READ THE BIBLE IN A YEAR - VERSES OF THE DAY- EXODUS 15, MARK 2, PSALMS 17

Exodus 15

The Song of Moses and Miriam

 ¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

   “I will sing to the LORD,
   for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
   he has hurled into the sea.

 ² “The LORD is my strength and my defense^[f];
   he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
   my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³ The LORD is a warrior;
   the LORD is his name.
⁴

Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
   he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
   are drowned in the Red Sea.^[g]
5 The deep waters have covered them;
   they sank to the depths like a stone.
⁶ Your right hand, LORD,
   was majestic in power.
Your right hand, LORD,
   shattered the enemy.

 ⁷ “In the greatness of your majesty
   you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
   it consumed them like stubble.
⁸ By the blast of your nostrils
   the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
   the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹ The enemy boasted,
   ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
   I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
   and my hand will destroy them.’
¹⁰ But you blew with your breath,
   and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
   in the mighty waters.
¹¹ Who among the gods
   is like you, LORD?
Who is like you—
   majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
   working wonders?
 ¹² “You stretch out your right hand,
   and the earth swallows your enemies.
¹³ In your unfailing love you will lead
   the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
   to your holy dwelling.
¹⁴ The nations will hear and tremble;
   anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
¹⁵ The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
   the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people^[h] of Canaan will melt away;
 ¹⁶ terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
   they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, LORD,
   until the people you bought^[i] pass by.
¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
   on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, LORD, you made for your dwelling,
   the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
 ¹⁸ “The LORD reigns
   for ever and ever.”
 ¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen^[j] went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang to them:
   “Sing to the LORD,
   for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
   he has hurled into the sea.”

The Waters of Marah and Elim

 ²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.^[k]) ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”

 ²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

   There the LORD issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. ²⁶ He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

 ²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Mark 2

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

 ¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

 ⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
 ⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

 ¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
 ¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
 ¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

 ¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
 ¹⁹ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

   ²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²² And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

 ²³ One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

 ²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

 ²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Psalm 17

A prayer of David.

 ¹ Hear me, LORD, my plea is just;
   listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
   it does not rise from deceitful lips.
² Let my vindication come from you;
   may your eyes see what is right.
 ³ Though you probe my heart,
   though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
   my mouth has not transgressed.
⁴ Though people tried to bribe me,
   I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
   through what your lips have commanded.
⁵ My steps have held to your paths;
   my feet have not stumbled.
 ⁶ I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
   turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
⁷ Show me the wonders of your great love,
   you who save by your right hand
   those who take refuge in you from their foes.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
   hide me in the shadow of your wings
⁹ from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
   from my mortal enemies who surround me.
 ¹⁰ They close up their callous hearts,
   and their mouths speak with arrogance.
¹¹ They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
   with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
¹² They are like a lion hungry for prey,
   like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
 ¹³ Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down;
   with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
¹⁴ By your hand save me from such people, LORD,
   from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
   may their children gorge themselves on it,
   and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
 ¹⁵ As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
   when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.