyes of Yahweh watch over knowledge; but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful. 13.The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!" 14.The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit: he who is under Yahweh's wrath will fall into it. 15.Folly is bound up in the heart of a child: the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 16.Whoever oppresses the poor for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich, both come to poverty.

17.Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching. 18.For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. 19.That your trust may be in Yahweh, I teach you today, even you. 20.Haven't I written to you thirty excellent things of counsel and knowledge, 21.To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you?

22.Don't exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don't crush the needy in court; 23.for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.

24.Don't befriend a hot-tempered man, and don't associate with one who harbors anger: 25.lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul.

26.Don't you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts. 27.If you don't have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?

28.Don't move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up.

29.Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won't serve obscure men.

John 4

1.Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2.(although Jesus himself didn't baptize, but his disciples), 3.he left Judea, and departed into Galilee. 4.He needed to pass through Samaria. 5.So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. 6.Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour¹¹. 7.A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8.For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9.The Samaritan woman therefore said to him, "How is it that you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

10.Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

11.The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From where then have you that living water? 12.Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, as did his children, and his livestock?"

13.Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, 14.but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

15.The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I don't get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw."

16.Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

17.The woman answered, "I have no husband."

Jesus said to her, "You said well, 'I have no husband,' 18.for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly."

19.The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20.Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."

21.Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. 22.You worship that which you don't know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. 23.But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers. 24.God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

25.The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah comes," (he who is called Christ). "When he has come, he will declare to us all things."

26.Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who speaks to you." 27.At this, his disciples came. They marveled that he was speaking with a woman; yet no one said, "What are you looking for?" or, "Why do you speak with her?" 28.So the woman left her water pot, and went away into the city, and said to the people, 29."Come, see a man who told me everything that I did. Can this be the Christ?"

30.They went out of the city, and were coming to him. 31.In the meanwhile, the disciples urged him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

32.But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you don't know about."

33.The disciples therefore said one to another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?"

34.Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. 35.Don't you say, 'There are yet four months until the harvest?' Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already. 36.He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to eternal life; that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37.For in this the saying is true, 'One sows, and another reaps.' 38.I sent you to reap that for which you haven't labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

39.From that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman, who testified, "He told me everything that I did." 40.So when the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed there two days. 41.Many more believed because of his word. 42.They said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

43.After the two days he went out from there and went into Galilee. 44.For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45.So when he came into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went to the feast. 46.Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47.When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48.Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe."

49.The nobleman said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50.Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51.As he was now going down, his servants met him and reported, saying "Your child lives!" 52.So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour,¹² the fever left him." 53.So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." He believed, as did his whole house. 54.This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judea into Galilee.