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
10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two1 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.2 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii3 and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus4 entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary.5 Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
[1] 10:1
[2] 10:21
[3] 10:35
[4] 10:38
[5] 10:42
(ESV)
When President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter as a justice on the Supreme Court, his endorsement ignited a firestorm of controversy and suspicion because of a 2007 speech where he outlined his philosophy in selecting Supreme Court justices. The president said:
The issues that come before the court are not sport. They're life and death. And we need somebody who's got the heart to recogni... - the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young, teenaged mom; the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges. (President Obama, July 17, 2007)
Obama's so-called "empathy-standard" became almost instantaneously infamous and led many to believe that the president desired judges and justices who would not only interpret the law, but actively make it.
Whatever one might think of Obama's judicial philosophy, our reading for today from Luke 10 makes one thing is clear: The "expert in the law" whom we meet in this chapter would not have measured up to Obama's benchmark of empathy: "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus" (verse 25). I like the King James rendering of this verse: "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Jesus." This expert in the law has an agenda when he speaks with Jesus, but it's not an empathetic one; rather, it's a vitriolic one. This man wants to trick and trap Jesus in his own words. And he tries to trick and trap Jesus with this question:
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" Jesus replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." (verses 25-28)
This lawyer tries to bait Jesus with a question. But Jesus will not take the bait. This expert in the law, rather than getting Jesus to answer to his question, ends up answering his own question, and fails to trick and trap Jesus in his own words. And so, Luke tells us, this lawyer tries again: "But the expert in the law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor'" (verse 29)?
In 1963, famed psychologists Elliot Aronson and J. Merrill Carlsmith conducted an experiment where they left two groups of children in a room with a variety of toys including a highly desirable steam shovel toy. Upon leaving the room, a researcher informed the first group of children that there would be a severe punishment if they were to play with the steam shovel while informing the second group that there would be only a mild punishment if they were to play with that same toy. Some time later, the researcher returned to both groups of children and told them that they were now free to play with any of the toys, including the steam shovel. Interestingly, those with the threat of a severe punishment went immediately to play with the steam shovel while those with the threat of a mild punishment still did not play with the toy. The researchers concluded that this was a case of "self-justification." Because the children who had received a threat of only mild punishment did not have sufficient initial grounds not to play with the steam shovel, they had to justify in their own minds, on the basis of other grounds, why they should not play with the toy. Thus, even when the threat of punishment was removed, their self-justification as to why they should not play with the toy remained.
Humans, even from their youngest years, seem to have a penchant for self-justification. Even when we know we're in the wrong, we will still regularly seek to minimalize, marginalize, and rationalize our thoughts, words, and actions. But the Christian faith has no room for self-justification. Indeed, the very crux of Christianity is that we do not and cannot justify ourselves; rather, we are justified by Jesus' blood, as Paul says: "We have now been justified by his blood" (Romans 5:9).
Today, is there anything for which you need to stop making excuses? Is there any area in which you need to stop trying to justify yourself and simply, humbly, and honestly admit that you are wrong? If so, then confess your sins instead of trying to justify them. There is no need for that. For you have already been justified by Christ. And he does a better job at justification than we can ever hope to.
30:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
the day of the LORD is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for1 the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and her wealth2 is carried away,
and her foundations are torn down.
5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya,3 and the people of the land that is in league,4 shall fall with them by the sword.
6 “Thus says the LORD:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord GOD.
7 And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the LORD,
when I have set fire to Egypt,
and all her helpers are broken.
9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom;5 for, behold, it comes!
10 “Thus says the Lord GOD:
“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land,
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will dry up the Nile
and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it,
by the hand of foreigners;
I am the LORD; I have spoken.
13 “Thus says the Lord GOD:
“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros a desolation
and will set fire to Zoan
and will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the multitude6 of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and Memphis shall face enemies7 by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
and the women8 shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and her proud might shall come to an end in her;
she shall be covered by a cloud,
and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
[1] 30:3
[2] 30:4
[3] 30:5
[4] 30:5
[5] 30:9
[6] 30:15
[7] 30:16
[8] 30:17
(ESV)
Ezekiel's prophecy against Egypt continues with a lament. "The day of the LORD is near," Ezekiel cried, for God was going to judge Egypt and all the nations. God would bring His sword upon Egypt, carry its wealth away, and tear down the foundations on which it rested. All of northern Africa would be affected by God's judgment on Egypt and many satellite nations would fall with her. All who helped prop up Egypt would fall with her and become desolate. God's agent of destruction for Egypt would be the same one He used to punish Israel, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Why was God going to execute such harsh judgment on Egypt? It was because Egypt's idolatry first led Israel into the sin that became their downfall. Therefore, God swore "I will destroy the idols" in city after city after city, throughout the whole land of Egypt. The list of places to be punished and brought down read like a guided tour of the country. By destroying the false gods of the Egyptians, "Then they will know that I am the LORD." The arm of the LORD is a phrase used frequently throughout Scripture to portray God's power and might in fighting for His people. Now, as God brought judgment on Egypt He said: "I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt." Pharaoh's might was no match for the LORD's. Alternately, God would strengthen the arms of King Nebuchadnezzar and put His sword in his hand to destroy Egypt. All power is the LORD's power and all our strength comes from Him alone.
124:1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
125:1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways
the LORD will lead away with evildoers!
Peace be upon Israel!
(ESV)