Christmas: The Things We May Have Missed

7 Keys for Spiritual Warfare

And He Shall Be Called: Advent Devotionals, Week 3

Advent: The Light That Rises in the Darkness

What You Earn Isn't Who You Are

Beyond the Stable: Christ's Mission on Earth

Shepherds at Christmas

The Strength Approach to Christian Wellness

A 5-Day Journey Exploring Moses’ Burning Questions

Love Where You Are

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEXO">
 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="EXO.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread</div><div class="p"> 1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2&#8220;This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb#12:3 The Hebrew word can mean lamb or kid; also in verse 4. for his family, one for each household. 4If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire&#8212;with the head, legs and internal organs. 10Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord&#8217;s Passover.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord&#8212;a lasting ordinance. 15For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, &#8220;Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26And when your children ask you, &#8216;What does this ceremony mean to you?&#8217; 27then tell them, &#8216;It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.</div><div class="p"> 29At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.</div><div class="s1">The Exodus</div><div class="p"> 31During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, &#8220;Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. 32Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. &#8220;For otherwise,&#8221; they said, &#8220;we will all die!&#8221; 34So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.</div><div class="p"> 37The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.</div><div class="p"> 40Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt#12:40 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint Egypt and Canaan was 430 years. 41At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord&#8217;s divisions left Egypt. 42Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.</div><div class="s1">Passover Restrictions</div><div class="p"> 43The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, &#8220;These are the regulations for the Passover meal:</div><div class="p">&#8220;No foreigner may eat it. 44Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, 45but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it.</div><div class="p"> 46&#8220;It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.</div><div class="p"> 48&#8220;A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord&#8217;s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it. 49The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 50All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEXO">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="EXO.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Consecration of the Firstborn</div><div class="p"> 1The Lord said to Moses, 2&#8220;Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Then Moses said to the people, &#8220;Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites&#8212;the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey&#8212;you are to observe this ceremony in this month: 6For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. 7Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8On that day tell your son, &#8216;I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.&#8217; 9This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;In days to come, when your son asks you, &#8216;What does this mean?&#8217; say to him, &#8216;With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.&#8217; 16And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Crossing the Sea</div><div class="p"> 17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, &#8220;If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.&#8221; 18So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.#13:18 Or the Sea of Reeds The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.</div><div class="p"> 19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, &#8220;God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.&#8221;#13:19 See Gen. 50:25.</div><div class="p"> 20After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkACT">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="ACT.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven</div><div class="p"> 1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: &#8220;Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with#1:5 Or in water, but in a few days you will be baptized with#1:5 Or in the Holy Spirit.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then they gathered around him and asked him, &#8220;Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7He said to them: &#8220;It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.</div><div class="p"> 10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11&#8220;Men of Galilee,&#8221; they said, &#8220;why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas</div><div class="p"> 12Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day&#8217;s walk#1:12 That is, about 5/8 mile or about 1 kilometer from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.</div><div class="p"> 15In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16and said, &#8220;Brothers and sisters,#1:16 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in 6:3; 11:29; 12:17; 16:40; 18:18, 27; 21:7, 17; 28:14, 15. the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;For,&#8221; said Peter, &#8220;it is written in the Book of Psalms:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;May his place be deserted;</div><div class="q2">let there be no one to dwell in it,&#8217;#1:20 Psalm 69:25</div><div class="m">and,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;May another take his place of leadership.&#8217;#1:20 Psalm 109:8</div><div class="m"> 21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22beginning from John&#8217;s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, &#8220;Lord, you know everyone&#8217;s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.&#8221; 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="PSA.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="cl">Psalm 21#In Hebrew texts 21:1-13 is numbered 21:2-14.