The
Bible In Chronological Order:
This page details
the
major stories of the Bible in Chronoligical Order, as the events
actually happened:
The 66
books that make up what we call "The Bible", are not in listed in their
Chronological order. This 61 day reading plan will take you
through the major
events that took place in the Bible, in the actual order that they
happened.
The New International Version Bible
61 Day reading plan:
Read
through all of the major events of the Bible in their Chronological
order, in just 61 days.
Old Testament
New Testement
Day
1
The Story of the Creation and The Fall
Genesis 1-3
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over
the
surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4
God saw
that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And
there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters
to
separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the
water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God
called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was
morning—the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to
one place,
and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground
"land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it
was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing
plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according
to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees
bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw
that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was
morning—the
third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the
sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark
seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of
the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two
great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the
lesser light
to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and
the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was
good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the
fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures,
and let
birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God
created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving
thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God
blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the
water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And
there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures
according to
their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild
animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the
wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their
kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to
their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness, and
let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over
the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that
move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the
image of God he created him;
male and
female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and
increase in
number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the
ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the
face of
the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They
will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all
the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the
ground—everything that has the breath of life in
it—I give every green
plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And
there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their
vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been
doing; so
on the seventh day he rested [c] from all his work. 3 And God blessed
the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they
were created.
When the LORD God
made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub
of the field had yet appeared on the earth [d] and no plant of the
field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the
earth [e] and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams [f]
came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- the
LORD God formed the man The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may
be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah) it is also the name Adam
(see Gen. 2:20). from the dust of the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;
and
there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds
of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to
the eye and
good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there
it was
separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon;
it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12
(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin [g] and onyx are also
there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through
the entire land of Cush. [h] 14 The name of the third river is the
Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is
the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to work
it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are
free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die."
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be
alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the
beasts of the
field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see
what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living
creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the
livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam [i] no
suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God
caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he
took one of the man's ribs [j] and closed up the place with flesh. 22
Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [k] he had taken out of the
man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
"This is
now bone of my bones
and flesh
of my flesh;
she shall
be called 'woman, [l] '
for she
was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and
be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no
shame.
Genesis 3
The Fall of Man
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild
animals the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must
not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the
trees in
the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree
that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you
will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5
"For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for
food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they
realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made
coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God
as he was
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the
LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to
the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid
because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you
eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with
me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you
have done?"
The woman said, "The
serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have
done this,
"Cursed
are you above all the livestock
and all
the wild animals!
You will
crawl on your belly
and you
will eat dust
all the
days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between
you and the woman,
and
between your offspring [m] and hers;
he will
crush [n] your head,
and you
will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will
greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain
you will give birth to children.
Your
desire will be for your husband,
and he
will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and
ate from
the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is
the ground because of you;
through
painful toil you will eat of it
all the
days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you
will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will
eat your food
until you
return to the ground,
since from
it you were taken;
for dust
you are
and to
dust you will return."
20 Adam [o] named his wife Eve, [p] because she would become
the mother of all the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife
and
clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like
one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out
his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live
forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to
work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man
out, he placed on the east side [q] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and
a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of
life.
Day
2
Go
Back
The Story of Abraham
and
Isaac:
Genesis 12, 15, 22
The Call of Abram
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your
people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will
bless you;
I will
make your name great,
and you
will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and
whoever curses you I will curse;
and all
peoples on earth
will be
blessed through you."
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with
him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He
took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had
accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out
for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the
great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the
land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring [a] I
will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had
appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and
pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he
built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then
Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to
Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he
was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a
beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say,
'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13
Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and
my life will be spared because of you."
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a
very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they
praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He
treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle,
male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his
household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram.
"What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was
your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her
to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then
Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his
way, with his wife and everything he had.
Genesis 15
God's Covenant With Abram
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be
afraid, Abram.
I am your
shield, [a]
your very
great reward. [b] "
2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me
since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is
Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children;
so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not
be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5
He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the
stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So
shall your offspring be."
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as
righteousness.
7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of
Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I
will gain possession of it?"
9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a
ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and
arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not
cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but
Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and
a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to
him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a
country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four
hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,
and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You,
however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old
age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here,
for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking
firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your
descendants I give this land, from the river [d] of Egypt to the great
river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites,
Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites,
Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Genesis 22
Abraham Tested
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him,
"Abraham!"
"Here I am," he
replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom
you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a
burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his
donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he
had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place
God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw
the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with
the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then
we will come back to you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it
on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the
two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father
Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?"
Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood
are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for
the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham
built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son
Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached
out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of
the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he
replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do
anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not
withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a]
caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as
a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place
The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of
the LORD it will be provided."
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a
second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that
because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only
son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous
as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your
descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and
through your offspring [b] all nations on earth will be blessed,
because you have obeyed me."
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off
together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Nahor's Sons
20 Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah is also a
mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn,
Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash,
Jidlaph and Bethuel." 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah
bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. 24 His concubine,
whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.
Day
3
Go
Back
The Story of Job's
Trials
Job 1-3 and 38-42
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.
This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2
He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand
sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five
hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the
greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes,
and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have
them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering
for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed
God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Job's First Test
6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before
the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan,
"Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the
LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and
upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have
you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?
You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds
are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike
everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he
has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out
from the presence of the LORD.
13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and
drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job
and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants
to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and
said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and
the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and
said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on
your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came
and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at
the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in
from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed
on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to
tell you!"
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.
Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
"Naked I
came from my mother's womb,
and naked
I will depart. [c]
The LORD
gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the
name of the LORD be praised."
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with
wrongdoing.
Job 2
Job's Second Test
1 On another day the angels [d] came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself
before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the
LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and
upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his
integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any
reason."
4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has
for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and
bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your
hands; but you must spare his life."
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and
afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top
of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped
himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your
integrity? Curse God and die!"
10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish [e] woman.
Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
In all this, Job did
not sin in what he said.
Job's Three Friends
11 When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the
Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that
had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by
agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they
saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to
weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their
heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven
nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his
suffering was.
Job 3
Job Speaks
1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his
birth. 2 He said:
3 "May the day of my birth perish,
and the
night it was said, 'A boy is born!'
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God
above not care about it;
may no
light shine upon it.
5 May darkness and deep shadow [f] claim it once more;
may a
cloud settle over it;
may
blackness overwhelm its light.
6 That night—may thick darkness seize it;
may it not
be included among the days of the year
nor be
entered in any of the months.
7 May that night be barren;
may no
shout of joy be heard in it.
8 May those who curse days [g] curse that day,
those who
are ready to rouse Leviathan.
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it
wait for daylight in vain
and not
see the first rays of dawn,
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide
trouble from my eyes.
11 "Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as
I came from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
and
breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be
asleep and at rest
14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built
for themselves places now lying in ruins,
15 with rulers who had gold,
who filled
their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn
child,
like an
infant who never saw the light of day?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there
the weary are at rest.
18 Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no
longer hear the slave driver's shout.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the
slave is freed from his master.
20 "Why is light given to those in misery,
and life
to the bitter of soul,
21 to those who long for death that does not come,
who search
for it more than for hidden treasure,
22 who are filled with gladness
and
rejoice when they reach the grave?
23 Why is life given to a man
whose way
is hidden,
whom God
has hedged in?
24 For sighing comes to me instead of food;
my groans
pour out like water.
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I
dreaded has happened to me.
26 I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no
rest, but only turmoil."
Job 38
The LORD Speaks
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words
without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will
question you,
and you
shall answer me.
4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me,
if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who
stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who
laid its cornerstone-
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all
the angels [a] shouted for joy?
8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it
burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and
wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set
its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
here is
where your proud waves halt'?
12 "Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown
the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake
the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its
features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their
upraised arm is broken.
16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked
in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you
seen the gates of the shadow of death [b] ?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me,
if you know all this.
19 "What is the way to the abode of light?
And where
does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you
know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have
lived so many years!
22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen
the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days
of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is
dispersed,
or the
place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path
for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no man lives,
a desert
with no one in it,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make
it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who
fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives
birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the
surface of the deep is frozen?
31 "Can you bind the beautiful [c] Pleiades?
Can you
loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
[d]
or lead
out the Bear [e] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you
set up God's [f] dominion over the earth?
34 "Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover
yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they
report to you, 'Here we are'?
36 Who endowed the heart [g] with wisdom
or gave
understanding to the mind [h] ?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can
tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the
clods of earth stick together?
39 "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and
satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in
wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its
young cry out to God
and wander
about for lack of food?
Job 39
1 "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you
watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you
know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their
labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave
and do not return.
5 "Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied
his ropes?
6 I gave him the wasteland as his home,
the salt
flats as his habitat.
7 He laughs at the commotion in the town;
he does
not hear a driver's shout.
8 He ranges the hills for his pasture
and
searches for any green thing.
9 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will he
stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
Will he
till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on him for his great strength?
Will you
leave your heavy work to him?
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain
and gather
it to your threshing floor?
13 "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but they
cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets
them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some
wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares
not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give
her a share of good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs
at horse and rider.
19 "Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe
his neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust,
striking
terror with his proud snorting?
21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
and
charges into the fray.
22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
he does
not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against his side,
along with
the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
he cannot
stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches
the scent of battle from afar,
the shout
of commanders and the battle cry.
26 "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread
his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build
his nest on high?
28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky
crag is his stronghold.
29 From there he seeks out his food;
his eyes
detect it from afar.
30 His young ones feast on blood,
and where
the slain are, there is he."
Job 40
1 The LORD said to Job:
2 "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him
who accuses God answer him!"
3 Then Job answered the LORD :
4 "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my
hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but
I will say no more."
6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
7 "Brace yourself like a man;
I will
question you,
and you
shall answer me.
8 "Would you discredit my justice?
Would you
condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God's,
and can
your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe
yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at
every proud man and bring him low,
12 look at every proud man and humble him,
crush the
wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud
their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your
own right hand can save you.
15 "Look at the behemoth, [i]
which I
made along with you
and which
feeds on grass like an ox.
16 What strength he has in his loins,
what power
in the muscles of his belly!
17 His tail [j] sways like a cedar;
the sinews
of his thighs are close-knit.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs
like rods of iron.
19 He ranks first among the works of God,
yet his
Maker can approach him with his sword.
20 The hills bring him their produce,
and all
the wild animals play nearby.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
hidden
among the reeds in the marsh.
22 The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;
the
poplars by the stream surround him.
23 When the river rages, he is not alarmed;
he is
secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.
24 Can anyone capture him by the eyes, [k]
or trap
him and pierce his nose?
Job 41
1 "Can you pull in the leviathan [l] with a fishhook
or tie
down his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce
his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he keep begging you for mercy?
Will he
speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will he make an agreement with you
for you to
take him as your slave for life?
5 Can you make a pet of him like a bird
or put him
on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders barter for him?
Will they
divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his
head with fishing spears?
8 If you lay a hand on him,
you will
remember the struggle and never do it again!
9 Any hope of subduing him is false;
the mere
sight of him is overpowering.
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him.
Who then
is able to stand against me?
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything
under heaven belongs to me.
12 "I will not fail to speak of his limbs,
his
strength and his graceful form.
13 Who can strip off his outer coat?
Who would
approach him with a bridle?
14 Who dares open the doors of his mouth,
ringed
about with his fearsome teeth?
15 His back has [m] rows of shields
tightly
sealed together;
16 each is so close to the next
that no
air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling
together and cannot be parted.
18 His snorting throws out flashes of light;
his eyes
are like the rays of dawn.
19 Firebrands stream from his mouth;
sparks of
fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from his nostrils
as from a
boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21 His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames
dart from his mouth.
22 Strength resides in his neck;
dismay
goes before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
they are
firm and immovable.
24 His chest is hard as rock,
hard as a
lower millstone.
25 When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they
retreat before his thrashing.
26 The sword that reaches him has no effect,
nor does
the spear or the dart or the javelin.
27 Iron he treats like straw
and bronze
like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make him flee;
slingstones are like chaff to him.
29 A club seems to him but a piece of straw;
he laughs
at the rattling of the lance.
30 His undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a
trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
and stirs
up the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;
one would
think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is his equal—
a creature
without fear.
34 He looks down on all that are haughty;
he is king
over all that are proud."
Job 42
1 Then Job replied to the LORD :
2 "I know that you can do all things;
no plan of
yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without
knowledge?'
Surely I
spoke of things I did not understand,
things too
wonderful for me to know.
4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
I will
question you,
and you
shall answer me.'
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my
eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent
in dust and ashes."
Epilogue
7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to
Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends,
because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and
sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for
you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to
your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job
has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's
prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him
prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All
his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and
ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the
trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of
silver [n] and a gold ring.
12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than
the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a
thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven
sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the
second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land
were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their
father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw
his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he
died, old and full of years.
Day
4
Go
Back
The Story of Moses
and the
Beginning of the Law
Exodus 1-5, 12-14, and 20
The Israelites Oppressed
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt
with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3
Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5
The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy [a] in all; Joseph was
already in Egypt.
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation
died, 7 but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and
became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to
power in Egypt. 9 "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have
become much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with
them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out,
will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."
11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with
forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for
Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied
and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked
them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in
brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their
hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names
were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 "When you help the Hebrew women in
childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill
him; but if it is a girl, let her live." 17 The midwives, however,
feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;
they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives
and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys
live?"
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like
Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives
arrive."
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased
and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God,
he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy
that is born [b] you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."
Exodus 2
The Birth of Moses
1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2
and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he
was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could
hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with
tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the
reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to
see what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and
her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket
among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 She opened it and
saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one
of the Hebrew babies," she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and
get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"
8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the
baby's mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and
nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and
nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's
daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, [c] saying, "I
drew him out of the water."
Moses Flees to Midian
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where
his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an
Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way
and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the
sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He
asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
14 The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are
you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was
afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but
Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down
by a well. 16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came
to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. 17
Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and
came to their rescue and watered their flock.
18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked
them, "Why have you returned so early today?"
19 They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds.
He even drew water for us and watered the flock."
20 "And where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you
leave him? Invite him to have something to eat."
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter
Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and
Moses named him Gershom, [d] saying, "I have become an alien in a
foreign land."
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The
Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for
help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their
groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and
with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about
them.
Exodus 3
Moses and the Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his
father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far
side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the
angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So
Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why
the bush does not burn up."
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called
to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said,
"Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said,
"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid
to look at God.
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people
in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,
and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to
rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of
that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and
honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites
has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing
them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the
Israelites out of Egypt."
11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to
Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the
sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the
people out of Egypt, you [e] will worship God on this mountain."
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say
to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me,
'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . [f] This is what you
are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD,
[g] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my
name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation
to generation.
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The
LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and
have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to
bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the
Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and
Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the
elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the
God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey
into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' 19 But I know
that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels
him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all
the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you
go.
21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward
this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22
Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house
for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on
your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
Exodus 4
Signs for Moses
1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen
to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?"
2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he
replied.
3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on
the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD
said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses
reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff
in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that
the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you."
6 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So
Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was
leprous, [h] like snow.
7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put
his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,
like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay
attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9
But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some
water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take
from the river will become blood on the ground."
10 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been
eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your
servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes
him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I,
the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to
say."
13 But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do
it."
14 Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said,
"What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well.
He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when
he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I
will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will
speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth
and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so
you can perform miraculous signs with it."
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said
to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them
are still alive."
Jethro said, "Go,
and I wish you well."
19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to
Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." 20 So Moses
took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt.
And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see
that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the
power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the
people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel
is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may
worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your
firstborn son.' "
24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} [i]
and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off
her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. [j] "Surely you
are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. 26 So the LORD let him
alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to
circumcision.)
27 The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet
Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then
Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also
about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the
Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to
Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they
believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them
and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 5
Bricks Without Straw
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This
is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that
they may hold a festival to me in the desert.' "
2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and
let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go."
3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices
to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the
sword."
4 But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you
taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" 5 Then
Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you
are stopping them from working."
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers
and foremen in charge of the people: 7 "You are no longer to supply the
people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own
straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before;
don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out,
'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' 9 Make the work harder for the
men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10 Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said
to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any
more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but
your work will not be reduced at all.' " 12 So the people scattered all
over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers
kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each
day, just as when you had straw." 14 The Israelite foremen appointed by
Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you
meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15 Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh:
"Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are
given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being
beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17 Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are—lazy!
That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' 18
Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce
your full quota of bricks."
19 The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when
they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of
you for each day." 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and
Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, "May the LORD look upon
you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his
officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
God Promises Deliverance
22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you
brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever
since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble
upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."
Exodus 12
The Passover
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is
to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the
whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man
is to take a lamb [a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any
household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their
nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there
are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with
what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old
males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the
goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when
all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at
twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the
sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the
lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the
fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not
eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the
fire—head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it
till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This
is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your
sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it
is the LORD's Passover.
12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike
down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I
will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The
blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch
you when I strike Egypt.
14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations
to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting
ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.
On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats
anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must
be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and
another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except
to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do.
17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was
on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate
this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the
first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening
of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For
seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats
anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel,
whether he is an alien or native-born. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast.
Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to
them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and
slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the
blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both
sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his
house until morning. 23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike
down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the
doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the
destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you
and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will
give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your
children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' 27 then tell
them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the
houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck
down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The
Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in
Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the
firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of
all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the
Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt,
for there was not a house without someone dead.
The Exodus
31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and
said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the
LORD as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have
said, and go. And also bless me."
33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the
country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!" 34 So the
people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on
their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The
Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles
of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The LORD had made the Egyptians
favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they
asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There
were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and
children. 38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large
droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough they had
brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was
without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not
have time to prepare food for themselves.
40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt
[b] was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all
the LORD's divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the LORD kept vigil that
night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are
to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.
Passover Restrictions
43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the
regulations for the Passover:
"No foreigner is to
eat of it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have
circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not
eat of it.
46 "It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat
outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole
community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 "An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the
LORD's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised;
then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male
may eat of it. 49 The same law applies to the native-born and to the
alien living among you."
50 All the Israelites did just what the LORD had commanded
Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the
Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
Exodus 13
Consecration of the Firstborn
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Consecrate to me every firstborn
male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to
me, whether man or animal."
3 Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the
day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD
brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings
you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and
Jebusites—the land he swore to your forefathers to give you,
a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this
ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast
and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD. 7 Eat unleavened
bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen
among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8
On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for
me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 This observance will be for you like a
sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the
LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with
his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time
year after year.
11 "After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites
and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your
forefathers, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of
every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the
LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not
redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this
mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused
to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and
animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of
every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be
like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD
brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."
Crossing the Sea
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on
the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For
God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return
to Egypt." 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward
the Red Sea. [c] The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had
made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely
come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from
this place." [d]
20 After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of
the desert. 21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud
to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give
them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the
pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place
in front of the people.
Exodus 14
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn
back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are
to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will
think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion,
hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he
will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and
all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the
Israelites did this.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,
Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,
"What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their
services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with
him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the
other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD
hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the
Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all
Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen [e] and
troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they
camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there
were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried
out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no
graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you
done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in
Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been
better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm
and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The
Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will
fight for you; you need only to be still."
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to
me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out
your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can
go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory
through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his
horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain
glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of
Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also
moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies
of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to
the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the
other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all
that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and
turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites
went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right
and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and
chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last
watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and
cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the
wheels of their chariots come off [f] so that they had difficulty
driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites!
The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over
the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their
chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were
fleeing toward [g] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The
water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the
entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.
Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,
with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the
LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the
Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the
great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared
the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out
of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6
but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for
the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days
you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither
you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the
LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the
Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live
long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not
covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or
donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard
the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.
They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself
and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come
to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from
sinning."
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached
the thick darkness where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this:
'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23
Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves
gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 " 'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, [b] your sheep and goats and
your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you
and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build
it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be
exposed on it.'
Day
5
Go
Back
Leviticus 1
The Burnt Offering
1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of
Meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any
of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal
from either the herd or the flock.
3 " 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is
to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting so that it [a] will be acceptable to the LORD. 4 He
is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be
accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He is to slaughter
the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall
bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the
entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 6 He is to skin the burnt offering and
cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on
the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron's sons the priests
shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the
burning wood that is on the altar. 9 He is to wash the inner parts and
the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar.
It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to
the LORD.
10 " 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock,
from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without
defect. 11 He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before
the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against
the altar on all sides. 12 He is to cut it into pieces, and the priest
shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood
that is on the altar. 13 He is to wash the inner parts and the legs
with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the
altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma
pleasing to the LORD.
14 " 'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of
birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest shall
bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its
blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He is to remove
the crop with its contents [b] and throw it to the east side of the
altar, where the ashes are. 17 He shall tear it open by the wings, not
severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood
that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering
made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
Leviticus 10
The Death of Nadab and Abihu
1 Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire
in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before
the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence
of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Moses
then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:
" 'Among
those who approach me
I will
show myself holy;
in the
sight of all the people
I will be
honored.' "
Aaron remained
silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle
Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the
camp, away from the front of the sanctuary." 5 So they came and carried
them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar,
"Do not let your hair become unkempt, [a] and do not tear your clothes,
or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community.
But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the
LORD has destroyed by fire. 7 Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting or you will die, because the LORD's anointing oil is on you."
So they did as Moses said.
8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, 9 "You and your sons are not
to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of
Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the
generations to come. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the
common, between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you must teach the
Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses."
12 Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and
Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to
the LORD by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar,
for it is most holy. 13 Eat it in a holy place, because it is your
share and your sons' share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire;
for so I have been commanded. 14 But you and your sons and your
daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was
presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given
to you and your children as your share of the Israelites' fellowship
offerings. [b] 15 The thigh that was presented and the breast that was
waved must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by
fire, to be waved before the LORD as a wave offering. This will be the
regular share for you and your children, as the LORD has commanded."
16 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and
found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and
Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked, 17 "Why didn't you eat the
sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to
you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for
them before the LORD. 18 Since its blood was not taken into the Holy
Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I
commanded."
19 Aaron replied to Moses, "Today they sacrificed their sin
offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, but such things as
this have happened to me. Would the LORD have been pleased if I had
eaten the sin offering today?" 20 When Moses heard this, he was
satisfied.
Leviticus 11
Clean and Unclean Food
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "Say to the Israelites:
'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:
3 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and
that chews the cud.
4 " 'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a
split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the
cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5
The coney, [c] though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it
is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not
have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has
a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean
for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they
are unclean for you.
9 " 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and
the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all
creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and
scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the
other living creatures in the water—you are to detest. 11 And
since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must
detest their carcasses. 12 Anything living in the water that does not
have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.
13 " 'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat
because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the
horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little
owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl,
the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. [d]
20 " 'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be
detestable to you. 21 There are, however, some winged creatures that
walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for
hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust,
katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other winged creatures that
have four legs you are to detest.
24 " 'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever
touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks
up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean
till evening.
26 " 'Every animal that has a split hoof not completely
divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever
touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the
animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are
unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till
evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash his clothes,
and he will be unclean till evening. They are unclean for you.
29 " 'Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are
unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30 the
gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the
chameleon. 31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are
unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be
unclean till evening. 32 When one of them dies and falls on something,
that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of
wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean
till evening, and then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into a
clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.
