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HomeYearly PlanBible in a Year - May - 24 | Day - 144

Bible in a Year – May – 24 | Day – 144

This is not the Readings at the Mass. For the Mass Readings, check the Mass Readings taken from the New Jerusalem Bible or the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible.
May – 24 | Day – 144
Old Testament: Judges – 15-16 | Baruch – 3:17-38

1 Then, after some time, when the days of the wheat harvest were near, Samson arrived, intending to visit his wife, and he brought her a kid from the goats. And when he wanted to enter her bedroom, as usual, her father prohibited him, saying:

2 I thought that you would hate her, and therefore I gave her to your friend. But she has a sister, who is younger and more beautiful than she is. And she may be a wife for you, instead of her.

3 And Samson answered him: “From this day, there shall be no guilt for me against the Philistines. For I will do harm to you all.”

4 And he went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he joined them tail to tail. And he tied torches between the tails.

5 And setting these on fire, he released them, so that they might rush from place to place. And immediately they went into the grain fields of the Philistines, setting these on fire, both the grain that was already bound for carrying, and what was still standing on the stalk. These were completely burned up, so much so that the flame also consumed even the vineyards and the olive groves.

6 And the Philistines said, “Who has done this thing?” And it was said: “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took away his wife, and gave her to another. He has done these things.” And the Philistines went up and burned the woman as well as her father.

7 And Samson said to them, “Even though you have done this, I will still fulfill vengeance against you, and then I will be quieted.”

8 And he struck them with a tremendous slaughter, so much so that, out of astonishment, they laid the calf of the leg upon the thigh. And descending, he lived in a cave of the rock at Etam.

9 And so the Philistines, ascending into the land of Judah, made camp at the place which was later called Lehi, that is, the Jawbone, where their army spread out.

10 And some from the tribe of Judah said to them, “Why have you ascended against us?” And they responded, “We have come to bind Samson, and to repay him for what he has done to us.”

11 Then three thousand men of Judah descended to the cave of the rock at Etam. And they said to Samson: “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why would you want to do this?” And he said to them, “As they have done to me, so I have done to them.”

12 And they said to him, “We have come to bind you, and to deliver you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear and promise to me that you will not kill me.”

13 They said: “We will not kill you. But we will deliver you tied.” And they bound him with two new cords. And they took him from the rock at Etam.

14 And when he had arrived at the place of the Jawbone, and the Philistines, shouting aloud, had met him, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him. And just as flax is usually consumed by a hint of fire, so were the ties with which he was bound broken and released.

15 And finding a jawbone which was laying there, that is, the jawbone of a donkey, snatching it up, he put to death a thousand men with it.

16 And he said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, with the jaw of the colt of a donkey, I have destroyed them, and I have struck down a thousand men.”

17 And when he had completed these words, singing, he threw the jawbone from his hand. And called the name of that place Ramath-Lehi, which is translated as ‘the elevation of the jawbone.’

18 And being very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, and he said: “You have given, to the hand of your servant, this very great salvation and victory. But see that I am dying of thirst, and so I will fall into the hands of the uncircumcised.”

19 And so the Lord opened a large tooth in the jawbone of the donkey, and water went out from it. And having drank it, his spirit was revived, and he recovered his strength. For this reason, the name of that place was called ‘the Spring called forth from the jawbone,’ even to the present day.

20 And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, for twenty years.

1 He also went into Gaza. And there he saw a harlot woman, and he entered to her.

2 And when the Philistines had heard of this, and it had become well known among them, that Samson had entered the city, they surrounded him, placing guards at the gate of the city. And there they were keeping watch all night in silence, so that, in the morning, they might kill him as he was going out.

3 But Samson slept until the middle of the night, and rising up from there, he took both doors from the gate, with their posts and bars. And laying them upon his shoulders, he carried them to the top of the hill that looks toward Hebron.

4 After these things, he loved a woman who was living in the valley of Sorek. And she was called Delilah.

5 And the leaders of the Philistines went to her, and they said: “Deceive him, and learn from him wherein lies his great strength, and how we may be able to overcome him and to impose restraints on him. And if you will do this, each one of us will give you one thousand one hundred silver coins.”

6 Therefore, Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me, I beg you, wherein lies your very great strength, and with what might you be bound, so that you could not break free?”

