Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Joshua 21:1–22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:1-13; and Proverbs 13:15-16. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.
Joshua 21-22:20 (Contemporary English Version)
Joshua 21
Levi's Towns
1-2While the Israelites were still camped at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the family leaders of the Levi tribe went to speak to the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders of the other Israelite tribes. The leaders of Levi said, " The LORD told Moses that you have to give us towns and provide pastures for our animals." [a] 3Since the LORD had said this, the leaders of the other Israelite tribes agreed to give some of the towns and pastures from their tribal lands to Levi. 4The leaders asked the LORD to show them [b] in what order the clans of Levi would be given towns, and which towns each clan would receive. The Kohath clans were first. The descendants of Aaron, Israel's first priest, [c] were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5The other members of the Kohath clans received ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh. 6The clans that were descendants of Gershon were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and East Manasseh. 7The clans that were descendants of Merari [d] received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8The LORD had told Moses that he would show the Israelites which towns and pastures to give to the clans of Levi, and he did.
Towns from Judah, Simeon, Benjamin
9-19 The descendants of Aaron from the Kohath clans of Levi were priests, and they were chosen to receive towns first. They were given thirteen towns and the pastureland around them. Nine of these towns were from the tribes of Judah and Simeon and four from Benjamin. Hebron, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ashan, [e] Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh were from Judah and Simeon. Hebron, located in the hill country of Judah, was earlier called Arba's Town. [f]It had been named after Arba, the ancestor of the Anakim. [g] Hebron's pasturelands went along with the town, but its farmlands and the villages around it had been given to Caleb. [h] Hebron was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone. Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon were from Benjamin.
Towns from Ephraim, Dan, West Manasseh
20-26 The rest of the Kohath clans of the Levi tribe received ten towns and the pastureland around them. Four of these towns were from the tribe of Ephraim, four from Dan, and two from West Manasseh. Shechem, Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-Horon were from Ephraim. Shechem was located in the hill country, and it was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.
Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon were from Dan.
Taanach and Jibleam [i] were from West Manasseh.
Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon were from Dan.
Taanach and Jibleam [i] were from West Manasseh.
Towns from East Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali
27-33 The clans of Levi that were descendants of Gershon received thirteen towns and the pastureland around them. Two of these towns were from the tribe of East Manasseh, four from Issachar, four from Asher, and three from Naphtali. Golan in Bashan and Beeshterah were from East Manasseh.
Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-Gannim were from Issachar.
Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob were from Asher.
Kedesh in Galilee, Hammothdor, and Kartan were from Naphtali. Golan in Bashan and Kedesh in Galilee were also Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.
Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-Gannim were from Issachar.
Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob were from Asher.
Kedesh in Galilee, Hammothdor, and Kartan were from Naphtali. Golan in Bashan and Kedesh in Galilee were also Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.
Towns from Zebulun, Reuben, Gad
34-40 The rest of the Levi clans were descendants of Merari, and they received twelve towns with the pastureland around them. Four towns were from the tribe of Zebulun, four from Reuben, and four from Gad. Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmonah, [j] and Nahalal were from Zebulun. Bezer, Jazah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath were from Reuben. Bezer was located in the desert flatlands east of the Jordan River across from Jericho. [k] Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer were from Gad.
Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns [l] for people who had accidentally killed someone. 41-42The people of the Levi tribe had a total of forty-eight towns within Israel, and they had pastures around each one of their towns.
Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns [l] for people who had accidentally killed someone. 41-42The people of the Levi tribe had a total of forty-eight towns within Israel, and they had pastures around each one of their towns.
Israel Settles in the Land
43The LORD gave the Israelites the land he had promised their ancestors, and they captured it and settled in it. 44There still were enemies around Israel, but the LORD kept his promise to let his people live in peace. And whenever the Israelites did have to go to war, no enemy could defeat them. The LORD always helped Israel win. 45The LORD promised to do many good things for Israel, and he kept his promise every time.
Joshua 22
The Two and a Half Tribes Return Home
1Joshua had the men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh come for a meeting, and he told them: 2-3You have obeyed every command of the LORD your God and of his servant Moses. And you have done everything I've told you to do. It's taken a long time, but you have stayed and helped your relatives. 4The LORD promised to give peace to your relatives, and that's what he has done. Now it's time for you to go back to your own homes in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan River.
5Moses taught you to love the LORD your God, to be faithful to him, and to worship and obey him with your whole heart and with all your strength. So be very careful to do everything Moses commanded.
6-9You've become rich from what you've taken from your enemies. You have big herds of cattle, lots of silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and plenty of clothes. Take everything home with you and share with the people of your tribe.
