Genesis 11

• 1. At one time the whole world spoke a single language and used the same words.
• 2. As the people migrated eastward, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.
• 3. They began to talk about construction projects. "Come," they said, "let's make great piles of burnt brick and collect natural asphalt to use as mortar.
• 4. Let's build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies--a monument to our greatness! This will bring us together and keep us from scattering all over the world."
• 5. But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
• 6. "Look!" he said. "If they can accomplish this when they have just begun to take advantage of their common language and political unity, just think of what they will do later. Nothing will be impossible for them!
• 7. Come, let's go down and give them different languages. Then they won't be able to understand each other."
• 8. In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the earth; and that ended the building of the city.
• 9. That is why the city was called Babel, because it was there that the LORD confused the people by giving them many languages, thus scattering them across the earth.
• 10. This is the history of Shem's family. When Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. This happened two years after the Flood.
• 11. After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 12. When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born.
• 13. After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 14. When Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born.
• 15. After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 16. When Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born.
• 17. After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 18. When Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born.
• 19. After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 20. When Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born.
• 21. After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 22. When Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born.
• 23. After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 24. When Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born.
• 25. After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
• 26. When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
• 27. This is the history of Terah's family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran had a son named Lot.
• 28. But while Haran was still young, he died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the place of his birth. He was survived by Terah, his father.
• 29. Meanwhile, Abram married Sarai, and his brother Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of their brother Haran. (Milcah had a sister named Iscah.)
• 30. Now Sarai was not able to have any children.
• 31. Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot (his son Haran's child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled there.
• 32. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still at Haran.

Matthew 10

• 1. Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.
• 2. Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter's brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James's brother),
• 3. Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus,
• 4. Simon (the Zealot ), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
• 5. Jesus sent the twelve disciples out with these instructions: "Don't go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans,
• 6. but only to the people of Israel--God's lost sheep.
• 7. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
• 8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!
• 9. "Don't take any money with you.
• 10. Don't carry a traveler's bag with an extra coat and sandals or even a walking stick. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.
• 11. Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy man and stay in his home until you leave for the next town.
• 12. When you are invited into someone's home, give it your blessing.
• 13. If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing.
• 14. If a village doesn't welcome you or listen to you, shake off the dust of that place from your feet as you leave.
• 15. I assure you, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off on the judgment day than that place will be.
• 16. "Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be as wary as snakes and harmless as doves.
• 17. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues.
• 18. And you must stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me--yes, to witness to the world.
• 19. When you are arrested, don't worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time.
• 20. For it won't be you doing the talking--it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
• 21. "Brother will betray brother to death, fathers will betray their own children, and children will rise against their parents and cause them to be killed.
• 22. And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved.
• 23. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I assure you that I, the Son of Man, will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.
• 24. "A student is not greater than the teacher. A servant is not greater than the master.
• 25. The student shares the teacher's fate. The servant shares the master's fate. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, how much more will it happen to you, the members of the household!
• 26. But don't be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public.
• 27. What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ears, shout from the housetops for all to hear!
• 28. "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
• 29. Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
• 30. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.
• 31. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.
• 32. "If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven.
• 33. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven.
• 34. "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword.
• 35. I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
• 36. Your enemies will be right in your own household!
• 37. If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
• 38. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
• 39. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.
• 40. "Anyone who welcomes you is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.
• 41. If you welcome a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will receive the same reward a prophet gets. And if you welcome good and godly people because of their godliness, you will be given a reward like theirs.
• 42. And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."

Ezra 10

• 1. While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and throwing himself to the ground in front of the Temple of God, a large crowd of people from Israel--men, women, and children--gathered and wept bitterly with him.
• 2. Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, "We confess that we have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But there is hope for Israel in spite of this.
• 3. Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. We will obey the law of God.
• 4. Take courage, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight, and we will cooperate fully."
• 5. So Ezra stood up and demanded that the leaders of the priests and the Levites and all the people of Israel swear that they would do as Shecaniah had said. And they all swore a solemn oath.
• 6. Then Ezra left the front of the Temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He spent the night there, but he did not eat any food or drink. He was still in mourning because of the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles.
• 7. Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the returned exiles should come to Jerusalem.
• 8. Those who failed to come within three days would, if the leaders and elders so decided, forfeit all their property and be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
• 9. Within three days, all the people of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. This took place on December 19, and all the people were sitting in the square before the Temple of God. They were trembling both because of the seriousness of the matter and because it was raining.
• 10. Then Ezra the priest stood and said to them: "You have sinned, for you have married pagan women. Now we are even more deeply under condemnation than we were before.
• 11. Confess your sin to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from these pagan women."
• 12. Then the whole assembly raised their voices and answered, "Yes, you are right; we must do as you say!"
• 13. Then they added, "This isn't something that can be done in a day or two, for many of us are involved in this extremely sinful affair. This is the rainy season, so we cannot stay out here much longer.
• 14. Let our leaders act on behalf of us all. Everyone who has a pagan wife will come at the scheduled time with the leaders and judges of his city, so that the fierce anger of our God may be turned away from us concerning this affair."
• 15. Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this course of action, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.
• 16. So this was the plan that they followed. Ezra selected leaders to represent their families, designating each of the representatives by name. On December 29, the leaders sat down to investigate the matter.
• 17. By March 27 of the next year they had finished dealing with all the men who had married pagan wives.
• 18. These are the priests who had married pagan wives: From the family of Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
• 19. They vowed to divorce their wives, and they each acknowledged their guilt by offering a ram as a guilt offering.
• 20. From the family of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
• 21. From the family of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
• 22. From the family of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
• 23. These are the Levites who were guilty: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
• 24. This is the singer who was guilty: Eliashib. These are the gatekeepers who were guilty: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
• 25. These are the other people of Israel who were guilty: From the family of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and Benaiah.
• 26. From the family of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
• 27. From the family of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
• 28. From the family of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
• 29. From the family of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.
• 30. From the family of Pahath-moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
• 31. From the family of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
• 32. Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.
• 33. From the family of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
• 34. From the family of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,
• 35. Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi,
• 36. Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
• 37. Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
• 38. From the family of Binnui: Shimei,
• 39. Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
• 40. Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
• 41. Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,
• 42. Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
• 43. From the family of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
• 44. Each of these men had a pagan wife, and some even had children by these wives.

New Living Translation: 10 of 365 days.