Deuteronomy 18

• 1. "Remember that the Levitical priests and the rest of the tribe of Levi will not be given an inheritance of land like the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the offerings given to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance.
• 2. They will have no inheritance of their own among the Israelites. The LORD himself is their inheritance, just as he promised them.
• 3. "These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the oxen and sheep that the people bring as offerings: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.
• 4. You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.
• 5. For the LORD your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the LORD's name forever.
• 6. "Any Levite who so desires may come from any town in Israel, from wherever he is living, to the place the LORD chooses.
• 7. He may minister there in the name of the LORD his God, just like his fellow Levites who are serving the LORD there.
• 8. He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he has a private source of income.
• 9. "When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.
• 10. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft,
• 11. or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.
• 12. Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.
• 13. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
• 14. The people you are about to displace consult with sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things.
• 15. "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites, and you must listen to that prophet.
• 16. For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You begged that you might never again have to listen to the voice of the LORD your God or see this blazing fire for fear you would die.
• 17. "Then the LORD said to me, `Fine, I will do as they have requested.
• 18. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will tell that prophet what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command him.
• 19. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.
• 20. But any prophet who claims to give a message from another god or who falsely claims to speak for me must die.'
• 21. You may wonder, `How will we know whether the prophecy is from the LORD or not?'
• 22. If the prophet predicts something in the LORD's name and it does not happen, the LORD did not give the message. That prophet has spoken on his own and need not be feared.

Psalms 105

• 1. Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.
• 2. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles.
• 3. Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!
• 4. Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching.
• 5. Think of the wonderful works he has done, the miracles and the judgments he handed down,
• 6. O children of Abraham, God's servant, O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one.
• 7. He is the LORD our God. His rule is seen throughout the land.
• 8. He always stands by his covenant--the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
• 9. This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.
• 10. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to the people of Israel as a never-ending treaty:
• 11. "I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession."
• 12. He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
• 13. They wandered back and forth between nations, from one kingdom to another.
• 14. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:
• 15. "Do not touch these people I have chosen, and do not hurt my prophets."
• 16. He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply.
• 17. Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them--Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
• 18. There in prison, they bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar.
• 19. Until the time came to fulfill his word, the LORD tested Joseph's character.
• 20. Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
• 21. Joseph was put in charge of all the king's household; he became ruler over all the king's possessions.
• 22. He could instruct the king's aides as he pleased and teach the king's advisers.
• 23. Then Israel arrived in Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
• 24. And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel until they became too mighty for their enemies.
• 25. Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites, and they plotted against the LORD's servants.
• 26. But the LORD sent Moses his servant, along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.
• 27. They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians, and miracles in the land of Ham.
• 28. The LORD blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had defied his commands to let his people go.
• 29. He turned the nation's water into blood, poisoning all the fish.
• 30. Then frogs overran the land; they were found even in the king's private rooms.
• 31. When he spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians, and gnats swarmed across Egypt.
• 32. Instead of rain, he sent murderous hail, and flashes of lightning overwhelmed the land.
• 33. He ruined their grapevines and fig trees and shattered all the trees.
• 34. He spoke, and hordes of locusts came--locusts beyond number.
• 35. They ate up everything green in the land, destroying all the crops.
• 36. Then he killed the oldest child in each Egyptian home, the pride and joy of each family.
• 37. But he brought his people safely out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; there were no sick or feeble people among them.
• 38. Egypt was glad when they were gone, for the dread of them was great.
• 39. The LORD spread out a cloud above them as a covering and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
• 40. They asked for meat, and he sent them quail; he gave them manna--bread from heaven.
• 41. He opened up a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry and barren land.
• 42. For he remembered his sacred promise to Abraham his servant.
• 43. So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy, his chosen ones with rejoicing.
• 44. He gave his people the lands of pagan nations, and they harvested crops that others had planted.
• 45. All this happened so they would follow his principles and obey his laws. Praise the LORD!

Isaiah 45

• 1. This is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never again to shut against him.
• 2. This is what the LORD says: "I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
• 3. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
• 4. "And why have I called you for this work? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. I called you by name when you did not know me.
• 5. I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have prepared you, even though you do not know me,
• 6. so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
• 7. I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.
• 8. Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the LORD, created them.
• 9. "Destruction is certain for those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, `Stop, you are doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim, `How clumsy can you be!'
• 10. How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father and mother, `Why was I born? Why did you make me this way?'"
• 11. This is what the LORD, the Creator and Holy One of Israel, says: "Do you question what I do? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
• 12. I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the millions of stars are at my command.
• 13. I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide all his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people--and not for a reward! I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!"
• 14. This is what the LORD says: "The Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sabeans will be subject to you. They will come to you with all their merchandise, and it will all be yours. They will follow you as prisoners in chains. They will fall to their knees in front of you and say, `God is with you, and he is the only God.'"
• 15. Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in strange and mysterious ways.
• 16. All who make idols will be humiliated and disgraced.
• 17. But the LORD will save the people of Israel with eternal salvation. They will never again be humiliated and disgraced throughout everlasting ages.
• 18. For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. "I am the LORD," he says, "and there is no other.
• 19. I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so no one can understand what I mean. And I did not tell the people of Israel to ask me for something I did not plan to give. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and right.
• 20. "Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save!
• 21. Consult together, argue your case, and state your proofs that idol worship pays. Who made these things known long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the LORD? For there is no other God but me--a just God and a Savior--no, not one!
• 22. Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.
• 23. I have sworn by my own name, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to my name."
• 24. The people will declare, "The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength." And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed.
• 25. In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified, and in him they will boast.

New Living Translation: 164 of 365 days.