I pray that God will be kind to you. You are now free to go home.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad started back to Gilead, their own land. Moses had given the land of Bashan to the East Manasseh tribe, so they started back along with Reuben and Gad. God had told Moses that these two and a half tribes should conquer Gilead and Bashan, and they had done so.
Joshua had given land west of the Jordan River to the other half of the Manasseh tribe, so they stayed at Shiloh in the land of Canaan with the rest of the Israelites.
10-11The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh reached the western side of the Jordan River valley [m] and built a huge altar there beside the river. When the rest of the Israelites heard what these tribes had done, [n] 12the Israelite men met at Shiloh to get ready to attack the two and a half tribes. 13But first they sent a priest, Phinehas the son of Eleazar, to talk with the two and a half tribes. 14Each of the tribes at Shiloh sent the leader of one of its families along with Phinehas. 15Phinehas and these leaders went to Gilead and met with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. They said:
16All of the LORD's people have gathered together and have sent us to find out why you are unfaithful to our God. You have turned your backs on the LORD by building that altar. Why are you rebelling against him? 17Wasn't our people's sin at Peor [o] terrible enough for you? The LORD punished us by sending a horrible sickness that killed many of us, and we still suffer because of that sin. [p] 18Now you are turning your backs on the LORD again. If you don't stop rebelling against the LORD right now, he will be angry at the whole nation. 19If you don't think your land is a fit place to serve God, then move across the Jordan and live with us in the LORD's own land, where his sacred tent is located. But don't rebel against the LORD our God or against us by building another altar besides the LORD's own altar. [q] 20Don't you remember what happened when Achan was unfaithful [r] and took some of the things that belonged to God? This made God angry with the entire nation. Achan died because he sinned, but he also caused the death of many others.
Footnotes:- Joshua 21:1 The LORD told Moses. . . animals: See Numbers 35.1-8.
- Joshua 21:4 asked the LORD to show them: Hebrew " cast lots to find out." See the note at 14.1-5.
- Joshua 21:4 The descendants. . . priest: Hebrew text; three ancient translations " The priests, the descendants of Aaron." The male descendants of Aaron would also be priests.
- Joshua 21:7 Kohath. . . Gershon. . . Merari: Sons of Levi, the ancestor of the tribe of Levi.
- Joshua 21:9 Ashan: One ancient translation and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 6.59; Hebrew " Ain."
- Joshua 21:9 Arba's Town: See the note at 14.15.
- Joshua 21:9 Anakim: See the note at 11.21.
- Joshua 21:9 Caleb: See 14.6-14.
- Joshua 21:20 Jibleam: One ancient translation and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 6.70; Hebrew " "Gath-Rimmon.""
- Joshua 21:34 Rimmonah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Joshua 21:34 Bezer. . . Jericho: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Joshua 21:34 Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Ramoth in Gilead was a Safe Town."
- Joshua 22:10 western. . . valley: Or " the town of Geliloth, which is in the land of Canaan near the Jordan River."
- Joshua 22:10 built a huge altar. . . tribes had done: According to Deuteronomy 12.5-14, the LORD wanted the Israelites to have only one altar for offering sacrifices. To build another altar would be to disobey the LORD.
- Joshua 22:17 our people's sin at Peor: See Numbers 25.
- Joshua 22:17 we still. . . sin: Or " There are still people in Israel who want to worship other gods."
- Joshua 22:19 or against. . . altar: Or " by building another altar besides the LORD's own altar. That would even make us into rebels along with you."
- Joshua 22:20 Achan was unfaithful: See 7.1,26.
5Moses taught you to love the LORD your God, to be faithful to him, and to worship and obey him with your whole heart and with all your strength. So be very careful to do everything Moses commanded.
6-9You've become rich from what you've taken from your enemies. You have big herds of cattle, lots of silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and plenty of clothes. Take everything home with you and share with the people of your tribe.
I pray that God will be kind to you. You are now free to go home.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad started back to Gilead, their own land. Moses had given the land of Bashan to the East Manasseh tribe, so they started back along with Reuben and Gad. God had told Moses that these two and a half tribes should conquer Gilead and Bashan, and they had done so.
Joshua had given land west of the Jordan River to the other half of the Manasseh tribe, so they stayed at Shiloh in the land of Canaan with the rest of the Israelites.
