Exodus 11

• 1. Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will send just one more disaster on Pharaoh and the land of Egypt. After that, Pharaoh will let you go. In fact, he will be so anxious to get rid of you that he will practically force you to leave the country.
• 2. Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold."
• 3. (Now the LORD had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel, and Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt. He was respected by Pharaoh's officials and the Egyptian people alike.)
• 4. So Moses announced to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD says: About midnight I will pass through Egypt.
• 5. All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest slave. Even the firstborn of the animals will die.
• 6. Then a loud wail will be heard throughout the land of Egypt; there has never been such wailing before, and there never will be again.
• 7. But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
• 8. All the officials of Egypt will come running to me, bowing low. `Please leave!' they will beg. `Hurry! And take all your followers with you.' Only then will I go!" Then, burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh's presence.
• 9. Now the LORD had told Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you. But this will give me the opportunity to do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt."
• 10. Although Moses and Aaron did these miracles in Pharaoh's presence, the LORD hardened his heart so he wouldn't let the Israelites leave the country.

Luke 15

• 1. Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
• 2. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such despicable people--even eating with them!
• 3. So Jesus used this illustration:
• 4. "If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?
• 5. And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders.
• 6. When you arrived, you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found.
• 7. In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!
• 8. "Or suppose a woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it?
• 9. And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she has found her lost coin.
• 10. In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."
• 11. To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons.
• 12. The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
• 13. "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living.
• 14. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
• 15. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs.
• 16. The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
• 17. "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger!
• 18. I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,
• 19. and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man."'
• 20. "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
• 21. His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. '
• 22. "But his father said to the servants, 'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet.
• 23. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast,
• 24. for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.
• 25. "Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,
• 26. and he asked one of the servants what was going on.
• 27. 'Your brother is back,' he was told, 'and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast. We are celebrating because of his safe return.'
• 28. "The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him,
• 29. but he replied, 'All these years I've worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.
• 30. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have.'
• 31. "His father said to him, 'Look, dear son, you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours.
• 32. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!'"

Job 30

• 1. "But now I am mocked by those who are younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
• 2. A lot of good they are to me--those worn-out wretches!
• 3. They are gaunt with hunger and flee to the deserts and the wastelands, desolate and gloomy.
• 4. They eat coarse leaves, and they burn the roots of shrubs for heat.
• 5. They are driven from civilization, and people shout after them as if they were thieves.
• 6. So now they live in frightening ravines and in caves and among the rocks.
• 7. They sound like animals as they howl among the bushes; they huddle together for shelter beneath the nettles.
• 8. They are nameless fools, outcasts of civilization.
• 9. "And now their sons mock me with their vulgar song! They taunt me!
• 10. They despise me and won't come near me, except to spit in my face.
• 11. For God has cut the cords of my tent. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.
• 12. These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling; they lay traps in my path.
• 13. They block my road and do everything they can to hasten my calamity, knowing full well that I have no one to help me.
• 14. They come at me from all directions. They rush upon me when I am down.
• 15. I live in terror now. They hold me in contempt, and my prosperity has vanished as a cloud before a strong wind.
• 16. "And now my heart is broken. Depression haunts my days.
• 17. My weary nights are filled with pain as though something were relentlessly gnawing at my bones.
• 18. With a strong hand, God grabs my garment. He grips me by the collar of my tunic.
• 19. He has thrown me into the mud. I have become as dust and ashes.
• 20. "I cry to you, O God, but you don't answer me. I stand before you, and you don't bother to look.
• 21. You have become cruel toward me. You persecute me with your great power.
• 22. You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.
• 23. And I know that you are sending me to my death--the destination of all who live.
• 24. "Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help.
• 25. Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
• 26. So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
• 27. My heart is troubled and restless. Days of affliction have come upon me.
• 28. I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help.
• 29. But instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to ostriches.
• 30. My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever.
• 31. My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep.

New Living Translation: 60 of 365 days.