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real lifeniv Bibledevotionalfor women0310439361 int 00 fm niv real life cs5 FINAL.indd 39/21/12 1:33 PM
NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for WomenCopyright 2012 by ZondervanAll rights reservedThe Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by Permission. All rights reserved worldwide.Published by ZondervanGrand Rapids, Michigan 49530, USAwww.zondervan.comNotes copyright 2013 Proverbs 31 MinistriesPublished in association with the literary agency of Fedd & Company, Inc., 606 Flamingo Boulevard,Austin, TX 78734.“New International Version” and “NIV” are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Used by permission.Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2012948030The NIV text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of fivehundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoteddo not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent(25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page as follows:Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent andTrademark Office by Biblica, Inc. When quotations from the NIV text are used by a local church in non-saleable media such as churchbulletins, orders of service, posters, overhead transparencies, or similar materials, a complete copyrightnotice is not required, but the initials (NIV ) must appear at the end of each quotation.Any commentary or other biblical reference work produced for commercial sale, that uses the NIV textmust obtain written permission for use of the NIV text.Permission requests for commercial use within the USA and Canada that exceeds the above guidelinesmust be directed to, and approved in writing by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI49530, USA. www.Zondervan.comPermission requests for commercial use within the UK, EU and EFTA that exceeds the above guidelinesmust be directed to, and approved in writing by Hodder & Stoughton Limited, 338 Euston Road, LondonNW1 3BH, United Kingdom. www.Hodder.co.ukPermission requests for non-commercial use that exceeds the above guidelines must be directed to, andapproved in writing by Biblica US, Inc., 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921, USA. www.Biblica.comAny Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this Bible are offeredas a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor doesZondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of the Bible.Printed in China N10051112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 /DSC/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1A portion of the purchase price of your NIV Bible is provided to Biblica so together we support the mission of Transforming lives through God’s Word.Biblica provides God’s Word to people through translation, publishing and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and North America.Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God’s Word so that their livesare transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.0310439361 int 00 fm niv real life cs5 FINAL.indd 49/21/12 1:33 PM
Table of ContentsAlphabetical Order of the Books of the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viForeword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiAbout the NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ixPreface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiThe OldBook . . . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviation . . . . . . . . PageGenesis . . . . . . . . . . . . .Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . .Leviticus . . . . . . . . . . . .Numbers . . . . . . . . . . .Deuteronomy . . . . . . .Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ruth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Sam uel . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Sam uel . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Chron icles . . . . . . . .2 Chron icles . . . . . . . .Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . .Esther . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . .Ge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Ex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Lev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Nu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Dt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Jos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Jdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263Ru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2901Sa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2962Sa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3331Ki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3662Ki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4011Ch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4332Ch . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469Ezr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507Ne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521Est . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550Ps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588Pr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708TestamentBook . . . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviation . . . . . . . . PageEcclesiastes . . . . . . . . . Ecc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753Song of Songs . . . . . . . SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Isa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . Jer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862Lamentations . . . . . . . La . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Eze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Da . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hos . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1014Joel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028Amos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Am . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033Obadiah . . . . . . . . . . . . Ob . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044Jonah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jnh . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051Nahum . . . . . . . . . . . . . Na . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . Hab . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . Zep . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067Haggai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hag . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072Zechariah . . . . . . . . . . Zec . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075Malachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088The New TestamentBook . . . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviation . . . . . . . . PageMatthew . . . . . . . . . . . .Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Co r in t hi a ns . . . . . . .2 Co r in t hi a ns . . . . . . .Galatians . . . . . . . . . . .Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . .Philippians . . . . . . . . .Colossians . . . . . . . . . .1 Thes salo n ians . . . . .2 Thes salo n ians . . . . .Mt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095Mk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143Lk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172Jn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1220Ac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1262Ro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13051Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13302Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1353Gal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370Eph . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1379Php . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1389Col . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13971Th . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14052Th . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411Book . . . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviation . . . . . . . . Page1 Tim othy . . . . . . . . . . . 1Ti . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14142 Tim othy . . . . . . . . . . . 2Ti . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1421Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Titus . . . . . . . . . . . 1426Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . Phm . . . . . . . . . . . . 1430Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . Heb . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14481 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Pe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14562 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Pe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14641 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Jn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14682 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Jn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14753 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Jn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1476Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477Revelation . . . . . . . . . . Rev . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1479Table of Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Index of Devotions by Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Topical Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0310439361 int 00 fm niv real life.indd 5150115031507151511/5/12 12:41 PM
Alphabetical Order of theBooks of the BibleThe books of the New Testament are indicated by italics.Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1262Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263Amos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10331 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3661 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4332 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4012 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469Lamentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932Colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1397Leviticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1151 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1330Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11722 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1353Malachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143Deuteronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Matthew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095Ecclesiastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1379Nahum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059Esther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940Obadiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5071 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1456Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13702 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1464Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1430Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063Philippians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1389Haggai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1014Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1479Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1305James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1448Ruth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8621 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5502 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333Joel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028Song of Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12201 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14051 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14682 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14112 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14751 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14143 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14762 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1421Jonah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1426Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Zechariah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10670310439361 int 00 fm niv real life.indd 611/5/12 12:41 PM
ForewordThe dried grape jelly on my always-sticky farm table won’t budge no matter how hard Iscrape. Five kids, three dogs, a husband, and a mouse that refuses to leave, will keep a kitchen — f loors, countertops, refrigerator, and yes, table — permanently gooey.Looking around the room, the morning sun highlights more than the dark purple blob.I see the drips of orange juice I may or may not have thrown across the room in a less-thanlovely moment two months ago. And the toast crumbs my youngest daughter (who is growing up way too quickly) forgot to wipe up yesterday.And I think about you and your kitchen.Does each stain remind you of the joys, frustrations, good times and rough ones that getwoven into life? For me, they’re visuals of imperfect moments needing the grace of a perfectGod. One who is beside me daily, and not only gives me strength to sweep the floor (again),but gives me strength for the day.It’s because of his grace that Proverbs 31 Ministries’ Encouragement for Today devotions were birthed. Each woman on our team has stared at her own mess needing a messageof hope from a friend.From that place of being a friend who understands, our team writes.Throughout the pages of this Bible we share our moments of trials (such as hurling orange juice ten feet, ahem) that have been redeemed by God’s triumphant grace.Each of our lives is filled with trials. Perhaps you are walking a road of suffering or discontent. Maybe you are struggling in your role as a wife or a mother, or finding it hard to offerforgiveness to someone who has hurt you deeply.The Bible is filled with stories of real people with real problems just like ours. Thenames and places and situations may be different, but the emotions attached to their storiesare the same.No matter where you are in your faith, the NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Womenwill take you by the hand to encourage and inspire you in your daily walk with God. Throughhis words of forgiveness, redemption and grace, you will come to know the God of the universe who loves you and desires a personal relationship with you.And through our devotions, you will connect with real women. Through tears andlaughter, toast crumbs and spilled juice, we can move through our brokenness and closer tothe heart of God and each other.We sure would love to come into your home, have a cup of coffee and process life together through the truths of God’s Word.Oh, and please don’t worry about wiping up the jelly . . . we understand sticky tables.Lysa TerKeurstPresident, Proverbs 31 MinistriesSeptember 20120310439361 int 00 fm niv real life cs5 FINAL.indd 79/21/12 1:33 PM
About the NIV Real - LifeDevotional Biblefor WomenLysa TerKeurst and a team of writers from Proverbs 31 Ministries have written 366 devotionsto help you, the busy, active woman, find practical and spiritual insight from God’s Word.And the editors at Zondervan have designed this Bible to offer an easy and convenient wayto do just that.The NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women is arranged in 366 readings that follow adaily format. Turn to page 2 to find your first reading, Day 1. Each reading has a “go to” lineat the bottom so that you can quickly and easily find thenext reading. That doesn’t mean, however, that skipping a day will leave you behind. The readings are notday 1dated, which means Day 50, or Day 100, or Day 300 canslow it downbe read whenever you can get to it.You’ll find each of these devotional articles located near the Scripture verse or passage on which theyare based. To get the most from God’s Word, read a longer passage each day alongside your daily devotional.Doing so will enrich your understanding of the devotion, offer context and background to the passage, andgive you even deeper insight into God’s Word.Another way to use your NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women is to find a topic of interest toyou. A Topical Index is located on page 1515. Or, ifyou want to follow the journey of a particular author,we’ve provided an Index of Devotions by Author onpage 1507. However you choose to use your NIV RealLife Devotional Bible for Women, you’ll