Genesis 7

• 1. Finally, the day came when the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous.
• 2. Take along seven pairs of each animal that I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others.
• 3. Then select seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that every kind of living creature will survive the flood.
• 4. One week from today I will begin forty days and forty nights of rain. And I will wipe from the earth all the living things I have created."
• 5. So Noah did exactly as the LORD had commanded him.
• 6. He was 600 years old when the flood came,
• 7. and he went aboard the boat to escape--he and his wife and his sons and their wives.
• 8. With them were all the various kinds of animals--those approved for eating and sacrifice and those that were not--along with all the birds and other small animals.
• 9. They came into the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah.
• 10. One week later, the flood came and covered the earth.
• 11. When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the underground waters burst forth on the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky.
• 12. The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights.
• 13. But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons--Shem, Ham, and Japheth--and their wives.
• 14. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of breathing animal--domestic and wild, large and small--along with birds and flying insects of every kind.
• 15. Two by two they came into the boat,
• 16. male and female, just as God had commanded. Then the LORD shut them in.
• 17. For forty days the floods prevailed, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth.
• 18. As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface.
• 19. Finally, the water covered even the highest mountains on the earth,
• 20. standing more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks.
• 21. All the living things on earth died--birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all kinds of small animals, and all the people.
• 22. Everything died that breathed and lived on dry land.
• 23. Every living thing on the earth was wiped out--people, animals both large and small, and birds. They were all destroyed, and only Noah was left alive, along with those who were with him in the boat.
• 24. And the water covered the earth for 150 days.

Matthew 6

• 1. "Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
• 2. When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout about it as the hypocrites do--blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get.
• 3. But when you give to someone, don't tell your left hand what your right hand is doing.
• 4. Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
• 5. "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get.
• 6. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
• 7. "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.
• 8. Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
• 9. Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored.
• 10. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
• 11. Give us our food for today,
• 12. and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
• 13. And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
• 14. "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
• 15. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
• 16. "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get.
• 17. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
• 18. Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
• 19. "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal.
• 20. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.
• 21. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.
• 22. "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul.
• 23. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!
• 24. "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
• 25. "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing?
• 26. Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.
• 27. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.
• 28. "And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing,
• 29. yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.
• 30. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!
• 31. "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing.
• 32. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs,
• 33. and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
• 34. "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Ezra 6

• 1. So King Darius issued orders that a search be made in the Babylonian archives, where treasures were stored.
• 2. But it was at the fortress at Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found. This is what it said:
• 3. "Memorandum: "In the first year of King Cyrus's reign, a decree was sent out concerning the Temple of God at Jerusalem. It must be rebuilt on the site where Jews used to offer their sacrifices, retaining the original foundations. Its height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet.
• 4. Every three layers of specially prepared stones will be topped by a layer of timber. All expenses will be paid by the royal treasury.
• 5. And the gold and silver utensils, which were taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, will be taken back to Jerusalem and put into God's Temple as they were before."
• 6. So King Darius sent this message: "To Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, to Shethar-bozenai, and to your colleagues and other officials west of the Euphrates: "Stay away from there!
• 7. Do not disturb the construction of the Temple of God. Let it be rebuilt on its former site, and do not hinder the governor of Judah and the leaders of the Jews in their work.
• 8. Moreover I hereby decree that you are to help these leaders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs without delay from my taxes collected in your province so that the work will not be discontinued.
• 9. Give the priests in Jerusalem whatever is needed in the way of young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings presented to the God of heaven. And without fail, provide them with the wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil that they need each day.
• 10. Then they will be able to offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for me and my sons.
• 11. "Those who violate this decree in any way will have a beam pulled from their house. Then they will be tied to it and flogged, and their house will be reduced to a pile of rubble.
• 12. May the God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem as the place to honor his name destroy any king or nation that violates this command and destroys this Temple. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence."
• 13. Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues complied at once with the command of King Darius.
• 14. So the Jewish leaders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia.
• 15. The Temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius's reign.
• 16. The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile.
• 17. During the dedication ceremony for the Temple of God, one hundred young bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs were sacrificed. And twelve male goats were presented as a sin offering for the twelve tribes of Israel.
• 18. Then the priests and Levites were divided into their various divisions to serve at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, following all the instructions recorded in the Book of Moses.
• 19. On April 21 the returned exiles celebrated Passover.
• 20. The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for the other priests, and for themselves.
• 21. The Passover meal was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and by the others in the land who had turned from their immoral customs to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.
• 22. They ate the Passover meal and celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There was great joy throughout the land because the LORD had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he helped them to rebuild the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

New Living Translation: 6 of 365 days.