Daily Bible GNT January 22 Scroll

Sin
(Matthew 18.6, 7, 21, 22; Mark 9.42)

Luke 17 Jesus said to his disciples, "Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! ²It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ³So watch what you do!

"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."

Faith

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, "Make our faith greater."

⁶The Lord answered, "If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!' and it would obey you.

A Servant's Duty

⁷"Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? ⁸Of course not! Instead, you say to him, 'Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.' ⁹The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? ¹⁰It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, 'We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.'"

Jesus Heals Ten Men

¹¹As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance ¹³and shouted, "Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!"

¹⁴Jesus saw them and said to them, "Go and let the priests examine you."

On the way they were made clean. ¹⁵When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Jesus spoke up, "There were ten who were healed; where are the other nine? ¹⁸Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?" ¹⁹And Jesus said to him, "Get up and go; your faith has made you well."

The Coming of the Kingdom
(Matthew 24.23-28, 37-41)

²⁰Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, "The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. ²¹No one will say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!'; because the Kingdom of God is within you."

²²Then he said to the disciples, "The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, over there!' or, 'Look, over here!' But don't go out looking for it. ²⁴As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. ²⁵But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day. ²⁶As it was in the time of Noah so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all. ²⁸It will be as it was in the time of Lot. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹On the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and killed them all. ³⁰That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

³¹"On that day someone who is on the roof of a house must not go down into the house to get any belongings; in the same way anyone who is out in the field must not go back to the house. ³²Remember Lot's wife! ³³Those who try to save their own life will lose it; those who lose their life will save it. ³⁴On that night, I tell you, there will be two people sleeping in the same bed: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. ³⁵Two women will be grinding meal together: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind."

³⁷The disciples asked him, "Where, Lord?"

Jesus answered, "Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather."

Jacob Arrives at Laban's Home

Genesis 29 Jacob continued on his way and went toward the land of the East. ²Suddenly he came upon a well out in the fields with three flocks of sheep lying around it. The flocks were watered from this well, which had a large stone over the opening. ³Whenever all the flocks came together there, the shepherds would roll the stone back and water them. Then they would put the stone back in place.

⁴Jacob asked the shepherds, "My friends, where are you from?"

"From Haran," they answered.

⁵He asked, "Do you know Laban, grandson of Nahor?"

"Yes, we do," they answered.

⁶"Is he well?" he asked.

"He is well," they answered. "Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with his flock."

⁷Jacob said, "Since it is still broad daylight and not yet time to bring the flocks in, why don't you water them and take them back to pasture?"

⁸They answered, "We can't do that until all the flocks are here and the stone has been rolled back; then we will water the flocks."

⁹While Jacob was still talking with them, Rachel arrived with the flock. ¹⁰When Jacob saw Rachel with his uncle Laban's flock, he went to the well, rolled the stone back, and watered the sheep. ¹¹Then he kissed her and began to cry for joy. ¹²He told her, "I am your father's relative, the son of Rebecca."

She ran to tell her father; ¹³and when he heard the news about his nephew Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him into the house. When Jacob told Laban everything that had happened, ¹⁴Laban said, "Yes, indeed, you are my own flesh and blood." Jacob stayed there a whole month.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

¹⁵Laban said to Jacob, "You shouldn't work for me for nothing just because you are my relative. How much pay do you want?" ¹⁶Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger Rachel. ¹⁷Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

¹⁸Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said, "I will work seven years for you, if you will let me marry Rachel."

¹⁹Laban answered, "I would rather give her to you than to anyone else; stay here with me." ²⁰Jacob worked seven years so that he could have Rachel, and the time seemed like only a few days to him, because he loved her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, "The time is up; let me marry your daughter." ²²So Laban gave a wedding feast and invited everyone. ²³But that night, instead of Rachel, he took Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had intercourse with her. ( ²⁴Laban gave his slave woman Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.) ²⁵Not until the next morning did Jacob discover that it was Leah. He went to Laban and said, "Why did you do this to me? I worked to get Rachel. Why have you tricked me?"

²⁶Laban answered, "It is not the custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older. ²⁷Wait until the week's marriage celebrations are over, and I will give you Rachel, if you will work for me another seven years."

²⁸Jacob agreed, and when the week of marriage celebrations was over, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ( ²⁹Laban gave his slave woman Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.) ³⁰Jacob had intercourse with Rachel also, and he loved her more than Leah. Then he worked for Laban another seven years.

A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise

Psalm 22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I have cried desperately for help,

but still it does not come.

²During the day I call to you, my God,

but you do not answer;

I call at night,

but get no rest.

³But you are enthroned as the Holy One,

the one whom Israel praises.

⁴Our ancestors put their trust in you;

they trusted you, and you saved them.

⁵They called to you and escaped from danger;

they trusted you and were not disappointed.

⁶But I am no longer a human being; I am a worm,

despised and scorned by everyone!

⁷All who see me make fun of me;

they stick out their tongues and shake their heads.

⁸"You relied on the LORD," they say.

"Why doesn't he save you?

If the LORD likes you,

why doesn't he help you?"

⁹It was you who brought me safely through birth,

and when I was a baby, you kept me safe.

¹⁰I have relied on you since the day I was born,

and you have always been my God.

¹¹Do not stay away from me!

Trouble is near,

and there is no one to help.

¹²Many enemies surround me like bulls;

they are all around me,

like fierce bulls from the land of Bashan.

¹³They open their mouths like lions,

roaring and tearing at me.

¹⁴My strength is gone,

gone like water spilled on the ground.

All my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like melted wax.

¹⁵My throat is as dry as dust,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You have left me for dead in the dust.

¹⁶An evil gang is around me;

like a pack of dogs they close in on me;

they tear at my hands and feet.

¹⁷All my bones can be seen.

My enemies look at me and stare.

¹⁸They gamble for my clothes

and divide them among themselves.

¹⁹O LORD, don't stay away from me!

Come quickly to my rescue!

²⁰Save me from the sword;

save my life from these dogs.

²¹Rescue me from these lions;

I am helpless before these wild bulls.

²²I will tell my people what you have done;

I will praise you in their assembly:

²³"Praise him, you servants of the LORD!

Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!

Worship him, you people of Israel!

²⁴He does not neglect the poor or ignore their suffering;

he does not turn away from them,

but answers when they call for help."

²⁵In the full assembly I will praise you for what you have done;

in the presence of those who worship you

I will offer the sacrifices I promised.

²⁶The poor will eat as much as they want;

those who come to the LORD will praise him.

May they prosper forever!

²⁷All nations will remember the LORD.

From every part of the world they will turn to him;

all races will worship him.

²⁸The LORD is king,

and he rules the nations.

²⁹All proud people will bow down to him;

all mortals will bow down before him.

³⁰Future generations will serve him;

they will speak of the Lord to the coming generation.

³¹People not yet born will be told:

"The Lord saved his people."

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.