Daily Bible CEV April 20 Scroll

Saul Makes Trouble for the Church

Acts 8 At that time the church in Jerusalem suffered terribly. All of the Lord's followers, except the apostles, were scattered everywhere in Judea and Samaria. ³Saul started making a lot of trouble for the church. He went from house to house, arresting men and women and putting them in jail.

The Good News Is Preached in Samaria

⁴The Lord's followers who had been scattered went from place to place, telling the good news. ⁵Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the people about Christ. ⁶They crowded around Philip because they were eager to hear what he was saying and to see him work miracles. ⁷Many people with evil spirits were healed, and the spirits went out of them with a shout. A lot of crippled and lame people were also healed. ⁸Everyone in that city was very glad because of what was happening.

⁹For some time a man named Simon had lived in the city of Samaria and had amazed the people. He practiced witchcraft and claimed to be somebody great. ¹⁰Everyone, rich and poor, crowded around him. They said, "This man is the power of God called 'The Great Power.' "

¹¹For a long time, Simon had used witchcraft to amaze the people, and they kept crowding around him. ¹²But when they believed what Philip was saying about God's kingdom and about the name of Jesus Christ, they were all baptized. ¹³Even Simon believed and was baptized. He stayed close to Philip, because he marveled at all the miracles and wonders.

¹⁴The apostles in Jerusalem heard that some people in Samaria had accepted God's message, and they sent Peter and John. ¹⁵When the two apostles arrived, they prayed that the people would be given the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶Before this, the Holy Spirit had not been given to anyone in Samaria, though some of them had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Peter and John then placed their hands on everyone who had faith in the Lord, and they were given the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Simon noticed that the Spirit was given only when the apostles placed their hands on the people. So he brought money ¹⁹and said to Peter and John, "Let me have this power too! Then anyone I place my hands on will also be given the Holy Spirit."

²⁰Peter said to him, "You and your money will both end up in hell if you think you can buy God's gift! ²¹You don't have any part in this, and God sees that your heart isn't right. ²²Get rid of these evil thoughts and ask God to forgive you. ²³I can see that you are jealous and bound by your evil ways."

²⁴Simon said, "Please pray to the Lord, so that what you said won't happen to me."

²⁵After Peter and John had preached about the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem. On their way they told the good news in many villages of Samaria.

Moses Blesses the Tribes of Israel

Deuteronomy 33 Moses was a prophet, and before he died, he blessed the tribes of Israel by saying:

²The LORD came from Mount Sinai.

From Edom, he gave light to his people,

and his glory was shining from Mount Paran.

Thousands of his warriors were with him,

and fire was at his right hand.

³The LORD loves the tribes of Israel,

and he protects his people.

They listen to his words and worship at his feet.

^*4I called a meeting of the tribes of Israel

and gave you God's Law.

⁵Then you and your leaders made the LORD your king.

⁶Tribe of Reuben, you will live,

even though your tribe will always be small.

⁷The LORD will listen to you, tribe of Judah,

as you beg to come safely home.

You fought your enemies alone;

now the LORD will help you.

⁸At Massah and Meribah Spring, the LORD tested you,

tribe of Levi.

You were faithful, and so the priesthood belongs

to the Levi tribe.

⁹Protecting Israel's agreement with the LORD

was more important to you

than the life of your father or mother,

or brothers or sisters, or your own children.

¹⁰You teach God's laws to Israel, and at the place of worship

you offer sacrifices and burn incense.

¹¹I pray that the LORD will bless everything you do,

and make you strong enough to crush your enemies.

¹²The LORD Most High loves you, tribe of Benjamin.

He will live among your hills and protect you.

¹³Descendants of Joseph, the LORD will bless you

with precious water from deep wells

and with dew from the sky.

¹⁴Month by month, your fruit will ripen in the sunshine.

¹⁵You will have a rich harvest

from the slopes of the ancient hills.

¹⁶The LORD who appeared in the burning bush

wants to give you the best the land can produce,

and it will be a princely crown on Joseph's head.

¹⁷The armies of Ephraim and Manasseh

are majestic and fierce like a bull or a wild ox.

They will run their spears through faraway nations.

¹⁸Be happy, Zebulun, as your boats set sail;

be happy, Issachar, in your tents.

¹⁹The sea will make you wealthy, and from the sandy beach

you will get treasure.

So invite the other tribes to celebrate with you

and offer sacrifices to God.

²⁰Tribe of Gad, the LORD will bless you with more land.