34 Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is
unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean. 35
Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven
or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to
regard them as unclean. 36 A spring, however, or a cistern for
collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these
carcasses is unclean. 37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be
planted, they remain clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed
and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39 " 'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone
who touches the carcass will be unclean till evening. 40 Anyone who
eats some of the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean
till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes,
and he will be unclean till evening.
41 " 'Every creature that moves about on the ground is
detestable; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature
that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks
on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable. 43 Do not defile
yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by
means of them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the LORD your God;
consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make
yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. 45 I
am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore
be holy, because I am holy.
46 " 'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds,
every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that
moves about on the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean
and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those
that may not be eaten.' "
Leviticus 16
The Day of Atonement
1 The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of
Aaron who died when they approached the LORD. 2 The LORD said to Moses:
"Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most
Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the
ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the
atonement cover.
3 "This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a
young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is
to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his
body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen
turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water
before he puts them on. 5 From the Israelite community he is to take
two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
6 "Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to
make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the
two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent
of Meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot
for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. [a] 9 Aaron shall bring
the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin
offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be
presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by
sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.
11 "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to
make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter
the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of
burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely
ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to
put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the
incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that
he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his
finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall
sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement
cover.
15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for
the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he
did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover
and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most
Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites,
whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of
Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No
one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make
atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made
atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
18 "Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the
LORD and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood
and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.
19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven
times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the
Israelites.
20 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most
Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward
the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat
and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the
Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the
goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of
a man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all
their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the
desert.
23 "Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off
the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and
he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in a
holy place and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and
sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the
people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall
also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 "The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash
his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into
the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood
was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken
outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up. 28
The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with
water; afterward he may come into the camp.
29 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth
day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves [b] and not do any
work—whether native-born or an alien living among you- 30
because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.
Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a
sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting
ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his
father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred
linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the
Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people
of the community.
34 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is
to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites."
And it was done, as
the LORD commanded Moses.
Leviticus 25
The Sabbath Year
1 The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 "Speak to the
Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give
you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six
years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and
gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a
sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune
your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the
grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. 6
Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for
you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the
hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, 7 as well as
for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land
produces may be eaten.
The Year of Jubilee
8 " 'Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times
seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a
period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere
on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound
the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and
proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall
be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family
property and each to his own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a
jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or
harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy
for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
13 " 'In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his
own property.
14 " 'If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any
from him, do not take advantage of each other. 15 You are to buy from
your countryman on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee.
And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for
harvesting crops. 16 When the years are many, you are to increase the
price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price,
because what he is really selling you is the number of crops. 17 Do not
take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God.
18 " 'Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and
you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its
fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may
ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or
harvest our crops?" 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth
year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you
plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will
continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
23 " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land
is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 24 Throughout the
country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the
redemption of the land.
25 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some
of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his
countryman has sold. 26 If, however, a man has no one to redeem it for
him but he himself prospers and acquires sufficient means to redeem it,
27 he is to determine the value for the years since he sold it and
refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back
to his own property. 28 But if he does not acquire the means to repay
him, what he sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the
Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and he can then go
back to his property.
29 " 'If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains the
right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time he may
redeem it. 30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the
house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and his
descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in
villages without walls around them are to be considered as open
country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the
Jubilee.
32 " 'The Levites always have the right to redeem their
houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. 33 So the property
of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any
town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because
the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the
Israelites. 34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be
sold; it is their permanent possession.
35 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to
support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a
temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. 36 Do not
take interest of any kind [a] from him, but fear your God, so that your
countryman may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend him
money at interest or sell him food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your
God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to
be your God.
39 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and
sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. 40 He is to be
treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to
work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are
to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property
of his forefathers. 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I
brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule
over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
44 " 'Your male and female slaves are to come from the
nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy
some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their
clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You
can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them
slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites
ruthlessly.
47 " 'If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes
rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the
alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan, 48 he
retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his
relatives may redeem him: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative
in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
50 He and his buyer are to count the time from the year he sold himself
up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for his release is to be based on
the rate paid to a hired man for that number of years. 51 If many years
remain, he must pay for his redemption a larger share of the price paid
for him. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is
to compute that and pay for his redemption accordingly. 53 He is to be
treated as a man hired from year to year; you must see to it that his
owner does not rule over him ruthlessly.
54 " 'Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and
his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, 55 for the
Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I
brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 26
Reward for Obedience
1 " 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone
for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow
down before it. I am the LORD your God.
2 " 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary.
I am the LORD.
3 " 'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my
commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will
yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. 5 Your
threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will
continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and
live in safety in your land.
6 " 'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down
and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the
land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will
pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five
of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten
thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
9 " 'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and
increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You
will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it
out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place [b] among
you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your
God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought
you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the
Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with
heads held high.
Punishment for Disobedience
14 " 'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all
these commands, 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and
fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then I
will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting
diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your
life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. 17
I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your
enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even
when no one is pursuing you.
18 " 'If after all this you will not listen to me, I will
punish you for your sins seven times over. 19 I will break down your
stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground
beneath you like bronze. 20 Your strength will be spent in vain,
because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the
land yield their fruit.
21 " 'If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to
me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins
deserve. 22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you
of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number
that your roads will be deserted.
23 " 'If in spite of these things you do not accept my
correction but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be
hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over.
25 And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the
covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague
among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. 26 When I cut off
your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one
oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you
will not be satisfied.
27 " 'If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but
continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger I will be hostile
toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times
over. 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your
daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense
altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols,
and I will abhor you. 31 I will turn your cities into ruins and lay
waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing
aroma of your offerings. 32 I will lay waste the land, so that your
enemies who live there will be appalled. 33 I will scatter you among
the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will
be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. 34 Then the land will
enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are
in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its
sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the
rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.
36 " 'As for those of you who are left, I will make their
hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a
windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing
from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing
them. 37 They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the
sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to
stand before your enemies. 38 You will perish among the nations; the
land of your enemies will devour you. 39 Those of you who are left will
waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also
because of their fathers' sins they will waste away.
40 " 'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of
their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility
toward me, 41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them
into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised
hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, 42 I will remember my
covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with
Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted
by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without
them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and
abhorred my decrees. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land
of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy
them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the LORD their
God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their
ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be
their God. I am the LORD.' "
46 These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that
the LORD established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites
through Moses.
Day
6
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Numbers 3
The Levites
1 This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the
time the LORD talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and
Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron's sons, the
anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and
Abihu, however, fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering
with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no
sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime
of their father Aaron.
5 The LORD said to Moses, 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi and
present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform
duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by
doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the
furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the
Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to
Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly
to him. [a] 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone
else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death."
11 The LORD also said to Moses, 12 "I have taken the Levites
from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every
Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are
mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for
myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be
mine. I am the LORD."
14 The LORD said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 "Count
the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old
or more." 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of
the LORD.
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi:
Gershon,
Kohath and Merari.
18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and
Shimei.
19 The Kohathite clans:
Amram,
Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The Merarite clans:
Mahli and
Mushi.
These were the
Levite clans, according to their families.
21 To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and
Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the
males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite
clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle. 24 The leader of
the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the
Tent of Meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the
tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the
Tent of Meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the
entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the
ropes—and everything related to their use.
27 To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites,
Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans. 28 The
number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. [b] The
Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. 29 The
Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30
The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of
Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table,
the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in
ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use. 32 The
chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He
was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the
sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the
Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. 34 The number of all the males
a month old or more who were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the
families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to
camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The Merarites were
appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars,
posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use,
37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases,
tent pegs and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of
the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting.
They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the
Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to
death.
39 The total number of Levites counted at the LORD's command
by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a
month old or more, was 22,000.
40 The LORD said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn Israelite
males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. 41
Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the
Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the
firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the LORD."
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as
the LORD commanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month
old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 The LORD also said to Moses, 45 "Take the Levites in place
of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in
place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the LORD. 46
To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the
Levites, 47 collect five shekels [c] for each one, according to the
sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. 48 Give the money for the
redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons."
49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those who
exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of
the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, [d]
according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money
to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the LORD.
Numbers 4
The Kohathites
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 2 "Take a census of the
Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. 3 Count
all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the
work in the Tent of Meeting.
4 "This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting:
the care of the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to move, Aaron and
his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and cover the
ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they are to cover this with hides
of sea cows, [e] spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the
poles in place.
7 "Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue
cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for
drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on
it. 8 Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth, cover that with
hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
9 "They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that
is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and
all its jars for the oil used to supply it. 10 Then they are to wrap it
and all its accessories in a covering of hides of sea cows and put it
on a carrying frame.
11 "Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and
cover that with hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
12 "They are to take all the articles used for ministering in
the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with hides of sea
cows and put them on a carrying frame.
13 "They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and
spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to place on it all the
utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans,
meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a
covering of hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
15 "After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy
furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to
move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not
touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry
those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.
16 "Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of
the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering
and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle
and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles."
17 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 18 "See that the
Kohathite tribal clans are not cut off from the Levites. 19 So that
they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do
this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and
assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. 20 But the
Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a
moment, or they will die."
The Gershonites
21 The LORD said to Moses, 22 "Take a census also of the
Gershonites by their families and clans. 23 Count all the men from
thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent
of Meeting.
24 "This is the service of the Gershonite clans as they work
and carry burdens: 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle,
the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the outer covering of hides of
sea cows, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the
curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the
curtain for the entrance, the ropes and all the equipment used in its
service. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these
things. 27 All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is
to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign
to them as their responsibility all they are to carry. 28 This is the
service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting. Their duties
are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
The Merarites
29 "Count the Merarites by their clans and families. 30 Count
all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the
work at the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is their duty as they perform
service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle,
its crossbars, posts and bases, 32 as well as the posts of the
surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their
equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the
specific things he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite
clans as they work at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of
Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest."
The Numbering of the Levite Clans
34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the
Kohathites by their clans and families. 35 All the men from thirty to
fifty years of age who came to serve in the work in the Tent of
Meeting, 36 counted by clans, were 2,750. 37 This was the total of all
those in the Kohathite clans who served in the Tent of Meeting. Moses
and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
38 The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families.
39 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in
the work at the Tent of Meeting, 40 counted by their clans and
families, were 2,630. 41 This was the total of those in the Gershonite
clans who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them
according to the LORD's command.
42 The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. 43
All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the
work at the Tent of Meeting, 44 counted by their clans, were 3,200. 45
This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron
counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the
Levites by their clans and families. 47 All the men from thirty to
fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the
Tent of Meeting 48 numbered 8,580. 49 At the LORD's command through
Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.
Thus they were
counted, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 6
The Nazirite
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say
to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of
separation to the LORD as a Nazirite, 3 he must abstain from wine and
other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from
other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or
raisins. 4 As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that
comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5 " 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no
razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his
separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow
long. 6 Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not
go near a dead body. 7 Even if his own father or mother or brother or
sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account
of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. 8
Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD.
9 " 'If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling
the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his
cleansing—the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day he must
bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting. 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering
and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he
sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is
to consecrate his head. 12 He must dedicate himself to the LORD for the
period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt
offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled
during his separation.
13 " 'Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of
his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent
of Meeting. 14 There he is to present his offerings to the LORD : a
year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe
lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a
fellowship offering, [a] 15 together with their grain offerings and
drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without
yeast—cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers
spread with oil.
16 " 'The priest is to present them before the LORD and make
the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 He is to present the basket
of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship
offering to the LORD, together with its grain offering and drink
offering.
18 " 'Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the
Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take the
hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the
fellowship offering.
19 " 'After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair of his
dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of
the ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without
yeast. 20 The priest shall then wave them before the LORD as a wave
offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the
breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the
Nazirite may drink wine.
21 " 'This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering
to the LORD in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever
else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to
the law of the Nazirite.' "
The Priestly Blessing
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This
is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep
you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be
gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give
you peace." '
27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will
bless them."
Numbers 11
Fire From the LORD
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the
hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then
fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts
of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the
LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, [a]
because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
Quail from the LORD
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again
the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5
We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the
cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our
appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"
7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8
The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill
or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into
cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew
settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at
the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses
was troubled. 11 He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble
on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the
burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people?
Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as
a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their
forefathers? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep
wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' 14 I cannot carry all these
people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you
are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have
found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."
16 The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's
elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.
Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with
you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of
the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help
you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry
it alone.
18 "Tell the people: 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation
for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you
wailed, "If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now
the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat
it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but
for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you
loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among
you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"
' "
21 But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men
on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!'
22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for
them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for
them?"
23 The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You
will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had
said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand
around the Tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with
him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on
the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied,
but they did not do so again. [b]
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had
remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go
out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they
prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and
Medad are prophesying in the camp."
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth,
spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"
29 But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish
that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put
his Spirit on them!" 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to
the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from
the sea. It brought them [c] down all around the camp to about three
feet [d] above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. 32
All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and
gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. [e] Then they
spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still
between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the
LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe
plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, [f] because
there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and
stayed there.
Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his
Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the LORD spoken only
through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the
LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone
else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out
to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came
out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the
entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them
stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:
"When a
prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal
myself to him in visions,
I speak to
him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is
faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly
and not in riddles;
he sees
the form of the LORD.
Why then
were you not afraid
to speak
against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood
Miriam—leprous, [g] like snow. Aaron turned toward her and
saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do
not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not
let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with
its flesh half eaten away."
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her
face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her
outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back."
15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the
people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the
Desert of Paran.
Numbers 13
Exploring Canaan
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the
land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each
ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
3 So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the
Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These
are their names:
from the
tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son
of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the
land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up
through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is
like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or
many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What
kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How
is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do
your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the
season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of
Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo [h] Hamath. 22 They went up through
the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the
descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before
Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, [i] they cut
off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it
on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That
place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes
the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned
from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite
community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them
and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27
They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent
us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the
people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and
very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites
live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the
hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the
Jordan."
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We
should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do
it."
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't
attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread
among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.
They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the
people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there
(the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like
grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1 That night all the people of the community raised their
voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and
Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in
Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land
only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken
as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And
they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to
Egypt."
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole
Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of
Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their
clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we
passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is
pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with
milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the
LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will
swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do
not be afraid of them."
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the
glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the
Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people
treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in
spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I
will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make
you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
13 Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear
about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14
And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have
already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O
LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and
that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of
fire by night. 15 If you put these people to death all at one time, the
nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 'The LORD was
not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath;
so he slaughtered them in the desert.'
17 "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you
have declared: 18 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and
forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty
unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the
third and fourth generation.' 19 In accordance with your great love,
forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from
the time they left Egypt until now."
20 The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21
Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the
LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and
the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who
disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see
the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has
treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant
Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will
bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit
it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys,
turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the
Red Sea. [j] "
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 "How long will this
wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of
these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, 'As surely as I live,
declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29
In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty
years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled
against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted
hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of
Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I
will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But
you—your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children
will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your
unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. 34
For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you
explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what
it is like to have me against you.' 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I
will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has
banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert;
here they will die."
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who
returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading
a bad report about it- 37 these men responsible for spreading the bad
report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the
LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of
Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they
mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they went up toward the
high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the
place the LORD promised."
41 But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's
command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is
not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the
Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned
away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the
sword."
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the
high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's
covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who
lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them
down all the way to Hormah.
Day
7
Go
Back
Deuteronomy 5
The Ten Commandments
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the
decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be
sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at
Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant,
but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke
to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I
stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD,
because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)
And he said:
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out
of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for
the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD
your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it
you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor
your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your
animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and
maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in
Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty
hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded
you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God
has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well
with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not
set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or
maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor."
22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud
voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the
fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then
he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the
mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and
your elders came to me. 24 And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us
his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire.
Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. 25
But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we
will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26 For
what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out
of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that
the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells
you. We will listen and obey."
28 The LORD heard you when you spoke to me and the LORD said
to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said
was good. 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and
keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and
their children forever!
30 "Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay
here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws
you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to
possess."
32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded
you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in all the
way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and
prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Deuteronomy 6
Love the LORD Your God
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God
directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing
the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children
after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping
all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy
long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go
well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with
milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [b] 5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are
to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you
lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and
bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your
houses and on your gates.
10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore
to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a
land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled
with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not
dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then
when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget
the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths
in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples
around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous
God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from
the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at
Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the
stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good
in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in
and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your
forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD
said.
20 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the
meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has
commanded you?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but
the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes
the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and
terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23
But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land
that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us
to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we
might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if
we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has
commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
Deuteronomy 7
Driving Out the Nations
1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are
entering to possess and drives out before you many
nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger
than you- 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you
and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. [c]
Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry
with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their
daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from
following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn
against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do
to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down
their Asherah poles [d] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are
a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you
out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his
treasured possession.
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you
because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the
fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept
the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a
mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power
of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is
God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand
generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 10 But
those who
hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will
not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and
laws I give you today.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to
follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with
you, as he swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you
and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the
crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the
calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he
swore to your forefathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than
any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any
of your livestock without young. 15 The LORD will keep you free from
every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you
knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You
must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do
not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will
be a snare to you.
17 You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger
than we are. How can we drive them out?" 18 But do not be afraid of
them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all
Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous
signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the
LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to
all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send
the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have
perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is
among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will drive
out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed
to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around
you. 23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing
them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will give
their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from
under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will
destroy them. 25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire.
Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for
yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the
LORD your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or
you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and
detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
Deuteronomy 8
Do Not Forget the LORD
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today,
so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land
that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the
LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to
humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart,
whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing
you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor
your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread
alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your
clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty
years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so
the LORD your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his
ways and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a
good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with
springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and
barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a
land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land
where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD
your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do
not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws
and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you
eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13
and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold
increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become
proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and
dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous
snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave
you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known,
to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have
produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it
is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his
covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods
and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you
will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before
you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 28
Blessings for Obedience
1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow
all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high
above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon
you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of
your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your
herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you
go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against
you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one
direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on
everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in
the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he
promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and
walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you
are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD
will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb,
the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in
the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his
bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work
of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention
to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and
carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the
bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today,
to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
Curses for Disobedience
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not
carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,
all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of
your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go
out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in
everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to
sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. [a] 21
The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from
the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with
wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and
drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you
perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath
you iron. 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and
powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your
enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in
seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on
earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and
the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them
away. 27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with
tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of
mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark.
You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will
be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another
will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not
live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to
enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but
you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you
and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and
no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to
another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day
after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know
will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing
but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive
you mad. 35 The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful
boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to
the top of your head.
36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a
nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other
gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror and
an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will
drive you.
38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest
little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and
cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes,
because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout
your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop
off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them,
because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take
over all your trees and the crops of your land.
43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher
and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you,
but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the
tail.
45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you
and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the
LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They
will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47
Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the
time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and
dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He
will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away,
from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose
language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without
respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the
young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are
destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any
calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 52
They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the
high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege
all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.
53 Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on
you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of
the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. 54 Even the
most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his
own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he
will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he
is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your
enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. 56 The
most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and
gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of
her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son
or daughter 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears.
For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the
distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.
58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,
which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and
awesome name—the LORD your God- 59 the LORD will send fearful
plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and
severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring upon you all the
diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The
LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not
recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62 You who
were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in
number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. 63 Just as it
pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will
please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land
you are entering to possess.
64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one
end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other
gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your
fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no
resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you
an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66
You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and
day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, "If only
it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were
morning!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the
sights that your eyes will see. 68 The LORD will send you back in ships
to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you
will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female
slaves, but no one will buy you.
Deuteronomy 29
Renewal of the Covenant
1 These are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded
Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant
he had made with them at Horeb.
2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:
Your eyes have seen
all that the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to
all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those
miraculous signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the LORD has not
given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5
During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes
did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread
and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you
might know that I am the LORD your God.
7 When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og
king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 8 We
took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the
Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
9 Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you
may prosper in everything you do. 10 All of you are standing today in
the presence of the LORD your God—your leaders and chief men,
your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together
with your children and your wives, and the aliens living in your camps
who chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are standing here in
order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the
LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to
confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he
promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
14 I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you 15 who
are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God but
also with those who are not here today.
16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we
passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them
their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and
gold. 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you
today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship
the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that
produces such bitter poison.
19 When such a person hears the words of this oath, he
invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe,
even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on
the watered land as well as the dry. [b] 20 The LORD will never be
willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man.
All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD
will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 The LORD will single him
out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the
curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
22 Your children who follow you in later generations and
foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that
have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the LORD has
afflicted it. 23 The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and
sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation
growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in fierce anger. 24 All the
nations will ask: "Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this
fierce, burning anger?"
25 And the answer will be: "It is because this people
abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, the
covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They
went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did
not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the LORD's anger
burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses
written in this book. 28 In furious anger and in great wrath the LORD
uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it
is now."
29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the
things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may
follow all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 30
Prosperity After Turning to the LORD
1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you
come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God
disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children
return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with
all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the
LORD your God will restore your fortunes [c] and have compassion on you
and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4
Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the
heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you
back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers,
and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous
and numerous than your fathers. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise
your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love
him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The LORD
your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and
persecute you. 8 You will again obey the LORD and follow all his
commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the LORD your God will make you
most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your
womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD
will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted
in your fathers, 10 if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands
and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Offer of Life or Death
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult
for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you
have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to
us so we may obey it?" 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to
ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may
obey it?" 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in
your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and
destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to
walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you
will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the
land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and
if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I
declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will
not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and
possess.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you
that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now
choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may
love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For
the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he
swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 31
Joshua to Succeed Moses
1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2
"I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to
lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' 3
The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy
these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land.
Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the
LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the
Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will
deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded
you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because
of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you."
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence
of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this
people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give
them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The
LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave
you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
The Reading of the Law
9 So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests,
the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and
to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them: "At the end
of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast
of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your
God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in
their hearing. 12 Assemble the people—men, women and
children, and the aliens living in your towns—so they can
listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the
words of this law. 13 Their children, who do not know this law, must
hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the
land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
Israel's Rebellion Predicted
14 The LORD said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is
near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where
I will commission him." So Moses and Joshua came and presented
themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
15 Then the LORD appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud,
and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent. 16 And the LORD said
to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people
will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they
are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with
them. 17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I
will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters
and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask,
'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'
18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their
wickedness in turning to other gods.
19 "Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to
the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for
me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with
milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and
when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and
worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant. 21 And when many
disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify
against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I
know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the
land I promised them on oath." 22 So Moses wrote down this song that
day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be
strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land
I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."
24 After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this
law from beginning to end, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who
carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD : 26 "Take this Book of the
Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God.
There it will remain as a witness against you. 27 For I know how
rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious
against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more
will you rebel after I die! 28 Assemble before me all the elders of
your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in
their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them. 29 For
I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and
to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster
will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD
and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made."
The Song of Moses
30 And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to
end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
Day
8
Go
Back
Joshua 1
The LORD Commands Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD
said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead.
Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River
into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3
I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised
Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and
from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite
country—to the Great Sea [a] on the west. 5 No one will be
able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with
Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these
people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my
servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the
left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this
Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you
will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for
the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go
through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three
days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take
possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of
Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant
of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has
granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock
may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all
your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers.
