This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
You can download a foldable bookmark here: 2026
21:1 Jesus1 looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.2 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers3 and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.
[1] 21:1
[2] 21:2
[3] 21:16
(ESV)
He was one of the most memorable comedians of all time. Rodney Dangerfield, with his staccato speech, unassuming demeanor, and self-deprecating humor became an almost overnight sensation after appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show and delivering one of his famous "I don't get no respect" jokes. "I don't get no respect," lamented Dangerfield. "I played hide-and-seek, and they wouldn't even look for me." Even Ed Sullivan, the usually stoic and serene host, couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't get no respect." This was Rodney Dangerfield's signature line. As famous as this line may have been, however, it is perhaps the single most despised line by English teachers everywhere. Why? Because it commits a cardinal grammatical sin - the sin of the double negative.
A double negative occurs when two forms of negation are used in the same clause. And two negations, in English at least, technically cancel out each other and turn the statement into a positive. Thus, Dangerfield's famed "I don't get no respect" technically means that he gets respect. Of course, no one interprets it this way, for apart from the more strident rules of proper grammar, double negatives are common and even acceptable in slang speech to emphasize a negation.
Perhaps Jesus went to the Rodney Dangerfield school of grammar. In our reading for today from Luke 21, he gives his disciples a glimpse into a future that is of surely apocalyptic proportions:
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (verses 10-11, 25-27)
Wars, earthquakes, pestilences, and the sun and moon display strange signs - sounds like the end of the world to me. But then, Jesus offers a mystifying conclusion to his apocalyptic prediction: "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened" (verse 32). This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened? But "this generation" to whom Jesus is talking lived in AD 30. They have most definitely all passed away and the end of the world has yet to come!
To make matters worse, Jesus emphasizes his point concerning his generation with a double negative in Greek. A more wooden translation of Jesus' words here would read, "This generation won't not pass away." In English, this is poor grammar. In Greek, however, two negatives serve to highlight the fierceness with which Jesus states his case: "No way, no how will this generation pass away until all these signs will come to pass."
Scholars have been sharply divided over the meaning of Jesus' words here. Some have said that Jesus' prophecy refers not to the end of the world, but to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70. Others have pointed out that the word for "generation" in Greek is genea, which can mean not only "generation," but "race," as in the Jewish race, or even the human race, both of which still exist and would thus appropriately fulfill Jesus' prophecy. Still others, like the late Albert Schweitzer and John Dominic Crossan, see Jesus as a failed Messiah who simply couldn't muster the support to realize his own eschatological vision. This, of course, is a patently false and heretical view of Jesus' words and ought to be rejected.
The third option notwithstanding, Jesus' words concerning his generation will perhaps always remain shrouded in a bit of enigma. His words, because they are spoken by the Son of God, are certainly not false, but we are left to grapple with exactly how they are true. Thankfully, Jesus leaves us another double negative which is much easier to interpret: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (verse 33). Here too, Jesus uses a double negative to emphasize the sureity of his statement: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words won't never pass away!" This I understand. Even though we live in a world where there are wars, pestilences, famines, and the heavenly bodies shake and give way, God's Word endures. It endures beyond the troubles, trials, tragedies, and terrors of this world. Although everything else may pass away, God's Word won't never pass away.
People will often tell me that they don't study the Bible because they don't understand it. My usual response is, "That's okay, neither do I." And I don't understand it - at least not fully. That is why I continue to study and search out its answers and teachings - because there is always something more to learn, there is always something new to understand, and because, as something that truly endures, I can be assured that it will outlast and outlive the temporary troubles of this world. God's Word won't never pass away. But blessedly, our troubles will. This I believe. And that ain't no lie.
10 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders1 will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
17 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. 19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog2 on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
39:1 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech3 and Tubal. 2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward,4 and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 “And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken.
[1] 38:13
[2] 38:21
[3] 39:1
[4] 39:2
(ESV)
God described the thought processes He would use to lure the enemies of God's people into an attack that would fail. He would cause them to think of how unprotected and unprepared God's people seemed to be. However, the truth is that God's people are never unprotected because He is always watching over them. Egged on by the nations surrounding Israel, the enemies from the north would attack so that God could demonstrate to all the nations of the earth, "that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes." God promised his chosen people that, "my wrath will be roused in my anger." God would rise up against Gog and knocking down his weapons, He would dash him to pieces on the mountains of Israel and on the open fields. This crushing defeat by God of His people's enemies would make known His holy name in the midst of His people, so that it would not be profaned any longer, either by Israel or by any other nation. The result of God's victory would be for all nations to know that "I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel."
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.2
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!3
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!4
[1] 139:14
[2] 139:20
[3] 139:23
[4] 139:24
(ESV)