Daily Bible GNT December 30 Scroll

A Man with an Evil Spirit
(Mark 1.21-28)

Luke 4 ³¹Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where he taught the people on the Sabbath. ³²They were all amazed at the way he taught, because he spoke with authority. ³³In the synagogue was a man who had the spirit of an evil demon in him; he screamed out in a loud voice, ³⁴"Ah! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are: you are God's holy messenger!"

³⁵Jesus ordered the spirit, "Be quiet and come out of the man!" The demon threw the man down in front of them and went out of him without doing him any harm.

³⁶The people were all amazed and said to one another, "What kind of words are these? With authority and power this man gives orders to the evil spirits, and they come out!" ³⁷And the report about Jesus spread everywhere in that region.

Jesus Heals Many People
(Matthew 8.14-17; Mark 1.29-34)

³⁸Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon's home. Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, and they spoke to Jesus about her. ³⁹He went and stood at her bedside and ordered the fever to leave her. The fever left her, and she got up at once and began to wait on them.

⁴⁰After sunset all who had friends who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them all. ⁴¹Demons also went out from many people, screaming, "You are the Son of God!"

Jesus gave the demons an order and would not let them speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

Jesus Preaches in the Synagogues
(Mark 1.35-39)

⁴²At daybreak Jesus left the town and went off to a lonely place. The people started looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving. ⁴³But he said to them, "I must preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God in other towns also, because that is what God sent me to do."

⁴⁴So he preached in the synagogues throughout the country.

The Prince and the Festivals

Ezekiel 46 The Sovereign LORD says, "The east gateway to the inner courtyard must be kept closed during the six working days, but it is to be opened on the Sabbath and at the New Moon Festival. ²The ruling prince will go from the outer courtyard into the entrance room of the gateway and stand beside the posts of the gate while the priests burn his sacrifices whole and offer his fellowship offerings. There at the gate he must worship and then go back out. The gate must not be shut until evening. ³Each Sabbath and each New Moon Festival all the people are also to bow down and worship the LORD in front of the gate. ⁴On the Sabbath the prince is to bring to the LORD, as sacrifices to be burned whole, six lambs and one ram, all without any defects. ⁵With each ram he is to bring an offering of half a bushel of grain, and with each lamb he is to bring whatever he wants to give. For each half-bushel of grain offering he is to bring three quarts of olive oil. ⁶At the New Moon Festival he will offer a young bull, six lambs, and a ram, all without any defects. ⁷With each bull and each ram the offering is to be half a bushel of grain, and with each lamb the offering is to be whatever the prince wants to give. Three quarts of olive oil are to be offered with each half-bushel of grain. ⁸The prince must leave the entrance room of the gateway and go out by the same way he went in.

⁹"When the people come to worship the LORD at any festival, those who enter by the north gate are to leave by the south gate after they have worshiped, and those who enter by the south gate are to leave by the north gate. No one may go out by the same way he entered, but must leave by the opposite gate. ¹⁰The prince is to come in when the people come, and leave when they leave. ¹¹On the feast days and at the festivals the grain offering will be half a bushel with each bull or ram, and whatever the worshiper wants to give with each lamb. Three quarts of olive oil are to be offered with each half-bushel of grain.

¹²"When the ruling prince wants to make a voluntary offering to the LORD, either an offering to be burned whole or a fellowship offering, the east gate to the inner courtyard will be opened for him. He is to make the offering in the same way he does on the Sabbath, and the gate is to be closed after he goes back out."

The Daily Offering

¹³The LORD says, "Every morning a one-year-old lamb without any defects is to be burned whole as an offering to the LORD. This offering must be made every day. ¹⁴Also an offering of five pounds of flour is to be made every morning, along with one quart of olive oil for mixing with the flour. The rules for this offering to the LORD are to be in force forever. ¹⁵The lamb, the flour, and the olive oil are to be offered to the LORD every morning forever."

The Prince and the Land

¹⁶The Sovereign LORD commands: "If the ruling prince gives any of the land he owns to one of his sons as a present, it will belong to that son as a part of his family property. ¹⁷But if the ruling prince gives any of his land to anyone who is in his service, it will become the prince's property again when the Year of Restoration comes. It belongs to him, and only he and his sons can own it permanently. ¹⁸The ruling prince must not take any of the people's property away from them. Any land he gives to his sons must be from the land that is assigned to him, so that he will not oppress any of my people by taking their land."

The Temple Kitchens

¹⁹Then the man took me to the entrance of the rooms facing north near the gate on the south side of the inner courtyard. These are holy rooms for the priests. He pointed out a place on the west side of the rooms ²⁰and said, "This is the place where the priests are to boil the meat offered as sacrifices for sin or as repayment offerings, and to bake the offerings of flour, so that nothing holy is carried to the outer courtyard, where it might harm the people."

^21-22Then he led me to the outer courtyard and showed me that in each of its four corners there was a smaller courtyard, 68 feet long and 48 feet wide. ²³Each one had a stone wall around it, with fireplaces built against the wall. ²⁴The man told me, "These are the kitchens where the Temple servants are to boil the sacrifices the people offer."

The Stream Flowing from the Temple

Ezekiel 47 The man led me back to the entrance of the Temple. Water was coming out from under the entrance and flowing east, the direction the Temple faced. It was flowing down from under the south part of the Temple past the south side of the altar. ²The man then took me out of the Temple area by way of the north gate and led me around to the gate that faces east. A small stream of water was flowing out at the south side of the gate. ³With his measuring rod the man measured 560 yards downstream to the east and told me to wade through the stream there. The water came only to my ankles. ⁴Then he measured another 560 yards, and the water came up to my knees. Another 560 yards farther down, the water was up to my waist. ⁵He measured 560 yards more, and there the stream was so deep I could not wade through it. It was too deep to cross except by swimming. ⁶He said to me, "Mortal man, note all this carefully."