You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he
has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land
that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and
occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east
of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us
we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully
obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with
you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does
not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to
death. Only be strong and courageous!"
Joshua 2
Rahab and the Spies
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from
Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So
they went and entered the house of a prostitute [b] named Rahab and
stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites
have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho
sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and
entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She
said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come
from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left.
I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch
up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them
under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men
set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of
the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the
roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to
you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live
in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard
how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea [c] for you when you
came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of
the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. [d] 11
When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed
because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the
earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will
show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give
me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and
mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that
you will save us from death."
14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you
don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully
when the LORD gives us the land."
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the
house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 Now she had said to
them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide
yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."
17 The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not
be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this
scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless
you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your
family into your house. 19 If anyone goes outside your house into the
street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible.
As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our
head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we
will be released from the oath you made us swear."
21 "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent
them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the
window.
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there
three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and
returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They
went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of
Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to
Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all
the people are melting in fear because of us."
Joshua 3
Crossing the Jordan
1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out
from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing
over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3
giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of
the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you
are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know
which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a
distance of about a thousand yards [e] between you and the ark; do not
go near it."
5 Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for
tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
6 Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the
covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went
ahead of them.
7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt
you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I
was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant:
'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the
river.' "
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the
words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the
living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you
the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites
and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the
earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve
men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as
the priests who carry the ark of the LORD -the Lord of all the
earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream
will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the
priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the
Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests
who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the
water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up
in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity
of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the
Salt Sea [f] ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over
opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of
the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while
all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing
on dry ground.
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the
LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one
from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the
middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry
them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay
tonight."
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed
from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over
before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each
of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number
of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the
future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell
them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the
covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the
Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of
Israel forever."
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took
twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of
the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they
carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9
Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been [g] in the middle of the
Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the
covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in
the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua
was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people
hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the
LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.
12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over,
armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About
forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the
plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all
Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had
revered Moses.
15 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 16 "Command the priests
carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan."
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the
Jordan."
18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark
of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the
dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and
ran at flood stage as before.
19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up
from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of
the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your
descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' 22 tell
them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the LORD your
God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD
your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea [h]
when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this
so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the
LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."
Joshua 5
Circumcision at Gilgal
1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all
the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the
Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts
melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives
and circumcise the Israelites again." 3 So Joshua made flint knives and
circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. [i]
4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of
Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the
desert on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out
had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the
journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the
desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they
left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD
had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly
promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones
Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not
been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been
circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were
healed.
9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the
reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal [j] to
this day.
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while
camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated
the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate
some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12
The manna stopped the day after [k] they ate this food from the land;
there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they
ate of the produce of Canaan.
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a
man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua
went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of
the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in
reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord [l] have for his
servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your
sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did
so.
Joshua 6
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites.
No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered
Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3
March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six
days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of
the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with
the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long
blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the
wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man
straight in."
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them,
"Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests
carry trumpets in front of it." 7 And he ordered the people, "Advance!
March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of
the LORD."
8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests
carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their
trumpets, and the ark of the LORD's covenant followed them. 9 The armed
guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear
guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10
But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not
raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout.
Then shout!" 11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city,
circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night
there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took
up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven
trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing
the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard
followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So
on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the
camp. They did this for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched
around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day
they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the
priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout!
For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it
are to be devoted [m] to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute [n] and
all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the
spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you
will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.
Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and
bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of
bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury."
20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the
sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall
collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21
They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every
living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle,
sheep and donkeys.
22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go
into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to
her, in accordance with your oath to her." 23 So the young men who had
done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother
and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire
family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but
they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into
the treasury of the LORD's house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the
prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she
hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives
among the Israelites to this day.
26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed
before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city,
Jericho:
"At the
cost of his firstborn son
will he
lay its foundations;
at the
cost of his youngest
will he
set up its gates."
27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread
throughout the land.
Joshua 23
Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders
1 After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel
rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well
advanced in years, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders,
leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: "I am old and
well advanced in years. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD
your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD
your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an
inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that
remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan
and the Great Sea [a] in the west. 5 The LORD your God himself will
drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you
will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
6 "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in
the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to
the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you;
do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not
serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD
your God, as you have until now.
9 "The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful
nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of
you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as
he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
12 "But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the
survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry
with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the
LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you.
Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs
and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which
the LORD your God has given you.
14 "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know
with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the
LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled;
not one has failed. 15 But just as every good promise of the LORD your
God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has
threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given
you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he
commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the
LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from
the good land he has given you."
Joshua 24
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.
He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and
they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the
God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the
father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River [b] and worshiped
other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the
River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I
gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the
hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
5 " 'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the
Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought
your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians
pursued them with chariots and horsemen [c] as far as the Red Sea. [d]
7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you
and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You
saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in
the desert for a long time.
8 " 'I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east
of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your
hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of
their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to
fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on
you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and
again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 " 'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The
citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites,
Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,
but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you,
which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings.
You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land
on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in
them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.
Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in
Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable
to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my
household, we will serve the LORD."
16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake
the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who
brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,
and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our
entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18
And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the
Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he
is our God."
19 Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the
LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your
rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign
gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you,
after he has been good to you."
21 But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the
LORD."
22 Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves
that you have chosen to serve the LORD."
"Yes, we are
witnesses," they replied.
23 "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that
are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24 And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our
God and obey him."
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and
there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua
recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a
large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of
the LORD.
27 "See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a
witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us.
It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God."
Buried in the Promised Land
28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own
inheritance.
29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the
LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in
the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah [e] in the hill country
of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua
and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything
the LORD had done for Israel.
32 And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up
from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob
bought for a hundred pieces of silver [f] from the sons of Hamor, the
father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah,
which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of
Ephraim.
Day
9
Go
Back
Judges 1
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD,
"Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the
Canaanites?"
2 The LORD answered, "Judah is to go; I have given the land
into their hands."
3 Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their
brothers, "Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight
against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours." So the
Simeonites went with them.
4 When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and
Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at
Bezek. 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against
him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled,
but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and
big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid
me back for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he
died there.
8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They
put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
9 After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against the
Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western
foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron
(formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.
11 From there they advanced against the people living in
Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher). 12 And Caleb said, "I will give
my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures
Kiriath Sepher." 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took
it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him [a] to ask
her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her,
"What can I do for you?"
15 She replied, "Do me a special favor. Since you have given
me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water." Then Caleb gave
her the upper and lower springs.
16 The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went
up from the City of Palms [b] with the men of Judah to live among the
people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.
17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their
brothers and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they
totally destroyed [c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah. [d] 18
The men of Judah also took [e] Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each
city with its territory.
19 The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession
of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the
plains, because they had iron chariots. 20 As Moses had promised,
Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. 21
The Benjamites, however, failed to dislodge the Jebusites, who were
living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the
Benjamites.
22 Now the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was
with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called
Luz), 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to
him, "Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are
treated well." 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword
but spared the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of
the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which is its
name to this day.
27 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or
Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements,
for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel
became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never
drove them out completely. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites
living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or
Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced
labor. 31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or
Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob, 32 and because of this the
people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. 33
Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth
Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of
the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced
laborers for them. 34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill
country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35 And the
Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and
Shaalbim, but when the power of the house of Joseph increased, they too
were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was
from Scorpion [f] Pass to Sela and beyond.
Judges 2
The Angel of the LORD at Bokim
1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and
said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I
swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my
covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people
of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have
disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now therefore I tell you that I
will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides
and their gods will be a snare to you."
4 When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all
the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5 and they called that place
Bokim. [g] There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Disobedience and Defeat
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to
take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. 7 The people
served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who
outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done
for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age
of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his
inheritance, at Timnath Heres [h] in the hill country of Ephraim, north
of Mount Gaash.
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their
fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what
he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of
the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of
their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and
worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the
LORD to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the
Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to
raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around,
whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to
fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he
had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the LORD raised up judges, [i] who saved them out of
the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their
judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them.
Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their
fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD's commands. 18
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and
saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge
lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those
who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the
people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers,
following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to
give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said,
"Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for
their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive
out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will
use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the
LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did." 23 The LORD had allowed
those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving
them into the hands of Joshua.
Judges 3
1 These are the nations the LORD left to test all those
Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did
this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had
not had previous battle experience): 3 the five rulers of the
Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living
in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo [j] Hamath. 4
They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey
the LORD's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their
daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and
served their gods.
Othniel
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they
forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The
anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the
hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, [k] to whom the
Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to
the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz,
Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the LORD came
upon him, so that he became Israel's judge [l] and went to war. The
LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who
overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until
Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the
LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab
power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him,
Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of
Palms. [m] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for
eighteen years.
15 Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave
them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the
Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half [n]
long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He
presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18
After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who
had carried it. 19 At the idols [o] near Gilgal he himself turned back
and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king."
The king said,
"Quiet!" And all his attendants left him.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the
upper room of his summer palace [p] and said, "I have a message from
God for you." As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his
left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the
king's belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came
out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in
over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch [q] ; he shut the doors of
the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors
of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in
the inner room of the house." 25 They waited to the point of
embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they
took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the
floor, dead.
26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols
and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in
the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from
the hills, with him leading them.
28 "Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab,
your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking
possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no
one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand
Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. 30 That day Moab
was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six
hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
Judges 4
Deborah
1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the
eyes of the LORD. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a
king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was
Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred
iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty
years, they cried to the LORD for help.
4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading
[r] Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the
Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for
Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The
LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand
men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. 7 I will
lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his
troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.' "
8 Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if
you don't go with me, I won't go."
9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because
of the way you are going about this, [s] the honor will not be yours,
for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with
Barak to Kedesh, 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten
thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the
descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, [t] and pitched his tent
by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone
up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron
chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the
Kishon River.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the LORD
has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?"
So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. 15 At
Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army
by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But
Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All
the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.
17 Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the
wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between
Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my
Lord , come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she
put a covering over him.
19 "I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She
opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
20 "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If
someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.' "
21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer
and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove
the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
22 Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to
meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking
for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg
through his temple-dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before
the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and
stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him.
Judges 13
The Birth of Samson
1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so
the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty
years.
2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the
Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. 3 The angel
of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless,
but you are going to conceive and have a son. 4 Now see to it that you
drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything
unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor
may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart
to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the
hands of the Philistines."
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of
God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't
ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. 7 But he
said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink
no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean,
because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of
his death.' "
8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, I beg you, let
the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up
the boy who is to be born."
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the
woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not
with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man
who appeared to me the other day!"
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the
man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.
12 So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what
is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"
13 The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all
that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the
grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything
unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her."
15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you
to stay until we prepare a young goat for you."
16 The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me,
I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,
offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of
the LORD.)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is
your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond
understanding. [a] " 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with
the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the
LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the
flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD
ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their
faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself
again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of
the LORD.
22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen
God!"
23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us,
he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our
hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He
grew and the LORD blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to
stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 14
Samson's Marriage
1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine
woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have
seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."
3 His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable
woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the
uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?"
But Samson said to
his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." 4 (His
parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an
occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling
over Israel.) 5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and
mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young
lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in
power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might
have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother
what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he
liked her.
8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned
aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some
honey, 9 which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along.
When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it.
But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's
carcass.
10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made
a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. 11 When he appeared,
he was given thirty companions.
12 "Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you
can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give
you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can't
tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty
sets of clothes."
"Tell us your
riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."
14 He replied,
"Out of
the eater, something to eat;
out of the
strong, something sweet."
For three days they
could not give the answer.
15 On the fourth [b] day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax
your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and
your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"
16 Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You
hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but
you haven't told me the answer."
"I haven't even
explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I
explain it to you?" 17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So
on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press
him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said
to him,
"What is
sweeter than honey?
What is
stronger than a lion?"
Samson said to them,
"If you
had not plowed with my heifer,
you would
not have solved my riddle."
19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. He
went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them
of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained
the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. 20
And Samson's wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his
wedding.
Judges 15
Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines
1 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young
goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's
room." But her father would not let him go in.
2 "I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I
gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take
her instead."
3 Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even
with the Philistines; I will really harm them." 4 So he went out and
caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then
fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches and let the
foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the
shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
6 When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told,
"Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his
friend."
So the Philistines
went up and burned her and her father to death. 7 Samson said to them,
"Since you've acted like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge on
you." 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then
he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out
near Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?"
"We have come to
take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."
11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave
in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the
Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?"
He answered, "I
merely did to them what they did to me."
12 They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you
over to the Philistines."
Samson said, "Swear
to me that you won't kill me yourselves."
13 "Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand
you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new
ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, the
Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon
him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the
bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a
donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
16 Then Samson said,
"With a
donkey's jawbone
I have
made donkeys of them. [c]
With a
donkey's jawbone
I have
killed a thousand men."
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and
the place was called Ramath Lehi. [d]
18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD,
"You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of
thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19 Then God
opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When
Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was
called En Hakkore, [e] and it is still there in Lehi.
20 Samson led [f] Israel for twenty years in the days of the
Philistines.
Judges 16
Samson and Delilah
1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He
went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told,
"Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him
all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying,
"At dawn we'll kill him."
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night.
Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together
with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to
his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley
of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went
to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret
of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up
and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels [g]
of silver."
6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your
great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."
7 Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh
thongs [h] that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other
man."
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh
thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men
hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are
upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string
snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was
not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have made a fool of me;
you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied."
11 He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that
have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then,
with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the
Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if
they were threads.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, you have been
making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied."
He replied, "If you
weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and
tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So
while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove
them into the fabric 14 and [i] tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to
him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep
and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when
you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of
me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." 16 With such
nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on
my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God
since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I
would become as weak as any other man."
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent
word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has
told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the
silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she
called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to
subdue him. [j] And his strength left him.
20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"
He awoke from his
sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But
he did not know that the LORD had left him.
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and
took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him
to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow
again after it had been shaved.
The Death of Samson
23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a
great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, "Our god
has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands."
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,
"Our god
has delivered our enemy
into our
hands,
the one
who laid waste our land
and
multiplied our slain."
25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out
Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and
he performed for them.
When they stood him
among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand,
"Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I
may lean against them." 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and
women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof
were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28
Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God,
please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get
revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." 29 Then Samson reached
toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing
himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on
the other, 30 Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he
pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and
all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while
he lived.
31 Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down
to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and
Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led [k] Israel twenty
years.
Day
10
Go
Back
Ruth 1
Naomi and Ruth
1 In the days when the judges ruled, [a] there was a famine
in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife
and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The
man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his
two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem,
Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with
her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the
other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon
and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her
husband.
6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of
his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law
prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she
left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that
would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each
of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as
you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each
of you will find rest in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them
and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to
your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you
come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your
husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another
husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even
if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- 13 would you
wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my
daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's
hand has gone out against me!"
14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her
mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to
her people and her gods. Go back with her."
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn
back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I
will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it
ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When
Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped
urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of
them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi, [b] " she told them. "Call me Mara,
[c] because the Almighty [d] has made my life very bitter. 21 I went
away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi?
The LORD has afflicted [e] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon
me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the
Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley
harvest was beginning.
Ruth 2
Ruth Meets Boaz
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the
clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the
fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I
find favor."
Naomi said to her,
"Go ahead, my daughter." 3 So she went out and began to glean in the
fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself
working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of
Elimelech.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the
harvesters, "The LORD be with you!"
"The LORD bless
you!" they called back.
5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young
woman is that?"
6 The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back
from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among
the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has
worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the
shelter."
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go
and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with
my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and
follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And
whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the
men have filled."
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She
exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice
me—a foreigner?"
11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done
for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how
you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with
a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for what
you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of
Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she
said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your
servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your
servant girls."
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some
bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down
with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she
wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave
orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't
embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles
and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she
threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an
ephah. [f] 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw
how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she
had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today?
Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!"
Then Ruth told her
mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The
name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.
"He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead."
She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our
kinsman-redeemers."
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay
with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good
for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's
field you might be harmed."
23 So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean
until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with
her mother-in-law.
Ruth 3
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
1 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter,
should I not try to find a home [g] for you, where you will be well
provided for? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a
kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing
floor. 3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then
go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there
until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note
the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down.
He will tell you what to do."
5 "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. 6 So she went
down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told
her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good
spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile.
Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the
middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and
discovered a woman lying at his feet.
9 "Who are you?" he asked.
"I am your servant
Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you
are a kinsman-redeemer."
10 "The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This
kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not
run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my
daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow
townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it
is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than
I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to
redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as
the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before
anyone could be recognized; and he said, "Don't let it be known that a
woman came to the threshing floor."
15 He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold
it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and
put it on her. Then he [h] went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did
it go, my daughter?"
Then she told her
everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, "He gave me these six
measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law
empty-handed.' "
18 Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out
what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled
today."
Ruth 4
Boaz Marries Ruth
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When
the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over
here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit
here," and they did so. 3 Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi,
who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged
to our brother Elimelech. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your
attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated
here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem
it, do so. But if you [i] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one
has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."
"I will redeem it,"
he said.
5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and
from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire [j] the dead man's widow, in order
to maintain the name of the dead with his property."
6 At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem
it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I
cannot do it."
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and
transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and
gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in
Israel.)
8 So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself."
And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people,
"Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property
of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the
Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of
the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from
among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"
11 Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are
witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home
like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May
you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through
the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family
be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."
The Genealogy of David
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to
her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
14 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has
not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous
throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your
old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to
you than seven sons, has given him birth."
16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared
for him. 17 The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they
named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez:
Perez was
the father of Hezron,
19 Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the
father of Amminadab,
20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon
the father of Salmon, [k]
21 Salmon the father of Boaz,
Boaz the
father of Obed,
22 Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse
the father of David.
Day
11
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1 Samuel 7
1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of
the LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated
Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD.
Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah
2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark
remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and
sought after the LORD. 3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel,
"If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid
yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves
to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand
of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and
Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will
intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah,
they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they
fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And
Samuel was leader [a] of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at
Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when
the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the
Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD
our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the
Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a
whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's
behalf, and the LORD answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the
Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD
thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into
such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of
Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering
them along the way to a point below Beth Car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and
Shen. He named it Ebenezer, [b] saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped
us." 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite
territory again.
Throughout Samuel's
lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. 14 The
towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel
were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory
from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel
and the Amorites.
15 Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his
life. 16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal
to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17 But he always went
back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And
he built an altar there to the LORD.
1 Samuel 8
Israel Asks for a King
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for
Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second
was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk
in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes
and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to
Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not
walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead [c] us, such as all the
other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this
displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him:
"Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they
have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have
done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day,
forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now
listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king
who will reign over them will do."
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who
were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will
reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with
his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12
Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of
fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still
others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He
will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He
will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and
give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and
of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your
menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [d] and
donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your
flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day
comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and
the LORD will not answer you in that day."
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they
said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other
nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our
battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it
before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a
king."
Then Samuel said to
the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."
1 Samuel 9
Samuel Anoints Saul
1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was
Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of
Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man
without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of
the others.
3 Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost,
and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and
go and look for the donkeys." 4 So he passed through the hill country
of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find
them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were
not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they
did not find them.
5 When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the
servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop
thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
6 But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man
of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true.
Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."
7 Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the
man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man
of God. What do we have?"
8 The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a
quarter of a shekel [e] of silver. I will give it to the man of God so
that he will tell us what way to take." 9 (Formerly in Israel, if a man
went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer,"
because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
10 "Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So
they set out for the town where the man of God was.
11 As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some
girls coming out to draw water, and they asked them, "Is the seer here?"
12 "He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he
has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the
high place. 13 As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before
he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating
until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those
who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this
time."
14 They went up to the town, and as they were entering it,
there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this
to Samuel: 16 "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the
land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will
deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon
my people, for their cry has reached me."
17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him,
"This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people."
18 Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would
you please tell me where the seer's house is?"
19 "I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the
high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will
let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 As for the
donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have
been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to
you and all your father's family?"
21 Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the
smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans
of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"
22 Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and
seated them at the head of those who were invited—about
thirty in number. 23 Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the piece of meat
I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside."
24 So the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it
in front of Saul. Samuel said, "Here is what has been kept for you.
Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time
I said, 'I have invited guests.' " And Saul dined with Samuel that day.
25 After they came down from the high place to the town,
Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. 26 They rose about
daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will
send you on your way." When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside
together. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel
said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us"-and the servant
did so-"but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from
God."
1 Samuel 10
1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's
head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over
his inheritance? [f] 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men
near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say
to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now
your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you.
He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?" '
3 "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great
tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there.
One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread,
and another a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two
loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a
Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a
procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres,
tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will
be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power,
and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a
different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your
hand finds to do, for God is with you.
8 "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to
you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, [g] but you
must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to
do."
Saul Made King
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart,
and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When they arrived at
Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon
him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who
had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they
asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish?
Is Saul also among the prophets?"
12 A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?"
So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 13 After Saul
stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have
you been?"
"Looking for the
donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were not to be found, we went
to Samuel."
15 Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."
16 Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been
found." But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the
kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah
18 and said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power
of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' 19 But you have now
rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and
distresses. And you have said, 'No, set a king over us.' So now present
yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans."
20 When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the
tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of
Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son
of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be
found. 22 So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here
yet?"
And the LORD said,
"Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the
people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to
all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no
one like him among all the people."
Then the people
shouted, "Long live the king!"
25 Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the
kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the
LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own home.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by
valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some troublemakers
said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him
no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
1 Samuel 12
Samuel's Farewell Speech
1 Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything
you said to me and have set a king over you. 2 Now you have a king as
your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with
you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3 Here I
stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed.
Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated?
Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make
me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
4 "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You
have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
5 Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and
also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything
in my hand."
"He is witness,"
they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who
appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt.
7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with
evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the
LORD for you and your fathers.
8 "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for
help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers
out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
9 "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into
the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the
hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
10 They cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned; we have
forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now
deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' 11
Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, [a] Barak, [b] Jephthah and Samuel, [c]
and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so
that you lived securely.
12 "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was
moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over
us'-even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the
king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a
king over you. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do
not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns
over you follow the LORD your God-good! 15 But if you do not obey the
LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against
you, as it was against your fathers.
16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD
is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will
call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what
an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a
king."
18 Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the
LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD
and of Samuel.
19 The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God
for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our
other sins the evil of asking for a king."
20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all
this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with
all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do
you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For
the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because
the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from
me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I
will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear
the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what
great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil,
both you and your king will be swept away."
Day
12
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1 Samuel 15
The LORD Rejects Saul as King
1 Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint
you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the
LORD. 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the
Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they
came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy
[a] everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death
men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and
donkeys.' "
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at
Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand
men from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in
the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, "Go away, leave the
Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed
kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." So the
Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah
to Shur, to the east of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites
alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But
Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the
fat calves [b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they
were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised
and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 "I am grieved
that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has
not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out
to the LORD all that night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul,
but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a
monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal."
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I
have carried out the LORD's instructions."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in
my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"
15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the
Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice
to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."
16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the
LORD said to me last night."
"Tell me," Saul
replied.
17 Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own
eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD
anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying,
'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make
war on them until you have wiped them out.' 19 Why did you not obey the
LORD ? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the
LORD ?"
20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the
mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and
brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle
from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to
sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."
22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the
LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as
in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is
better than sacrifice,
and to
heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and
arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because
you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has
rejected you as king."
