Numbers 27

• 1. One day a petition was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad--Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Their father, Zelophehad, was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph.
• 2. These women went and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
• 3. "Our father died in the wilderness without leaving any sons," they said. "But he was not among Korah's followers, who rebelled against the LORD. He died because of his own sin.
• 4. Why should the name of our father disappear just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives."
• 5. So Moses brought their case before the LORD.
• 6. And the LORD replied to Moses,
• 7. "The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You must give them an inheritance of land along with their father's relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.
• 8. Moreover announce this to the people of Israel: `If a man dies and has no sons, then give his inheritance to his daughters.
• 9. And if he has no daughters, turn his inheritance over to his brothers.
• 10. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father's brothers.
• 11. But if his father has no brothers, pass on his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. The Israelites must observe this as a general legal requirement, just as the LORD commanded Moses.'"
• 12. One day the LORD said to Moses, "Climb to the top of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel.
• 13. After you have seen it, you will die as Aaron your brother did,
• 14. for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters." (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
• 15. Then Moses said to the LORD,
• 16. "O LORD, the God of the spirits of all living things, please appoint a new leader for the community.
• 17. Give them someone who will lead them into battle, so the people of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd."
• 18. The LORD replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
• 19. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him with the responsibility of leading the people.
• 20. Transfer your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him.
• 21. When direction from the LORD is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will determine the LORD's will by means of sacred lots. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will discover what they should do."
• 22. So Moses did as the LORD commanded and presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community.
• 23. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to his responsibilities, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

Psalms 70

• 1. Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me.
• 2. May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace.
• 3. Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, "Aha! We've got him now!"
• 4. But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, "God is great!"
• 5. But I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O LORD, do not delay!

Psalms 71

• 1. O LORD, you are my refuge; never let me be disgraced.
• 2. Rescue me! Save me from my enemies, for you are just. Turn your ear to listen and set me free.
• 3. Be to me a protecting rock of safety, where I am always welcome. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
• 4. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors.
• 5. O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood.
• 6. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!
• 7. My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection.
• 8. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.
• 9. And now, in my old age, don't set me aside. Don't abandon me when my strength is failing.
• 10. For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me.
• 11. They say, "God has abandoned him. Let's go and get him, for there is no one to help him now."
• 12. O God, don't stay away. My God, please hurry to help me.
• 13. Bring disgrace and destruction on those who accuse me. May humiliation and shame cover those who want to harm me.
• 14. But I will keep on hoping for you to help me; I will praise you more and more.
• 15. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, for I am overwhelmed by how much you have done for me.
• 16. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. I will tell everyone that you alone are just and good.
• 17. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I have constantly told others about the wonderful things you do.
• 18. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
• 19. Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God?
• 20. You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.
• 21. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.
• 22. Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O God. I will sing for you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
• 23. I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have redeemed me.
• 24. I will tell about your righteous deeds all day long, for everyone who tried to hurt me has been shamed and humiliated.

Isaiah 17

• 1. This message came to me concerning Damascus: "Look, Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins.
• 2. The cities of Aroer will be deserted. Sheep will graze in the streets and lie down unafraid. There will be no one to chase them away.
• 3. The fortified cities of Israel will also be destroyed, and the power of Damascus will end. The few left in Aram will share the fate of Israel's departed glory," says the LORD Almighty.
• 4. "In that day the glory of Israel will be very dim, for poverty will stalk the land.
• 5. Israel will be abandoned like the grainfields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.
• 6. Only a few of its people will be left, like the stray olives left on the tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five out on the tips of the limbs. Yes, Israel will be stripped bare of people," says the LORD, the God of Israel.
• 7. Then at last the people will think of their Creator and have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
• 8. They will no longer ask their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or burn incense on the altars they built.
• 9. Their largest cities will be as deserted as overgrown thickets. They will become like the cities the Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago.
• 10. Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you--the Rock who can hide you. You may plant the finest imported grapevines,
• 11. and they may grow so well that they blossom on the very morning you plant them, but you will never pick any grapes from them. Your only harvest will be a load of grief and incurable pain.
• 12. Look! The armies rush forward like waves thundering toward the shore.
• 13. But though they roar like breakers on a beach, God will silence them. They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind or like dust whirling before a storm.
• 14. In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder and destroy the people of God.

Isaiah 18

• 1. Destruction is certain for the land of Ethiopia, which lies at the headwaters of the Nile. Its winged sailboats glide along the river,
• 2. and ambassadors are sent in fast boats down the Nile. Go home, swift messengers! Take a message to your land divided by rivers, to your tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction.
• 3. When I raise my battle flag on the mountain, let all the world take notice. When I blow the trumpet, listen!
• 4. For the LORD has told me this: "I will watch quietly from my dwelling place--as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day, or as the dew forms on an autumn morning during the harvest."
• 5. Even before you begin your attack, while your plans are ripening like grapes, the LORD will cut you off as though with pruning shears. He will snip your spreading branches.
• 6. Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields for the mountain birds and wild animals to eat. The vultures will tear at corpses all summer. The wild animals will gnaw at bones all winter.
• 7. But the time will come when the LORD Almighty will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to the LORD Almighty in Jerusalem, the place where his name dwells.

New Living Translation: 138 of 365 days.