Genesis 34

• 1. One day Dinah, Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area.
• 2. But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her.
• 3. But Shechem's love for Dinah was strong, and he tried to win her affection.
• 4. He even spoke to his father about it. "Get this girl for me," he demanded. "I want to marry her."
• 5. Word soon reached Jacob that his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle so he did nothing until they returned.
• 6. Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem's father, came out to discuss the matter with Jacob.
• 7. He arrived just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob's family, a thing that should never have been done.
• 8. Hamor told Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and he longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her.
• 9. We invite you to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men.
• 10. And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. You are free to acquire property among us."
• 11. Then Shechem addressed Dinah's father and brothers. "Please be kind to me, and let me have her as my wife," he begged. "I will give whatever you require.
• 12. No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it--only give me the girl as my wife."
• 13. But Dinah's brothers deceived Shechem and Hamor because of what Shechem had done to their sister.
• 14. They said to them, "We couldn't possibly allow this, because you aren't circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry a man like you!
• 15. But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are,
• 16. we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people.
• 17. Otherwise we will take her and be on our way."
• 18. Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed,
• 19. and Shechem lost no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Dinah desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family,
• 20. and he appeared with his father before the town leaders to present this proposal.
• 21. "Those men are our friends," they said. "Let's invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them.
• 22. But they will consider staying here only on one condition. Every one of us men must be circumcised, just as they are.
• 23. But if we do this, all their flocks and possessions will become ours. Come, let's agree to this so they will settle here among us."
• 24. So all the men agreed and were circumcised.
• 25. But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the town without opposition, and slaughtered every man there,
• 26. including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem's house and returned to their camp.
• 27. Then all of Jacob's sons plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there.
• 28. They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys--everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields.
• 29. They also took all the women and children and wealth of every kind.
• 30. Afterward Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, "You have made me stink among all the people of this land--among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us. We will all be killed!"
• 31. "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" they retorted angrily.

Mark 5

• 1. So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the land of the Gerasenes.
• 2. Just as Jesus was climbing from the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit ran out from a cemetery to meet him.
• 3. This man lived among the tombs and could not be restrained, even with a chain.
• 4. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles--as he often was--he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to control him.
• 5. All day long and throughout the night, he would wander among the tombs and in the hills, screaming and hitting himself with stones.
• 6. When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him. He ran to meet Jesus and fell down before him.
• 7. He gave a terrible scream, shrieking, "Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God's sake, don't torture me!"
• 8. For Jesus had already said to the spirit, "Come out of the man, you evil spirit."
• 9. Then Jesus asked, "What is your name?" And the spirit replied, "Legion, because there are many of us here inside this man."
• 10. Then the spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place.
• 11. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.
• 12. "Send us into those pigs," the evil spirits begged.
• 13. Jesus gave them permission. So the evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of two thousand pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake, where they drowned.
• 14. The herdsmen fled to the nearby city and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves.
• 15. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, but they were frightened when they saw the man who had been demon possessed, for he was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane.
• 16. Those who had seen what happened to the man and to the pigs told everyone about it,
• 17. and the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
• 18. When Jesus got back into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too.
• 19. But Jesus said, "No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been."
• 20. So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
• 21. When Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him on the shore.
• 22. A leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him,
• 23. pleading with him to heal his little daughter. "She is about to die," he said in desperation. "Please come and place your hands on her; heal her so she can live."
• 24. Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind.
• 25. And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years.
• 26. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors through the years and had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she was worse.
• 27. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched the fringe of his robe.
• 28. For she thought to herself, "If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed."
• 29. Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel that she had been healed!
• 30. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
• 31. His disciples said to him, "All this crowd is pressing around you. How can you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
• 32. But he kept on looking around to see who had done it.
• 33. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done.
• 34. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed."
• 35. While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus's home with the message, "Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now."
• 36. But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just trust me."
• 37. Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn't let anyone go with him except Peter and James and John.
• 38. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the weeping and wailing.
• 39. He went inside and spoke to the people. "Why all this weeping and commotion?" he asked. "The child isn't dead; she is only asleep."
• 40. The crowd laughed at him, but he told them all to go outside. Then he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying.
• 41. Holding her hand, he said to her, "Get up, little girl!"
• 42. And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! Her parents were absolutely overwhelmed.
• 43. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened, and he told them to give her something to eat.

Esther 10

• 1. King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout his empire, even to the distant coastlands.
• 2. His great achievements and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Media and Persia.
• 3. Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he worked for the good of his people and was a friend at the royal court for all of them.

New Living Translation: 33 of 365 days.