The Bible Reading Plan

Exodus Chapter 28

¹⁵Make a breastplate of judgment, the work of a skillful workman; make it like the work of the ephod. Make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. ¹⁶Let it be square and folded double; a span long, and a span wide. ¹⁷Set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: the first row will be a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl; ¹⁸and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; ¹⁹and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Enclose them in gold in their settings. ²¹The stones are to be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, let them be for the twelve tribes. ²²Make pure gold chains like cords of braided work on the breastplate. ²³Make two rings of gold on the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. ²⁴Put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. ²⁵Put the [other] two ends on the two settings of the two braided chains, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod on its front. ²⁶Make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. ²⁷Make two [more] rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, on its front, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸They are to bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod. ²⁹Aaron will carry the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, as a memorial in Yahweh's presence continually. ³⁰Put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate of judgment; and they'll be on Aaron's heart when he goes in to Yahweh's presence. Aaron will carry the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart in Yahweh's presence continually.

1 Kings Chapter 21

⁶He said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.' He answered, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'"

⁷Jezebel his wife said to him, "Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." ⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, who lived with Naboth. ⁹She wrote in the letters, saying, "Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. ¹⁰Set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, 'You cursed God and the king!' Then carry him out, and stone him to death."

¹¹The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹²They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. ¹³The two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. The base fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king!" Then they carried him out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones. ¹⁴Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned, and is dead."

¹⁵When Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead."

¹⁶When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸"Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹You shall speak to him, saying, 'Yahweh says, "Have you killed and also taken possession?"' You shall speak to him, saying, 'Yahweh says, "In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours."'"

²⁰Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh. ²¹Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. ²²I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin." ²³Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. ²⁴The dogs will eat whoever dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat whoever dies in the field."

²⁵But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. ²⁶He did very abominably in following idols, exactly as the Amorites did, whom Yahweh threw out before the children of Israel.

²⁷When Ahab heard those words he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

²⁸The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹"See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the evil on his house."

Nehemiah Chapter 13

¹On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and it was found written in it that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God forever, ²because they didn't meet the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them; however, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³It came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

⁴Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the rooms of the house of our God, being allied to Tobiah, ⁵had prepared for him a great room, where before they laid the meal offerings, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers; and the wave offerings for the priests. ⁶But in all this, I was not at Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king; and after some days I asked leave of the king, ⁷and I came to Jerusalem, and understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a room in the courts of God's house. ⁸It grieved me severely, so I threw all Tobiah's household stuff out of the room. ⁹Then I commanded, and they cleansed the rooms. I brought into them the vessels of God's house again, with the meal offerings and the frankincense.

¹⁰I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field. ¹¹Then I contended with the rulers, and said, "Why is God's house forsaken?" I gathered them together, and set them in their place. ¹²Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the treasuries. ¹³I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah. Next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and their business was to distribute to their brothers.

¹⁴Remember me, my God, concerning this, and don't wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its observances.

John Chapter 5

¹After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ²Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, "Bethesda", having five porches. ³In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; ⁴for an angel went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. ⁵A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be made well?"

⁷The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, another steps down before me."

⁸Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your mat, and walk."

⁹Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.

¹⁰So the Jews said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat."

¹¹He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"

¹²Then they asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your mat and walk'?"

¹³But he who was healed didn't know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.

¹⁴Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "Behold, you are made well. Fall-short no more, so that nothing worse happens to you."

¹⁵The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. ¹⁶For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, so I am working, too."

¹⁸For this reason therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. ¹⁹So Jesus answered them, "Absolutely. Absolutely, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. ²⁰For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater acts than these, that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. ²²For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn't honor the Son doesn't honor the Father who sent him.

²⁴"Absolutely. Absolutely I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn't come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.