</div><div class="d">For the director of music. A psalm of David.</div><div class="q1"> 1The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.</div><div class="q2">How great is his joy in the victories you give!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2You have granted him his heart&#8217;s desire</div><div class="q2">and have not withheld the request of his lips.#21:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.</div><div class="q1"> 3You came to greet him with rich blessings</div><div class="q2">and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.</div><div class="q1"> 4He asked you for life, and you gave it to him&#8212;</div><div class="q2">length of days, for ever and ever.</div><div class="q1"> 5Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;</div><div class="q2">you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.</div><div class="q1"> 6Surely you have granted him unending blessings</div><div class="q2">and made him glad with the joy of your presence.</div><div class="q1"> 7For the king trusts in the Lord;</div><div class="q2">through the unfailing love of the Most High</div><div class="q2">he will not be shaken.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;</div><div class="q2">your right hand will seize your foes.</div><div class="q1"> 9When you appear for battle,</div><div class="q2">you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.</div><div class="q1">The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,</div><div class="q2">and his fire will consume them.</div><div class="q1"> 10You will destroy their descendants from the earth,</div><div class="q2">their posterity from mankind.</div><div class="q1"> 11Though they plot evil against you</div><div class="q2">and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.</div><div class="q1"> 12You will make them turn their backs</div><div class="q2">when you aim at them with drawn bow.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13Be exalted in your strength, Lord;</div><div class="q2">we will sing and praise your might.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch25" data-usfm="PRO.25">
 <div class="label">25</div><div class="ms1">More Proverbs of Solomon</div><div class="p"> 1These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:</div><div class="q1"> 2It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;</div><div class="q2">to search out a matter is the glory of kings.</div><div class="q1"> 3As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,</div><div class="q2">so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Remove the dross from the silver,</div><div class="q2">and a silversmith can produce a vessel;</div><div class="q1"> 5remove wicked officials from the king&#8217;s presence,</div><div class="q2">and his throne will be established through righteousness.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6Do not exalt yourself in the king&#8217;s presence,</div><div class="q2">and do not claim a place among his great men;</div><div class="q1"> 7it is better for him to say to you, &#8220;Come up here,&#8221;</div><div class="q2">than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">What you have seen with your eyes</div><div class="q2"> 8do not bring#25:7,8 Or nobles / on whom you had set your eyes. / 8 Do not go hastily to court,</div><div class="q1">for what will you do in the end</div><div class="q2">if your neighbor puts you to shame?</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9If you take your neighbor to court,</div><div class="q2">do not betray another&#8217;s confidence,</div><div class="q1"> 10or the one who hears it may shame you</div><div class="q2">and the charge against you will stand.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 11Like apples#25:11 Or possibly apricots of gold in settings of silver</div><div class="q2">is a ruling rightly given.</div><div class="q1"> 12Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold</div><div class="q2">is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 13Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time</div><div class="q2">is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;</div><div class="q2">he refreshes the spirit of his master.</div><div class="q1"> 14Like clouds and wind without rain</div><div class="q2">is one who boasts of gifts never given.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 15Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,</div><div class="q2">and a gentle tongue can break a bone.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16If you find honey, eat just enough&#8212;</div><div class="q2">too much of it, and you will vomit.</div><div class="q1"> 17Seldom set foot in your neighbor&#8217;s house&#8212;</div><div class="q2">too much of you, and they will hate you.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 18Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow</div><div class="q2">is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.</div><div class="q1"> 19Like a broken tooth or a lame foot</div><div class="q2">is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.</div><div class="q1"> 20Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,</div><div class="q2">or like vinegar poured on a wound,</div><div class="q2">is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;</div><div class="q2">if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.</div><div class="q1"> 22In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,</div><div class="q2">and the Lord will reward you.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 23Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain</div><div class="q2">is a sly tongue&#8212;which provokes a horrified look.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 24Better to live on a corner of the roof</div><div class="q2">than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 25Like cold water to a weary soul</div><div class="q2">is good news from a distant land.</div><div class="q1"> 26Like a muddied spring or a polluted well</div><div class="q2">are the righteous who give way to the wicked.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 27It is not good to eat too much honey,</div><div class="q2">nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 28Like a city whose walls are broken through</div><div class="q2">is a person who lacks self-control.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

ZOE DEVOSample

Scripture

About this Plan

Related Plans