The Bible Reading Plan

Deuteronomy Chapter 18

¹The priests and the Levites, the whole tribe of Levi, are to have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat Yahweh's offerings made by fire and his portion. ²They are to have no inheritance among their brothers. Yahweh is their inheritance, as he has told them. ³This will be the priests' due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox or a sheep, they are to give the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach to the priest. ⁴Give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first of the fleece from your sheep. ⁵For Yahweh your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in Yahweh's name, him and his sons forever.

⁶If a Levite comes from any of your gates out of all Israel where he lives, and comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which Yahweh chooses; ⁷then he is to minister in the name of Yahweh his God, as all his brothers the Levites do, who stand there before Yahweh. ⁸They'll have similar portions to eat, in addition to what comes from the sale of his family possessions.

⁹When you have entered the land which Yahweh your God is giving you, you must not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations. ¹⁰No one must be found with you who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or who tells fortunes, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, ¹¹or a charmer, or someone who consults with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. ¹²For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh. Because of these abominations, Yahweh your God drives them out from before you. ¹³You are to be blameless with Yahweh your God. ¹⁴For these nations that you dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do so.

Amos Chapter 1

¹The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ²He said: "Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither."

³Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron; ⁴but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad. ⁵I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir," says Yahweh.

⁶Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole community, to deliver them up to Edom; ⁷but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces. ⁸I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish," says LordOfMine Yahweh.

⁹Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole community to Edom, and didn't remember the brotherly covenant; ¹⁰but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will devour its palaces."

¹¹Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and destroyed all pity, and his anger raged continually, and he kept his wrath forever; ¹²I will send a fire on Teman, and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah."

¹³Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border. ¹⁴But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with shouting in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind; ¹⁵and their king will go into captivity, he and his princes together," says Yahweh.

Amos Chapter 2

¹Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime; ²but I will send a fire on Moab, and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet; ³and I will cut off the judge from their midst, and will kill all its princes with him," says Yahweh.

⁴Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected Yahweh's law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked; ⁵But I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem."

Song of Songs Chapter 7

¹How beautiful are your feet in sandals, prince's daughter!
Your rounded thighs are jewels,
the work of the hands of a skillful workman.
²Your navel is a round goblet,
never lacking mixed wine.
Your waist is a heap of wheat,
set about with lilies.
³Your two breasts are two fawns,
that are twins of a roe.
⁴Your neck is an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim.
Your nose is the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus.
⁵Your head above is Carmel.
The hair of your head is purple.
The king is held captive in its tresses.
⁶How beautiful and how pleasant you are,
love, [with all your] delights!
⁷Your stature is like a palm tree,
your breasts its fruit.
⁸I said, "I will climb up into the palm tree.
I will take hold of its fruit."
Let your breasts be clusters of the vine,
the smell of your breath [like] apples.
⁹Your mouth is the best wine,
that goes down smoothly for my beloved,
gliding through the lips of those who are asleep.
¹⁰[Beloved]
I am my beloved's.
His desire is toward me.
¹¹Come, my beloved! Let's go out into the field.
Let's lodge in the villages.
¹²Let's go early up to the vineyards.
Let's see whether the vine has budded,
its blossom is open,
and the pomegranates are in flower.
There I will give you my love.
¹³The mandrakes produce fragrance.
At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old,
which I have stored up for you, my beloved.

Song of Songs Chapter 8

¹Oh that you were my brother,
who nursed from the breasts of my mother!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you;
yes, and no one would despise me.
²I would lead you, bringing you into the house of my mother,
who would instruct me.
I would have you drink spiced wine,
of the juice of my pomegranate.
³His left hand [would be] under my head.
His right hand would embrace me. ⁴I solemnly-order you, daughters of Jerusalem,
that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
until it so desires.
⁵[Friends]
Who is this who comes up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?
[Beloved]
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother conceived you.
There she was in labor and bore you.
⁶Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
for love is strong as death.
Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a very flame of Yahweh.
⁷Many waters can't quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love,
he would be utterly scorned.
⁸[Friends]
We have a little sister.
She has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
in the day when she is to be spoken for? ⁹If she is a wall,
we will build on her a turret of silver.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
¹⁰[Beloved]
I am a wall, and my breasts towers,
then I was in his eyes like one who brings peace.
¹¹Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
He leased out the vineyard to keepers.
Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
¹²My own vineyard is before me.
The thousand are for you, Solomon,
two hundred for those who tend its fruit.
¹³[Lover]
You who dwell in the gardens, with friends in attendance,
let me hear your voice!
¹⁴[Beloved]
Come away, my beloved!
Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!

1 John Chapter 1

¹What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life ²(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you-all the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); ³what we have seen and heard we declare to you-all, that you-all also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus AnointedOne.

⁴And we write these things [*to you-all], that our joy may be fulfilled. ⁵This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you-all, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and don't tell the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus AnointedOne his Son cleanses us from all shortcoming. ⁸If we say that we have no shortcoming, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our shortcomings, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the shortcomings, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we haven't fallen-short, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John Chapter 2

¹My little children, I write these things to you-all so that you-all may not fall-short. If anyone falls-short, we have a strong-encourager with the Father, Jesus AnointedOne, the righteous. ²And he is the atoning sacrifice for our shortcomings, and not just for ours, but also for the whole world. ³This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. ⁴One who says, "I know him," and doesn't keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn't in him. ⁵But God's selfless-love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him:

⁶he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked. ⁷Brothers, I write no new commandment to you-all, but an old commandment which you-all had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you-all heard from the beginning. ⁸Again, I write a new commandment to you-all, which is true in him and in you-all, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines. ⁹He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness even until now. ¹⁰He who selflessly-loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.

¹¹But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn't know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.