Joshua 8

• 1. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the entire army and attack Ai, for I have given to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
• 2. You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the captured goods and the cattle for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."
• 3. So Joshua and the army of Israel set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand fighting men and sent them out at night
• 4. with these orders: "Hide in ambush close behind the city and be ready for action.
• 5. When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them.
• 6. We will let them chase us until they have all left the city. For they will say, `The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.'
• 7. Then you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will give it to you.
• 8. Set the city on fire, as the LORD has commanded. You have your orders."
• 9. So they left that night and lay in ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai. But Joshua remained among the people in the camp that night.
• 10. Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the leaders of Israel.
• 11. They camped on the north side of Ai, with a valley between them and the city.
• 12. That night Joshua sent five thousand men to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city.
• 13. So they stationed the main army north of the city and the ambush west of the city. Joshua himself spent that night in the valley.
• 14. When the king of Ai saw the Israelites across the valley, he and all his army hurriedly went out early the next morning and attacked the Israelites at a place overlooking the Jordan Valley. But he didn't realize there was an ambush behind the city.
• 15. Joshua and the Israelite army fled toward the wilderness as though they were badly beaten,
• 16. and all the men in the city were called out to chase after them. In this way, they were lured away from the city.
• 17. There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not chase after the Israelites, and the city was left wide open.
• 18. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Point your spear toward Ai, for I will give you the city." Joshua did as he was commanded.
• 19. As soon as Joshua gave the signal, the men in ambush jumped up and poured into the city. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.
• 20. When the men of Ai looked behind them, smoke from the city was filling the sky, and they had nowhere to go. For the Israelites who had fled in the direction of the wilderness now turned on their pursuers.
• 21. When Joshua and the other Israelites saw that the ambush had succeeded and that smoke was rising from the city, they turned and attacked the men of Ai.
• 22. Then the Israelites who were inside the city came out and started killing the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in a trap, and all of them died. Not a single person survived or escaped.
• 23. Only the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
• 24. When the Israelite army finished killing all the men outside the city, they went back and finished off everyone inside.
• 25. So the entire population of Ai was wiped out that day--twelve thousand in all.
• 26. For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed.
• 27. Only the cattle and the treasures of the city were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these for themselves, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.
• 28. So Ai became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.
• 29. Joshua hung the king of Ai on a tree and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body and threw it in front of the city gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
• 30. Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.
• 31. He followed the instructions that Moses the LORD's servant had written in the Book of the Law: "Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools." Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
• 32. And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied the law of Moses onto the stones of the altar.
• 33. Then all the Israelites--foreigners and citizens alike--along with the leaders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood at the foot of Mount Gerizim, the other at the foot of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the LORD's covenant. This was all done according to the instructions Moses, the servant of the LORD, had given for blessing the people of Israel.
• 34. Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of the Law.
• 35. Every command Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among the Israelites.

Psalms 139

• 1. O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
• 2. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.
• 3. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.
• 4. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
• 5. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
• 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
• 7. I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
• 8. If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
• 9. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
• 10. even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
• 11. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night--
• 12. but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
• 13. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
• 14. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.
• 15. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
• 16. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
• 17. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!
• 18. I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!
• 19. O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!
• 20. They blaspheme you; your enemies take your name in vain.
• 21. O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? Shouldn't I despise those who resist you?
• 22. Yes, I hate them with complete hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.
• 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
• 24. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalms 140

• 1. O LORD, rescue me from evil people. Preserve me from those who are violent,
• 2. those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long.
• 3. Their tongues sting like a snake; the poison of a viper drips from their lips.
• 4. O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from those who are violent, for they are plotting against me.
• 5. The proud have set a trap to catch me; they have stretched out a net; they have placed traps all along the way.
• 6. I said to the LORD, "You are my God!" Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!
• 7. O Sovereign LORD, my strong savior, you protected me on the day of battle.
• 8. LORD, do not give in to their evil desires. Do not let their evil schemes succeed, O God.
• 9. Let my enemies be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for me.
• 10. Let burning coals fall down on their heads, or throw them into the fire, or into deep pits from which they can't escape.
• 11. Don't let liars prosper here in our land. Cause disaster to fall with great force on the violent.
• 12. But I know the LORD will surely help those they persecute; he will maintain the rights of the poor.
• 13. Surely the godly are praising your name, for they will live in your presence.

