Exodus 21

• 1. "Here are some other instructions you must present to Israel:
• 2. "If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.
• 3. If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterward, only he will go free in the seventh year. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him.
• 4. "If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.
• 5. But the slave may plainly declare, `I love my master, my wife, and my children. I would rather not go free.'
• 6. If he does this, his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will belong to his master forever.
• 7. "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.
• 8. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her.
• 9. And if the slave girl's owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter.
• 10. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife.
• 11. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
• 12. "Anyone who hits a person hard enough to cause death must be put to death.
• 13. But if it is an accident and God allows it to happen, I will appoint a place where the slayer can run for safety.
• 14. However, if someone deliberately attacks and kills another person, then the slayer must be dragged even from my altar and put to death.
• 15. "Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.
• 16. "Kidnappers must be killed, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves.
• 17. "Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death.
• 18. "Now suppose two people quarrel, and one hits the other with a stone or fist, causing injury but not death.
• 19. If the injured person is later able to walk again, even with a crutch, the assailant will be innocent. Nonetheless, the assailant must pay for time lost because of the injury and must pay for the medical expenses.
• 20. "If a male or female slave is beaten and dies, the owner must be punished.
• 21. If the slave recovers after a couple of days, however, then the owner should not be punished, since the slave is the owner's property.
• 22. "Now suppose two people are fighting, and in the process, they hurt a pregnant woman so her child is born prematurely. If no further harm results, then the person responsible must pay damages in the amount the woman's husband demands and the judges approve.
• 23. But if any harm results, then the offender must be punished according to the injury. If the result is death, the offender must be executed.
• 24. If an eye is injured, injure the eye of the person who did it. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the person who did it. Similarly, the payment must be hand for hand, foot for foot,
• 25. burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
• 26. "If an owner hits a male or female slave in the eye and the eye is blinded, then the slave may go free because of the eye.
• 27. And if an owner knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave, the slave should be released in payment for the tooth.
• 28. "If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull must be stoned, and its flesh may not be eaten. In such a case, however, the owner will not be held liable.
• 29. Suppose, on the other hand, that the owner knew the bull had gored people in the past, yet the bull was not kept under control. If this is true and if the bull kills someone, it must be stoned, and the owner must also be killed.
• 30. However, the dead person's relatives may accept payment from the owner of the bull to compensate for the loss of life. The owner will have to pay whatever is demanded.
• 31. "The same principle applies if the bull gores a boy or a girl.
• 32. But if the bull gores a slave, either male or female, the slave's owner is to be given thirty silver coins in payment, and the bull must be stoned.
• 33. "Suppose someone digs or uncovers a well and fails to cover it, and then an ox or a donkey falls into it.
• 34. The owner of the well must pay in full for the dead animal but then gets to keep it.
• 35. "If someone's bull injures a neighbor's bull and the injured bull dies, then the two owners must sell the live bull and divide the money between them. Each will also own half of the dead bull.
• 36. But if the bull was known from past experience to gore, yet its owner failed to keep it under control, the money will not be divided. The owner of the living bull must pay in full for the dead bull but then gets to keep it.

John 1

• 1. In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God.
• 2. He was in the beginning with God.
• 3. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make.
• 4. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.
• 5. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
• 6. God sent John the Baptist
• 7. to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.
• 8. John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light.
• 9. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world.
• 10. But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came.
• 11. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted.
• 12. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
• 13. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan--this rebirth comes from God.
• 14. So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.
• 15. John pointed him out to the people. He shouted to the crowds, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Someone is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.'"
• 16. We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us--one gracious blessing after another.
• 17. For the law was given through Moses; God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
• 18. No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart; he has told us about him.
• 19. This was the testimony of John when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John whether he claimed to be the Messiah.
• 20. He flatly denied it. "I am not the Messiah," he said.
• 21. "Well then, who are you?" they asked. "Are you Elijah?No," he replied. "Are you the Prophet?No."
• 22. "Then who are you? Tell us, so we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?"
• 23. John replied in the words of Isaiah: "I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare a straight pathway for the Lord's coming!'"
• 24. Then those who were sent by the Pharisees
• 25. asked him, "If you aren't the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?"
• 26. John told them, "I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not know,
• 27. who will soon begin his ministry. I am not even worthy to be his slave. "
• 28. This incident took place at Bethany, a village east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
• 29. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
• 30. He is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Soon a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.'
• 31. I didn't know he was the one, but I have been baptizing with water in order to point him out to Israel."
• 32. Then John said, "I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him.
• 33. I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'When you see the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon someone, he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
• 34. I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Son of God. "
• 35. The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples.
• 36. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and then declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!"
• 37. Then John's two disciples turned and followed Jesus.
• 38. Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
• 39. "Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place, and they stayed there the rest of the day.
• 40. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who had heard what John said and then followed Jesus.
• 41. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon, and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means the Christ).
• 42. Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, "You are Simon, the son of John--but you will be called Cephas" (which means Peter ).
• 43. The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Come, be my disciple."
• 44. Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter's hometown.
• 45. Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, "We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth."
• 46. "Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?Just come and see for yourself," Philip said.
• 47. As they approached, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man--a true son of Israel."
• 48. "How do you know about me?" Nathanael asked. And Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you."
• 49. Nathanael replied, "Teacher, you are the Son of God--the King of Israel!"
• 50. Jesus asked him, "Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this."
• 51. Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man."

Job 40

• 1. Then the LORD said to Job,
• 2. "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?"
• 3. Then Job replied to the LORD,
• 4. "I am nothing--how could I ever find the answers? I will put my hand over my mouth in silence.
• 5. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say."
• 6. Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
• 7. "Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.
• 8. Are you going to discredit my justice and condemn me so you can say you are right?
• 9. Are you as strong as God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?
• 10. All right then, put on your robes of state, your majesty and splendor.
• 11. Give vent to your anger. Let it overflow against the proud.
• 12. Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand.
• 13. Bury them in the dust. Imprison them in the world of the dead.
• 14. Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you.
• 15. "Take a look at the mighty hippopotamus. I made it, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox.
• 16. See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly.
• 17. Its tail is as straight as a cedar. The sinews of its thighs are tightly knit together.
• 18. Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its limbs are bars of iron.
• 19. It is a prime example of God's amazing handiwork. Only its Creator can threaten it.
• 20. The mountains offer it their best food, where all the wild animals play.
• 21. It lies down under the lotus plants, hidden by the reeds.
• 22. The lotus plants give it shade among the willows beside the stream.
• 23. It is not disturbed by raging rivers, not even when the swelling Jordan rushes down upon it.
• 24. No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.

New Living Translation: 70 of 365 days.