So shout his praises!

Your tribe is like a lion ripping up its victim.

²¹Your leaders met together

and chose the best land for your tribe,

but you obeyed the LORD and helped the other tribes.

²²Tribe of Dan, you are like a lion cub,

startled by a snake.

²³The LORD is pleased with you, people of Naphtali.

He will bless you and give you the land

to the west and the south.

²⁴The LORD's greatest blessing is for you, tribe of Asher.

You will be the favorite of all the other tribes.

You will be rich with olive oil

²⁵and have strong town gates with bronze and iron bolts.

Your people will be powerful for as long as they live.

²⁶Israel, no other god is like ours--

the clouds are his chariot as he rides across the skies

to come and help us.

²⁷The eternal God is our hiding place;

he carries us in his arms.

When God tells you to destroy your enemies,

he will make them run.

²⁸Israel, you will live in safety; your enemies will be gone.

The dew will fall from the sky,

and you will have plenty of grain and wine.

²⁹The LORD has rescued you and given you more blessings

than any other nation.

He protects you like a shield and is your majestic sword.

Your enemies will bow in fear,

and you will trample on their backs.

The Death of Moses

Deuteronomy 34 Sometime later, Moses left the lowlands of Moab. He went up Mount Pisgah to the peak of Mount Nebo, which is across the Jordan River from Jericho. The LORD showed him all the land as far north as Gilead and the town of Dan. ²He let Moses see the territories that would soon belong to the tribes of Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Judah, as far west as the Mediterranean Sea. ³The LORD also showed him the land in the south, from the valley near the town of Jericho, known as The City of Palm Trees, down to the town of Zoar.

⁴The LORD said, "Moses, this is the land I was talking about when I solemnly promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give land to their descendants. I have let you see it, but you will not cross the Jordan and go in."

⁵And so, Moses the LORD's servant died there in Moab, just as the LORD had said. ⁶The LORD buried him in a valley near the town of Beth-Peor, but even today no one knows exactly where. ⁷Moses was a hundred twenty years old when he died, yet his eyesight was still good, and his body was strong.

⁸The people of Israel stayed in the lowlands of Moab, where they mourned and grieved thirty days for Moses, as was their custom.

Joshua Becomes the Leader of Israel

⁹Before Moses died, he had placed his hands on Joshua, and the LORD had given Joshua wisdom. The Israelites paid attention to what Joshua said and obeyed the commands that the LORD had given Moses.

Moses Was a Great Prophet

¹⁰There has never again been a prophet in Israel like Moses. The LORD spoke face to face with him ¹¹and sent him to perform powerful miracles in the presence of the king of Egypt and his entire nation. ¹²No one else has ever had the power to do such great things as Moses did for everyone to see.

Zophar's Second Speech

Your Words Are Disturbing

Job 20 Zophar from Naamah said:

²Your words are disturbing; now I must speak.

³You have accused and insulted me,

and reason requires a reply.

⁴Since the time of creation, everyone has known

⁵

that sinful people are happy for only a while.

⁶Though their pride and power may reach to the sky,

⁷they will disappear like dust,

and those who knew them will wonder what happened.

⁸They will be forgotten like a dream

⁹

and vanish from the sight of family and friends.

¹⁰Their children will have to repay

what the parents took from the poor.

¹¹Indeed, the wicked will die and go to their graves

in the prime of life.

Sinners Love the Taste of Sin

¹²Sinners love the taste of sin;

they relish every bite ¹³and swallow it slowly.

¹⁴But their food will turn sour and poison their stomachs.

¹⁵Then God will make them lose

the wealth they gobbled down.

¹⁶They will die from the fangs of poisonous snakes

¹⁷

and never enjoy rivers flowing with milk and honey.

¹⁸Their hard work will result in nothing gained,

¹⁹

because they cheated the poor and took their homes.

²⁰Greedy people want everything and are never satisfied.

²¹But when nothing remains for them to grab,

they will be nothing.

²²Once they have everything,

distress and despair will strike them down,

²³

and God will make them swallow his blazing anger.

²⁴While running from iron spears,

they will be killed by arrows of bronze,

²⁵

whose shining tips go straight through their bodies.

They will be trapped by terror,

²⁶

and what they treasure most will be lost in the dark.

God will send flames to destroy them in their tents

with all their property.

²⁷The heavens and the earth will testify against them,

²⁸and all their possessions will be dragged off

when God becomes angry.

²⁹This is what God has decided for those who are evil.

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