Jeremiah 2

• 1. The LORD gave me another message. He said,
• 2. "Go and shout in Jerusalem's streets: `This is what the LORD says: I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.
• 3. In those days Israel was holy to the LORD, the first of my children. All who harmed my people were considered guilty, and disaster fell upon them. I, the LORD, have spoken!'"
• 4. Listen to the word of the LORD, people of Jacob--all you families of Israel!
• 5. This is what the LORD says: "What sin did your ancestors find in me that led them to stray so far? They worshiped foolish idols, only to become foolish themselves.
• 6. They did not ask, `Where is the LORD who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness--a land of deserts and pits, of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?'
• 7. "And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the inheritance I had promised you.
• 8. The priests did not ask, `Where is the LORD?' The judges ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on nonsense.
• 9. Therefore, I will bring my case against you and will keep on accusing you, even against your children's children in the years to come. I, the LORD, have spoken!
• 10. "Go west to the land of Cyprus; go east to the land of Kedar. Think about what you see there. See if anyone has ever heard of anything as strange as this.
• 11. Has any nation ever exchanged its gods for another god, even though its gods are nothing? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!
• 12. The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay, says the LORD.
• 13. For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me--the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!
• 14. "Why has Israel become a nation of slaves? Why has she been carried away as plunder?
• 15. Lions have roared against her. The land has been destroyed, and the cities are now in ruins. No one lives in them anymore.
• 16. Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes, have utterly destroyed Israel's glory and power.
• 17. And you have brought this on yourselves by rebelling against the LORD your God when he wanted to lead you and show you the way!
• 18. "What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt and Assyria? What good to you are the waters of the Nile and the Euphrates?
• 19. Your own wickedness will punish you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to forsake the LORD your God, having no fear of him. I, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!
• 20. Long ago I broke your yoke and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you would not obey me. On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.
• 21. "How could this happen? When I planted you, I chose a vine of the purest stock--the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?
• 22. No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. You are stained with guilt that cannot be washed away. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!
• 23. "You say, `That's not true! We haven't worshiped the images of Baal!' But how can you say that? Go and look in any valley in the land! Face the awful sins you have done. You are like a restless female camel, desperate for a male!
• 24. You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. Who can restrain your lust? Those who desire you do not even need to search, for you come running to them!
• 25. Why do you refuse to turn from all this running after other gods? But you say, `Don't waste your breath. I have fallen in love with these foreign gods, and I can't stop loving them now!'
• 26. "Like a thief, Israel feels shame only when she gets caught. Kings, officials, priests, and prophets--all are alike in this.
• 27. To an image carved from a piece of wood they say, `You are my father.' To an idol chiseled out of stone they say, `You are my mother.' They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out for me to save them!
• 28. Why don't you call on these gods you have made? When danger comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are cities and towns in Judah.
• 29. Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled, says the LORD.
• 30. I have punished your children, but it did them no good. They still refuse to obey. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a lion kills its prey.
• 31. "O my people, listen to the words of the LORD! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, `At last we are free from God! We won't have anything to do with him anymore!'
• 32. Does a young woman forget her jewelry? Does a bride hide her wedding dress? No! Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.
• 33. "How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. The most experienced prostitute could learn from you!
• 34. Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor. You killed them even though they didn't break into your houses!
• 35. And yet you say, `I haven't done anything wrong. Surely he isn't angry with me!' Now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.
• 36. "First here, then there--you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.
• 37. In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the LORD has rejected the nations you trust. You will not succeed despite their help.

New Living Translation: 187 of 365 days.