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the
LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so
I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with
me, so that I may worship the LORD."
26 But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You
have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as
king over Israel!"
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of
his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the
kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your
neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of
Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he
should change his mind."
30 Saul replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before
the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I
may worship the LORD your God." 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and
Saul worshiped the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites."
Agag came to him
confidently, [c] thinking, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."
33 But Samuel said,
"As your
sword has made women childless,
so will
your mother be childless among women."
And Samuel put Agag
to death before the LORD at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home
in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see
Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved
that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel 16
Samuel Anoints David
1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul,
since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil
and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have
chosen one of his sons to be king."
2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and
kill me."
The LORD said, "Take
a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are
to anoint for me the one I indicate."
4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at
Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They
asked, "Do you come in peace?"
5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to
the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me."
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the
sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely
the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his
appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not
look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart."
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of
Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9
Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD
chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel,
but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked
Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the
youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send
for him; we will not sit down [d] until he arrives."
12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a
fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said,
"Rise and anoint him; he is the one."
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the
presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD
came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
David in Saul's Service
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an
evil [e] spirit from the LORD tormented him.
15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from
God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to
search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil
spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
17 So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays
well and bring him to me."
18 One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse
of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a
warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with
him."
19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your
son David, who is with the sheep." 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded
with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son
David to Saul.
21 David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him
very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent
word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am
pleased with him."
23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would
take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel
better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
1 Samuel 17
David and Goliath
1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and
assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between
Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the
Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3
The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the
valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of
the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet [f] tall. 5 He had a bronze
helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing
five thousand shekels [g] ; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a
bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a
weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. [h] His
shield bearer went ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do
you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you
not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9
If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but
if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve
us." 10 Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel!
Give me a man and let us fight each other." 11 On hearing the
Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and
terrified.
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who
was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time
he was old and well advanced in years. 13 Jesse's three oldest sons had
followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second,
Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three
oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to
tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning
and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah [i] of
roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry
to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of
their unit. [j] See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance
[k] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the
Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."
20 Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd,
loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as
the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.
21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each
other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the
battle lines and greeted his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them,
Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines
and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 When the
Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this
man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give
great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his
daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in
Israel."
26 David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done
for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from
Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the
armies of the living God?"
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told
him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him."
28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking
with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come
down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I
know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down
only to watch the battle."
29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"
30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter,
and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard
and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of
this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this
Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a
fighting man from his youth."
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his
father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from
the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its
mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and
killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this
uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has
defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from
the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the
hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David,
"Go, and the LORD be with you."
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of
armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his
sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used
to them.
"I cannot go in
these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took
them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth
stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag
and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front
of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw
that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He
said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 "Come here," he said, "and I'll
give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with
sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the
LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down
and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the
Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth,
and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All
those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the
LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you
into our hands."
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran
quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag
and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the
forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the
ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a
stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and
killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the
Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him,
he cut off his head with the sword.
When the Philistines
saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of
Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the
Philistines to the entrance of Gath [l] and to the gates of Ekron.
Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53
When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they
plundered their camp. 54 David took the Philistine's head and brought
it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he
said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young
man?"
Abner replied, "As
surely as you live, O king, I don't know."
56 The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."
57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine,
Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding
the Philistine's head.
58 "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him.
David said, "I am
the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."
1 Samuel 18
Saul's Jealousy of David
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became
one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day
Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's
house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him
as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to
David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully
[m] that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the
people, and Saul's officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the
Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet
King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with
tambourines and lutes. 7 As they danced, they sang:
"Saul has
slain his thousands,
and David
his tens of thousands."
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have
credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only
thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" 9 And from that time
on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
10 The next day an evil [n] spirit from God came forcefully
upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the
harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled
it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded
him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David
but had left Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him
command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their
campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, [o] because
the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful [p] he was, he
was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he
led them in their campaigns.
17 Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I
will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the
battles of the LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a
hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"
18 But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family
or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's
son-in-law?" 19 So [q] when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter,
to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and
when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 "I will give her to
him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the
hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David,
"Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David
privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his
attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.' "
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do
you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm
only a poor man and little known."
24 When Saul's servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul
replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride
than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' "
Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was
pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time
elapsed, 27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred
Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number
to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul
gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that
his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of
him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle,
and as often as they did, David met with more success [r] than the rest
of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.
1 Samuel 19
Saul Tries to Kill David
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill
David. But Jonathan was very fond of David 2 and warned him, "My father
Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow
morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3 I will go out and stand with
my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and
will tell you what I find out."
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to
him, "Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not
wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took
his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a
great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then
would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no
reason?"
6 Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: "As surely as
the LORD lives, David will not be put to death."
7 So Jonathan called David and told him the whole
conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.
8 Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the
Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
9 But an evil [s] spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he
was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was
playing the harp, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear,
but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night
David made good his escape.
11 Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him
in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run
for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." 12 So Michal let
David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal
took an idol [t] and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and
putting some goats' hair at the head.
14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He
is ill."
15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them,
"Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." 16 But when the
men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some
goats' hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and
send my enemy away so that he escaped?"
Michal told him, "He
said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?' "
18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel
at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel
went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: "David is in
Naioth at Ramah"; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a
group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their
leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also
prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they
prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied.
22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at
Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?"
"Over in Naioth at
Ramah," they said.
23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God
came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to
Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's
presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people
say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
1 Samuel 20
David and Jonathan
1 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan
and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your
father, that he is trying to take my life?"
2 "Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look,
my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me.
Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!"
3 But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very
well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself,
'Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as
the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and
death."
4 Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll
do for you."
5 So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival,
and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the
field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father
misses me at all, tell him, 'David earnestly asked my permission to
hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being
made there for his whole clan.' 7 If he says, 'Very well,' then your
servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is
determined to harm me. 8 As for you, show kindness to your servant, for
you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I am
guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?"
9 "Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had the least inkling that my
father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?"
10 David asked, "Who will tell me if your father answers you
harshly?"
11 "Come," Jonathan said, "let's go out into the field." So
they went there together.
12 Then Jonathan said to David: "By the LORD, the God of
Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after
tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you
word and let you know? 13 But if my father is inclined to harm you, may
the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know
and send you away safely. May the LORD be with you as he has been with
my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as
long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off
your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut
off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David,
saying, "May the LORD call David's enemies to account." 17 And Jonathan
had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him
as he loved himself.
18 Then Jonathan said to David: "Tomorrow is the New Moon
festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 The
day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when
this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three
arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21
Then I will send a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to him,
'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come,
because, as surely as the LORD lives, you are safe; there is no danger.
22 But if I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then you
must go, because the LORD has sent you away. 23 And about the matter
you and I discussed—remember, the LORD is witness between you
and me forever."
24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival
came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the
wall, opposite Jonathan, [u] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's
place was empty. 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought,
"Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially
unclean—surely he is unclean." 27 But the next day, the
second day of the month, David's place was empty again. Then Saul said
to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the meal,
either yesterday or today?"
28 Jonathan answered, "David earnestly asked me for
permission to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, 'Let me go, because our
family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered
me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to
see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."
30 Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him,
"You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have
sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the
mother who bore you? 31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this
earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and
bring him to me, for he must die!"
32 "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"
Jonathan asked his father. 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill
him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.
34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that
second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his
father's shameful treatment of David.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his
meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36 and he said to the
boy, "Run and find the arrows I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an
arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's
arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, "Isn't the arrow
beyond you?" 38 Then he shouted, "Hurry! Go quickly! Don't stop!" The
boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 (The boy knew
nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40 Then Jonathan
gave his weapons to the boy and said, "Go, carry them back to town."
41 After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side
of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face
to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept
together—but David wept the most.
42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn
friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD
is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my
descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the
town.
1 Samuel 28
Saul and the Witch of Endor
1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to
fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "You must understand that
you and your men will accompany me in the army."
2 David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your
servant can do."
Achish replied,
"Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and
buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and
spiritists from the land.
4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at
Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at
Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror
filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not
answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his
attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire
of her."
"There is one in
Endor," they said.
8 So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at
night he and two men went to the woman. "Consult a spirit for me," he
said, "and bring up for me the one I name."
9 But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has
done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have
you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?"
10 Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As surely as the LORD
lives, you will not be punished for this."
11 Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?"
"Bring up Samuel,"
he said.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her
voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
13 The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?"
The woman said, "I
see a spirit [a] coming up out of the ground."
14 "What does he look like?" he asked.
"An old man wearing
a robe is coming up," she said.
Then Saul knew it
was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to
the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by
bringing me up?"
"I am in great
distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God
has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or
by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
16 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has
turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what
he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your
hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18
Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against
the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will
hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and
your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of
Israel to the Philistines."
20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled
with fear because of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had
eaten nothing all that day and night.
21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly
shaken, she said, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my
life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen
to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have
the strength to go on your way."
23 He refused and said, "I will not eat."
But his men joined
the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the
ground and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she
butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread
without yeast. 25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they
ate. That same night they got up and left.
1 Samuel 31
Saul Takes His Life
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites
fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The
Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his
sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce
around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him
critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me
through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through
and abuse me."
But his armor-bearer
was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell
on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on
his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his
armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the
Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons
had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came
and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead,
they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut
off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers
throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the
temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in
the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth
Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the
Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men journeyed
through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and
his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they
burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a
tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
Day
13
Go
Back
2 Samuel 5
David Becomes King Over Israel
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said,
"We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king
over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns.
And the LORD said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you
will become their ruler.' "
3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at
Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD,
and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he
reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and
six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah
thirty-three years.
David Conquers Jerusalem
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the
Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, "You will not
get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off." They
thought, "David cannot get in here." 7 Nevertheless, David captured the
fortress of Zion, the City of David.
8 On that day, David said, "Anyone who conquers the Jebusites
will have to use the water shaft [a] to reach those 'lame and blind'
who are David's enemies. [b] " That is why they say, "The 'blind and
lame' will not enter the palace."
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it
the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting
terraces [c] inward. 10 And he became more and more powerful, because
the LORD God Almighty was with him.
11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along
with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace
for David. 12 And David knew that the LORD had established him as king
over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people
Israel.
13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives
in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14 These
are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab,
Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada
and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed
king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but
David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the
Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so
David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?
Will you hand them over to me?"
The LORD answered
him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them.
He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my
enemies before me." So that place was called Baal Perazim. [d] 21 The
Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried
them off.
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the
Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered,
"Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them
in front of the balsam trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of
marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that
will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the
Philistine army." 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he
struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon [e] to Gezer.
2 Samuel 6
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1 David again brought together out of Israel chosen men,
thirty thousand in all. 2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of
Judah [f] to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the
Name, [g] the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the
cherubim that are on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart
and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah
and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of
God on it, [h] and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the
whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the
LORD, with songs [i] and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and
cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah
reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.
7 The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act;
therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
8 Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken
out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. [j]
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can
the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" 10 He was not willing to take the
ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took
it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD
remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and
the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the
household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of
God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house
of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who
were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a
bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced
before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of
Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of
trumpets.
16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David,
Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King
David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her
heart.
17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place
inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [k] before the LORD. 18 After
he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship
offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19
Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to
each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And
all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal
daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel
has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave
girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose
me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed
me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate
before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and
I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke
of, I will be held in honor."
23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of
her death.
2 Samuel 7
God's Promise to David
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had
given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the
prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God
remains in a tent."
3 Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go
ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says:
Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in
a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this
day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any
of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why
have you not built me a house of cedar?" '
8 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD
Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock
to be ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you
have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I
will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the
earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will
plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be
disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at
the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders
[l] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your
enemies.
" 'The
LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for
you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will
raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own
body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build
a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does
wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted
by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it
away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your
kingdom will endure forever before me [m] ; your throne will be
established forever.' "
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire
revelation.
David's Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he
said:
"Who am I,
O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this
far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD,
you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is
this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?
20 "What more can David say to you? For you know your
servant, O Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your word and according
to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your
servant.
22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like
you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth
that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name
for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out
nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from
Egypt? [n] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own
forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
25 "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made
concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that
your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty
is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be
established before you.
27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to
your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant
has found courage to offer you this prayer. 28 O Sovereign LORD, you
are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good
things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your
servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O
Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your
servant will be blessed forever."
2 Samuel 8
David's Victories
1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and
subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the
Philistines.
2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on
the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two
lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to
live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
3 Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of
Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. 4
David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers
[o] and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred
of the chariot horses.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king
of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put
garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became
subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory
wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers
of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah [p] and
Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great
quantity of bronze.
9 When Tou [q] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated
the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram [r] to King
David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over
Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him
articles of silver and gold and bronze.
11 King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had
done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12
Edom [s] and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He
also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of
Zobah.
13 And David became famous after he returned from striking
down eighteen thousand Edomites [t] in the Valley of Salt.
14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites
became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
David's Officials
15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and
right for all his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and
Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and
David's sons were royal advisers.
1 Chronicles 15
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1 After David had constructed buildings for himself in the
City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a
tent for it. 2 Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the
ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD
and to minister before him forever."
3 David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark
of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. 4 He called together
the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 From the descendants of Kohath,
Uriel the
leader and 120 relatives;
6 from the descendants of Merari,
Asaiah the
leader and 220 relatives;
7 from the descendants of Gershon, [a]
Joel the
leader and 130 relatives;
8 from the descendants of Elizaphan,
Shemaiah
the leader and 200 relatives;
9 from the descendants of Hebron,
Eliel the
leader and 80 relatives;
10 from the descendants of Uzziel,
Amminadab
the leader and 112 relatives.
11 Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and
Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. 12 He
said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and
your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark
of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. 13
It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time
that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire
of him about how to do it in the prescribed way." 14 So the priests and
Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the
LORD, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God with
the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with
the word of the LORD.
16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their
brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical
instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.
17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his
brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their brothers the Merarites,
Ethan son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers next in rank:
Zechariah, [b] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah,
Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, [c]
the gatekeepers.
19 The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the
bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab,
Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth , [d]
21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah
were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith . [e] 22
Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his
responsibility because he was skillful at it.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark.
24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and
Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God.
Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.
25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of
units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the
LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. 26 Because God had
helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the
LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. 27 Now David was
clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were
carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in
charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. 28
So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with
shouts, with the sounding of rams' horns and trumpets, and of cymbals,
and the playing of lyres and harps.
29 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the
City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when
she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her
heart.
1 Chronicles 16
1 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that
David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings [f] before God. 2 After David had finished
sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed
the people in the name of the LORD. 3 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a
cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.
4 He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark
of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD,
the God of Israel: 5 Asaph was the chief, Zechariah second, then Jeiel,
Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.
They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals,
6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets
regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.
David's Psalm of Thanks
7 That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates
this psalm of thanks to the LORD :
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known
among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of
all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the
hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
11 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his
face always.
12 Remember the wonders he has done,
his
miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
13 O descendants of Israel his servant,
O sons of
Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the LORD our God;
his
judgments are in all the earth.
15 He remembers [g] his covenant forever,
the word
he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath
he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel
as an everlasting covenant:
18 "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the
portion you will inherit."
19 When they were but few in number,
few
indeed, and strangers in it,
20 they [h] wandered from nation to nation,
from one
kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no man to oppress them;
for their
sake he rebuked kings:
22 "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my
prophets no harm."
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim
his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his
marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to
be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the
LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength
and joy in his dwelling place.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
ascribe to
the LORD glory and strength,
29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
Bring an
offering and come before him;
worship
the LORD in the splendor of his [i] holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world
is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them
say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"
32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the
fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing,
they will
sing for joy before the LORD,
for he
comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love
endures forever.
35 Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior;
gather us
and deliver us from the nations,
that we
may give thanks to your holy name,
that we
may glory in your praise."
36 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from
everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people
said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD."
37 David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the
covenant of the LORD to minister there regularly, according to each
day's requirements. 38 He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight
associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also
Hosah, were gatekeepers.
39 David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before
the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon 40 to present
burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly,
morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law
of the LORD, which he had given Israel. 41 With them were Heman and
Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give
thanks to the LORD, "for his love endures forever." 42 Heman and
Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals
and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons
of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.
43 Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David
returned home to bless his family.
1 Chronicles 17
God's Promise to David
1 After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan
the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of
the covenant of the LORD is under a tent."
2 Nathan replied to David, "Whatever you have in mind, do it,
for God is with you."
3 That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:
4 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says:
You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. 5 I have not dwelt
in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I
have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to
another. 6 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever
say to any of their leaders [j] whom I commanded to shepherd my people,
"Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" '
7 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD
Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the
flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you
wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before
you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of
the earth. 9 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will
plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be
disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at
the beginning 10 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders
over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
" 'I
declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: 11 When your
days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your
offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish
his kingdom. 12 He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will
establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be
my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from
your predecessor. 14 I will set him over my house and my kingdom
forever; his throne will be established forever.' "
15 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire
revelation.
David's Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he
said:
"Who am I,
O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken
about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as
though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God.
18 "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant?
For you know your servant, 19 O LORD. For the sake of your servant and
according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known
all these great promises.
20 "There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but
you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people
Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a
people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform
great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your
people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel
your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
23 "And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning
your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised,
24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great
forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is
Israel's God!' And the house of your servant David will be established
before you.
25 "You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will
build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to
you. 26 O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to
your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your
servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD,
have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."
Day
14
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2 Samuel 11
David and Bathsheba
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David
sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They
destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in
Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on
the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman
was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The
man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of
Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came
to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her
uncleanness.) Then [a] she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and
sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the
Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David
asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was
going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your
feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent
after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his
master's servants and did not go down to his house.
10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked
him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"
11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are
staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in
the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie
with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"
12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and
tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day
and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and
David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his
mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it
with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the
fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down
and die."
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a
place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of
the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's
army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He
instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this
account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask
you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know
they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of
Jerub-Besheth [b] ? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from
the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the
wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah
the Hittite is dead.' "
22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David
everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David,
"The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we
drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers
shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men
died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let
this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the
attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."
26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she
mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her
brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But
the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
2 Samuel 12
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he
said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other
poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but
the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He
raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his
food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a
daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man
refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal
for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb
that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come
to him."
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan,
"As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6
He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing
and had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what
the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel,
and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house
to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of
Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have
given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by
doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with
the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the
sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart
from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be your own.'
11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I
am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take
your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie
with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will
do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the
LORD."
Nathan replied, "The
LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because
by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter
contempt, [c] the son born to you will die."
15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that
Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded
with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the
nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside
him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat
any food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were
afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While
the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen
to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something
desperate."
19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among
themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he
asked.
"Yes," they replied,
"he is dead."
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed,
put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the
LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request
they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way?
While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child
is dead, you get up and eat!"
22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted
and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let
the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I
bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to
her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him
Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent
word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. [d]
26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and
captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David,
saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28
Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it.
Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me."
29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and
attacked and captured it. 30 He took the crown from the head of their
king [e] —its weight was a talent [f] of gold, and it was set
with precious stones—and it was placed on David's head. He
took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the
people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron
picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. [g] He did this
to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to
Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 13
Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with
Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account
of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for
him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah,
David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, "Why
do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't
you tell me?"
Amnon said to him,
"I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your
father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to
come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight
so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.' "
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king
came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to
come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her
hand."
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of
your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." 8 So Tamar went to
the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some
dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she
took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
"Send everyone out
of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to
Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your
hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her
brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he
grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me.
Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing.
13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about
you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak
to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he
refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped
her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he
hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and
get out!"
16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater
wrong than what you have already done to me."
But he refused to
listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this
woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put
her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly
ornamented [h] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin
daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the
ornamented [i] robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and
went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your
brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother.
Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother
Absalom's house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom
never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because
he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal
Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to
come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had
shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?"
25 "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go;
we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still
refused to go, but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon
come with us."
The king asked him,
"Why should he go with you?" 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with
him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high
spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then
kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong
and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered.
Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David:
"Absalom has struck down all the king's sons; not one of them is left."
31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and
all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, "My
lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is
dead. This has been Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day
Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be
concerned about the report that all the king's sons are dead. Only
Amnon is dead."
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing
watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming
down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, "I see
men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill." [j]
35 Jonadab said to the king, "See, the king's sons are here;
it has happened just as your servant said."
36 As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing
loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king
of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there
three years. 39 And the spirit of the king [k] longed to go to Absalom,
for he was consoled concerning Amnon's death.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom's Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a
chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would
get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city
gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the
king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you
from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of
Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid
and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4
And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land!
Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would
see that he gets justice."
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before
him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6
Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the
king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of
Israel.
7 At the end of four [a] years, Absalom said to the king,
"Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your
servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD
takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [b] ' "
9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes
of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then
say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.' " 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem
had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite
innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was
offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's
counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy
gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of
Israel are with Absalom."
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in
Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom.
We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and
bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword."
15 The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are
ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him;
but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king
set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place
some distance away. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the
Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had
accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come
along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,
an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today
shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am
going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness
be with you."
21 But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD
lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be,
whether it means life or death, there will your servant be."
22 David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the
Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed
by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved
on toward the desert.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with
him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark
of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices [c] until all the people had
finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back
into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me
back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says,
'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever
seems good to him."
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a
seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan
son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. 28 I
will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to
inform me." 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to
Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he
went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him
covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David
had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So
David prayed, "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to
worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and
dust on his head. 33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be
a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I
will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past,
but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating
Ahithophel's advice. 35 Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there
with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their
two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there
with them. Send them to me with anything you hear."
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom
was entering the city.
2 Samuel 18
Absalom's Death
1 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over
them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent
the troops out—a third under the command of Joab, a third
under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai
the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out
with you."
3 But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to
flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't
care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. [a] It would be better now
for you to give us support from the city."
4 The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you."
So the king stood
beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and
of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle
with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the
king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the
battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There the army of Israel
was defeated by David's men, and the casualties that day were
great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the
whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the
sword.
9 Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his
mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak,
Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair,
while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10 When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw
Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw
him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would
have had to give you ten shekels [b] of silver and a warrior's belt."
12 But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels [c] were
weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's
son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai,
'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. [d] ' 13 And if I had put
my life in jeopardy [e] —and nothing is hidden from the
king—you would have kept your distance from me."
14 Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So
he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's
heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of
Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16 Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped
pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him
into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over
him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected
it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I
have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar
after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.
David Mourns
19 Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the
news to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his
enemies."
20 "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told
him. "You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today,
because the king's son is dead."
21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you
have seen." The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, "Come what may,
please let me run behind the Cushite."
But Joab replied,
"My son, why do you want to go? You don't have any news that will bring
you a reward."
23 He said, "Come what may, I want to run."
So Joab said, "Run!"
Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain [f] and outran the Cushite.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates,
the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he
looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to
the king and reported it.
The king said, "If
he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and
closer.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called
down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!"
The king said, "He
must be bringing good news, too."
27 The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs
like Ahimaaz son of Zadok."
"He's a good man,"
the king said. "He comes with good news."
28 Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He
bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said,
"Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted
their hands against my lord the king."
29 The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
Ahimaaz answered, "I
saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king's servant
and me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."
30 The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped
aside and stood there.
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear
the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up
against you."
32 The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom
safe?"
The Cushite replied,
"May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be
like that young man."
33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the
gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my
son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my
son, my son!"
