KNOW JESUS, KNOW HIS STORY: 8-Day Easter Reading Plan

Up to Something: Hope in Despair

Before You Climb Any Higher

Love: The Greatest of All

What We Find in the Dark: Loss, Hope, and God's Presence in Grief

Music: Bible Songs to Stop Worrying (Part II)

Speak Life: 5 Days of Biblical Affirmations

Overcoming Intrusive Thoughts

Last Words: A Lenten Meditation on the Final Sayings of Christ, Week 4

Mighty Son: A Father’s Words to His Son

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="NUM.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="p"> 1Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. 2When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him 3and he spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,</div><div class="q2">the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,</div><div class="q1"> 4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,</div><div class="q2">who sees a vision from the Almighty,#24:4 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 16</div><div class="q2">who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5&#8220;How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,</div><div class="q2">your dwelling places, Israel!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6&#8220;Like valleys they spread out,</div><div class="q2">like gardens beside a river,</div><div class="q1">like aloes planted by the Lord,</div><div class="q2">like cedars beside the waters.</div><div class="q1"> 7Water will flow from their buckets;</div><div class="q2">their seed will have abundant water.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;Their king will be greater than Agag;</div><div class="q2">their kingdom will be exalted.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8&#8220;God brought them out of Egypt;</div><div class="q2">they have the strength of a wild ox.</div><div class="q1">They devour hostile nations</div><div class="q2">and break their bones in pieces;</div><div class="q2">with their arrows they pierce them.</div><div class="q1"> 9Like a lion they crouch and lie down,</div><div class="q2">like a lioness&#8212;who dares to rouse them?</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;May those who bless you be blessed</div><div class="q2">and those who curse you be cursed!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Then Balak&#8217;s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, &#8220;I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. 11Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Balaam answered Balak, &#8220;Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 13&#8216;Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord&#8212;and I must say only what the Lord says&#8217;? 14Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Fourth Message</div><div class="p"> 15Then he spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,</div><div class="q2">the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,</div><div class="q1"> 16the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,</div><div class="q2">who has knowledge from the Most High,</div><div class="q1">who sees a vision from the Almighty,</div><div class="q2">who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 17&#8220;I see him, but not now;</div><div class="q2">I behold him, but not near.</div><div class="q1">A star will come out of Jacob;</div><div class="q2">a scepter will rise out of Israel.</div><div class="q1">He will crush the foreheads of Moab,</div><div class="q2">the skulls#24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain. of#24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter all the people of Sheth.#24:17 Or all the noisy boasters</div><div class="q1"> 18Edom will be conquered;</div><div class="q2">Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,</div><div class="q2">but Israel will grow strong.</div><div class="q1"> 19A ruler will come out of Jacob</div><div class="q2">and destroy the survivors of the city.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Fifth Message</div><div class="p"> 20Then Balaam saw Amalek and spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Amalek was first among the nations,</div><div class="q2">but their end will be utter destruction.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Sixth Message</div><div class="p"> 21Then he saw the Kenites and spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Your dwelling place is secure,</div><div class="q2">your nest is set in a rock;</div><div class="q1"> 22yet you Kenites will be destroyed</div><div class="q2">when Ashur takes you captive.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Seventh Message</div><div class="p"> 23Then he spoke his message:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Alas! Who can live when God does this?#24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.</div><div class="q2"> 24Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;</div><div class="q1">they will subdue Ashur and Eber,</div><div class="q2">but they too will come to ruin.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch25" data-usfm="NUM.25">
 <div class="label">25</div><div class="s1">Moab Seduces Israel</div><div class="p"> 1While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord&#8217;s anger burned against them.</div><div class="p"> 4The Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord&#8217;s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So Moses said to Israel&#8217;s judges, &#8220;Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman&#8217;s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.</div><div class="p"> 10The Lord said to Moses, 11&#8220;Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.</div><div class="p"> 16The Lord said to Moses, 17&#8220;Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them. 18They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch27" data-usfm="NUM.27">
 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">Zelophehad&#8217;s Daughters</div><div class="p"> 1The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3&#8220;Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah&#8217;s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4Why should our father&#8217;s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father&#8217;s relatives.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6and the Lord said to him, 7&#8220;What Zelophehad&#8217;s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father&#8217;s relatives and give their father&#8217;s inheritance to them.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;Say to the Israelites, &#8216;If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father&#8217;s brothers. 11If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Joshua to Succeed Moses</div><div class="p"> 12Then the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.&#8221; (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)</div><div class="p"> 15Moses said to the Lord, 16&#8220;May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord&#8217;s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18So the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,#27:18 Or the Spirit and lay your hand on him. 19Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1CO">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="1CO.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">Concerning Married Life</div><div class="p"> 1Now for the matters you wrote about: &#8220;It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.&#8221; 2But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.</div><div class="p"> 8Now to the unmarried#7:8 Or widowers and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.</div><div class="p"> 10To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.</div><div class="p"> 12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.</div><div class="p"> 15But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?</div><div class="s1">Concerning Change of Status</div><div class="p"> 17Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God&#8217;s commands is what counts. 20Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.</div><div class="p"> 21Were you a slave when you were called? Don&#8217;t let it trouble you&#8212;although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord&#8217;s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ&#8217;s slave. 23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.</div><div class="s1">Concerning the Unmarried</div><div class="p"> 25Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord&#8217;s mercy is trustworthy. 26Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.</div><div class="p"> 29What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.</div><div class="p"> 32I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord&#8217;s affairs&#8212;how he can please the Lord. 33But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world&#8212;how he can please his wife&#8212; 34and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord&#8217;s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world&#8212;how she can please her husband. 35I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 36If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong#7:36 Or if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin&#8212;this man also does the right thing. 38So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.#7:36-38 Or 36 If anyone thinks he is not treating his daughter properly, and if she is getting along in years (or if her passions are too strong), and he feels she ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. He should let her get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind to keep the virgin unmarried&#8212;this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who gives his virgin in marriage does right, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.</div><div class="p"> 39A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is&#8212;and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1CO">
 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="1CO.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols</div><div class="p"> 1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that &#8220;We all possess knowledge.&#8221; But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3But whoever loves God is known by God.#8:2,3 An early manuscript and another ancient witness think they have knowledge do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves truly knows.</div><div class="p"> 4So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that &#8220;An idol is nothing at all in the world&#8221; and that &#8220;There is no God but one.&#8221; 5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many &#8220;gods&#8221; and many &#8220;lords&#8221;), 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.</div><div class="p"> 7But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.</div><div class="p"> 9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol&#8217;s temple, won&#8217;t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.</div>
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