Daily Bible GNT February 14 Scroll

Let Us Come Near to God

Hebrews 10 ¹⁹We have, then, my friends, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus. ²⁰He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain--that is, through his own body. ²¹We have a great priest in charge of the house of God. ²²So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. ²³Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. ²⁴Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. ²⁵Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.

²⁶For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us. ²⁷Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God! ²⁸Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses. ²⁹What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve! ³⁰For we know who said, "I will take revenge, I will repay"; and who also said, "The Lord will judge his people." ³¹It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

³²Remember how it was with you in the past. In those days, after God's light had shone on you, you suffered many things, yet were not defeated by the struggle. ³³You were at times publicly insulted and mistreated, and at other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way. ³⁴You shared the sufferings of prisoners, and when all your belongings were seized, you endured your loss gladly, because you knew that you still possessed something much better, which would last forever. ³⁵Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward. ³⁶You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises. ³⁷For, as the scripture says,

"Just a little while longer,

and he who is coming will come;

he will not delay.

³⁸My righteous people, however, will believe and live;

but if any of them turns back,

I will not be pleased with them."
³⁹We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

Moses Announces the Death of the First-Born

Exodus 11 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will send only one more punishment on the king of Egypt and his people. After that he will let you leave. In fact, he will drive all of you out of here. ²Now speak to the people of Israel and tell all of them to ask their neighbors for gold and silver jewelry." ³The LORD made the Egyptians respect the Israelites. Indeed, the officials and all the people considered Moses to be a very great man.

⁴Moses then said to the king, "The LORD says, 'At about midnight I will go through Egypt, ⁵and every first-born son in Egypt will die, from the king's son, who is heir to the throne, to the son of the slave woman who grinds grain. The first-born of all the cattle will die also. ⁶There will be loud crying all over Egypt, such as there has never been before or ever will be again. ⁷But not even a dog will bark at the Israelites or their animals. Then you will know that I, the LORD, make a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.'" ⁸Moses concluded by saying, "All your officials will come to me and bow down before me, and they will beg me to take all my people and go away. After that, I will leave." Then in great anger Moses left the king.

⁹The LORD had said to Moses, "The king will continue to refuse to listen to you, in order that I may do more of my miracles in Egypt." ¹⁰Moses and Aaron performed all these miracles before the king, but the LORD made him stubborn, and he would not let the Israelites leave his country.

The Passover

Exodus 12 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt: ²"This month is to be the first month of the year for you. ³Give these instructions to the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must choose either a lamb or a young goat for his household. ⁴If his family is too small to eat a whole animal, he and his next-door neighbor may share an animal, in proportion to the number of people and the amount that each person can eat. ⁵You may choose either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a one-year-old male without any defects. ⁶Then, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the whole community of Israel will kill the animals. ⁷The people are to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses in which the animals are to be eaten. ⁸That night the meat is to be roasted, and eaten with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast. ⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but eat it roasted whole, including the head, the legs, and the internal organs. ¹⁰You must not leave any of it until morning; if any is left over, it must be burned. ¹¹You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. It is the Passover Festival to honor me, the LORD.

¹²"On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. ¹³The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians. ¹⁴You must celebrate this day as a religious festival to remind you of what I, the LORD, have done. Celebrate it for all time to come."

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

¹⁵The LORD said, "For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast--eat only unleavened bread. On the first day you are to get rid of all the yeast in your houses, for if anyone during those seven days eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people. ¹⁶On the first day and again on the seventh day you are to meet for worship. No work is to be done on those days, but you may prepare food. ¹⁷Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival. ¹⁸From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month to the evening of the twenty-first day, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. ^19-20For seven days no yeast must be found in your houses, for if anyone, native-born or foreign, eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people."

The First Passover

²¹Moses called for all the leaders of Israel and said to them, "Each of you is to choose a lamb or a young goat and kill it, so that your families can celebrate Passover. ²²Take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the bowl containing the animal's blood, and wipe the blood on the doorposts and the beam above the door of your house. Not one of you is to leave the house until morning. ²³When the LORD goes through Egypt to kill the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the beams and the doorposts and will not let the Angel of Death enter your houses and kill you. ²⁴You and your children must obey these rules forever. ²⁵When you enter the land that the LORD has promised to give you, you must perform this ritual. ²⁶When your children ask you, 'What does this ritual mean?' ²⁷you will answer, 'It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the LORD, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.'"

The Israelites knelt down and worshiped. ²⁸Then they went and did what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

The Death of the First-Born

²⁹At midnight the LORD killed all the first-born sons in Egypt, from the king's son, who was heir to the throne, to the son of the prisoner in the dungeon; all the first-born of the animals were also killed. ³⁰That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son. ³¹That same night the king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "Get out, you and your Israelites! Leave my country; go and worship the LORD, as you asked. ³²Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and leave. Also pray for a blessing on me."

³³The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country; they said, "We will all be dead if you don't leave." ³⁴So the people filled their baking pans with unleavened dough, wrapped them in clothing, and carried them on their shoulders. ³⁵The Israelites had done as Moses had said, and had asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes. ³⁶The LORD made the Egyptians respect the people and give them what they asked for. In this way the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians.

The Israelites Leave Egypt

³⁷The Israelites set out on foot from Rameses for Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting women and children. ³⁸A large number of other people and many sheep, goats, and cattle also went with them. ³⁹They baked unleavened bread from the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for they had been driven out of Egypt so suddenly that they did not have time to get their food ready or to prepare leavened dough.

⁴⁰The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. ⁴¹On the day the 430 years ended, all the tribes of the LORD's people left Egypt. ⁴²It was a night when the LORD kept watch to bring them out of Egypt; this same night is dedicated to the LORD for all time to come as a night when the Israelites must keep watch.

Regulations about Passover

⁴³The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the Passover regulations: No foreigner shall eat the Passover meal, ⁴⁴but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first. ⁴⁵No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it. ⁴⁶The whole meal must be eaten in the house in which it was prepared; it must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal's bones. ⁴⁷The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival, ⁴⁸but no uncircumcised man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honor the LORD, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival. ⁴⁹The same regulations apply to native-born Israelites and to foreigners who settle among you." ⁵⁰All the Israelites obeyed and did what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹On that day the LORD brought the Israelite tribes out of Egypt.

The Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 4 My children, listen to what your father teaches you. Pay attention, and you will have understanding. ²What I am teaching you is good, so remember it all. ³When I was only a little boy, my parents' only son, ⁴my father would teach me. He would say, "Remember what I say and never forget it. Do as I tell you, and you will live. ⁵Get wisdom and insight! Do not forget or ignore what I say. ⁶Do not abandon wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will keep you safe. ⁷Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight. ⁸Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will bring you honor. ⁹She will be your crowning glory."

¹⁰Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life. ¹¹I have taught you wisdom and the right way to live. ¹²Nothing will stand in your way if you walk wisely, and you will not stumble when you run. ¹³Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life--guard it well. ¹⁴Do not go where evil people go. Do not follow the example of the wicked. ¹⁵Don't do it! Keep away from evil! Refuse it and go on your way. ¹⁶Wicked people cannot sleep unless they have done something wrong. They lie awake unless they have hurt someone. ¹⁷Wickedness and violence are like food and drink to them.

¹⁸The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come. ¹⁹The road of the wicked, however, is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over.

²⁰My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. ²¹Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. ²²They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. ²³Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. ²⁴Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. ²⁵Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don't hang your head in shame. ²⁶Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right. ²⁷Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don't go one step off the right way.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.