The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday March 31, 2019 (NIV)

The Festival of Passover

16 “Set aside the month of Abib^[a](A) and observe the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.^{(B) 2} Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have his name dwell.^{(C) 3} Do not eat leavened bread with it.^(D) For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship—because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry^(E)—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. ⁴ No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days,^(F) and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.^{(G) 5} You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the Lord your God is giving you. ⁶ Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the Lord your God chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt. ⁷ You are to cook and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning. ⁸ Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; do not do any work.

The Festival of Weeks

⁹ “You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.^{(H) 10} You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks^(I) to the Lord your God with a freewill offering^(J) that you give in proportion to how the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹¹ Rejoice^(K) before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow among you. ¹² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

The Festival of Shelters

¹³ “You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters^(L) for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.^{(M) 14} Rejoice during your festival—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates. ¹⁵ You are to hold a seven-day festival for the Lord your God in the place he chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,^(N) and you will have abundant joy.

¹⁶ “All your males are to appear three times a year^(O) before the Lord your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed.^{(P) 17} Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you.

Appointing Judges and Officials

¹⁸ “Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. ¹⁹ Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.^{(Q) 20} Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.^(R)

Forbidden Worship

²¹ “Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the Lord your God, ²² and do not set up a sacred pillar; the Lord your God hates them.^(S)

17 “Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.^(T)

The Judicial Procedure for Idolatry

² “If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating his covenant^{(U) 3} and has gone to serve other gods^(V) by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky^(W)—which I have forbidden^(X)— ⁴ and if you are told or hear about it, then investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done in Israel, ⁵ you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.^{(Y) 6} The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(Z) No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness. ⁷ The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people.^(AA) You must purge the evil from you.^(AB)

Difficult Cases

⁸ “If a case is too difficult for you—concerning bloodshed,^(AC) lawsuits,^(AD) or assaults^(AE)—cases disputed at your city gates,^(AF) then go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ⁹ You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case. ¹⁰ You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you. ¹¹ You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you. ¹² The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. ¹³ Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly.

Appointing a King

¹⁴ “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you,^(AG) take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,’ ¹⁵ you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses.^(AH) Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.^{(AI) 16} However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’^{(AJ) 17} He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray.^(AK) He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.^{(AL) 18} When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear^(AM) the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. ²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years^[b] in Israel.

Herod’s Desire to See Jesus

⁷ Herod the tetrarch^(A) heard about everything that was going on.^(B) He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸ some that Elijah had appeared,^(C) and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen.^{(D) 9} “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see him.^(E)

Feeding of the Five Thousand

¹⁰ When the apostles returned,^(F) they reported to Jesus all that they had done.^(G) He took them along and withdrew privately to a^[a] town called Bethsaida.^{(H) 11} When the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them,^(I) spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

¹² Late in the day,^(J) the Twelve approached and said to him, “Send the crowd away,^(K) so that they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³ “You give them something to eat,” he told them.

“We have no more than five loaves^(L) and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (For about five thousand men were there.)

Then he told his disciples, “Have them sit down^[b] in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did what he said, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,^(M) he blessed and broke them.^(N) He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ Everyone ate and was filled. They picked up twelve baskets of leftover pieces.

Peter’s Confession of the Messiah

¹⁸ While he was praying in private^(O) and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹ They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.”^[c](P)

²⁰ “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”^(Q)

His Death and Resurrection Predicted

²¹ But he strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one,^{(R) 22} saying,^(S) “It is necessary that the Son of Man^(T) suffer many things^(U) and be rejected^(V) by the elders, chief priests, and scribes,^(W) be killed, and be raised the third day.”^(X)

Take Up Your Cross

²³ Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after^[d] me, let him deny himself,^(Y) take up his cross daily,^[e] and follow me.^{(Z) 24} For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.^{(AA) 25} For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?^{(AB) 26} For whoever is ashamed of me and my words,^(AC) the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory^(AD) and that of the Father and the holy angels.^{(AE) 27} Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death^(AF) until they see the kingdom of God.”^(AG)

Psalm 72

A Prayer for the King

Of Solomon.^(A)