Day
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1 Chronicles 21
David Numbers the Fighting Men
1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a
census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the
troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report
back to me so that I may know how many there are."
3 But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a
hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's
subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt
on Israel?"
4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and
went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported
the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one
million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including
four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the
numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. 7 This
command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing
this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done
a very foolish thing."
9 The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, 10 "Go and tell David,
'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one
of them for me to carry out against you.' "
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the
LORD says: 'Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of
being swept away [a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking
you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -days of plague in the
land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now
then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall
into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let
me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand
men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem.
But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because
of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people,
"Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing
at the threshing floor of Araunah [b] the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing
between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over
Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell
facedown.
17 David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting
men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These
are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall
upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your
people."
18 Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go
up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite. 19 So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had
spoken in the name of the LORD.
20 While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the
angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 Then David
approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing
floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.
22 David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing
floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the
people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."
23 Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do
whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt
offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the
grain offering. I will give all this."
24 But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying
the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or
sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
25 So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels [c] of gold for
the site. 26 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [d] He called on the LORD,
and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt
offering.
27 Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword
back into its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had
answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered
sacrifices there. 29 The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made
in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the
high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of
God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 22
1 Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here,
and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel."
Preparations for the Temple
2 So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in
Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare
dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large
amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the
fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided
more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians
had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and
the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and
fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will
make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before
his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build
a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: "My
son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my
God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood
and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name,
because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you
will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give
him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,
[e] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is
the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I
will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over
Israel forever.'
11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have
success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would.
12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you
in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your
God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the
decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the
LORD a hundred thousand talents [f] of gold, a million talents [g] of
silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood
and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen:
stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every
kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen
beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his
son Solomon. 18 He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you?
And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the
inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD
and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the
LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that
you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred
articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the
Name of the LORD."
1 Chronicles 28
David's Plans for the Temple
1 David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at
Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the
divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and
commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property
and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the
palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.
2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my
brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a
place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the
footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to
me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a
warrior and have shed blood.'
4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole
family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and
from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons
he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 Of all my
sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen
my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over
Israel. 6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my
house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be
his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving
in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
8 "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the
assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to
follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this
good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your
father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing
mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive
behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if
you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the
LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do
the work."
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico
of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its
inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all
that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the
LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of
God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 13 He gave him
instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all
the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the
articles to be used in its service. 14 He designated the weight of gold
for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and
the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various
kinds of service: 15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and
their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the
weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to
the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for
consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; 17 the
weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the
weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver
dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense.
He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of
gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the
LORD.
19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand
of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of
the plan."
20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and
courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the
LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you
until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is
finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all
the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any
craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people
will obey your every command."
1 Chronicles 29
Gifts for Building the Temple
1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son
Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The
task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for
the LORD God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of
my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze
for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as
onyx for the settings, turquoise, [a] stones of various colors, and all
kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large
quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now
give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God,
over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three
thousand talents [b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents
[c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the
buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the
work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate
himself today to the LORD ?"
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of
Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the
officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. 7 They gave
toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents [d] and ten
thousand darics [e] of gold, ten thousand talents [f] of silver,
eighteen thousand talents [g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents
[h] of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of
the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The
people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had
given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also
rejoiced greatly.
David's Prayer
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole
assembly, saying,
"Praise be
to you, O LORD,
God of our
father Israel,
from
everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the
glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for
everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O
LORD, is the kingdom;
you are
exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are
the ruler of all things.
In your
hands are strength and power
to exalt
and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise
your glorious name.
14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be
able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we
have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and
strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth
are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this
abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy
Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know,
my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All
these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I
have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to
you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this
desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts
loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to
keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to
build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD
your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they
bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
Solomon Acknowledged as King
21 The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and
presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and
a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other
sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with
great joy in the presence of the LORD that day.
Then they
acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him
before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat
on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He
prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and mighty
men, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to
King Solomon.
25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel
and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had
before.
The Death of David
26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled
over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in
Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life,
wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to
end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of
Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30 together with
the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that
surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
Day
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Psalm 1
BOOK I : Psalms 1-41
1 Blessed is the man
who does
not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand
in the way of sinners
or sit in
the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his
law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which
yields its fruit in season
and whose
leaf does not wither.
Whatever
he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are
like chaff
that the
wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor
sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the
way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith [a].
A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, our Lord,
how
majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have
set your glory
above the
heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have
ordained praise [b]
because of
your enemies,
to silence
the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work
of your fingers,
the moon
and the stars,
which you
have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of
man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [c]
and
crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put
everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the
beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air,
and the
fish of the sea,
all that
swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how
majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies
proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night
after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where
their voice is not heard. [a]
4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their
words to the ends of the world.
In the
heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a
champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes
its circuit to the other;
nothing is
hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving
the soul.
The
statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making
wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy
to the heart.
The
commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving
light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring
forever.
The
ordinances of the LORD are sure
and
altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much
pure gold;
they are
sweeter than honey,
than honey
from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping
them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my
hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they
not rule over me.
Then will
I be blameless,
innocent
of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be
pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my
Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads
me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides
me in paths of righteousness
for his
name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through
the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will
fear no evil,
for you
are with me;
your rod
and your staff,
they
comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the
presence of my enemies.
You anoint
my head with oil;
my cup
overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the
days of my life,
and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan
came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according
to your unfailing love;
according
to your great compassion
blot out
my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and
cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin
is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done
what is evil in your sight,
so that
you are proved right when you speak
and
justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful
from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach
[b] me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me,
and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the
bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot
out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew
a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take
your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant
me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and
sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God
who saves me,
and my
tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my
mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not
take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken
and contrite heart,
O God, you
will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up
the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole
burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls
will be offered on your altar.
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come
before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he
who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his
people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his
courts with praise;
give
thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his
faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my
inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget
not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals
all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns
you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that
your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and
justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds
to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to
anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will
he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay
us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great
is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has
he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he
remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he
flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its
place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's
love is with those who fear him,
and his
righteousness with their children's children-
18 with those who keep his covenant
and
remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his
kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty
ones who do his bidding,
who obey
his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his
servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere
in his dominion.
Praise the
LORD, O my soul.
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you
know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you
perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are
familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know
it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have
laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty
for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can
I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make
my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I
settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right
hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the
light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night
will shine like the day,
for
darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit
me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works
are wonderful,
I know
that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was
made in the secret place.
When I was
woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the
days ordained for me
were
written in your book
before one
of them came to be.
17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast
is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would
outnumber the grains of sand.
When I
awake,
I am still
with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from
me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your
adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor
those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count
them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me
and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead
me in the way everlasting.
Day
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1 Kings 3
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and
married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he
finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall
around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the
high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of
the LORD. 3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according
to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices
and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was
the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt
offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon
during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want
me to give you."
6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your
servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous
and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and
have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in
place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know
how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you
have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give
your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to
distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this
great people of yours?"
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11
So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long
life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your
enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what
you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that
there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13
Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both
riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no
equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes
and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." 15
Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
He returned to
Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [a] Then he gave a feast for
all his court.
A Wise Ruling
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17 One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house.
I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my
child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no
one in the house but the two of us.
19 "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on
him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from
my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and
put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse
my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in
the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."
22 The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the
dead one is yours."
But the first one
insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so
they argued before the king.
23 The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your
son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is
alive.' "
24 Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a
sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in
two and give half to one and half to the other."
26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion
for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living
baby! Don't kill him!"
But the other said,
"Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"
27 Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to
the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."
28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they
held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to
administer justice.
1 Kings 6
Solomon Builds the Temple
1 In the four hundred and eightieth [a] year after the
Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign
over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build
the temple of the LORD.
2 The temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty
cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high. [b] 3 The portico at the
front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple,
that is twenty cubits, [c] and projected ten cubits [d] from the front
of the temple. 4 He made narrow clerestory windows in the temple. 5
Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a
structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6 The
lowest floor was five cubits [e] wide, the middle floor six cubits [f]
and the third floor seven. [g] He made offset ledges around the outside
of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry
were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at
the temple site while it was being built.
8 The entrance to the lowest [h] floor was on the south side
of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to
the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with
beams and cedar planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the
temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to
the temple by beams of cedar.
11 The word of the LORD came to Solomon: 12 "As for this
temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my
regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill
through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live
among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."
14 So Solomon built the temple and completed it. 15 He lined
its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of
the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with
planks of pine. 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits [i] at the rear of
the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the
temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 17 The main hall in
front of this room was forty cubits [j] long. 18 The inside of the
temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was
cedar; no stone was to be seen.
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set
the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. 20 The inner sanctuary was
twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. [k] He overlaid the
inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar. 21
Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he
extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was
overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He
also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
23 In the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim of olive
wood, each ten cubits [l] high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was
five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits
from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten
cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The
height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim inside
the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing
of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the
other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the
room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and
outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. 30 He
also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple
with gold.
31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of
olive wood with five-sided jambs. 32 And on the two olive wood doors he
carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim
and palm trees with beaten gold. 33 In the same way he made four-sided
jambs of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall. 34 He also made
two pine doors, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He
carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them
with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
36 And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of
dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.
37 The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the
fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month
of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details
according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.
1 Kings 7
Solomon Builds His Palace
1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the
construction of his palace. 2 He built the Palace of the Forest of
Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high, [m] with
four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. 3 It was
roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the
columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. 4 Its windows
were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. 5 All the
doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of
three, facing each other. [n]
6 He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide. [o]
In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an
overhanging roof.
7 He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was
to judge, and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling. [p] 8 And
the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in
design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh's
daughter, whom he had married.
9 All these structures, from the outside to the great
courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of
high-grade stone cut to size and trimmed with a saw on their inner and
outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good
quality, some measuring ten cubits [q] and some eight. [r] 11 Above
were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great
courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone
and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of
the temple of the LORD with its portico.
The Temple's Furnishings
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, [s] 14 whose
mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a
man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and
experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and
did all the work assigned to him.
15 He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and
twelve cubits around, [t] by line. 16 He also made two capitals of cast
bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits
[u] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains festooned the capitals on
top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in
two rows [v] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of
the pillars. [w] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on
top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four
cubits [x] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the
bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates
in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the
temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin [y] and the one to the
north Boaz. [z] 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And
so the work on the pillars was completed.
23 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape,
measuring ten cubits [aa] from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took
a line of thirty cubits [ab] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim,
gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in
two rows in one piece with the Sea.
25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three
facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested
on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It
was a handbreadth [ac] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a
cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. [ad]
27 He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four
cubits long, four wide and three high. [ae] 28 This is how the stands
were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels
between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on
the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths
of hammered work. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze
axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths
on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that
had a circular frame one cubit [af] deep. This opening was round, and
with its basework it measured a cubit and a half. [ag] Around its
opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not
round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the
wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a
cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the
axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.
34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner,
projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a
circular band half a cubit [ah] deep. The supports and panels were
attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and
palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every
available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made
the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical
in size and shape.
38 He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths
[ai] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the
ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the
temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at
the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the basins and
shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished
all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the
LORD :
41 the two pillars;
the two
bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two
sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the
pillars;
42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network
(two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped
capitals on top of the pillars
43 the ten stands with their ten basins;
44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;
45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
All these objects
that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of
burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain
of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these
things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze
was not determined.
48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the
LORD's temple:
the golden
altar;
the golden
table on which was the bread of the Presence;
49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on
the left, in front of the inner sanctuary
the gold
floral work and lamps and tongs;
50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,
dishes and censers;
and the
gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place,
and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of
the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had
dedicated—the silver and gold and the
furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the
LORD's temple.
1 Kings 8
The Ark Brought to the Temple
1 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem
the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the
Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from
Zion, the City of David. 2 All the men of Israel came together to King
Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the
seventh month.
3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took
up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of
Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites
carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel
that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many
sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
6 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to
its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,
and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread
their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its
carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be
seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from
outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9 There was
nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed
in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites
after they came out of Egypt.
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud
filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform
their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled
his temple.
12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell
in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a
place for you to dwell forever."
14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the
king turned around and blessed them. 15 Then he said:
"Praise be
to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled
what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16
'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not
chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name
to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.'
17 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for
the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my
father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my
Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are
not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh
and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my
Name.'
20 "The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded
David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD
promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God
of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is
the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought
them out of Egypt."
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front
of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23
and said:
"O LORD,
God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth
below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants
who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept your promise
to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and
with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
25 "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my
father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never
fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have
done.' 26 And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised
your servant David my father come true.
27 "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the
highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have
built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for
mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is
praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this
temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be
there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this
place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people
Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your
dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
31 "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an
oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,
32 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants,
condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has
done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.
33 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy
because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you
and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this
temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people
Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers.
35 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because
your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this
place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have
afflicted them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your
servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and
send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
37 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or
mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any
of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 38 and when a
prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one
aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands
toward this temple- 39 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place.
Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you
know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), 40 so that
they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our
fathers.
41 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people
Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- 42 for
men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your
outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the
foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know
your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that
this house I have built bears your Name.
44 "When your people go to war against their enemies,
wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city
you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45 then hear
from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
46 "When they sin against you—for there is no one
who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them
over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or
near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are
held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their
conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted
wickedly'; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and
soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to
you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have
chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven,
your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their
cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive
all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their
conquerors to show them mercy; 51 for they are your people and your
inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting
furnace.
52 "May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the
plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they
cry out to you. 53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the
world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your
servant Moses when you, O Sovereign LORD, brought our fathers out of
Egypt."
54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and
supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD,
where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55
He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice,
saying:
56 "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people
Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good
promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be
with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake
us. 58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to
keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. 59 And
may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near
to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his
servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's
need, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is
God and that there is no other. 61 But your hearts must be fully
committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his
commands, as at this time."
The Dedication of the Temple
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices
before the LORD. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings
[aj] to the LORD : twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty
thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated
the temple of the LORD.
64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of
the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered
burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship
offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to
hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the
fellowship offerings.
65 So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all
Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo [ak] Hamath
to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for
seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the
following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then
went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD
had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
1 Kings 9
The LORD Appears to Solomon
1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD
and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the
LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at
Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him:
"I have
heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated
this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My
eyes and my heart will always be there.
4 "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart
and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and
observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over
Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall
never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
6 "But if you [al] or your sons turn away from me and do not
observe the commands and decrees I have given you [am] and go off to
serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from
the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have
consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object
of ridicule among all peoples. 8 And though this temple is now
imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why
has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' 9
People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who
brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods,
worshiping and serving them—that is why the LORD brought all
this disaster on them.' "
Solomon's Other Activities
10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built
these two buildings—the temple of the LORD and the royal
palace- 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of
Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and
gold he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that
Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 "What kind of
towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he asked. And he called
them the Land of Cabul, [an] a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram
had sent to the king 120 talents [ao] of gold.
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon
conscripted to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting
terraces, [ap] the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16
(Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it
on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a
wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt
Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor [aq] in
the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the
towns for his chariots and for his horses [ar] —whatever he
desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the
territory he ruled.
20 All the people left from the Amorites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites),
21 that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the
Israelites could not exterminate [as] —these Solomon
conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day. 22 But
Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his
fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and
the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the
chief officials in charge of Solomon's projects—550 officials
supervising the men who did the work.
24 After Pharaoh's daughter had come up from the City of
David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the
supporting terraces.
25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings [at] on the altar he had built for the LORD,
burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the
temple obligations.
26 King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is
near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. [au] 27 And Hiram sent
his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the
fleet with Solomon's men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420
talents [av] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
1 Kings 10
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
1 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and
his relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard
questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great
caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of
gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with
him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her
questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When
the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had
built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the
attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt
offerings he made at [aw] the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.
6 She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country
about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not
believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not
even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the
report I heard. 8 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials,
who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to
the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the
throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has
made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness."
10 And she gave the king 120 talents [ax] of gold, large
quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many
spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 (Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there
they brought great cargoes of almugwood [ay] and precious stones. 12
The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD
and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the
musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that
day.)
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and
asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then
she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon's Splendor
14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was
666 talents, [az] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and
traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered
gold; six hundred bekas [ba] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also
made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas
[bb] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the
Forest of Lebanon.
18 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and
overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had
a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion
standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps,
one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for
any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the
household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure
gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of
little value in Solomon's days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading
ships [bc] at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years
it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the
other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with
Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after
year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and
gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen
hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, [bd] which he kept in the
chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver
as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as
sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported
from Egypt [be] and from Kue [bf]—the royal merchants
purchased them from Kue. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six
hundred shekels [bg] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.
[bh] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of
the Arameans.
1 Kings 11
Solomon's Wives
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides
Pharaoh's daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians
and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told
the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will
surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held
fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and
three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon
grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart
was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his
father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Molech [bi] the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did
evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as
David his father had done.
7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for
Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god
of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who
burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had
turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him
twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,
Solomon did not keep the LORD's command. 11 So the LORD said to
Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant
and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the
kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12
Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it
during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one
tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem,
which I have chosen."
Solomon's Adversaries
14 Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary,
Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David
was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up
to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16 Joab and all
the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed
all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with
some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from
Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they
went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and
land and provided him with food.
19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a
sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of
Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the
royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children.
21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with
his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then
Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country."
22 "What have you lacked here that you want to go back to
your own country?" Pharaoh asked.
"Nothing," Hadad
replied, "but do let me go!"
23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon
son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.
24 He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels
when David destroyed the forces [bj] of Zobah ; the rebels went to
Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel's
adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by
Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.
Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon
26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He
was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his
mother was a widow named Zeruah.
27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king:
Solomon had built the supporting terraces [bk] and had filled in the
gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a
man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his
work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of
Joseph.
29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and
Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak.
The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold
of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then
he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what
the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom
out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of
my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of
all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this
because they have [bl] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess
of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god
of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is
right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's
father, did.
34 " 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's
hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of
David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and
statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you
ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my
servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I
chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you
will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over
Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do
what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David
my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as
enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I
will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.' "
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to
Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.
Solomon's Death
41 As for the other events of Solomon's reign—all
he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in
the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over
all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his fathers and was
buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded
him as king.
1 Kings 12
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone
there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was
still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from
[bm] Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly
of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 "Your father put a heavy
yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put
on us, and we will serve you."
5 Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come
back to me." So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his
father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer
these people?" he asked.
7 They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these
people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will
always be your servants."
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and
consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
9 He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these
people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell
these people who have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us,
but make our yoke lighter'-tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than
my father's waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make
it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you
with scorpions.' "
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to
Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." 13 The
king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the
elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father
made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged
you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 15 So the king did
not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to
fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through
Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to
them, they answered the king:
"What
share do we have in David,
what part
in Jesse's son?
To your
tents, O Israel!
Look after
your own house, O David!"
So the Israelites
went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of
Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, [bn] who was in charge of
forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam,
however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So
Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned,
they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all
Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole
house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty
thousand fighting men—to make war against the house of Israel
and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23
"Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of
Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 'This is what the
LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites.
Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the
word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.
Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan
25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of
Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.
[bo]
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely
revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer
sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give
their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill
me and return to King Rehoboam."
28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He
said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here
are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." 29 One he
set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin;
the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed
priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32
He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like
the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This
he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel
he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the
fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he
offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he
instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to
make offerings.
Day
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2 Chronicles 5
1 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the
LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had
dedicated—the silver and gold and all the
furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God's
temple.
The Ark Brought to the Temple
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel,
all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families,
to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of
David. 3 And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the
time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took
up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting and
all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests, who were Levites,
carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel
that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many
sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
7 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to
its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,
and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread
their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its
carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending
from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but
not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had
placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the
Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the
priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their
divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph,
Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the
east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals,
harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding
trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one
voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets,
cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to
the LORD and sang:
"He is
good;
his love
endures forever."
Then the temple of
the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform
their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled
the temple of God.
2 Chronicles 6
1 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell
in a dark cloud; 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place
for you to dwell forever."
3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the
king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:
"Praise be
to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what
he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 'Since
the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in
any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, nor
have I chosen anyone to be the leader over my people Israel. 6 But now
I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen
David to rule my people Israel.'
7 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for
the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my
father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my
Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, you are
not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh
and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my
Name.'
10 "The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded
David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD
promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God
of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of
the LORD that he made with the people of Israel."
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front
of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had
made a bronze platform, five cubits [a] long, five cubits wide and
three cubits [b] high, and had placed it in the center of the outer
court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole
assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:
"O LORD,
God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on
earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants
who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise
to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and
with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
16 "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my
father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never
fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my
law, as you have done.' 17 And now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your
word that you promised your servant David come true.
18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens,
even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple
I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his
plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your
servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward
this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put
your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this
place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people
Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your
dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
22 "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an
oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,
23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying
the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare
the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.
24 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy
because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and
confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this
temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people
Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their
fathers.
26 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because
your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this
place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have
afflicted them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your
servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and
send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
28 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or
mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of
their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a
prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one
aware of his afflictions and pains, and spreading out his hands toward
this temple- 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive,
and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his
heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), 31 so that they will fear
you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave
our fathers.
32 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people
Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and
your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and
prays toward this temple, 33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling
place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the
peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own
people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your
Name.
34 "When your people go to war against their enemies,
wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you
have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear
from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
36 "When they sin against you—for there is no one
who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them
over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;
37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held
captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity
and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly'; 38
and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land
of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you
gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the
temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling
place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And
forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
40 "Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears
attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
41 "Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place,
you and
the ark of your might.
May your
priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation,
may your
saints rejoice in your goodness.
42 O LORD God, do not reject your anointed one.
Remember
the great love promised to David your servant."
2 Chronicles 7
The Dedication of the Temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven
and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of
the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of
the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the
Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the
temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and
they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
"He is
good;
his love
endures forever."
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before
the LORD. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand
head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So
the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests
took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD's musical
instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which
were used when he gave thanks, saying, "His love endures forever."
Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the
Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in
front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings
and the fat of the fellowship offerings, [c] because the bronze altar
he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and
the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven
days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from
Lebo [d] Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held an
assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven
days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day
of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad
in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon
and for his people Israel.
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the
royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to
do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD
appeared to him at night and said:
"I have
heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for
sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or
command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and
pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear
from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now
my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in
this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my
Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
17 "As for you, if you walk before me as David your father
did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will
establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father
when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.'
19 "But if you [e] turn away and forsake the decrees and
commands I have given you [f] and go off to serve other gods and
worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have
given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.
I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21
And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be
appalled and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and
to this temple?' 22 People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the
LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have
embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why
he brought all this disaster on them.' "
2 Chronicles 8
Solomon's Other Activities
1 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the
temple of the LORD and his own palace, 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages
that Hiram [g] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon
then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in
the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. 5 He
rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with
walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath and all his store
cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses [h]
—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and
throughout all the territory he ruled.
7 All the people left from the Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites),
8 that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites
had not destroyed—these Solomon conscripted for his slave
labor force, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of
the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of
his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They
were also King Solomon's chief officials—two hundred and
fifty officials supervising the men.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the City of
David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, "My wife must
not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the
ark of the LORD has entered are holy."
