Exodus 22

• 1. "A fine must be paid by anyone who steals an ox or sheep and then kills or sells it. For oxen the fine is five oxen for each one stolen. For sheep the fine is four sheep for each one stolen.
• 2. "If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty.
• 3. But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder. "A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything that was stolen. If payment is not made, the thief must be sold as a slave to pay the debt.
• 4. If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is recovered alive, then the thief must pay double the value.
• 5. "If an animal is grazing in a field or vineyard and the owner lets it stray into someone else's field to graze, then the animal's owner must pay damages in the form of high-quality grain or grapes.
• 6. "If a fire gets out of control and goes into another person's field, destroying the sheaves or the standing grain, then the one who started the fire must pay for the lost crops.
• 7. "Suppose someone entrusts money or goods to a neighbor, and they are stolen from the neighbor's house. If the thief is found, the fine is double the value of what was stolen.
• 8. But if the thief is not found, God will determine whether or not it was the neighbor who stole the property.
• 9. "Suppose there is a dispute between two people as to who owns a particular ox, donkey, sheep, article of clothing, or anything else. Both parties must come before God for a decision, and the person whom God declares guilty must pay double to the other.
• 10. "Now suppose someone asks a neighbor to care for a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal, but it dies or is injured or gets away, and there is no eyewitness to report just what happened.
• 11. The neighbor must then take an oath of innocence in the presence of the LORD. The owner must accept the neighbor's word, and no payment will be required.
• 12. But if the animal or property was stolen, payment must be made to the owner.
• 13. If it was attacked by a wild animal, the carcass must be shown as evidence, and no payment will be required.
• 14. "If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it is injured or killed, and if the owner was not there at the time, the person who borrowed it must pay for it.
• 15. But if the owner is there, no payment is required. And no payment is required if the animal was rented because this loss was covered by the rental fee.
• 16. "If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and sleeps with her, he must pay the customary dowry and accept her as his wife.
• 17. But if her father refuses to let her marry him, the man must still pay the money for her dowry.
• 18. "A sorceress must not be allowed to live.
• 19. "Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be executed.
• 20. "Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.
• 21. "Do not oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
• 22. "Do not exploit widows or orphans.
• 23. If you do and they cry out to me, then I will surely help them.
• 24. My anger will blaze forth against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Your wives will become widows, and your children will become fatherless.
• 25. "If you lend money to a fellow Hebrew in need, do not be like a money lender, charging interest.
• 26. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge of repayment, you must return it by nightfall.
• 27. Your neighbor will need it to stay warm during the night. If you do not return it and your neighbor cries out to me for help, then I will hear, for I am very merciful.
• 28. "Do not blaspheme God or curse anyone who rules over you.
• 29. "Do not hold anything back when you give me the tithe of your crops and your wine. "You must make the necessary payment for redemption of your firstborn sons.
• 30. "You must also give me the firstborn of your cattle and sheep. Leave the newborn animal with its mother for seven days; then give it to me on the eighth day.
• 31. "You are my own holy people. Therefore, do not eat any animal that has been attacked and killed by a wild animal. Throw its carcass out for the dogs to eat.

John 2

• 1. The next day Jesus' mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.
• 2. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.
• 3. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother spoke to him about the problem. "They have no more wine," she told him.
• 4. "How does that concern you and me?" Jesus asked. "My time has not yet come."
• 5. But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
• 6. Six stone waterpots were standing there; they were used for Jewish ceremonial purposes and held twenty to thirty gallons each.
• 7. Jesus told the servants, "Fill the jars with water." When the jars had been filled to the brim,
• 8. he said, "Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies." So they followed his instructions.
• 9. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.
• 10. "Usually a host serves the best wine first," he said. "Then, when everyone is full and doesn't care, he brings out the less expensive wines. But you have kept the best until now!"
• 11. This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first display of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
• 12. After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.
• 13. It was time for the annual Passover celebration, and Jesus went to Jerusalem.
• 14. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; and he saw money changers behind their counters.
• 15. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and oxen, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.
• 16. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, "Get these things out of here. Don't turn my Father's house into a marketplace!"
• 17. Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: "Passion for God's house burns within me."
• 18. "What right do you have to do these things?" the Jewish leaders demanded. "If you have this authority from God, show us a miraculous sign to prove it."
• 19. "All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
• 20. "What!" they exclaimed. "It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can do it in three days?"
• 21. But by "this temple," Jesus meant his body.
• 22. After he was raised from the dead, the disciples remembered that he had said this. And they believed both Jesus and the Scriptures.
• 23. Because of the miraculous signs he did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many people were convinced that he was indeed the Messiah.
• 24. But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew what people were really like.
• 25. No one needed to tell him about human nature.

Job 41

• 1. "Can you catch a crocodile with a hook or put a noose around its jaw?
• 2. Can you tie it with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike?
• 3. Will it beg you for mercy or implore you for pity?
• 4. Will it agree to work for you? Can you make it be your slave for life?
• 5. Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with?
• 6. Will merchants try to buy it? Will they sell it in their shops?
• 7. Will its hide be hurt by darts, or its head by a harpoon?
• 8. If you lay a hand on it, you will never forget the battle that follows, and you will never try it again!
• 9. "No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be thrown down.
• 10. And since no one dares to disturb the crocodile, who would dare to stand up to me?
• 11. Who will confront me and remain safe? Everything under heaven is mine.
• 12. "I want to emphasize the tremendous strength in the crocodile's limbs and throughout its enormous frame.
• 13. Who can strip off its hide, and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?
• 14. Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible!
• 15. The overlapping scales on its back make a shield.
• 16. They are close together so no air can get between them.
• 17. They lock together so nothing can penetrate them.
• 18. "When it sneezes, it flashes light! Its eyes are like the red of dawn.
• 19. Fire and sparks leap from its mouth.
• 20. Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a boiling pot on a fire of dry rushes.
• 21. Yes, its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth.
• 22. "The tremendous strength in its neck strikes terror wherever it goes.
• 23. Its flesh is hard and firm, not soft and fat.
• 24. Its heart is as hard as rock, as hard as a millstone.
• 25. When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror.
• 26. No sword can stop it, nor spear nor dart nor pointed shaft.
• 27. To the crocodile, iron is nothing but straw, and bronze is rotten wood.
• 28. Arrows cannot make it flee. Stones shot from a sling are as ineffective as straw.
• 29. Clubs do no good, and it laughs at the swish of the javelins.
• 30. Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. They tear up the ground as it drags through the mud.
• 31. "The crocodile makes the water boil with its commotion. It churns the depths.
• 32. The water glistens in its wake. One would think the sea had turned white.
• 33. There is nothing else so fearless anywhere on earth.
• 34. Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of beasts."

New Living Translation: 71 of 365 days.