find a wealthof wisdom and wit on a variety of topics of special interest to you, the woman who wants to follow your Lord faithfully and live your life withwisdom, clarity and authenticity.More important than any of the special features of this Bible is the text itself, the NewInternational Version — t he world’s most popular modern-English Bible. We offer this NIVReal-Life Devotional Bible for Women to you with the hope and prayer that the power ofGod’s Word will penetrate your heart and transform your life.by T. Suzanne ellerEveryone knows morning comes first, and then evening. Right? SoI was surprised to read in Genesis 1:5 that the order was, in fact,reversed: “And there was evening, and there was morning.” Godstarted with evening, a time of rest, and a day followed, in which hecontinued to create.and there wasWe live in a culture where we work all day, and then eventuallyevening, and there we might take time to rest. To order our days the way God does —was morning — the with rest as a priority — is a challenge.I learned to prioritize God’s way when, at age 32, I was diagnosedfirst day.with cancer. I told the doctor I didn’t have time for cancer, but canGenesis 1:5cer didn’t consult my schedule.My life changed while going through treatment as I put asideactivities that previously had seemed vital. Out of that difficult timecame a new list of priorities. At the top of the list: to balance my life.I learned to climb between the sheets and put aside my worries — to rest my body and mind. To slow down when life becamecrazy and assess what is important. I began to see evening as thefirst part of my day.This concept changed my life, physically and spiritually. Recently I had two speaking events sandwiched together. As the datesapproached, time with my heavenly Father became “evening.” Inpreparation for my events, I listened to the heart of my Father instead of going over my notes. Out of that rest sprang fruitful ministry during the day.Learning to live with evening, or rest, as a top priority is an ongoing process. Many times I ask God to help me reprioritize, maketime for physical rest and put “evening” back where it belongs.god called thelight “day,” andthe darkness hecalled “night.”More Versesto explore:Exodus 20:11Psalm 91:1Mark 6:30 – 31Turn To page 5 for your nexT devoTion.20310439361 int 00 fm niv real life cs5 FINAL.indd 99/21/12 1:33 PM
PrefaceThe goal of the New International Version (NIV) is to enable English-speaking people fromaround the world to read and hear God’s eternal Word in their own language. Our work astranslators is motivated by our conviction that the Bible is God’s Word in written form. Webelieve that the Bible contains the divine answer to the deepest needs of humanity, shedsunique light on our path in a dark world and sets forth the way to our eternal well-being. Outof these deep convictions, we have sought to recreate as far as possible the experience of theoriginal audience — blending transparency to the original text with accessibility for the millions of English speakers around the world. We have prioritized accuracy, clarity and literaryquality with the goal of creating a translation suitable for public and private reading, evangelism, teaching, preaching, memorizing and liturgical use. We have also sought to preservea measure of continuity with the long tradition of translating the Scriptures into English.The complete NIV Bible was first published in 1978. It was a completely new translationmade by over a hundred scholars working directly from the best available Hebrew, Aramaicand Greek texts. The translators came from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, giving the translation an international scope. They were from manydenominations and churches — i ncluding Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren,Chris t ian Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Covenant, Evangelical Free, Lutheran,Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Wesleyan and others. This breadth of denominational and theological perspective helped to safeguard the translation from sectarian bias. For these reasons, and by the grace of God, the NIV has gained a wide readership inall parts of the English-speaking world.The work of translating the Bible is never finished. As good as they are, English translations must be regularly updated so that they will continue to communicate accurately themeaning of God’s Word. Updates are needed in order to reflect the latest developments inour understanding of the biblical world and its languages and to keep pace with changesin English usage. Recognizing, then, that the NIV would retain its ability to communicateGod’s Word accurately only if it were regularly updated, the original translators establishedThe Committee on Bible Translation (CBT). The committee is a self-perpetuating groupof biblical scholars charged with keeping abreast of advances in biblical scholarship andchanges in English and issuing periodic updates to the NIV. CBT is an independent, selfgoverning body and has sole responsibility for the NIV text. The committee mirrors theoriginal group of translators in its diverse international and denominational makeup and inits unifying commitment to the Bible as God’s inspired Word.In obedience to its mandate, the committee has issued periodic updates to the NIV.An initial revision was released in 1984. A more thorough revision process was completedin 2005, resulting in the separately published Today’s New International Version (TNIV).The updated NIV you now have in your hands builds on both the original NIV and the TNIVand represents the latest effort of the committee to articulate God’s unchanging Word in theway the original authors might have said it had they been speaking in English to the globalEnglish-speaking audience today.The first concern of the translators has continued to be the accuracy of the translation and its faithfulness to the intended meaning of the biblical writers. This has movedthe translators to go beyond a formal word-for-word rendering of the original texts. Becausethought patterns and syntax differ from language to language, accurate communication ofthe meaning of the biblical authors demands constant regard for varied contextual uses ofwords and idioms and for frequent modifications in sentence structures.0310439361 int 00 fm niv real life cs5 FINAL.indd 119/21/12 1:33 PM
xiiprefaceAs an aid to the reader, sectional headings have been inserted. They are not to be regarded as part of the biblical text and are not intended for oral reading. It is the committee’shope that these headings may prove more helpful to the reader than the traditional chapterdivisions, which were introduced long after the Bible was written.For the Old Testament the standard Hebrew text, the Masoretic Text as published inthe latest edition of Biblia Hebraica, has been used throughout. The Masoretic Text traditioncontains marginal notations that offer variant readings. These have sometimes been followed instead of the text itself. Because such instances involve variants within the Masoretictradition, they have not been indicated in the textual notes. In a few cases, words in the basicconsonantal text have been divided differently than in the Masoretic Text. Such cases areusually indicated in the textual footnotes. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain biblical texts thatrepresent an earlier stage of the transmission of the Hebrew text. They have been consulted,as have been the Samaritan Pentateuch and the ancient scribal traditions concerning deliberate textual changes. The translators also consulted the more important early versions — the Greek Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, the Latin Vulgate, the SyriacPeshitta, the Aramaic Targums and, for the Psalms, the Juxta Hebraica of Jerome. Readingsfrom these versions, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the scribal traditions were occasionally followed where the Masoretic Text seemed doubtful and where accepted principles of textualcriti
The NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women is arranged in 366 readings that follow a daily format . Turn to page 2 to find your first reading, Day 1. Each reading has a “go to” line at the