12 On the altar of the LORD that he had built in front of the
portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the LORD, 13 according
to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for Sabbaths,
New Moons and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened
Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. 14 In keeping
with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of
the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to
assist the priests according to each day's requirement. He also
appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because
this was what David the man of God had ordered. 15 They did not deviate
from the king's commands to the priests or to the Levites in any
matter, including that of the treasuries.
16 All Solomon's work was carried out, from the day the
foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid until its completion. So
the temple of the LORD was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of
Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers, men
who knew the sea. These, with Solomon's men, sailed to Ophir and
brought back four hundred and fifty talents [i] of gold, which they
delivered to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 9
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came
to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very
great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities
of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked
with him about all she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her
questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the
queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had
built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the
attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and
the burnt offerings he made at [j] the temple of the LORD, she was
overwhelmed.
5 She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country
about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not
believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed,
not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far
exceeded the report I heard. 7 How happy your men must be! How happy
your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
8 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed
you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the
love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he
has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness."
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents [k] of gold, large
quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such
spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 (The men of Hiram and the men of Solomon brought gold from
Ophir; they also brought algumwood [l] and precious stones. 11 The king
used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the LORD and for the
royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing
like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and
asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left
and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon's Splendor
13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was
666 talents, [m] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants
and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land
brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered
gold; six hundred bekas [n] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three
hundred bekas [o] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the
Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and
overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool
of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests,
with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the
six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever
been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon's goblets were
gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of
Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was
considered of little value in Solomon's day. 21 The king had a fleet of
trading ships [p] manned by Hiram's [q] men. Once every three years it
returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the
other kings of the earth. 23 All the kings of the earth sought audience
with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after
year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and
gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,
and twelve thousand horses, [r] which he kept in the chariot cities and
also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the
River [s] to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of
Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and
cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's
horses were imported from Egypt [t] and from all other countries.
Solomon's Death
29 As for the other events of Solomon's reign, from beginning
to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in
the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the
seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem
over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his fathers and was
buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded
him as king.
2 Chronicles 10
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone
there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was
in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt.
3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and
said to him: 4 "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the
harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."
5 Rehoboam answered, "Come back to me in three days." So the
people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his
father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer
these people?" he asked.
7 They replied, "If you will be kind to these people and
please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your
servants."
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and
consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
9 He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these
people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell the
people who have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but
make our yoke lighter'-tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my
father's waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it
even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you
with scorpions.' "
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to
Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." 13 The
king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, 14 he
followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your
yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with
whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 15 So the king did not
listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill
the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah
the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to
them, they answered the king:
"What
share do we have in David,
what part
in Jesse's son?
To your
tents, O Israel!
Look after
your own house, O David!"
So all the
Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in
the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, [u] who was in charge of
forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam,
however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So
Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
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Ecclesiastes 1
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher, [a] son of David, king in
Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the
Teacher.
"Utterly
meaningless!
Everything
is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which
he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the
earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and
hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns
to the north;
round and
round it goes,
ever
returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the
sea is never full.
To the
place the streams come from,
there they
return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than
one can say.
The eye
never has enough of seeing,
nor the
ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has
been done will be done again;
there is
nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look!
This is something new"?
It was
here already, long ago;
it was
here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even
those who are yet to come
will not
be remembered
by those
who follow.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I
devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under
heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the
things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a
chasing after the wind.
15 What is twisted cannot be straightened;
what is
lacking cannot be counted.
16 I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in
wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have
experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." 17 Then I applied myself to
the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I
learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more
knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes 2
Pleasures Are Meaningless
1 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with
pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be
meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure
accomplish?" 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing
folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see
what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of
their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and
planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of
fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing
trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were
born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in
Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the
treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and
a harem [b] as well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I
became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this
my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused
my heart no pleasure.
My heart
took delight in all my work,
and this
was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I
had toiled to achieve,
everything
was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing
was gained under the sun.
Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless
12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also
madness and folly.
What more
can the king's successor do
than what
has already been done?
13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as
light is better than darkness.
14 The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the
fool walks in the darkness;
but I came
to realize
that the
same fate overtakes them both.
15 Then I thought in my heart,
"The fate
of the fool will overtake me also.
What then
do I gain by being wise?"
I said in
my heart,
"This too
is meaningless."
16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long
remembered;
in days to
come both will be forgotten.
Like the
fool, the wise man too must die!
Toil Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the
sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the
wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because
I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows
whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over
all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the
sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all
my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a man may do his work with
wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to
someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great
misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious
striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work
is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is
meaningless.
24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find
satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25
for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who
pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the
sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it
over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing
after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a
season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to
plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to
tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to
mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to
embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to
keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to
be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for
war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the
burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its
time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot
fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is
nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13
That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his
toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God
does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken
from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
15 Whatever is has already been,
and what
will be has been before;
and God
will call the past to account. [c]
16 And I saw something else under the sun:
In the
place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the
place of justice—wickedness was there.
17 I thought in my heart,
"God will
bring to judgment
both the
righteous and the wicked,
for there
will be a time for every activity,
a time for
every deed."
18 I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they
may see that they are like the animals. 19 Man's fate is like that of
the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the
other. All have the same breath [d] ; man has no advantage over the
animal. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all
come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the spirit of
man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal [e] goes down into the
earth?"
22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to
enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see
what will happen after him?
Ecclesiastes 4
Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness
1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking
place under the sun:
I saw the
tears of the oppressed—
and they
have no comforter;
power was
on the side of their oppressors—
and they
have no comforter.
2 And I declared that the dead,
who had
already died,
are
happier than the living,
who are
still alive.
3 But better than both
is he who
has not yet been,
who has
not seen the evil
that is
done under the sun.
4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from
man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after
the wind.
5 The fool folds his hands
and ruins
himself.
6 Better one handful with tranquillity
than two
handfuls with toil
and
chasing after the wind.
7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8 There was a man all alone;
he had
neither son nor brother.
There was
no end to his toil,
yet his
eyes were not content with his wealth.
"For whom
am I toiling," he asked,
"and why
am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
This too
is meaningless—
a
miserable business!
9 Two are better than one,
because
they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend
can help him up.
But pity
the man who falls
and has no
one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how
can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can
defend themselves.
A cord of
three strands is not quickly broken.
Advancement Is Meaningless
13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king
who no longer knows how to take warning. 14 The youth may have come
from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within
his kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun
followed the youth, the king's successor. 16 There was no end to all
the people who were before them. But those who came later were not
pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after
the wind.
Ecclesiastes 5
Stand in Awe of God
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near
to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know
that they do wrong.
2 Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be
hasty in your heart
to utter
anything before God.
God is in
heaven
and you
are on earth,
so let
your words be few.
3 As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the
speech of a fool when there are many words.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it.
He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to
vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead
you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a
mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work
of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless.
Therefore stand in awe of God.
Riches Are Meaningless
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice
and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official
is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9
The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits
from the fields.
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever
loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too
is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do
those who consume them.
And what
benefit are they to the owner
except to
feast his eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he
eats little or much,
but the
abundance of a rich man
permits
him no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth
hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that
when he has a son
there is
nothing left for him.
15 Naked a man comes from his mother's womb,
and as he
comes, so he departs.
He takes
nothing from his labor
that he
can carry in his hand.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As a man
comes, so he departs,
and what
does he gain,
since he
toils for the wind?
17 All his days he eats in darkness,
with great
frustration, affliction and anger.
18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to
eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the
sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is
his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions,
and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his
work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days
of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
Ecclesiastes 12
1 Remember your Creator
in the
days of your youth,
before the
days of trouble come
and the
years approach when you will say,
"I find no
pleasure in them"-
2 before the sun and the light
and the
moon and the stars grow dark,
and the
clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the
strong men stoop,
when the
grinders cease because they are few,
and those
looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the
sound of grinding fades;
when men
rise up at the sound of birds,
but all
their songs grow faint;
5 when men are afraid of heights
and of
dangers in the streets;
when the
almond tree blossoms
and the
grasshopper drags himself along
and desire
no longer is stirred.
Then man
goes to his eternal home
and
mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
or the
golden bowl is broken;
before the
pitcher is shattered at the spring,
or the
wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the
spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. [a]
"Everything is meaningless!"
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted
knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order
many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words,
and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected
sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. 12
Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books
there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is
the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God
and keep his commandments,
for this
is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including
every hidden thing,
whether it
is good or evil.
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Song of Solomon 1
1 Solomon's Song of Songs.
Beloved [a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth—
for your
love is more delightful than wine.
3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name
is like perfume poured out.
No wonder
the maidens love you!
4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the
king bring me into his chambers.
Friends
We rejoice and delight in you [b] ;
we will
praise your love more than wine.
Beloved
How right they are to adore you!
5 Dark am I, yet lovely,
O
daughters of Jerusalem,
dark like
the tents of Kedar,
like the
tent curtains of Solomon. [c]
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I
am darkened by the sun.
My
mother's sons were angry with me
and made
me take care of the vineyards;
my own
vineyard I have neglected.
7 Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock
and where
you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should
I be like a veiled woman
beside the
flocks of your friends?
Friends
8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,
follow the
tracks of the sheep
and graze
your young goats
by the
tents of the shepherds.
Lover
9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed
to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck
with strings of jewels.
11 We will make you earrings of gold,
studded
with silver.
Beloved
12 While the king was at his table,
my perfume
spread its fragrance.
13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting
between my breasts.
14 My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the
vineyards of En Gedi.
Lover
15 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how
beautiful!
Your eyes
are doves.
Beloved
16 How handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how
charming!
And our
bed is verdant.
Lover
17 The beams of our house are cedars;
our
rafters are firs.
Song of Solomon 2
Beloved [d]
1 I am a rose [e] of Sharon,
a lily of
the valleys.
Lover
2 Like a lily among thorns
is my
darling among the maidens.
Beloved
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my
lover among the young men.
I delight
to sit in his shade,
and his
fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 He has taken me to the banquet hall,
and his
banner over me is love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me
with apples,
for I am
faint with love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his
right arm embraces me.
7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the
gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not
arouse or awaken love
until it
so desires.
8 Listen! My lover!
Look! Here
he comes,
leaping
across the mountains,
bounding
over the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look!
There he stands behind our wall,
gazing
through the windows,
peering
through the lattice.
10 My lover spoke and said to me,
"Arise, my
darling,
my
beautiful one, and come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains
are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season
of singing has come,
the cooing
of doves
is heard
in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the
blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise,
come, my darling;
my
beautiful one, come with me."
Lover
14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the
hiding places on the mountainside,
show me
your face,
let me
hear your voice;
for your
voice is sweet,
and your
face is lovely.
15 Catch for us the foxes,
the little
foxes
that ruin
the vineyards,
our
vineyards that are in bloom.
Beloved
16 My lover is mine and I am his;
he browses
among the lilies.
17 Until the day breaks
and the
shadows flee,
turn, my
lover,
and be
like a gazelle
or like a
young stag
on the
rugged hills. [f]
Proverbs 1
Prologue: Purpose and Theme
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for
understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what
is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge
and discretion to the young-
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let
the discerning get guidance-
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the
sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools
[a] despise wisdom and discipline.
Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom
Warning Against Enticement
8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not
forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They will be a garland to grace your head
and a
chain to adorn your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not
give in to them.
11 If they say, "Come along with us;
let's lie
in wait for someone's blood,
let's
waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, [b]
and whole,
like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill
our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us,
and we
will share a common purse"-
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set
foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into sin,
they are
swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
in full
view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they
waylay only themselves!
19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes
away the lives of those who get it.
Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she raises
her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets [c] she cries out,
in the
gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22 "How long will you simple ones [d] love your simple ways?
How long
will mockers delight in mockery
and fools
hate knowledge?
23 If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would
have poured out my heart to you
and made
my thoughts known to you.
24 But since you rejected me when I called
and no one
gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice
and would
not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster;
I will
mock when calamity overtakes you-
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when
disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when
distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will
look for me but will not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge
and did
not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since they would not accept my advice
and
spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be
filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the
complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at
ease, without fear of harm."
Proverbs 2
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store
up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and
applying your heart to understanding,
3 and if you call out for insight
and cry
aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search
for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find
the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from
his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a
shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and
protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and
fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and
knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and
understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men
whose words are perverse,
13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in
dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and
rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who
are devious in their ways.
16 It will save you also from the adulteress,
from the
wayward wife with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and
ignored the covenant she made before God. [e]
18 For her house leads down to death
and her
paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain
the paths of life.
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men
and keep
to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the
blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the
unfaithful will be torn from it.
Proverbs 3
Further Benefits of Wisdom
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep
my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring
you prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them
around your neck,
write them
on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the
sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean
not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he
will make your paths straight. [f]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the
LORD and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and
nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the
firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your
vats will brim over with new wine.
11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and do not
resent his rebuke,
12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a
father [g] the son he delights in.
13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man
who gains understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields
better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing
you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her
left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all
her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who
lay hold of her will be blessed.
19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by
understanding he set the heavens in place;
20 by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the
clouds let drop the dew.
21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let
them out of your sight;
22 they will be life for you,
an
ornament to grace your neck.
23 Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your
foot will not stumble;
24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you
lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the
ruin that overtakes the wicked,
26 for the LORD will be your confidence
and will
keep your foot from being snared.
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is
in your power to act.
28 Do not say to your neighbor,
"Come back
later; I'll give it tomorrow"—
when you
now have it with you.
29 Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives
trustfully near you.
30 Do not accuse a man for no reason—
when he
has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a violent man
or choose
any of his ways,
32 for the LORD detests a perverse man
but takes
the upright into his confidence.
33 The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he
blesses the home of the righteous.
34 He mocks proud mockers
but gives
grace to the humble.
35 The wise inherit honor,
but fools
he holds up to shame.
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2 Chronicles 14
1 And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the
City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the
country was at peace for ten years.
Asa King of Judah
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his
God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the
sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. [a] 4 He commanded Judah
to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and
commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town
in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the
fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at
war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.
7 "Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put
walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours,
because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given
us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah,
equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty
thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All
these were brave fighting men.
9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army
[b] and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa
went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley
of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there
is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O
LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against
this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against
you."
12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah.
The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as
Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not
recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of
Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. 14 They destroyed all the
villages around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them.
They plundered all these villages, since there was much booty there. 15
They also attacked the camps of the herdsmen and carried off droves of
sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 15
Asa's Reform
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went
out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and
Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him,
he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3
For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to
teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the
LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In
those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of
the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by
another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with
every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up,
for your work will be rewarded."
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son
of [c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable
idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he
had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD
that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.
9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people
from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large
numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD
his God was with him.
10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the
fifteenth year of Asa's reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the
LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats
from the plunder they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant
to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and
soul. 13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be
put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an
oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets
and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn
it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them.
So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her
position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah
pole. Asa cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron
Valley. 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel,
Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. 18 He brought
into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and
his father had dedicated.
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's
reign.
2 Chronicles 16
Asa's Last Years
1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign Baasha king of
Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from
leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
2 Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of
the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king
of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 "Let there be a treaty between
me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father.
See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with
Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."
4 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of
his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel
Maim [d] and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard
this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. 6 Then King Asa
brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the
stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and
Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and
said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the
LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
8 Were not the Cushites [e] and Libyans a mighty army with great
numbers of chariots and horsemen [f] ? Yet when you relied on the LORD,
he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD range
throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully
committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you
will be at war."
10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so
enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally
oppressed some of the people.
11 The events of Asa's reign, from beginning to end, are
written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the
thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his
feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not
seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the
forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers. 14
They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City
of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various
blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.
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1 Kings 17
Elijah Fed by Ravens
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to
Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will
be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here,
turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You
will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you
there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith
Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him
bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he
drank from the brook.
The Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been
no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at
once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in
that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When
he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called
to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may
have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me,
please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I
don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a
little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make
a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as
you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what
you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and
your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The
jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry
until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was
food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the
jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in
keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house
became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18
She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you
come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
19 "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her
arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him
on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you
brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her
son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times
and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to
him!"
22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned
to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him
down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said,
"Look, your son is alive!"
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a
man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."
1 Kings 18
Elijah and Obadiah
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD
came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain
on the land." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was
severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge
of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. 4 While
Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a
hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had
supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go
through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some
grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill
any of our animals." 6 So they divided the land they were to cover,
Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah
recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you,
my lord Elijah?"
8 "Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' "
9 "What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are
handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as
the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my
master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or
kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not
find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is
here.' 12 I don't know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when
I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will
kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. 13
Haven't you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the
prophets of the LORD ? I hid a hundred of the LORD's prophets in two
caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now
you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' He will kill
me!"
15 Elijah said, "As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I
will surely present myself to Ahab today."
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went
to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you,
you troubler of Israel?"
18 "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But
you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's
commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all
over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and
fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who
eat at Jezebel's table."
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the
prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said,
"How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God,
follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
But the people said
nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's
prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two
bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it
into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will
prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name
of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
Then all the people
said, "What you say is good."
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the
bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the
name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull
given them and prepared it.
Then they called on
the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they
shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced
around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he
said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or
traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they
shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was
their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they
continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening
sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid
attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in
ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes
descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying,
"Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in
the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to
hold two seahs [b] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into
pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large
jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third
time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran
down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped
forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it
be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant
and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD,
answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and
that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the
sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the
water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and
cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"
40 Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal.
Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them
brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is
the sound of a heavy rain." 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but
Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put
his face between his knees.
43 "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he
went up and looked.
"There is nothing
there," he said.
Seven times Elijah
said, "Go back."
44 The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small
as a man's hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go
and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops
you.' "
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose,
a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the
LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran
ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
1 Kings 19
Elijah Flees to Horeb
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he
had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a
messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so
severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of
one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid [c] and ran for his life. When he came to
Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went
a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down
under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he
said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay
down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel
touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked around, and there
by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of
water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched
him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8
So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled
forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of
God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The LORD Appears to Elijah
And the word of the LORD came to him:
"What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God
Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your
altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only
one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the
presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and
powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before
the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an
earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the
earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the
fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his
cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to
him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God
Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your
altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only
one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to
the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over
Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint
Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17
Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha
will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve
seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down
to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
The Call of Elisha
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the
twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20
Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father
and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you."
"Go back," Elijah
replied. "What have I done to you?"
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen
and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat
and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow
Elijah and became his attendant.
1 Kings 21
Naboth's Vineyard
1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard
belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close
to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me
have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to
my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you
prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."
3 But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you
the inheritance of my fathers."
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the
Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my
fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so
sullen? Why won't you eat?"
6 He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite,
'Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another
vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'
"
7 Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over
Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite."
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on
them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city
with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
"Proclaim
a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he
has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to
death."
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as
Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They
proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the
people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought
charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed
both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned
him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been
stoned and is dead."
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to
death, she said to Ahab, "Get up and take possession of the vineyard of
Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer
alive, but dead." 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up
and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18
"Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now
in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19
Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man
and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says:
In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up
your blood—yes, yours!' "
20 Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!"
"I have found you,"
he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of
the LORD. 21 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your
descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in
Israel—slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of
Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you
have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'
23 "And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will
devour Jezebel by the wall of [a] Jezreel.'
24 "Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the
city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the
country."
25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do
evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He
behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites
the LORD drove out before Israel.)
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on
sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29
"Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he
has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I
will bring it on his house in the days of his son."
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2 Kings 1
The Lord 's Judgment on Ahaziah
1 After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now
Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and
injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult
Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this
injury."
3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go
up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it
because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult
Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says:
'You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!'
" So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them,
"Why have you come back?"
6 "A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us,
'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD
says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men
to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave
the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ' "
7 The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to
meet you and told you this?"
8 They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with
a leather belt around his waist."
The king said, "That
was Elijah the Tishbite."
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty
men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a
hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!' "
10 Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may
fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then
fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his
fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king
says, 'Come down at once!' "
12 "If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come
down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of
God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This
third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of
God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of
these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and
consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect
for my life!"
15 The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him;
do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to
the king.
16 He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it
because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent
messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have
done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will
certainly die!" 17 So he died, according to the word of the LORD that
Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had
no son, Joram [a] succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram
son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of
Ahaziah's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of
the annals of the kings of Israel?
2 Kings 2
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a
whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah
said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel."
But Elisha said, "As
surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So
they went down to Bethel.
3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha
and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from
you today?"
"Yes, I know,"
Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."
4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has
sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As
surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So
they went to Jericho.
5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha
and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master
from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he
replied, "but do not speak of it."
6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me
to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As
surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the
two of them walked on.
7 Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at
a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the
Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with
it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them
crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me,
what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a
double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if
you see me when I am taken from you, it will be
yours—otherwise not."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly
a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of
them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this
and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of
Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own
clothes and tore them apart.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and
went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the
cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now
is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it
divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were
watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they
went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 "Look," they
said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for
your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set
him down on some mountain or in some valley."
"No," Elisha
replied, "do not send them."
17 But they persisted until he was too ashamed to refuse. So
he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three
days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was
staying in Jericho, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"
Healing of the Water
19 The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this
town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the
land is unproductive."
20 "Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So
they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it,
saying, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. Never
again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' " 22 And the
water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha
had spoken.
Elisha Is Jeered
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking
along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go
on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" 24 He turned
around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of
the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of
the youths. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned
to Samaria.
2 Kings 6
An Axhead Floats
1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the
place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the
Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there
for us to live."
And he said, "Go."
3 Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your
servants?"
"I will," Elisha
replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the
Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a
tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out,
"it was borrowed!"
6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed
him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron
float. 7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and
took it.
Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans
8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After
conferring with his officers, he said, "I will set up my camp in such
and such a place."
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of
passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." 10 So
the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God.
Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in
such places.
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers
and demanded of them, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side
of the king of Israel?"
12 "None of us, my lord the king," said one of his officers,
"but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the
very words you speak in your bedroom."
13 "Go, find out where he is," the king ordered, "so I can
send men and capture him." The report came back: "He is in Dothan." 14
Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by
night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out
early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded
the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.
16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are
with us are more than those who are with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see."
Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the
hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the
LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with
blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not
the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking
for." And he led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, "LORD, open the
eyes of these men so they can see." Then the LORD opened their eyes and
they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall
I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?"
22 "Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you
have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before
them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master."
23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished
eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their
master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.
Famine in Besieged Samaria
24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his
entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 25 There was a
great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head
sold for eighty shekels [a] of silver, and a quarter of a cab [b] of
seed pods [c] for five shekels. [d]
26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman
cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!"
27 The king replied, "If the LORD does not help you, where
can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?"
28 Then he asked her, "What's the matter?"
She answered, "This
woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and
tomorrow we'll eat my son.' 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The
next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she
had hidden him."
30 When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes.
As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he
had sackcloth on his body. 31 He said, "May God deal with me, be it
ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his
shoulders today!"
32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were
sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he
arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Don't you see how this murderer is
sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes,
shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his
master's footsteps behind him?"
33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came
down to him. And the king said, "This disaster is from the LORD. Why
should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 Kings 7
1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the
LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah [e] of flour will sell for
a shekel [f] and two seahs [g] of barley for a shekel at the gate of
Samaria."
