Daily Bible GNT February 21 Scroll

The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)

Matthew 3 At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching. ²"Turn away from your sins," he said, "because the Kingdom of heaven is near!" ³John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said,

"Someone is shouting in the desert,

'Prepare a road for the Lord;

make a straight path for him to travel!'"

⁴John's clothes were made of camel's hair; he wore a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵People came to him from Jerusalem, from the whole province of Judea, and from all over the country near the Jordan River. ⁶They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan.

⁷When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, "You snakes--who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? ⁸Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. ⁹And don't think you can escape punishment by saying that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! ¹⁰The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. ¹¹I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the one who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. ¹²He has his winnowing shovel with him to thresh out all the grain. He will gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out."

The Baptism of Jesus
(Mark 1.9-11; Luke 3.21, 22)

¹³At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴But John tried to make him change his mind. "I ought to be baptized by you," John said, "and yet you have come to me!"

¹⁵But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires." So John agreed.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷Then a voice said from heaven, "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased."

The Covenant Is Sealed

Exodus 24 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up the mountain to me, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel; and while you are still some distance away, bow down in worship. ²You alone, and none of the others, are to come near me. The people are not even to come up the mountain."

³Moses went and told the people all the LORD's commands and all the ordinances, and all the people answered together, "We will do everything that the LORD has said." ⁴Moses wrote down all the LORD's commands. Early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵Then he sent young men, and they burned sacrifices to the LORD and sacrificed some cattle as fellowship offerings. ⁶Moses took half of the blood of the animals and put it in bowls; and the other half he threw against the altar. ⁷Then he took the book of the covenant, in which the LORD's commands were written, and read it aloud to the people. They said, "We will obey the LORD and do everything that he has commanded."

⁸Then Moses took the blood in the bowls and threw it on the people. He said, "This is the blood that seals the covenant which the LORD made with you when he gave all these commands."

⁹Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel went up the mountain ¹⁰and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was what looked like a pavement of sapphire, as blue as the sky. ¹¹God did not harm these leading men of Israel; they saw God, and then they ate and drank together.

Moses on Mount Sinai

¹²The LORD said to Moses, "Come up the mountain to me, and while you are here, I will give you two stone tablets which contain all the laws that I have written for the instruction of the people." ¹³Moses and his helper Joshua got ready, and Moses began to go up the holy mountain. ¹⁴Moses said to the leaders, "Wait here in the camp for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you; and so whoever has a dispute to settle can go to them."

¹⁵Moses went up Mount Sinai, and a cloud covered it. ^16-17The dazzling light of the LORD's presence came down on the mountain. To the Israelites the light looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁸Moses went on up the mountain into the cloud. There he stayed for forty days and nights.

Proverbs 11 The LORD hates people who use dishonest scales. He is happy with honest weights.

²People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest.

³If you are good, you are guided by honesty. People who can't be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty.

⁴Riches will do you no good on the day you face death, but honesty can save your life.

⁵Honesty makes a good person's life easier, but the wicked will cause their own downfall.

⁶Righteousness rescues those who are honest, but those who can't be trusted are trapped by their own greed.

⁷When the wicked die, their hope dies with them. Confidence placed in riches comes to nothing.

⁸The righteous are protected from trouble; it comes to the wicked instead.

⁹You can be ruined by the talk of godless people, but the wisdom of the righteous can save you.

¹⁰A city is happy when honest people have good fortune, and there are joyful shouts when the wicked die.

¹¹A city becomes great when the righteous give it their blessing; but a city is brought to ruin by the words of the wicked.

¹²It is foolish to speak scornfully of others. If you are smart, you will keep quiet.

¹³No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy.

¹⁴A nation will fall if it has no guidance. Many advisers mean security.

¹⁵If you promise to pay a stranger's debt, you will regret it. You are better off if you don't get involved.

¹⁶A gracious woman is respected, but a woman without virtue is a disgrace.

Lazy people will never have money, but aggressive people will get rich.

¹⁷You do yourself a favor when you are kind. If you are cruel, you only hurt yourself.

¹⁸Wicked people do not really gain anything, but if you do what is right, you are certain to be rewarded.

¹⁹Anyone who is determined to do right will live, but anyone who insists on doing wrong will die.

²⁰The LORD hates evil-minded people, but loves those who do right.

²¹You can be sure that evil people will be punished, but the righteous will escape.

²²Beauty in a woman without good judgment is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

²³What good people want always results in good; when the wicked get what they want, everyone is angry.

²⁴Some people spend their money freely and still grow richer. Others are cautious, and yet grow poorer.

²⁵Be generous, and you will be prosperous. Help others, and you will be helped.

²⁶People curse someone who hoards grain, waiting for a higher price, but they praise the one who puts it up for sale.

²⁷If your goals are good, you will be respected, but if you are looking for trouble, that is what you will get.

²⁸Those who depend on their wealth will fall like the leaves of autumn, but the righteous will prosper like the leaves of summer.

²⁹Those who bring trouble on their families will have nothing at the end.

Foolish people will always be servants to the wise.

³⁰Righteousness gives life, but violence takes it away.

³¹Those who are good are rewarded here on earth, so you can be sure that wicked and sinful people will be punished.

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.