10-11The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh reached the western side of the Jordan River valley [m] and built a huge altar there beside the river. When the rest of the Israelites heard what these tribes had done, [n] 12the Israelite men met at Shiloh to get ready to attack the two and a half tribes. 13But first they sent a priest, Phinehas the son of Eleazar, to talk with the two and a half tribes. 14Each of the tribes at Shiloh sent the leader of one of its families along with Phinehas. 15Phinehas and these leaders went to Gilead and met with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. They said:
16All of the LORD's people have gathered together and have sent us to find out why you are unfaithful to our God. You have turned your backs on the LORD by building that altar. Why are you rebelling against him? 17Wasn't our people's sin at Peor [o] terrible enough for you? The LORD punished us by sending a horrible sickness that killed many of us, and we still suffer because of that sin. [p] 18Now you are turning your backs on the LORD again. If you don't stop rebelling against the LORD right now, he will be angry at the whole nation. 19If you don't think your land is a fit place to serve God, then move across the Jordan and live with us in the LORD's own land, where his sacred tent is located. But don't rebel against the LORD our God or against us by building another altar besides the LORD's own altar. [q] 20Don't you remember what happened when Achan was unfaithful [r] and took some of the things that belonged to God? This made God angry with the entire nation. Achan died because he sinned, but he also caused the death of many others.
Footnotes:
- Joshua 21:1 The LORD told Moses. . . animals: See Numbers 35.1-8.
- Joshua 21:4 asked the LORD to show them: Hebrew " cast lots to find out." See the note at 14.1-5.
- Joshua 21:4 The descendants. . . priest: Hebrew text; three ancient translations " The priests, the descendants of Aaron." The male descendants of Aaron would also be priests.
- Joshua 21:7 Kohath. . . Gershon. . . Merari: Sons of Levi, the ancestor of the tribe of Levi.
- Joshua 21:9 Ashan: One ancient translation and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 6.59; Hebrew " Ain."
- Joshua 21:9 Arba's Town: See the note at 14.15.
- Joshua 21:9 Anakim: See the note at 11.21.
- Joshua 21:9 Caleb: See 14.6-14.
- Joshua 21:20 Jibleam: One ancient translation and the parallel in 1 Chronicles 6.70; Hebrew " "Gath-Rimmon.""
- Joshua 21:34 Rimmonah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Joshua 21:34 Bezer. . . Jericho: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Joshua 21:34 Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Ramoth in Gilead was a Safe Town."
- Joshua 22:10 western. . . valley: Or " the town of Geliloth, which is in the land of Canaan near the Jordan River."
- Joshua 22:10 built a huge altar. . . tribes had done: According to Deuteronomy 12.5-14, the LORD wanted the Israelites to have only one altar for offering sacrifices. To build another altar would be to disobey the LORD.
- Joshua 22:17 our people's sin at Peor: See Numbers 25.
- Joshua 22:17 we still. . . sin: Or " There are still people in Israel who want to worship other gods."
- Joshua 22:19 or against. . . altar: Or " by building another altar besides the LORD's own altar. That would even make us into rebels along with you."
- Joshua 22:20 Achan was unfaithful: See 7.1,26.
Luke 20:1-26 (Contemporary English Version)
Luke 20
A Question about Jesus' Authority
(Matthew 21.23-27; Mark 11.27-33)
1One day, Jesus was teaching in the temple and telling the good news. So the chief priests, the teachers, and the nation's leaders 2asked him, "What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?" 3Jesus replied, "I want to ask you a question. 4Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?"
5They talked this over and said to each other, "We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 6And we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize. The crowd will stone us to death, because they think John was a prophet."
7So they told Jesus, "We don't know who gave John the right to baptize."
8Jesus replied, "Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do."
5They talked this over and said to each other, "We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 6And we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize. The crowd will stone us to death, because they think John was a prophet."
7So they told Jesus, "We don't know who gave John the right to baptize."
8Jesus replied, "Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do."
Renters of a Vineyard
(Matthew 21.33-46; Mark 12.1-12)
9Jesus told the people this story: A man once planted a vineyard and rented it out. Then he left the country for a long time. 10When it was time to harvest the crop, he sent a servant to ask the renters for his share of the grapes. But they beat up the servant and sent him away without anything. 11So the owner sent another servant. The renters also beat him up. They insulted him terribly and sent him away without a thing. 12The owner sent a third servant. He was also beaten terribly and thrown out of the vineyard.
13The owner then said to himself, "What am I going to do? I know what. I'll send my son, the one I love so much. They will surely respect him!"
14When the renters saw the owner's son, they said to one another, "Someday he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves." 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Jesus asked, "What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? 16I'll tell you what. He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard."
When the people heard this, they said, "This must never happen!"
17But Jesus looked straight at them and said, "Then what do the Scriptures mean when they say, `The stone that the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all'? 18Anyone who stumbles over this stone will get hurt, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces."
19The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses knew that Jesus was talking about them when he was telling this story. They wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the people.
13The owner then said to himself, "What am I going to do? I know what. I'll send my son, the one I love so much. They will surely respect him!"
14When the renters saw the owner's son, they said to one another, "Someday he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves." 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Jesus asked, "What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? 16I'll tell you what. He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard."