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the
man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the
heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it
with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
The Siege Lifted
3 Now there were four men with leprosy [h] at the entrance of
the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? 4
If we say, 'We'll go into the city'-the famine is there, and we will
die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of
the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us,
then we die."
5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans.
When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the
Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses
and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of
Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" 7 So
they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their
horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their
lives.
8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and
entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver,
gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered
another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
9 Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This
is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait
until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and
report this to the royal palace."
10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and
told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was
there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses
and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." 11 The gatekeepers
shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I
will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are
starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside,
thinking, 'They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive
and get into the city.' "
13 One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of
the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of
all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all
these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what
happened."
14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the
king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, "Go
and find out what has happened." 15 They followed them as far as the
Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and
equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the
messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went
out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for
a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the LORD had
said.
17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in
charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he
died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to
his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king:
"About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and
two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
19 The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the
LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The
man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you
will not eat any of it!" 20 And that is exactly what happened to him,
for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
2 Kings 11
Athaliah and Joash
1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was
dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2 But Jehosheba,
the daughter of King Jehoram [a] and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son
of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were
about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide
him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. 3 He remained hidden with his
nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the
land.
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of
units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to
him at the temple of the LORD. He made a covenant with them and put
them under oath at the temple of the LORD. Then he showed them the
king's son. 5 He commanded them, saying, "This is what you are to do:
You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the
Sabbath—a third of you guarding the royal palace, 6 a third
at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take
turns guarding the temple- 7 and you who are in the other two companies
that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the
king. 8 Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in
his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks [b] must be put to death.
Stay close to the king wherever he goes."
9 The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada
the priest ordered. Each one took his men—those who were
going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off
duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 Then he gave the
commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and
that were in the temple of the LORD. 11 The guards, each with his
weapon in his hand, stationed themselves around the king—near
the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the
temple.
12 Jehoiada brought out the king's son and put the crown on
him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him
king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and
shouted, "Long live the king!"
13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the
people, she went to the people at the temple of the LORD. 14 She looked
and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The
officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of
the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her
robes and called out, "Treason! Treason!"
15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a
hundred, who were in charge of the troops: "Bring her out between the
ranks [c] and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest
had said, "She must not be put to death in the temple of the LORD." 16
So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the
palace grounds, and there she was put to death.
17 Jehoiada then made a covenant between the LORD and the
king and people that they would be the LORD's people. He also made a
covenant between the king and the people. 18 All the people of the land
went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars
and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of
the altars.
Then Jehoiada the
priest posted guards at the temple of the LORD. 19 He took with him the
commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards and all the people of
the land, and together they brought the king down from the temple of
the LORD and went into the palace, entering by way of the gate of the
guards. The king then took his place on the royal throne, 20 and all
the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because
Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
21 Joash [d] was seven years old when he began to reign.
2 Kings 12
Joash Repairs the Temple
1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash [e] became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was
from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all
the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 The high places,
however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and
burn incense there.
4 Joash said to the priests, "Collect all the money that is
brought as sacred offerings to the temple of the LORD -the money
collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the
money brought voluntarily to the temple. 5 Let every priest receive the
money from one of the treasurers, and let it be used to repair whatever
damage is found in the temple."
6 But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests
still had not repaired the temple. 7 Therefore King Joash summoned
Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, "Why aren't
you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from
your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple." 8 The
priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the
people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
9 Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its
lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the
temple of the LORD. The priests who guarded the entrance put into the
chest all the money that was brought to the temple of the LORD. 10
Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest,
the royal secretary and the high priest came, counted the money that
had been brought into the temple of the LORD and put it into bags. 11
When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men
appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those
who worked on the temple of the LORD -the carpenters and builders, 12
the masons and stonecutters. They purchased timber and dressed stone
for the repair of the temple of the LORD, and met all the other
expenses of restoring the temple.
13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making
silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other
articles of gold or silver for the temple of the LORD; 14 it was paid
to the workmen, who used it to repair the temple. 15 They did not
require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the
workers, because they acted with complete honesty. 16 The money from
the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple
of the LORD; it belonged to the priests.
17 About this time Hazael king of Aram went up and attacked
Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. 18 But Joash
king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his
fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of
Judah—and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold
found in the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal
palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew from
Jerusalem.
19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he
did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of
Judah? 20 His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at
Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla. 21 The officials who murdered
him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died
and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Amaziah his
son succeeded him as king.
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2 Chronicles 24
Joash Repairs the Temple
1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was
from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all
the years of Jehoiada the priest. 3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him,
and he had sons and daughters.
4 Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the
LORD. 5 He called together the priests and Levites and said to them,
"Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all
Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now." But the Levites
did not act at once.
6 Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and
said to him, "Why haven't you required the Levites to bring in from
Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD
and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?"
7 Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into
the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.
8 At the king's command, a chest was made and placed outside,
at the gate of the temple of the LORD. 9 A proclamation was then issued
in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the LORD the tax that
Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the desert. 10 All
the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly,
dropping them into the chest until it was full. 11 Whenever the chest
was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials and they saw that
there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer
of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to
its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of
money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the men who carried out the
work required for the temple of the LORD. They hired masons and
carpenters to restore the LORD's temple, and also workers in iron and
bronze to repair the temple.
13 The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the
repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according
to its original design and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished,
they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with
it were made articles for the LORD's temple: articles for the service
and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold
and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented
continually in the temple of the LORD.
15 Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the
age of a hundred and thirty. 16 He was buried with the kings in the
City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and
his temple.
The Wickedness of Joash
17 After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came
and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. 18 They abandoned
the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah
poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God's anger came upon Judah
and Jerusalem. 19 Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to
bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they
would not listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada
the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God
says: 'Why do you disobey the LORD's commands? You will not prosper.
Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.' "
21 But they plotted against him, and by order of the king
they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD's temple. 22 King
Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah's father Jehoiada had
shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, "May the LORD
see this and call you to account."
23 At the turn of the year, [a] the army of Aram marched
against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the
leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in
Damascus. 24 Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men,
the LORD delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah
had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed
on Joash. 25 When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely
wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of
Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was
buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
26 Those who conspired against him were Zabad, [b] son of
Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith [c] a
Moabite woman. 27 The account of his sons, the many prophecies about
him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are written
in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son
succeeded him as king.
2 Chronicles 25
Amaziah King of Judah
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and
he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was
Jehoaddin [d] ; she was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the
eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly. 3 After the kingdom was
firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his
father the king. 4 Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted in
accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where
the LORD commanded: "Fathers shall not be put to death for their
children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die
for his own sins." [e]
5 Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned
them according to their families to commanders of thousands and
commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered
those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred
thousand men ready for military service, able to handle the spear and
shield. 6 He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for
a hundred talents [f] of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him and said, "O king, these
troops from Israel must not march with you, for the LORD is not with
Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Even if you
go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the
enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow."
9 Amaziah asked the man of God, "But what about the hundred
talents I paid for these Israelite troops?"
The man of God
replied, "The LORD can give you much more than that."
10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from
Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for
home in a great rage.
11 Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to
the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir. 12 The
army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the
top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.
13 Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had
not allowed to take part in the war raided Judean towns from Samaria to
Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great
quantities of plunder.
14 When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he
brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own
gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. 15 The anger of
the LORD burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who
said, "Why do you consult this people's gods, which could not save
their own people from your hand?"
16 While he was still speaking, the king said to him, "Have
we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?"
So the prophet
stopped but said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you,
because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel."
17 After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he
sent this challenge to Jehoash [g] son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu,
king of Israel: "Come, meet me face to face."
18 But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of
Judah: "A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon,
'Give your daughter to my son in marriage.' Then a wild beast in
Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. 19 You say to
yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and
proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own
downfall and that of Judah also?"
20 Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that
he might hand them over to Jehoash , because they sought the gods of
Edom. 21 So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of
Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Judah was routed by
Israel, and every man fled to his home. 23 Jehoash king of Israel
captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah,
[h] at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke
down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner
Gate—a section about six hundred feet [i] long. 24 He took
all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God
that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace
treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.
25 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years
after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. 26 As for
the other events of Amaziah's reign, from beginning to end, are they
not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 From the
time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they conspired
against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men
after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28 He was brought back by
horse and was buried with his fathers in the City of Judah.
2 Chronicles 26
Uzziah King of Judah
1 Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, [j] who was
sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 2
He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah
rested with his fathers.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jecoliah;
she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the
LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the
days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear [k] of God. As long
as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
6 He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the
walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and
elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the
Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the
Meunites. 8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame
spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very
powerful.
9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the
Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them. 10 He
also built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, because he had
much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working
his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he
loved the soil.
11 Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by
divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary
and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the
royal officials. 12 The total number of family leaders over the
fighting men was 2,600. 13 Under their command was an army of 307,500
men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his
enemies. 14 Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor,
bows and slingstones for the entire army. 15 In Jerusalem he made
machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the
corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread
far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his
downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple
of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the
priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him
in. 18 They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah,
to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants
of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the
sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by
the LORD God."
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn
incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their
presence before the incense altar in the LORD's temple, leprosy [l]
broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the
other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his
forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to
leave, because the LORD had afflicted him.
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in
a separate house [m] —leprous, and excluded from the temple
of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the
people of the land.
22 The other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end,
are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 Uzziah rested with
his fathers and was buried near them in a field for burial that
belonged to the kings, for people said, "He had leprosy." And Jotham
his son succeeded him as king.
Day
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Joel 2
An Army of Locusts
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the
alarm on my holy hill.
Let all
who live in the land tremble,
for the
day of the LORD is coming.
It is
close at hand-
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of
clouds and blackness.
Like dawn
spreading across the mountains
a large
and mighty army comes,
such as
never was of old
nor ever
will be in ages to come.
3 Before them fire devours,
behind
them a flame blazes.
Before
them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind
them, a desert waste—
nothing
escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
they
gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
they leap
over the mountaintops,
like a
crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a
mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face
turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
they scale
walls like soldiers.
They all
march in line,
not
swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each
marches straight ahead.
They
plunge through defenses
without
breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run
along the wall.
They climb
into the houses;
like
thieves they enter through the windows.
10 Before them the earth shakes,
the sky
trembles,
the sun
and moon are darkened,
and the
stars no longer shine.
11 The LORD thunders
at the
head of his army;
his forces
are beyond number,
and mighty
are those who obey his command.
The day of
the LORD is great;
it is
dreadful.
Who can
endure it?
Rend Your Heart
12 "Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to
me with all your heart,
with
fasting and weeping and mourning."
13 Rend your heart
and not
your garments.
Return to
the LORD your God,
for he is
gracious and compassionate,
slow to
anger and abounding in love,
and he
relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity
and leave
behind a blessing—
grain
offerings and drink offerings
for the
LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a
holy fast,
call a
sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate
the assembly;
bring
together the elders,
gather the
children,
those
nursing at the breast.
Let the
bridegroom leave his room
and the
bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep
between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them
say, "Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not
make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword
among the nations.
Why should
they say among the peoples,
'Where is
their God?' "
The LORD's Answer
18 Then the LORD will be jealous for his land
and take
pity on his people.
19 The LORD will reply [a] to them:
"I am
sending you grain, new wine and oil,
enough to
satisfy you fully;
never
again will I make you
an object
of scorn to the nations.
20 "I will drive the northern army far from you,
pushing it
into a parched and barren land,
with its
front columns going into the eastern sea [b]
and those
in the rear into the western sea. [c]
And its
stench will go up;
its smell
will rise."
Surely he
has done great things. [d]
21 Be not afraid, O land;
be glad
and rejoice.
Surely the
LORD has done great things.
22 Be not afraid, O wild animals,
for the
open pastures are becoming green.
The trees
are bearing their fruit;
the fig
tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, O people of Zion,
rejoice in
the LORD your God,
for he has
given you
the autumn
rains in righteousness. [e]
He sends
you abundant showers,
both
autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats
will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have
eaten—
the great
locust and the young locust,
the other
locusts and the locust swarm [f]—
my great
army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you
will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has
worked wonders for you;
never
again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am
the LORD your God,
and that
there is no other;
never
again will my people be shamed.
The Day of the LORD
28 "And afterward,
I will
pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons
and daughters will prophesy,
your old
men will dream dreams,
your young
men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will
pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the
earth,
blood and
fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the
moon to blood
before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls
on the
name of the LORD will be saved;
for on
Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will
be deliverance,
as the
LORD has said,
among the
survivors
whom the
LORD calls.
Jonah 1
Jonah Flees From the LORD
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to
the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness
has come up before me."
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.
He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After
paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from
the LORD.
4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a
violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the
sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw
the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone
below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain
went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!
Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."
7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast
lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots
and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making
all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What
is your country? From what people are you?"
9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God
of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?"
(They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already
told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked
him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"
12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and
it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm
has come upon you."
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But
they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they
cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this
man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for
you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." 15 Then they took Jonah and
threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men
greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and
made vows to him.
17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and
Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Amos 3
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
1 Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of
Israel—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2 "You only have I chosen
of all the
families of the earth;
therefore
I will punish you
for all
your sins."
3 Do two walk together
unless
they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
when he
has no prey?
Does he
growl in his den
when he
has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground
where no
snare has been set?
Does a
trap spring up from the earth
when there
is nothing to catch?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the
people tremble?
When
disaster comes to a city,
has not
the LORD caused it?
7 Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
without
revealing his plan
to his
servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
who will
not fear?
The
Sovereign LORD has spoken—
who can
but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the
fortresses of Egypt:
"Assemble
yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
see the
great unrest within her
and the
oppression among her people."
10 "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD,
"who hoard
plunder and loot in their fortresses."
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"An enemy
will overrun the land;
he will
pull down your strongholds
and
plunder your fortresses."
12 This is what the LORD says:
"As a
shepherd saves from the lion's mouth
only two
leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will
the Israelites be saved,
those who
sit in Samaria
on the
edge of their beds
and in
Damascus on their couches. [a] "
13 "Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob,"
declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.
14 "On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will
destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns
of the altar will be cut off
and fall
to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house
along with
the summer house;
the houses
adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the
mansions will be demolished,"
declares
the LORD.
Micah 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during
the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the
vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of you,
listen, O
earth and all who are in it,
that the
Sovereign LORD may witness against you,
the Lord
from his holy temple.
Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem
3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes
down and treads the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the
valleys split apart,
like wax
before the fire,
like water
rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression,
because of
the sins of the house of Israel.
What is
Jacob's transgression?
Is it not
Samaria?
What is
Judah's high place?
Is it not
Jerusalem?
6 "Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place
for planting vineyards.
I will
pour her stones into the valley
and lay
bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her
temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will
destroy all her images.
Since she
gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the
wages of prostitutes they will again be used."
Weeping and Mourning
8 Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go
about barefoot and naked.
I will
howl like a jackal
and moan
like an owl.
9 For her wound is incurable;
it has
come to Judah.
It [a] has
reached the very gate of my people,
even to
Jerusalem itself.
10 Tell it not in Gath [b] ;
weep not
at all. [c]
In Beth
Ophrah [d]
roll in
the dust.
11 Pass on in nakedness and shame,
you who
live in Shaphir. [e]
Those who
live in Zaanan [f]
will not
come out.
Beth Ezel
is in mourning;
its
protection is taken from you.
12 Those who live in Maroth [g] writhe in pain,
waiting
for relief,
because
disaster has come from the LORD,
even to
the gate of Jerusalem.
13 You who live in Lachish, [h]
harness
the team to the chariot.
You were
the beginning of sin
to the
Daughter of Zion,
for the
transgressions of Israel
were found
in you.
14 Therefore you will give parting gifts
to
Moresheth Gath.
The town
of Aczib [i] will prove deceptive
to the
kings of Israel.
15 I will bring a conqueror against you
who live
in Mareshah. [j]
He who is
the glory of Israel
will come
to Adullam.
16 Shave your heads in mourning
for the
children in whom you delight;
make
yourselves as bald as the vulture,
for they
will go from you into exile.
Micah 2
Man's Plans and God's
1 Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those
who plot evil on their beds!
At
morning's light they carry it out
because it
is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and
houses, and take them.
They
defraud a man of his home,
a
fellowman of his inheritance.
3 Therefore, the LORD says:
"I am
planning disaster against this people,
from which
you cannot save yourselves.
You will
no longer walk proudly,
for it
will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day men will ridicule you;
they will
taunt you with this mournful song:
'We are
utterly ruined;
my
people's possession is divided up.
He takes
it from me!
He assigns
our fields to traitors.' "
5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide
the land by lot.
False Prophets
6 "Do not prophesy," their prophets say.
"Do not
prophesy about these things;
disgrace
will not overtake us."
7 Should it be said, O house of Jacob:
"Is the
Spirit of the LORD angry?
Does he do
such things?"
"Do not my
words do good
to him
whose ways are upright?
8 Lately my people have risen up
like an
enemy.
You strip
off the rich robe
from those
who pass by without a care,
like men
returning from battle.
9 You drive the women of my people
from their
pleasant homes.
You take
away my blessing
from their
children forever.
10 Get up, go away!
For this
is not your resting place,
because it
is defiled,
it is
ruined, beyond all remedy.
11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
'I will
prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,'
he would
be just the prophet for this people!
Deliverance Promised
12 "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;
I will
surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will
bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a
flock in its pasture;
the place
will throng with people.
13 One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will
break through the gate and go out.
Their king
will pass through before them,
the LORD
at their head."
Day
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Isaiah 1
1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son
of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the
LORD has spoken:
"I reared
children and brought them up,
but they
have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his master,
the donkey
his owner's manger,
but Israel
does not know,
my people
do not understand."
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people
loaded with guilt,
a brood of
evildoers,
children
given to corruption!
They have
forsaken the LORD;
they have
spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned
their backs on him.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you
persist in rebellion?
Your whole
head is injured,
your whole
heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is
no soundness—
only
wounds and welts
and open
sores,
not
cleansed or bandaged
or soothed
with oil.
7 Your country is desolate,
your
cities burned with fire;
your
fields are being stripped by foreigners
right
before you,
laid waste
as when overthrown by strangers.
8 The Daughter of Zion is left
like a
shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut
in a field of melons,
like a
city under siege.
9 Unless the LORD Almighty
had left
us some survivors,
we would
have become like Sodom,
we would
have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers
of Sodom;
listen to
the law of our God,
you people
of Gomorrah!
11 "The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are
they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have
more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams
and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no
pleasure
in the
blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has
asked this of you,
this
trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your
incense is detestable to me.
New Moons,
Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot
bear your evil assemblies.
14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul
hates.
They have
become a burden to me;
I am weary
of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will
hide my eyes from you;
even if
you offer many prayers,
I will not
listen.
Your hands
are full of blood;
16 wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your
evil deeds
out of my
sight!
Stop doing
wrong,
17 learn to do right!
Seek
justice,
encourage
the oppressed. [a]
Defend the
cause of the fatherless,
plead the
case of the widow.
18 "Come now, let us reason together,"
says the
LORD.
"Though
your sins are like scarlet,
they shall
be as white as snow;
though
they are red as crimson,
they shall
be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will
eat the best from the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will
be devoured by the sword."
For the
mouth of the LORD has spoken.
21 See how the faithful city
has become
a harlot!
She once
was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now
murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,
your
choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
companions
of thieves;
they all
love bribes
and chase
after gifts.
They do
not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the
widow's case does not come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty
One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I
will get relief from my foes
and avenge
myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will
thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove
all your impurities.
26 I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your
counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward
you will be called
the City
of Righteousness,
the
Faithful City."
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice,
her
penitent ones with righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those
who forsake the LORD will perish.
29 "You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which
you have delighted;
you will
be disgraced because of the gardens
that you
have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a
garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his
work a spark;
both will
burn together,
with no
one to quench the fire."
Isaiah 2
The Mountain of the Lord
1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem:
2 In the last days
the
mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief
among the mountains;
it will be
raised above the hills,
and all
nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let
us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the
house of the God of Jacob.
He will
teach us his ways,
so that we
may walk in his paths."
The law
will go out from Zion,
the word
of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will
settle disputes for many peoples.
They will
beat their swords into plowshares
and their
spears into pruning hooks.
Nation
will not take up sword against nation,
nor will
they train for war anymore.
5 Come, O house of Jacob,
let us
walk in the light of the LORD.
The Day of the Lord
6 You have abandoned your people,
the house
of Jacob.
They are
full of superstitions from the East;
they
practice divination like the Philistines
and clasp
hands with pagans.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;
there is
no end to their treasures.
Their land
is full of horses;
there is
no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow
down to the work of their hands,
to what
their fingers have made.
9 So man will be brought low
and
mankind humbled—
do not
forgive them. [b]
10 Go into the rocks,
hide in
the ground
from dread
of the LORD
and the
splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled
and the
pride of men brought low;
the LORD
alone will be exalted in that day.
12 The LORD Almighty has a day in store
for all
the proud and lofty,
for all
that is exalted
(and they
will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all
the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all
the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every
fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship [c]
and every
stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and the
pride of men humbled;
the LORD
alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and to
holes in the ground
from dread
of the LORD
and the
splendor of his majesty,
when he
rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day men will throw away
to the
rodents and bats
their
idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they
made to worship.
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the
overhanging crags
from dread
of the LORD
and the
splendor of his majesty,
when he
rises to shake the earth.
22 Stop trusting in man,
who has
but a breath in his nostrils.
Of what
account is he?
Isaiah 6
Isaiah's Commission
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on
a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the
temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings
they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with
two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy,
holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole
earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds
shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of
unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes
have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his
hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he
touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt
is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I
send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am
I. Send me!"
9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever
hearing, but never understanding;
be ever
seeing, but never perceiving.'
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their
ears dull
and close
their eyes. [a]
Otherwise
they might see with their eyes,
hear with
their ears,
understand
with their hearts,
and turn
and be healed."
11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
And he answered:
"Until the
cities lie ruined
and
without inhabitant,
until the
houses are left deserted
and the
fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the
land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will
again be laid waste.
But as the
terebinth and oak
leave
stumps when they are cut down,
so the
holy seed will be the stump in the land."
Hosea 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during
the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and
during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash [a] king of Israel:
Hosea's Wife and Children
2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said
to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of
unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in
departing from the LORD." 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim,
and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the LORD said to Hosea, "Call him Jezreel, because I
will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I
will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break
Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel."
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then
the LORD said to Hosea, "Call her Lo-Ruhamah, [b] for I will no longer
show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7
Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save
them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen,
but by the LORD their God."
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9
Then the LORD said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, [c] for you are not my people,
and I am not your God.
10 "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore,
which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to
them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living
God.' 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited,
and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for
great will be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea 2
1 "Say of your brothers, 'My people,' and of your sisters,
'My loved one.'
Israel Punished and Restored
2 "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is
not my wife,
and I am
not her husband.
Let her
remove the adulterous look from her face
and the
unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make
her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will
make her like a desert,
turn her
into a parched land,
and slay
her with thirst.
4 I will not show my love to her children,
because
they are the children of adultery.
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has
conceived them in disgrace.
She said,
'I will go after my lovers,
who give
me my food and my water,
my wool
and my linen, my oil and my drink.'
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will
wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will
look for them but not find them.
Then she
will say,
'I will go
back to my husband as at first,
for then I
was better off than now.'
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave
her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who
lavished on her the silver and gold—
which they
used for Baal.
