Genesis 49

• 1. Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what is going to happen to you in the days to come.
• 2. "Come and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
• 3. "Reuben, you are my oldest son, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first on the list in rank and honor.
• 4. But you are as unruly as the waves of the sea, and you will be first no longer. For you slept with one of my wives; you dishonored me in my own bed.
• 5. "Simeon and Levi are two of a kind--men of violence.
• 6. O my soul, stay away from them. May I never be a party to their wicked plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.
• 7. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel. Therefore, I will scatter their descendants throughout the nation of Israel.
• 8. "Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. All your relatives will bow before you.
• 9. Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness--who will dare to rouse him?
• 10. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey.
• 11. He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine because his harvest is so plentiful.
• 12. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
• 13. "Zebulun will settle on the shores of the sea and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
• 14. "Issachar is a strong beast of burden, resting among the sheepfolds.
• 15. When he sees how good the countryside is, how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the task and submit to forced labor.
• 16. "Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel.
• 17. He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so the rider is thrown off.
• 18. I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!
• 19. "Gad will be plundered by marauding bands, but he will turn and plunder them.
• 20. "Asher will produce rich foods, food fit for kings.
• 21. "Naphtali is a deer let loose, producing magnificent fawns.
• 22. "Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a fountain. His branches reach over the wall.
• 23. He has been attacked by archers, who shot at him and harassed him.
• 24. But his bow remained strong, and his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
• 25. May the God of your ancestors help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the earth beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
• 26. May the blessings of your ancestors be greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains, reaching to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. These blessings will fall on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.
• 27. "Benjamin is a wolf that prowls. He devours his enemies in the morning, and in the evening he divides the plunder."
• 28. These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and these are the blessings with which Jacob blessed his twelve sons. Each received a blessing that was appropriate to him.
• 29. Then Jacob told them, "Soon I will die. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in Ephron's field.
• 30. This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a permanent burial place.
• 31. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.
• 32. It is the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites."
• 33. Then when Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he lay back in the bed, breathed his last, and died.

Luke 4

• 1. Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit to go out into the wilderness,
• 2. where the Devil tempted him for forty days. He ate nothing all that time and was very hungry.
• 3. Then the Devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change this stone into a loaf of bread."
• 4. But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People need more than bread for their life.'"
• 5. Then the Devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
• 6. The Devil told him, "I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them--because they are mine to give to anyone I please.
• 7. I will give it all to you if you will bow down and worship me."
• 8. Jesus replied, "The Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.'"
• 9. Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off!
• 10. For the Scriptures say, 'He orders his angels to protect and guard you.
• 11. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.'"
• 12. Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'Do not test the Lord your God.'"
• 13. When the Devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
• 14. Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit's power. Soon he became well known throughout the surrounding country.
• 15. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
• 16. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.
• 17. The scroll containing the messages of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll to the place where it says:
• 18. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,
• 19. and that the time of the Lord's favor has come. "
• 20. He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently.
• 21. Then he said, "This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!"
• 22. All who were there spoke well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that fell from his lips. "How can this be?" they asked. "Isn't this Joseph's son?"
• 23. Then he said, "Probably you will quote me that proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself'--meaning, 'Why don't you do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum?'
• 24. But the truth is, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
• 25. "Certainly there were many widows in Israel who needed help in Elijah's time, when there was no rain for three and a half years and hunger stalked the land.
• 26. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a widow of Zarephath--a foreigner in the land of Sidon.
• 27. Or think of the prophet Elisha, who healed Naaman, a Syrian, rather than the many lepers in Israel who needed help."
• 28. When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.
• 29. Jumping up, they mobbed him and took him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built. They intended to push him over the cliff,
• 30. but he slipped away through the crowd and left them.
• 31. Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day.
• 32. There, too, the people were amazed at the things he said, because he spoke with authority.
• 33. Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon began shouting at Jesus,
• 34. "Go away! Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One sent from God."
• 35. Jesus cut him short. "Be silent!" he told the demon. "Come out of the man!" The demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it left him without hurting him further.
• 36. Amazed, the people exclaimed, "What authority and power this man's words possess! Even evil spirits obey him and flee at his command!"
• 37. The story of what he had done spread like wildfire throughout the whole region.
• 38. After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home, where he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. "Please heal her," everyone begged.
• 39. Standing at her bedside, he spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal. She got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
• 40. As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.
• 41. Some were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, "You are the Son of God." But because they knew he was the Messiah, he stopped them and told them to be silent.
• 42. Early the next morning Jesus went out into the wilderness. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.
• 43. But he replied, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places, too, because that is why I was sent."
• 44. So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Job 16

• 1. Then Job spoke again:
• 2. "I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are!
• 3. Won't you ever stop your flow of foolish words? What have I said that makes you speak so endlessly?
• 4. I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off my criticisms against you and shake my head at you.
• 5. But that's not what I would do. I would speak in a way that helps you. I would try to take away your grief.
• 6. But as it is, my grief remains no matter how I defend myself. And it does not help if I refuse to speak.
• 7. "O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family.
• 8. You have reduced me to skin and bones--as proof, they say, of my sins.
• 9. God hates me and tears angrily at my flesh. He gnashes his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.
• 10. People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me.
• 11. God has handed me over to sinners. He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.
• 12. "I was living quietly until he broke me apart. He took me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. Then he set me up as his target.
• 13. His archers surrounded me, and his arrows pierced me without mercy. The ground is wet with my blood.
• 14. Again and again he smashed me, charging at me like a warrior.
• 15. Here I sit in sackcloth. I have surrendered, and I sit in the dust.
• 16. My eyes are red with weeping; darkness covers my eyes.
• 17. Yet I am innocent, and my prayer is pure.
• 18. "O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf.
• 19. Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high.
• 20. My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.
• 21. Oh, that someone would mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.
• 22. For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.

Job 17

• 1. "My spirit is crushed, and I am near death. The grave is ready to receive me.
• 2. I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
• 3. "You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me.
• 4. You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph.
• 5. They denounce their companions for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger.
• 6. "God has made a mockery of me among the people; they spit in my face.
• 7. My eyes are dim with weeping, and I am but a shadow of my former self.
• 8. The upright are astonished when they see me. The innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
• 9. The righteous will move onward and forward, and those with pure hearts will become stronger and stronger.
• 10. "As for all of you, come back and try again! But I will not find a wise man among you.
• 11. My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart's desires are broken.
• 12. They say that night is day and day is night; how they pervert the truth!
• 13. I might go to the grave and make my bed in darkness.
• 14. And I might call the grave my father, and the worm my mother and my sister.
• 15. But where then is my hope? Can anyone find it?
• 16. No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We will rest together in the dust!"

New Living Translation: 48 of 365 days.