READ THE BIBLE IN A YEAR - VERSES OF THE DAY - LEVITICUS 19, LUKE 3, PSALMS 23

 

BE YOURSELF (Part 1)

Leviticus 19

Various Laws

 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

 ³ “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

 ⁴ “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
 ⁵ “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. ⁶ It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over
until the third day must be burned up. ⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. ⁸ Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the LORD; they must be cut off from their people.
 ⁹ “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
 ¹¹ “‘Do not steal.
   “‘Do not lie.
   “‘Do not deceive one another.
 ¹² “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
 ¹³ “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
   “‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
 ¹⁴ “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
 ¹⁵ “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

 ¹⁶ “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

   “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
 ¹⁷ “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
 ¹⁸ “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
 ¹⁹ “‘Keep my decrees.
   “‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.
   “‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
   “‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
 ²⁰ “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.^[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. ²¹ The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD. ²² With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.
 ²³ “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.^[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden^[c]; it must not be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.
 ²⁶ “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.
   “‘Do not practice divination or seek omens.
 ²⁷ “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
 ²⁸ “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
 ²⁹ “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
 ³⁰ “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
 ³¹ “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
 ³² “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.
 ³³ “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. ³⁴ The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
 ³⁵ “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. ³⁶ Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah^[d] and an honest hin.^[e] I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

 ³⁷ “‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.’”

Luke 3

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

 ¹ In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— ² during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

   “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
   make straight paths for him.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled in,
   every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
   the rough ways smooth.
⁶ And all people will see God’s salvation.’”^[g]
 7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
 ¹⁰ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
 ¹¹ John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
 ¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
 ¹³ “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
 ¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

   He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

 ¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with^[h] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with^[i] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
 ¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, ²⁰ Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

 ²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
 ²³ Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
   the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat,
   the son of Levi, the son of Melki,
   the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
 ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,

   the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,

   the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath,
   the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,
   the son of Josek, the son of Joda,
 ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,
   the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
   the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melki,
   the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,
   the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
 ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,
   the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,
   the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon,
   the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,
   the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
 ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna,
   the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,
   the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse,
   the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,
   the son of Salmon,^[j] the son of Nahshon,
 ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,^[k]
   the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,
   the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob,
   the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
   the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
 ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu,
   the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,
   the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan,
   the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
   the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
 ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
   the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,
   the son of Kenan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh,
   the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
   the son of God.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,^[i]
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.

 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.