April 25  

Daily Bible in a Year

Daily Old and New Testaments, Psalms, and Proverbs

  •   Judges 4-5
    Judges 4-5

    Deborah and Barak
    4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
    4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
    11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
    12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
    17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
    23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

    The Song of Deborah and Barak
    5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:

    2 
    “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
         that the people offered themselves willingly,
         bless the Lord!

    3 
    “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
         to the Lord I will sing;
         I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

    4 
    “Lord, when you went out from Seir,
         when you marched from the region of Edom,
     the earth trembled
         and the heavens dropped,
         yes, the clouds dropped water.

    5 
    The mountains quaked before the Lord,
         even Sinai before the Lord,[a] the God of Israel.

    6 
    “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
         in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,
         and travelers kept to the byways.

    7 
    The villagers ceased in Israel;
         they ceased to be until I arose;
         I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.

    8 
    When new gods were chosen,
         then war was in the gates.
     Was shield or spear to be seen
         among forty thousand in Israel?

    9 
    My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
         who offered themselves willingly among the people.
         Bless the Lord.

    10 
    “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,
         you who sit on rich carpets[b]
         and you who walk by the way.

    11 
    To the sound of musicians[c] at the watering places,
         there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord,
         the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.

    “Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.

    12 
    “Awake, awake, Deborah!
         Awake, awake, break out in a song!
     Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
         O son of Abinoam.

    13 
    Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
         the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty.

    14 
    From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,[d]
         following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;
     from Machir marched down the commanders,
         and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's[e] staff;

    15 
    the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,
         and Issachar faithful to Barak;
         into the valley they rushed at his heels.
     Among the clans of Reuben
         there were great searchings of heart.

    16 
    Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,
         to hear the whistling for the flocks?
     Among the clans of Reuben
         there were great searchings of heart.

    17 
    Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
         and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?
     Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
         staying by his landings.

    18 
    Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;
         Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.

    19 
    “The kings came, they fought;
         then fought the kings of Canaan,
     at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
         they got no spoils of silver.

    20 
    From heaven the stars fought,
         from their courses they fought against Sisera.

    21 
    The torrent Kishon swept them away,
         the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
         March on, my soul, with might!

    22 
    “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs
         with the galloping, galloping of his steeds.

    23 
    “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the Lord,
         curse its inhabitants thoroughly,
     because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
         to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

    24 
    “Most blessed of women be Jael,
         the wife of Heber the Kenite,
         of tent-dwelling women most blessed.

    25 
    He asked for water and she gave him milk;
         she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.

    26 
    She sent her hand to the tent peg
         and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;
     she struck Sisera;
         she crushed his head;
         she shattered and pierced his temple.

    27 
    Between her feet
         he sank, he fell, he lay still;
     between her feet
         he sank, he fell;
     where he sank,
         there he fell—dead.

    28 
    “Out of the window she peered,
         the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:
     ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
         Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’

    29 
    Her wisest princesses answer,
         indeed, she answers herself,

    30 
    ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—
         A womb or two for every man;
     spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,
         spoil of dyed materials embroidered,
         two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’

    31 
    “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!
         But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”

    And the land had rest for forty years.

    Footnotes:
    1. Judges 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord
    2. Judges 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets
    3. Judges 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
    4. Judges 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek
    5. Judges 5:14 Hebrew commander's
  •   Luke 22:35-53
    Luke 22:35-53

    Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus
    35 And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

    Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
    39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[a] 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

    Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
    47 While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant[b] of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

    Footnotes:
    1. Luke 22:44 Some manuscripts omit verses 43 and 44
    2. Luke 22:50 Or bondservant
  •   Psalm 94
    Psalm 94


    The Lord Will Not Forsake His People

    94 
    O Lord, God of vengeance,
         O God of vengeance, shine forth!

    2 
    Rise up, O judge of the earth;
         repay to the proud what they deserve!

    3 
    O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
         how long shall the wicked exult?

    4 
    They pour out their arrogant words;
         all the evildoers boast.

    5 
    They crush your people, O Lord,
         and afflict your heritage.

    6 
    They kill the widow and the sojourner,
         and murder the fatherless;

    7 
    and they say, “The Lord does not see;
         the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

    8 
    Understand, O dullest of the people!
         Fools, when will you be wise?

    9 
    He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
     He who formed the eye, does he not see?

    10 
    He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
     He who teaches man knowledge—

    11 
        the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
         that they are but a breath.[a]

    12 
    Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
         and whom you teach out of your law,

    13 
    to give him rest from days of trouble,
         until a pit is dug for the wicked.

    14 
    For the Lord will not forsake his people;
         he will not abandon his heritage;

    15 
    for justice will return to the righteous,

        and all the upright in heart will follow it.

    16 
    Who rises up for me against the wicked?
         Who stands up for me against evildoers?

    17 
    If the Lord had not been my help,
         my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

    18 
    When I thought, “My foot slips,”
         your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

    19 
    When the cares of my heart are many,
         your consolations cheer my soul.

    20 
    Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
         those who frame[b] injustice by statute?

    21 
    They band together against the life of the righteous
         and condemn the innocent to death.[c]

    22 
    But the Lord has become my stronghold,
         and my God the rock of my refuge.

    23 
    He will bring back on them their iniquity
         and wipe them out for their wickedness;
         the Lord our God will wipe them out.

    Footnotes:
    1. Psalm 94:11 Septuagint they are futile
    2. Psalm 94:20 Or fashion
    3. Psalm 94:21 Hebrew condemn innocent blood
  •   Proverbs 14:3-4

    Proverbs 14:3-4

    3 
    By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,[a]
         but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

    4 
    Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
         but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

    Footnotes:
    1. Proverbs 14:3 Or In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride



    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.