7 And Samson answered her, “If I will be bound with seven cords, made of sinews not yet dry, but still damp, I will be weak like other men.”

8 And the princes of the Philistines brought to her seven cords, such as he had described. And she bound him with these.

9 And so, those hiding in ambush with her, in the bedroom, were expecting the end of the matter. And she cried out to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he broke the cords, as one would break a thread of flax, twisted for cutting and singed by fire. And so it was not known wherein lay his strength.

10 And Delilah said to him: “Behold, you have mocked me, and you have spoken a falsehood. But at least now, tell me with what you may be bound.”

11 And he answered her, “If I will be bound with new cords, which have never been used, I will be weak and like other men.”

12 Again, Delilah tied him with these, and she cried out, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” For an ambush had been prepared in the bedroom. But he broke the bindings like the filaments of a web.

13 And Delilah spoke to him again: “How long will you deceive me and tell me falsehoods? Reveal with what you ought to be bound.” And Samson responded to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with a loom, and if you tie these around a spike and fix it to the ground, I will be weak.”

14 And when Delilah had done this, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” And arising from sleep, he withdrew the spike with the hairs and the weaving.

15 And Delilah said to him: “How can you say that you love me, when your soul is not with me? You have lied to me on three occasions, and you are not willing to reveal wherein lies your very great strength.”

16 And when she been very troublesome to him, and over many days had continually stayed nearby, giving him no time to rest, his soul was faint, and he was weary, even unto death.

17 Then disclosing the truth of the matter, he said to her: “Iron has never been drawn across my head, for I am a Nazirite, that is, I have been consecrated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head will be shaven, my strength will depart from me, and I will be faint and will be like other men.”

18 Then, seeing that he had confessed to her his whole soul, she sent to the leaders of the Philistines and ordered: “Come up just once more. For now he has opened his heart to me.” And they went up, taking with them the money that they had promised.

19 But she made him sleep upon her knees, and recline his head upon her bosom. And she called a barber, and he shaved his seven locks of hair. And she began to push him away, and to repel him from herself. For immediately his strength departed from him.

20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And awaking from sleep, he said in his mind, “I will break away and shake myself free, just as I did before.” For he did not know that the Lord had withdrawn from him.

21 And when the Philistines had seized him, they immediately plucked out his eyes. And they led him, bound in chains, to Gaza. And enclosing him in a prison, they made him work a millstone.

22 And now his hair began to grow back.

23 And the leaders of the Philistines convened as one, so that they might offer great sacrifices to Dagon, their god. And they feasted, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy, Samson, into our hands.”

24 Then, too, the people, seeing this, praised their god, and they said the same, “Our god has delivered our adversary into our hands: the one who destroyed our land and who killed very many.”

25 And rejoicing in their celebration, having now taken food, they instructed that Samson be called, and that he be mocked before them. And having been brought from prison, he was mocked before them. And they caused him to stand between two pillars.

26 And he said to the boy who was guiding his steps, “Permit me to touch the pillars, which support the entire house, and to lean against them, so that I may rest a little.”

27 Now the house was full of men and women. And all the leaders of the Philistines were there, as well as about three thousand persons, of both sexes, on the roof and in the upper level of the house, who were watching Samson being mocked.

28 Then, calling upon the Lord, he said, “O Lord God remember me, and restore to me now my former strength, O my God, so that I may avenge myself against my enemies, and so that I may receive one vengeance for the deprivation of my two eyes.”

29 And taking hold of both the pillars, on which the house rested, and holding one with his right hand and the other with his left,

30 he said, “May my life die with the Philistines.” And when he had shaken the pillars strongly, the house fell upon all the leaders, and the rest of the multitude who were there. And he killed many more in his death than he had killed before in his life.

31 Then his brothers and all his relatives, going down, took his body, and they buried it between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying place of his father, Manoah. And he judged Israel for twenty years.

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17 who play among the birds of the air,

18 who store up treasures of silver and gold, in which men trust, and with whom there is no end to their acquiring, who work with silver and are anxious about it, and whose works are inexplicable?

