Numbers 14

• 1. Then all the people began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.
• 2. Their voices rose in a great chorus of complaint against Moses and Aaron. "We wish we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they wailed.
• 3. "Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and little ones will be carried off as slaves! Let's get out of here and return to Egypt!"
• 4. Then they plotted among themselves, "Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt!"
• 5. Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the people of Israel.
• 6. Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.
• 7. They said to the community of Israel, "The land we explored is a wonderful land!
• 8. And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey, and he will give it to us!
• 9. Do not rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don't be afraid of them!"
• 10. But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites from above the Tabernacle.
• 11. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people reject me? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?
• 12. I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation far greater and mightier than they are!"
• 13. "But what will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?" Moses pleaded with the LORD. "They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing these people from Egypt.
• 14. They will tell this to the inhabitants of this land, who are well aware that you are with this people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared in full view of your people in the pillar of cloud that hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
• 15. Now if you slaughter all these people, the nations that have heard of your fame will say,
• 16. `The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.'
• 17. "Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed it to be. For you said,
• 18. `The LORD is slow to anger and rich in unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so he does not leave sin unpunished, but he punishes the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.'
• 19. Please pardon the sins of this people because of your magnificent, unfailing love, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt."
• 20. Then the LORD said, "I will pardon them as you have requested.
• 21. But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD's glory,
• 22. not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they tested me by refusing to listen.
• 23. They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will enter it.
• 24. But my servant Caleb is different from the others. He has remained loyal to me, and I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will receive their full share of that land.
• 25. Now turn around and don't go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea. "
• 26. Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
• 27. "How long will this wicked nation complain about me? I have heard everything the Israelites have been saying.
• 28. Now tell them this: `As surely as I live, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. I, the LORD, have spoken!
• 29. You will all die here in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, none of you who are twenty years old or older and were counted in the census
• 30. will enter the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
• 31. " `You said your children would be taken captive. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised.
• 32. But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness.
• 33. And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.
• 34. " `Because the men who explored the land were there for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years--a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. You will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.'
• 35. I, the LORD, have spoken! I will do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will all die here in this wilderness!"
• 36. Then the ten scouts who had incited the rebellion against the LORD by spreading discouraging reports about the land
• 37. were struck dead with a plague before the LORD.
• 38. Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.
• 39. When Moses reported the LORD's words to the Israelites, there was much sorrow among the people.
• 40. So they got up early the next morning and set out for the hill country of Canaan. "Let's go," they said. "We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us."
• 41. But Moses said, "Why are you now disobeying the LORD's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work.
• 42. Do not go into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you.
• 43. When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD."
• 44. But the people pushed ahead toward the hill country of Canaan, despite the fact that neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD's covenant left the camp.
• 45. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them as far as Hormah.

Psalms 50

• 1. The mighty God, the LORD, has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from east to west!
• 2. From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance.
• 3. Our God approaches with the noise of thunder. Fire devours everything in his way, and a great storm rages around him.
• 4. Heaven and earth will be his witnesses as he judges his people:
• 5. "Bring my faithful people to me--those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices."
• 6. Then let the heavens proclaim his justice, for God himself will be the judge.
• 7. "O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God!
• 8. I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly bring to my altar.
• 9. But I want no more bulls from your barns; I want no more goats from your pens.
• 10. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
• 11. Every bird of the mountains and all the animals of the field belong to me.
• 12. If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.
• 13. I don't need the bulls you sacrifice; I don't need the blood of goats.
• 14. What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High.
• 15. Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory."
• 16. But God says to the wicked: "Recite my laws no longer, and don't pretend that you obey me.
• 17. For you refuse my discipline and treat my laws like trash.
• 18. When you see a thief, you help him, and you spend your time with adulterers.
• 19. Your mouths are filled with wickedness, and your tongues are full of lies.
• 20. You sit around and slander a brother--your own mother's son.
• 21. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn't care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.
• 22. Repent, all of you who ignore me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.
• 23. But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God."

Isaiah 3

• 1. The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will cut off the supplies of food and water from Jerusalem and Judah.
• 2. He will destroy all the nation's leaders--the heroes, soldiers, judges, prophets, diviners, elders,
• 3. army officers, honorable citizens, advisers, skilled magicians, and expert enchanters.
• 4. Then he will appoint children to rule over them, and anarchy will prevail.
• 5. People will take advantage of each other--man against man, neighbor fighting neighbor. Young people will revolt against authority, and nobodies will sneer at honorable people.
• 6. In those days a man will say to his brother, "Since you have a cloak, you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of ruins!"
• 7. "No!" he will reply. "I can't help. I don't have any extra food or clothes. Don't ask me to get involved!"
• 8. Judah and Jerusalem will lie in ruins because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him. They have offended his glorious presence among them.
• 9. The very look on their faces gives them away and displays their guilt. They sin openly like the people of Sodom. They are not one bit ashamed. How terrible it will be for them! They have brought about their own destruction.
• 10. But all will be well for those who are godly. Tell them, "You will receive a wonderful reward!"
• 11. But say to the wicked, "Your destruction is sure. You, too, will get what you deserve. Your well-earned punishment is on the way."
• 12. Children oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, can't you see what fools your rulers are? They are leading you down a pretty garden path to destruction.
• 13. The LORD takes his place in court. He is the great prosecuting attorney, presenting his case against his people!
• 14. The leaders and the princes will be the first to feel the LORD's judgment. "You have ruined Israel, which is my vineyard. You have taken advantage of the poor, filling your barns with grain extorted from helpless people.
• 15. How dare you grind my people into the dust like that!" demands the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
• 16. Next the LORD will judge the women of Jerusalem, who walk around with their noses in the air, with tinkling ornaments on their ankles. Their eyes rove among the crowds, flirting with the men.
• 17. The Lord will send a plague of scabs to ornament their heads. Yes, the LORD will make them bald for all to see!
• 18. The Lord will strip away their artful beauty--their ornaments, headbands, and crescent necklaces;
• 19. their earrings, bracelets, and veils of shimmering gauze.
• 20. Gone will be their scarves, ankle chains, sashes, perfumes, and charms;
• 21. their rings, jewels,
• 22. party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;
• 23. their mirrors, linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.
• 24. Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, they will stink. They will wear ropes for sashes, and their well-set hair will fall out. They will wear rough sackcloth instead of rich robes. Their beauty will be gone. Only shame will be left to them.
• 25. The men of the city will die in battle.
• 26. The gates of Jerusalem will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.

Isaiah 4

• 1. In that day few men will be left alive. Seven women will fight over each of them and say, "Let us all marry you! We will provide our own food and clothing. Only let us be called by your name so we won't be mocked as old maids."
• 2. But in the future, Israel--the branch of the LORD--will be lush and beautiful, and the fruit of the land will be the pride of its people.
• 3. All those whose names are written down, who have survived the destruction of Jerusalem, will be a holy people.
• 4. The Lord will wash the moral filth from the women of Jerusalem. He will cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains by a spirit of judgment that burns like fire.
• 5. Then the LORD will provide shade for Jerusalem and all who assemble there. There will be a canopy of smoke and cloud throughout the day and clouds of fire at night, covering the glorious land.
• 6. It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain.

New Living Translation: 126 of 365 days.