READ THE BIBLE IN A YEAR - VERSES OF THE DAY - NUMBERS 30, LUKE 20, PROVERBS 19

Joyce Meyer - Be Confident (1)

Numbers 30

Vows

 ^{1 [n]}Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the LORD commands: ² When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

 ³ “When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the LORD or obligates

herself by a pledge ⁴ and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand. ⁵ But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the LORD will release her because her father has forbidden her.

 ⁶ “If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself ⁷ and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. ⁸ But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the LORD will release her.

 ⁹ “Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.

 ¹⁰ “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath ¹¹ and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. ¹² But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will release her. ¹³ Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.^{[o] 14} But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. ¹⁵ If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.”

 ¹⁶ These are the regulations the LORD gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.

Luke 20

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

 ¹ One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

 ³ He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

 ⁵ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

 ⁷ So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”
 ⁸ Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

 ⁹ He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
   ¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
   ¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
   “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
   When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
 ¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

   “‘The stone the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone’^[e]?

   ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
 ¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

 ²⁰ Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. ²¹ So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²² Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
 ²³ He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
   “Caesar’s,” they replied.
 ²⁵ He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
 ²⁶ They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

The Resurrection and Marriage

 ²⁷ Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
 ³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[f] 38} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
 ³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

 ⁴¹ Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? ⁴² David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:

   “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
   “Sit at my right hand
⁴³ until I make your enemies
   a footstool for your feet.”’^[g]

   ⁴⁴ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

 ⁴⁵ While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Proverbs 19

 ¹ Better the poor whose walk is blameless
   than a fool whose lips are perverse.
 ² Desire without knowledge is not good—
   how much more will hasty feet miss the way!
 ³ A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
   yet their heart rages against the LORD.
 ⁴ Wealth attracts many friends,
   but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

 ⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished,
   and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

 ⁶ Many curry favor with a ruler,
   and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.
 ⁷ The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
   how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
   they are nowhere to be found.^[a]
 8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;
   the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.
 ⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,
   and whoever pours out lies will perish.
 ¹⁰ It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
   how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
 ¹¹ A person’s wisdom yields patience;
   it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
 ¹² A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
   but his favor is like dew on the grass.
 ¹³ A foolish child is a father’s ruin,
   and a quarrelsome wife is like
   the constant dripping of a leaky roof.
 ¹⁴ Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
   but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
 ¹⁵ Laziness brings on deep sleep,
   and the shiftless go hungry.
 ¹⁶ Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
   but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.
 ¹⁷ Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
   and he will reward them for what they have done.
 ¹⁸ Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
   do not be a willing party to their death.
 ¹⁹ A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
   rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
 ²⁰ Listen to advice and accept discipline,
   and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
 ²¹ Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
   but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
 ²² What a person desires is unfailing love^[b];
   better to be poor than a liar.
 ²³ The fear of the LORD leads to life;
   then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
 ²⁴ A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
   he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
 ²⁵ Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
   rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.
 ²⁶ Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother
   is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
 ²⁷ Stop listening to instruction, my son,
   and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
 ²⁸ A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
   and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
 ²⁹ Penalties are prepared for mockers,
   and beatings for the backs of fools.