When the people heard this, they said, "This must never happen!"
17But Jesus looked straight at them and said, "Then what do the Scriptures mean when they say, `The stone that the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all'? 18Anyone who stumbles over this stone will get hurt, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces."
19The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses knew that Jesus was talking about them when he was telling this story. They wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the people.
Paying Taxes
(Matthew 22.15-22; Mark 12.13-17)
20Jesus' enemies kept watching him closely, because they wanted to hand him over to the Roman governor. So they sent some men who pretended to be good. But they were really spies trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong. 21The spies said to him, "Teacher, we know that you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. 22Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?" 23Jesus knew that they were trying to trick him. So he told them, 24"Show me a coin." Then he asked, "Whose picture and name are on it?"
"The Emperor's," they answered.
25Then he told them, "Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God." 26Jesus' enemies could not catch him saying anything wrong there in front of the people. They were amazed at his answer and kept quiet.
"The Emperor's," they answered.
25Then he told them, "Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God." 26Jesus' enemies could not catch him saying anything wrong there in front of the people. They were amazed at his answer and kept quiet.
Psalm 89:1-13 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 89
(A special psalm by Ethan the Ezrahite.)
The LORD's Agreement with David
1Our LORD, I will sing of your love forever.
Everyone yet to be born
will hear me praise
your faithfulness.
2I will tell them,
"God's love
can always be trusted,
and his faithfulness lasts
as long as the heavens."
3You said, "David, my servant,
is my chosen one,
and this is the agreement
I made with him:
4David, one of your descendants
will always be king."
5Our LORD, let the heavens
now praise your miracles,
and let all of your angels
praise your faithfulness.
6None who live in the heavens
can compare with you.
7You are the most fearsome
of all who live in heaven;
all the others fear
and greatly honor you.
8You are LORD God All-Powerful!
No one is as loving
and faithful as you are.
9You rule the roaring sea
and calm its waves.
10You crushed the monster Rahab, [a] and with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11The heavens and the earth
belong to you.
And so does the world
with all its people
because you created them
12and everything else. [b] Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon
gladly praise you.
13You are strong and mighty!
Footnotes:- Psalm 89:10 Rahab: Many people in the ancient world thought that the world was controlled by this sea monster that the Lord destroyed at the time of creation (see Isaiah 51.9).
- Psalm 89:12 and everything else: The Hebrew text has " Zaphon and Yamin," which may either be the names of mountains or refer to the directions " north and south," with the meaning " everything from north to south."
Everyone yet to be born
will hear me praise
your faithfulness.
2I will tell them,
"God's love
can always be trusted,
and his faithfulness lasts
as long as the heavens."
3You said, "David, my servant,
is my chosen one,
and this is the agreement
I made with him:
4David, one of your descendants
will always be king."
5Our LORD, let the heavens
now praise your miracles,
and let all of your angels
praise your faithfulness.
6None who live in the heavens
can compare with you.
7You are the most fearsome
of all who live in heaven;
all the others fear
and greatly honor you.
8You are LORD God All-Powerful!
No one is as loving
and faithful as you are.
9You rule the roaring sea
and calm its waves.
10You crushed the monster Rahab, [a] and with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11The heavens and the earth
belong to you.
And so does the world
with all its people
because you created them
12and everything else. [b] Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon
gladly praise you.
13You are strong and mighty!
Footnotes:
- Psalm 89:10 Rahab: Many people in the ancient world thought that the world was controlled by this sea monster that the Lord destroyed at the time of creation (see Isaiah 51.9).
- Psalm 89:12 and everything else: The Hebrew text has " Zaphon and Yamin," which may either be the names of mountains or refer to the directions " north and south," with the meaning " everything from north to south."
Proverbs 13:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)
15Sound judgment is praised,
but people without good sense
are on the way to disaster. [a] 16If you have good sense,
you will act sensibly,
but fools act like fools.
Footnotes:- Proverbs 13:15 people. . . disaster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15Sound judgment is praised,
but people without good sense
are on the way to disaster. [a] 16If you have good sense,
you will act sensibly,
but fools act like fools.
but people without good sense
are on the way to disaster. [a] 16If you have good sense,
you will act sensibly,
but fools act like fools.
Footnotes:
- Proverbs 13:15 people. . . disaster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Thought for the Day
“Where is its victory? Where is its sting?" Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin. But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57 - Contemporary English Version) Sin and death are tied together. But the cross freed us from sin and the empty tomb reminds us that death doesn't have the last word. In Jesus Christ, there is victory.
Quote for the Day
American politician, diplomat, and lawyer who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter, Walter F. Mondale wrote, “We have no right to poison, to eat up, to chew, to pollute this wonderful country of ours. We are required to save it and purify it and protect it.”
A Joke for Today