Then the man took me back to the riverbank, ⁷and when I got there, I saw that there were very many trees on each bank. ⁸He said to me, "This water flows through the land to the east and down into the Jordan Valley and to the Dead Sea. When it flows into the Dead Sea, it replaces the salt water of that sea with fresh water. ⁹Wherever the stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life. ¹⁰From the Springs of Engedi all the way to the Springs of Eneglaim, there will be fishermen on the shore of the sea, and they will spread out their nets there to dry. There will be as many different kinds of fish there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹But the water in the marshes and ponds along the shore will not be made fresh. They will remain there as a source of salt. ¹²On each bank of the stream all kinds of trees will grow to provide food. Their leaves will never wither, and they will never stop bearing fruit. They will have fresh fruit every month, because they are watered by the stream that flows from the Temple. The trees will provide food, and their leaves will be used for healing people."

The Boundaries of the Land

¹³The Sovereign LORD said, "These are the boundaries of the land that is to be divided among the twelve tribes, with the tribe of Joseph receiving two sections. ¹⁴I solemnly promised your ancestors that I would give them possession of this land; now divide it equally among you.

¹⁵"The northern boundary runs eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Hethlon, to Hamath Pass, to the city of Zedad, ¹⁶to the cities of Berothah and Sibraim (they are located between the territory of the kingdom of Damascus and that of the kingdom of Hamath), and to the city of Ticon (located by the border of the district of Hauran). ¹⁷So the northern boundary runs from the Mediterranean eastward to Enon City, with the border regions of Damascus and Hamath to the north of it.

¹⁸"The eastern boundary runs south from a point between the territory of Damascus and that of Hauran, with the Jordan River forming the boundary between the land of Israel on the west and Gilead on the east, as far as Tamar on the Dead Sea.

¹⁹"The southern boundary runs southwest from Tamar to the oasis of Kadesh Meribah and then northwest along the Egyptian border to the Mediterranean Sea.

²⁰"The western boundary is formed by the Mediterranean and runs north to a point west of Hamath Pass.

²¹"Divide this land among your tribes; ²²it is to be your permanent possession. The foreigners who are living among you and who have had children born here are also to receive their share of the land when you divide it. They are to be treated like full Israelite citizens and are to draw lots for shares of the land along with the tribes of Israel. ²³All foreign residents will receive their share with the people of the tribe among whom they are living. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

God's Punishment of the Rebellious

Isaiah 65 The LORD said, "I was ready to answer my people's prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to me, even though I was always ready to answer, 'Here I am; I will help you.' ²I have always been ready to welcome my people, who stubbornly do what is wrong and go their own way. ³They shamelessly keep on making me angry. They offer pagan sacrifices at sacred gardens and burn incense on pagan altars. ⁴At night they go to caves and tombs to consult the spirits of the dead. They eat pork and drink broth made from meat offered in pagan sacrifices. ⁵And then they say to others, 'Keep away from us; we are too holy for you to touch!' I cannot stand people like that--my anger against them is like a fire that never goes out.

⁶"I have already decided on their punishment, and their sentence is written down. I will not overlook what they have done, but will repay them ⁷for their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They have burned incense at pagan hill shrines and spoken evil of me. So I will punish them as their past deeds deserve."

⁸The LORD says, "No one destroys good grapes; instead, they make wine with them. Neither will I destroy all my people--I will save those who serve me. ⁹I will bless the Israelites who belong to the tribe of Judah, and their descendants will possess my land of mountains. My chosen people, who serve me, will live there. ¹⁰They will worship me and will lead their sheep and cattle to pasture in the Plain of Sharon in the west and in Trouble Valley in the east.

¹¹"But it will be different for you that forsake me, who ignore Zion, my sacred hill, and worship Gad and Meni, the gods of luck and fate. ¹²It will be your fate to die a violent death, because you did not answer when I called you or listen when I spoke. You chose to disobey me and do evil. ¹³And so I tell you that those who worship and obey me will have plenty to eat and drink, but you will be hungry and thirsty. They will be happy, but you will be disgraced. ¹⁴They will sing for joy, but you will cry with a broken heart. ¹⁵My chosen people will use your name as a curse. I, the Sovereign LORD, will put you to death. But I will give a new name to those who obey me. ¹⁶Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing will ask to be blessed by the faithful God. Whoever takes an oath will swear by the name of the faithful God. The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten."

The New Creation

¹⁷The LORD says, "I am making a new earth and new heavens. The events of the past will be completely forgotten. ¹⁸Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy. ¹⁹I myself will be filled with joy because of Jerusalem and her people. There will be no weeping there, no calling for help. ²⁰Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. Those who live to be a hundred will be considered young. To die before that would be a sign that I had punished them. ^21-22People will build houses and get to live in them--they will not be used by someone else. They will plant vineyards and enjoy the wine--it will not be drunk by others. Like trees, my people will live long lives. They will fully enjoy the things that they have worked for. ²³The work they do will be successful, and their children will not meet with disaster. I will bless them and their descendants for all time to come. ²⁴Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers. ²⁵Wolves and lambs will eat together; lions will eat straw, as cattle do, and snakes will no longer be dangerous. On Zion, my sacred hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil."

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.