Daily Bible GNT February 15 Scroll

Faith

Hebrews 11 To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. ²It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God's approval.

³It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God's word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.

⁴It was faith that made Abel offer to God a better sacrifice than Cain's. Through his faith he won God's approval as a righteous man, because God himself approved of his gifts. By means of his faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵It was faith that kept Enoch from dying. Instead, he was taken up to God, and nobody could find him, because God had taken him up. The scripture says that before Enoch was taken up, he had pleased God. ⁶No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.

⁷It was faith that made Noah hear God's warnings about things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved. As a result, the world was condemned, and Noah received from God the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God. ¹⁰For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations.

¹¹It was faith that made Abraham able to become a father, even though he was too old and Sarah herself could not have children. He trusted God to keep his promise. ¹²Though Abraham was practically dead, from this one man came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, as many as the numberless grains of sand on the seashore.

¹³It was in faith that all these persons died. They did not receive the things God had promised, but from a long way off they saw them and welcomed them, and admitted openly that they were foreigners and refugees on earth. ¹⁴Those who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵They did not keep thinking about the country they had left; if they had, they would have had the chance to return. ¹⁶Instead, it was a better country they longed for, the heavenly country. And so God is not ashamed for them to call him their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test. Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice. ¹⁸God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised." ¹⁹Abraham reckoned that God was able to raise Isaac from death--and, so to speak, Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰It was faith that made Isaac promise blessings for the future to Jacob and Esau.

²¹It was faith that made Jacob bless each of the sons of Joseph just before he died. He leaned on the top of his walking stick and worshiped God.

Dedication of the First-Born

Exodus 13 The LORD said to Moses, ²"Dedicate all the first-born males to me, for every first-born male Israelite and every first-born male animal belongs to me."

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

³Moses said to the people, "Remember this day--the day on which you left Egypt, the place where you were slaves. This is the day the LORD brought you out by his great power. No leavened bread is to be eaten. ⁴You are leaving Egypt on this day in the first month, the month of Abib. ⁵The LORD solemnly promised your ancestors to give you the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When he brings you into that rich and fertile land, you must celebrate this festival in the first month of every year. ⁶For seven days you must eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to honor the LORD. ⁷For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast; there must be no yeast or leavened bread anywhere in your land. ⁸When the festival begins, explain to your sons that you do all this because of what the LORD did for you when you left Egypt. ⁹This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on your hand or on your forehead; it will remind you to continue to recite and study the Law of the LORD, because the LORD brought you out of Egypt by his great power. ¹⁰Celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year.

The First-Born

¹¹"The LORD will bring you into the land of the Canaanites, which he solemnly promised to you and your ancestors. When he gives it to you, ¹²you must offer every first-born male to the LORD. Every first-born male of your animals belongs to the LORD, ¹³but you must buy back from him every first-born male donkey by offering a lamb in its place. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, break its neck. You must buy back every first-born male child of yours. ¹⁴In the future, when your son asks what this observance means, you will answer him, 'By using great power the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place where we were slaves. ¹⁵When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the LORD killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the LORD, but buy back our first-born sons. ¹⁶This observance will be a reminder, like something tied on our hands or on our foreheads; it will remind us that the LORD brought us out of Egypt by his great power.'"

The Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire

¹⁷When the king of Egypt let the people go, God did not take them by the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought, "I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight." ¹⁸Instead, he led them in a roundabout way through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were armed for battle.

¹⁹Moses took the body of Joseph with him, as Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly promise to do. Joseph had said, "When God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place."

²⁰The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹During the day the LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day. ²²The pillar of cloud was always in front of the people during the day, and the pillar of fire at night.

Crossing the Red Sea

Exodus 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, ²"Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the Red Sea, near Baal Zephon. ³The king will think that the Israelites are wandering around in the country and are closed in by the desert. ⁴I will make him stubborn, and he will pursue you, and my victory over the king and his army will bring me honor. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." The Israelites did as they were told.

⁵When the king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped, he and his officials changed their minds and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites escape, and we have lost them as our slaves!" ⁶The king got his war chariot and his army ready. ⁷He set out with all his chariots, including the six hundred finest, commanded by their officers. ⁸The LORD made the king stubborn, and he pursued the Israelites, who were leaving triumphantly. ⁹The Egyptian army, with all the horses, chariots, and drivers, pursued them and caught up with them where they were camped by the Red Sea near Pi Hahiroth and Baal Zephon.

¹⁰When the Israelites saw the king and his army marching against them, they were terrified and cried out to the LORD for help. ¹¹They said to Moses, "Weren't there any graves in Egypt? Did you have to bring us out here in the desert to die? Look what you have done by bringing us out of Egypt! ¹²Didn't we tell you before we left that this would happen? We told you to leave us alone and let us go on being slaves of the Egyptians. It would be better to be slaves there than to die here in the desert."

¹³Moses answered, "Don't be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the LORD will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again. ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still."

¹⁵The LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out for help? Tell the people to move forward. ¹⁶Lift up your walking stick and hold it out over the sea. The water will divide, and the Israelites will be able to walk through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷I will make the Egyptians so stubborn that they will go in after them, and I will gain honor by my victory over the king, his army, his chariots, and his drivers. ¹⁸When I defeat them, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD."

¹⁹The angel of God, who had been in front of the army of Israel, moved and went to the rear. The pillar of cloud also moved until it was ²⁰between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The cloud made it dark for the Egyptians, but gave light to the people of Israel, and so the armies could not come near each other all night.

²¹Moses held out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind. It blew all night and turned the sea into dry land. The water was divided, ²²and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides. ²³The Egyptians pursued them and went after them into the sea with all their horses, chariots, and drivers. ²⁴Just before dawn the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. ²⁵He made the wheels of their chariots get stuck, so that they moved with great difficulty. The Egyptians said, "The LORD is fighting for the Israelites against us. Let's get out of here!"

²⁶The LORD said to Moses, "Hold out your hand over the sea, and the water will come back over the Egyptians and their chariots and drivers." ²⁷So Moses held out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape from the water, but the LORD threw them into the sea. ²⁸The water returned and covered the chariots, the drivers, and all the Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea; not one of them was left. ²⁹But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides.

³⁰On that day the LORD saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw them lying dead on the seashore. ³¹When the Israelites saw the great power with which the LORD had defeated the Egyptians, they stood in awe of the LORD; and they had faith in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Warning against Adultery

Proverbs 5 My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight. ²Then you will know how to behave properly, and your words will show that you have knowledge. ³The lips of another man's wife may be as sweet as honey and her kisses as smooth as olive oil, ⁴but when it is all over, she leaves you nothing but bitterness and pain. ⁵She will take you down to the world of the dead; the road she walks is the road to death. ⁶She does not stay on the road to life; but wanders off, and does not realize what is happening.

⁷Now listen to me, sons, and never forget what I am saying. ⁸Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door! ⁹If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people. ¹⁰Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else. ¹¹You will lie groaning on your deathbed, your flesh and muscles being eaten away, ¹²and you will say, "Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me? ¹³I wouldn't listen to my teachers. I paid no attention to them. ¹⁴And suddenly I found myself publicly disgraced."

¹⁵Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone. ¹⁶Children that you have by other women will do you no good. ¹⁷Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers. ¹⁸So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married-- ¹⁹pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love. ²⁰Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife? ²¹The LORD sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching. ²²The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin. ²³They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves.

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.