19 They have been banished and have descended to hell, and others are risen up in their place.

20 The youth have seen the light and have dwelt upon the earth, yet they are ignorant of the way of instruction.

21 They have neither understood the paths of it, nor have their sons accepted it. It is far from their face.

22 It has not been heard of in the land of Canaan, nor has it been seen in Teman.

23 It is likewise with the sons of Hagar, who search for the practicality that is of the earth, the negotiators of Merran and Teman, and the storytellers, and the searchers of discretion and intelligence. Yet the way of wisdom they have not known, nor have they called to mind its paths.

24 O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession!

25 It is great and has no end! It is exalted and immense!

26 There were those who were called giants, who existed from the beginning, of great stature, expert in war.

27 The Lord did not choose them, nor did they discover the way of instruction; for this reason they perished,

28 and, because they did not have wisdom, they passed away as a result of their foolishness.

29 Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?

30 Who has crossed the sea, and found her, and brought her, chosen instead of gold?

31 There is no one who is able to know her ways, nor any who can search out her paths.

32 Yet he who knows the universe is familiar with her, and in his foresight he invented her, he who prepared the earth for time without end, and filled it with cattle and four-footed beasts,

33 who sends out the light, and it goes, and who summoned it, and it obeyed him in fear.

34 Yet the stars have given light from their posts, and they rejoiced.

35 They were called, and so they said, “Here we are,” and they shined with cheerfulness to him who made them.

36 This is our God, and no other can compare to him.

37 He invented the way of all instruction, and delivered it to Jacob his child, and to Israel his beloved.

38 After this, he was seen on earth, and he conversed with men.

Psalms: Psalms – 66:16-20

16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what great things he hath done for my soul.

17 I cried to him with my mouth: and I extolled him with my tongue.

18 If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

19 Therefore hath God heard me, and hath attended to the voice of my supplication.

20 Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

New Testament: John – 6:1-26

1 After these things, Jesus traveled across the sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

2 And a great multitude was following him, for they saw the signs that he was accomplishing toward those who were infirm.

3 Therefore, Jesus went onto a mountain, and he sat down there with his disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast day of the Jews, was near.

5 And so, when Jesus had lifted up his eyes and had seen that a very great multitude came to him, he said to Philip, “From where should we buy bread, so that these may eat?”

6 But he said this to test him. For he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii of bread would not be sufficient for each of them to receive even a little.”

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him:

9 There is a certain boy here, who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are these among so many?

10 Then Jesus said, “Have the men sit down to eat.” Now, there was much grass in that place. And so the men, in number about five thousand, sat down to eat.

11 Therefore, Jesus took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting down to eat; similarly also, from the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 Then, when they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments that are left over, lest they be lost.”

13 And so they gathered, and they filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which were left over from those who had eaten.

14 Therefore, those men, when they had seen that Jesus had accomplished a sign, they said, “Truly, this one is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 And so, when he realized that they were going to come and take him away and make him king, Jesus fled back to the mountain, by himself alone.

16 Then, when evening arrived, his disciples descended to the sea.

17 And when they had climbed into a boat, they went across the sea to Capernaum. And darkness had now arrived, and Jesus had not returned to them.

18 Then the sea was stirred up by a great wind that was blowing.

19 And so, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat, and they were afraid.

20 But he said to them: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

21 Therefore, they were willing to receive him into the boat. But immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

22 On the next day, the crowd which was standing across the sea saw that there were no other small boats in that place, except one, and that Jesus had not entered into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had departed alone.

23 Yet truly, other boats came over from Tiberias, next to the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks.

24 Therefore, when the crowd had seen that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they climbed into the small boats, and they went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 And when they had found him across the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

26 Jesus answered them and said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten from the bread and were satisfied.

Simplest Bible in a Year plan compiled using the “Catholic Public Domain Version Bible“. This is not the Readings at the Mass. For the Mass Readings, check the Mass Readings taken from the New Jerusalem Bible or the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible.
Pradeep Augustine
Pradeep Augustinehttps://www.catholicgallery.org/
Pradeep Augustine is the founder of Catholic Gallery. He is a passionate Writer, An Artist, a computer geek and a part-time Blogger who loves to write a lot of contents on Catholicism in his free time. He is the founder of the Technical Blog www.GetCoolTricks.com, where he shares a lot of technical Contents. Stay connected with him on his social profiles.

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