9 "Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
and my new
wine when it is ready.
I will
take back my wool and my linen,
intended
to cover her nakedness.
10 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the
eyes of her lovers;
no one
will take her out of my hands.
11 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly
festivals, her New Moons,
her
Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.
12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she
said were her pay from her lovers;
I will
make them a thicket,
and wild
animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned
incense to the Baals;
she decked
herself with rings and jewelry,
and went
after her lovers,
but me she
forgot,"
declares
the LORD.
14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will
lead her into the desert
and speak
tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will
make the Valley of Achor [d] a door of hope.
There she
will sing [e] as in the days of her youth,
as in the
day she came up out of Egypt.
16 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will
call me 'my husband';
you will
no longer call me 'my master. [f] '
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer
will their names be invoked.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the
beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the
creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and
sword and battle
I will
abolish from the land,
so that
all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will
betroth you in [g] righteousness and justice,
in [h]
love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you
will acknowledge the LORD.
21 "In that day I will respond,"
declares
the LORD—
"I will
respond to the skies,
and they
will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new
wine and oil,
and they
will respond to Jezreel. [i]
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will
show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. [j] '
I will say
to those called 'Not my people, [k] ' 'You are my people';
and they
will say, 'You are my God.' "
Hosea 3
Hosea's Reconciliation With His Wife
1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife
again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as
the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love
the sacred raisin cakes."
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels [l] of silver and about
a homer and a lethek [m] of barley. 3 Then I told her, "You are to live
with [n] me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with
any man, and I will live with [o] you."
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or
prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5
Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and
David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his
blessings in the last days.
Hosea 4
The Charge Against Israel
1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
because
the LORD has a charge to bring
against
you who live in the land:
"There is
no faithfulness, no love,
no
acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, [p] lying and murder,
stealing
and adultery;
they break
all bounds,
and
bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land mourns, [q]
and all
who live in it waste away;
the beasts
of the field and the birds of the air
and the
fish of the sea are dying.
4 "But let no man bring a charge,
let no man
accuse another,
for your
people are like those
who bring
charges against a priest.
5 You stumble day and night,
and the
prophets stumble with you.
So I will
destroy your mother-
6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
"Because
you have rejected knowledge,
I also
reject you as my priests;
because
you have ignored the law of your God,
I also
will ignore your children.
7 The more the priests increased,
the more
they sinned against me;
they
exchanged [r] their [s] Glory for something disgraceful.
8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish
their wickedness.
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.
I will
punish both of them for their ways
and repay
them for their deeds.
10 "They will eat but not have enough;
they will
engage in prostitution but not increase,
because
they have deserted the LORD
to give
themselves 11 to prostitution,
to old
wine and new,
which take
away the understanding 12 of my people.
They
consult a wooden idol
and are
answered by a stick of wood.
A spirit
of prostitution leads them astray;
they are
unfaithful to their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
and burn
offerings on the hills,
under oak,
poplar and terebinth,
where the
shade is pleasant.
Therefore
your daughters turn to prostitution
and your
daughters-in-law to adultery.
14 "I will not punish your daughters
when they
turn to prostitution,
nor your
daughters-in-law
when they
commit adultery,
because
the men themselves consort with harlots
and
sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—
a people
without understanding will come to ruin!
15 "Though you commit adultery, O Israel,
let not
Judah become guilty.
"Do not go
to Gilgal;
do not go
up to Beth Aven. [t]
And do not
swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives!'
16 The Israelites are stubborn,
like a
stubborn heifer.
How then
can the LORD pasture them
like lambs
in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him
alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they
continue their prostitution;
their
rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
and their
sacrifices will bring them shame.
Day
27
Go
Back
2 Kings 17
Hoshea Last King of Israel
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of
Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He
did evil in the eyes of the LORD, but not like the kings of Israel who
preceded him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who
had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king
of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys
to So [a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of
Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him
and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land,
marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the
ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported
the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the
Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
Israel Exiled Because of Sin
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned
against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from
under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8
and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out
before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had
introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their
God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built
themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones
and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11
At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD
had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that
provoked the LORD to anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the LORD
had said, "You shall not do this." [b] 13 The LORD warned Israel and
Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways.
Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that
I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my
servants the prophets."
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as
their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God. 15 They
rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers
and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and
themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them
although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they
did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.
16 They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and
made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an
Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they
worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in [c] the
fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do
evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
18 So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them
from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah
did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They followed the
practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the LORD rejected all the
people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of
plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they
made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away
from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The
Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away
from them 23 until the LORD removed them from his presence, as he had
warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel
were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are
still there.
Samaria Resettled
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah,
Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to
replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.
25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the LORD; so he
sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. 26 It was
reported to the king of Assyria: "The people you deported and resettled
in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country
requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off,
because the people do not know what he requires."
27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: "Have one of the
priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach
the people what the god of the land requires." 28 So one of the priests
who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them
how to worship the LORD.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the
several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the
people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30 The men from Babylon
made Succoth Benoth, the men from Cuthah made Nergal, and the men from
Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the
Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to
Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They worshiped
the LORD, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to
officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33
They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in
accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been
brought.
34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They
neither worship the LORD nor adhere to the decrees and ordinances, the
laws and commands that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he
named Israel. 35 When the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, he
commanded them: "Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them,
serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the LORD, who brought you up
out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you
must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37
You must always be careful to keep the decrees and ordinances, the laws
and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not
forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other
gods. 39 Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver
you from the hand of all your enemies."
40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their
former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the LORD,
they were serving their idols. To this day their children and
grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.
2 Kings 18
Hezekiah King of Judah
1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel,
Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five
years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine
years. His mother's name was Abijah [d] daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did
what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had
done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut
down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had
made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to
it. (It was called [e] Nehushtan. [f] )
5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was
no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or
after him. 6 He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him;
he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. 7 And the LORD was with
him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against
the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to
fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its
territory.
9 In King Hezekiah's fourth year, which was the seventh year
of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria
marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. 10 At the end of three
years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah's
sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. 11 The
king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah,
in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes. 12 This happened
because they had not obeyed the LORD their God, but had violated his
covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded.
They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign,
Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah
and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to
the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. Withdraw from me,
and I will pay whatever you demand of me." The king of Assyria exacted
from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents [g] of silver and
thirty talents [h] of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that
was found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal
palace.
16 At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold
with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the
LORD, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief
officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King
Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the
aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field. 18
They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace
administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder
went out to them.
19 The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah:
" 'This is
what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing
this confidence of yours? 20 You say you have strategy and military
strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you
depending, that you rebel against me? 21 Look now, you are depending on
Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and
wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who
depend on him. 22 And if you say to me, "We are depending on the LORD
our God"-isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah
removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this
altar in Jerusalem"?
23 " 'Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of
Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put
riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my
master's officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots
and horsemen [i] ? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy
this place without word from the LORD ? The LORD himself told me to
march against this country and destroy it.' "
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to
the field commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since
we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the
people on the wall."
27 But the commander replied, "Was it only to your master and
you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men
sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own
filth and drink their own urine?"
28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear
the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the
king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from
my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when
he says, 'The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given
into the hand of the king of Assyria.'
31 "Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of
Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of
you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his
own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own, a
land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of
olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!
"Do not listen to
Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver
us.' 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand
of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?
Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued
Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has
been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver
Jerusalem from my hand?"
36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply,
because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him."
37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,
Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to
Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field
commander had said.
2 Kings 19
Jerusalem's Deliverance Foretold
1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put
on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. 2 He sent Eliakim
the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,
all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told
him, "This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and
rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and
there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the LORD your
God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master,
the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he
will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore
pray for the remnant that still survives."
5 When King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah
said to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not be
afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the
underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! I am
going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report,
he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down
with the sword.' "
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had
left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the
Cushite [j] king of Egypt , was marching out to fight against him. So
he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 "Say to
Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you
when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of
Assyria.' 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be
delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my
forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the
people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath,
the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or
Ivvah?"
Hezekiah's Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read
it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before
the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, God of Israel,
enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms
of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O LORD, and
hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib
has sent to insult the living God.
17 "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid
waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods
into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood
and stone, fashioned by men's hands. 19 Now, O LORD our God, deliver us
from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O
LORD, are God."
Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib's Fall
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "This
is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer
concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the
LORD has spoken against him:
" 'The
Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises
you and mocks you.
The
Daughter of Jerusalem
tosses her
head as you flee.
22 Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed?
Against
whom have you raised your voice
and lifted
your eyes in pride?
Against
the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers
you have
heaped insults on the Lord.
And you
have said,
"With my
many chariots
I have
ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost
heights of Lebanon.
I have cut
down its tallest cedars,
the
choicest of its pines.
I have
reached its remotest parts,
the finest
of its forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign lands
and drunk
the water there.
With the
soles of my feet
I have
dried up all the streams of Egypt."
25 " 'Have you not heard?
Long ago I
ordained it.
In days of
old I planned it;
now I have
brought it to pass,
that you
have turned fortified cities
into piles
of stone.
26 Their people, drained of power,
are
dismayed and put to shame.
They are
like plants in the field,
like
tender green shoots,
like grass
sprouting on the roof,
scorched
before it grows up.
27 " 'But I know where you stay
and when
you come and go
and how
you rage against me.
28 Because you rage against me
and your
insolence has reached my ears,
I will put
my hook in your nose
and my bit
in your mouth,
and I will
make you return
by the way
you came.'
29 "This will be the sign for you, O Hezekiah:
"This year
you will eat what grows by itself,
and the
second year what springs from that.
But in the
third year sow and reap,
plant
vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant of the house of Judah
will take
root below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of
Mount Zion a band of survivors.
The zeal of the LORD
Almighty will accomplish this.
32 "Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king
of Assyria:
"He will
not enter this city
or shoot
an arrow here.
He will
not come before it with shield
or build a
siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return;
he will
not enter this city,
declares
the LORD.
34 I will defend this city and save it,
for my
sake and for the sake of David my servant."
35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death
a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the
people got up the next morning—there were all the dead
bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He
returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god
Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword,
and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son
succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 20
Hezekiah's Illness
1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of
death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is
what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to
die; you will not recover."
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the
LORD, 3 "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and
with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes."
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the
LORD came to him: 5 "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my
people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I
have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the
third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. 6 I will
add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city
from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my
sake and for the sake of my servant David.' "
7 Then Isaiah said, "Prepare a poultice of figs." They did so
and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, "What will be the sign that the
LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the LORD on
the third day from now?"
9 Isaiah answered, "This is the LORD's sign to you that the
LORD will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten
steps, or shall it go back ten steps?"
10 "It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten
steps," said Hezekiah. "Rather, have it go back ten steps."
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the LORD, and the LORD
made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway
of Ahaz.
Envoys From Babylon
12 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of
Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of
Hezekiah's illness. 13 Hezekiah received the messengers and showed them
all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the
spices and the fine oil—his armory and everything found among
his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom
that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked,
"What did those men say, and where did they come from?"
"From a distant
land," Hezekiah replied. "They came from Babylon."
15 The prophet asked, "What did they see in your palace?"
"They saw everything
in my palace," Hezekiah said. "There is nothing among my treasures that
I did not show them."
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD :
17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all
that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to
Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 18 And some of your
descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will
be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king
of Babylon."
19 "The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah
replied. For he thought, "Will there not be peace and security in my
lifetime?"
20 As for the other events of Hezekiah's reign, all his
achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he
brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the
annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his fathers. And
Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
2 Chronicles 29
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple
1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and
he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah
daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD,
just as his father David had done.
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he
opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. 4 He
brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on
the east side 5 and said: "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves
now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers.
Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6 Our fathers were
unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook
him. They turned their faces away from the LORD's dwelling place and
turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico
and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt
offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the anger
of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an
object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own
eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our
sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10 Now I intend to
make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce
anger will turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for
the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister
before him and to burn incense."
12 Then these Levites set to work:
from the Kohathites,
Mahath son
of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites,
Kish son
of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the
Gershonites,
Joah son
of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
13 from the descendants of Elizaphan,
Shimri and
Jeiel;
from the descendants
of Asaph,
Zechariah
and Mattaniah;
14 from the descendants of Heman,
Jehiel and
Shimei;
from the descendants
of Jeduthun,
Shemaiah
and Uzziel.
15 When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated
themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king
had ordered, following the word of the LORD. 16 The priests went into
the sanctuary of the LORD to purify it. They brought out to the
courtyard of the LORD's temple everything unclean that they found in
the temple of the LORD. The Levites took it and carried it out to the
Kidron Valley. 17 They began the consecration on the first day of the
first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the
portico of the LORD. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of
the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: "We have
purified the entire temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering
with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated
bread, with all its articles. 19 We have prepared and consecrated all
the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was
king. They are now in front of the LORD's altar."
20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city
officials together and went up to the temple of the LORD. 21 They
brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats
as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The
king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on
the altar of the LORD. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the
priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; next they
slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; then they
slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar. 23 The
goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the
assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 24 The priests then
slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin
offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the
burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
25 He stationed the Levites in the temple of the LORD with
cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the
king's seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the LORD
through his prophets. 26 So the Levites stood ready with David's
instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.
27 Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on
the altar. As the offering began, singing to the LORD began also,
accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. 28
The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the
trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt
offering was completed.
29 When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone
present with him knelt down and worshiped. 30 King Hezekiah and his
officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of
David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and
bowed their heads and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, "You have now dedicated yourselves to
the LORD. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple
of the LORD." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings,
and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
32 The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was
seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs—all
of them for burnt offerings to the LORD. 33 The animals consecrated as
sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and
goats. 34 The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt
offerings; so their kinsmen the Levites helped them until the task was
finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites
had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests
had been. 35 There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the
fat of the fellowship offerings [a] and the drink offerings that
accompanied the burnt offerings.
So the service of
the temple of the LORD was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the
people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because
it was done so quickly.
2 Chronicles 30
Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover
1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote
letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of
the LORD in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God
of Israel. 2 The king and his officials and the whole assembly in
Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month. 3 They
had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not
enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not
assembled in Jerusalem. 4 The plan seemed right both to the king and to
the whole assembly. 5 They decided to send a proclamation throughout
Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, calling the people to come to Jerusalem
and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. It had not
been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.
6 At the king's command, couriers went throughout Israel and
Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:
"People of
Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that
he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of
the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who
were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he made
them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your
fathers were; submit to the LORD. Come to the sanctuary, which he has
consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger
will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the LORD, then your
brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors
and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and
compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."
10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and
Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and ridiculed them.
11 Nevertheless, some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled
themselves and went to Jerusalem. 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was
on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and
his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.
13 A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to
celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They
removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and
threw them into the Kidron Valley.
15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day
of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and
consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the
LORD. 16 Then they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the
Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood handed to
them by the Levites. 17 Since many in the crowd had not consecrated
themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those
who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to
the LORD. 18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim,
Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they
ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for
them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets
his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his
fathers—even if he is not clean according to the rules of the
sanctuary." 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated
the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing,
while the Levites and priests sang to the LORD every day, accompanied
by the LORD's instruments of praise. [b]
22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who
showed good understanding of the service of the LORD. For the seven
days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings
[c] and praised the LORD, the God of their fathers.
23 The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival
seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. 24
Hezekiah king of Judah provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand
sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with
a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of
priests consecrated themselves. 25 The entire assembly of Judah
rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled
from Israel, including the aliens who had come from Israel and those
who lived in Judah. 26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the
days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like
this in Jerusalem. 27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless the
people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy
dwelling place.
2 Chronicles 31
1 When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went
out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the
Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout
Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had
destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and
to their own property.
Contributions for Worship
2 Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to
divisions—each of them according to their duties as priests
or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings,
[d] to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the
LORD's dwelling. 3 The king contributed from his own possessions for
the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on
the Sabbaths, New Moons and appointed feasts as written in the Law of
the LORD. 4 He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the
portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to
the Law of the LORD. 5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites
generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey
and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe
of everything. 6 The men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of
Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the
holy things dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them in
heaps. 7 They began doing this in the third month and finished in the
seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the
heaps, they praised the LORD and blessed his people Israel.
9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; 10
and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered,
"Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of
the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the
LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over."
11 Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple
of the LORD, and this was done. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the
contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Conaniah, a Levite, was in
charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank. 13
Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah,
Mahath and Benaiah were supervisors under Conaniah and Shimei his
brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in
charge of the temple of God.
14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was
in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the
contributions made to the LORD and also the consecrated gifts. 15 Eden,
Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah assisted him
faithfully in the towns of the priests, distributing to their fellow
priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.
16 In addition, they distributed to the males three years old
or more whose names were in the genealogical records—all who
would enter the temple of the LORD to perform the daily duties of their
various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.
17 And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in
the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old
or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 18
They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and
daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records.
For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.
19 As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on
the farm lands around their towns or in any other towns, men were
designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and
to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites.
20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was
good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. 21 In everything
that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to
the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.
And so he prospered.
2 Chronicles 32
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib
king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified
cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that
Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, 3
he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off
the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 A
large force of men assembled, and they blocked all the springs and the
stream that flowed through the land. "Why should the kings [e] of
Assyria come and find plenty of water?" they said. 5 Then he worked
hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers
on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the
supporting terraces [f] of the City of David. He also made large
numbers of weapons and shields.
6 He appointed military officers over the people and
assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged
them with these words: 7 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or
discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him,
for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only
the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to
fight our battles." And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah
the king of Judah said.
9 Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces
were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with
this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah
who were there:
10 "This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what
are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under
siege? 11 When Hezekiah says, 'The LORD our God will save us from the
hand of the king of Assyria,' he is misleading you, to let you die of
hunger and thirst. 12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god's high
places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship
before one altar and burn sacrifices on it'?
13 "Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all
the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever
able to deliver their land from my hand? 14 Who of all the gods of
these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save his
people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now
do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not
believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to
deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much
less will your god deliver you from my hand!"
16 Sennacherib's officers spoke further against the LORD God
and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king also wrote letters
insulting the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying this against him:
"Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue
their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his
people from my hand." 18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people
of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid
in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem
as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the
world—the work of men's hands.
20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out
in prayer to heaven about this. 21 And the LORD sent an angel, who
annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the
camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace.
And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him
down with the sword.
22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem
from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all
others. He took care of them [g] on every side. 23 Many brought
offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah
king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.
Hezekiah's Pride, Success and Death
24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of
death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a
miraculous sign. 25 But Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not
respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD's wrath was on
him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented of the pride
of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the LORD's
wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.
27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made
treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices,
shields and all kinds of valuables. 28 He also made buildings to store
the harvest of grain, new wine and oil; and he made stalls for various
kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29 He built villages and
acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very
great riches.
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon
spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of
David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31 But when envoys were
sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that
had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know
everything that was in his heart.
32 The other events of Hezekiah's reign and his acts of
devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in
the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah rested with his
fathers and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David's
descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when
he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
Day
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Isaiah 40
Comfort for God's People
1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your
God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and
proclaim to her
that her
hard service has been completed,
that her
sin has been paid for,
that she
has received from the LORD's hand
double for
all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
"In the
desert prepare
the way
for the LORD [a] ;
make
straight in the wilderness
a highway
for our God. [b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every
mountain and hill made low;
the rough
ground shall become level,
the rugged
places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all
mankind together will see it.
For the
mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry out."
And I
said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men
are like grass,
and all
their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because
the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the
people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the
word of our God stands forever."
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a
high mountain.
You who
bring good tidings to Jerusalem, [c]
lift up
your voice with a shout,
lift it
up, do not be afraid;
say to the
towns of Judah,
"Here is
your God!"
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his
arm rules for him.
See, his
reward is with him,
and his
recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers
the lambs in his arms
and
carries them close to his heart;
he gently
leads those that have young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with
the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has
held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed
the mountains on the scales
and the
hills in a balance?
13 Who has understood the mind [d] of the LORD,
or
instructed him as his counselor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who
taught him the right way?
Who was it
that taught him knowledge
or showed
him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are
regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs
the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its
animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are
regarded by him as worthless
and less
than nothing.
18 To whom, then, will you compare God?
What image
will you compare him to?
19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it,
and a
goldsmith overlays it with gold
and
fashions silver chains for it.
20 A man too poor to present such an offering
selects
wood that will not rot.
He looks
for a skilled craftsman
to set up
an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
Have you
not heard?
Has it not
been told you from the beginning?
Have you
not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its
people are like grasshoppers.
He
stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and
spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and
reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner
are they sown,
no sooner
do they take root in the ground,
than he
blows on them and they wither,
and a
whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
25 "To whom will you compare me?
Or who is
my equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who
created all these?
He who
brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls
them each by name.
Because of
his great power and mighty strength,
not one of
them is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and
complain, O Israel,
"My way is
hidden from the LORD;
my cause
is disregarded by my God"?
28 Do you not know?
Have you
not heard?
The LORD
is the everlasting God,
the
Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will
not grow tired or weary,
and his
understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and
increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young
men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew
their strength.
They will
soar on wings like eagles;
they will
run and not grow weary,
they will
walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 52
1 Awake, awake, O Zion,
clothe
yourself with strength.
Put on
your garments of splendor,
O
Jerusalem, the holy city.
The
uncircumcised and defiled
will not
enter you again.
2 Shake off your dust;
rise up,
sit enthroned, O Jerusalem.
Free
yourself from the chains on your neck,
O captive
Daughter of Zion.
3 For this is what the LORD says:
"You were
sold for nothing,
and
without money you will be redeemed."
4 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"At first
my people went down to Egypt to live;
lately,
Assyria has oppressed them.
5 "And now what do I have here?" declares the LORD.
"For my
people have been taken away for nothing,
and those
who rule them mock, [a] "
declares
the LORD.
"And all
day long
my name is
constantly blasphemed.
6 Therefore my people will know my name;
therefore
in that day they will know
that it is
I who foretold it.
Yes, it is
I."
7 How beautiful on the mountains
are the
feet of those who bring good news,
who
proclaim peace,
who bring
good tidings,
who
proclaim salvation,
who say to
Zion,
"Your God
reigns!"
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together
they shout for joy.
When the
LORD returns to Zion,
they will
see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins
of Jerusalem,
for the
LORD has comforted his people,
he has
redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD will lay bare his holy arm
in the
sight of all the nations,
and all
the ends of the earth will see
the
salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no
unclean thing!
Come out
from it and be pure,
you who
carry the vessels of the LORD.
12 But you will not leave in haste
or go in
flight;
for the
LORD will go before you,
the God of
Israel will be your rear guard.
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
13 See, my servant will act wisely [b] ;
he will be
raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him
[c]—
his
appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his
form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so will he sprinkle many nations, [d]
and kings
will shut their mouths because of him.
For what
they were not told, they will see,
and what
they have not heard, they will understand.
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to
whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a
root out of dry ground.
He had no
beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in
his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of
sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one
from whom men hide their faces
he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and
carried our sorrows,
yet we
considered him stricken by God,
smitten by
him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was
crushed for our iniquities;
the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his
wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us
has turned to his own way;
and the
LORD has laid on him
the
iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did
not open his mouth;
he was led
like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a
sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did
not open his mouth.
8 By oppression [e] and judgment he was taken away.
And who
can speak of his descendants?
For he was
cut off from the land of the living;
for the
transgression of my people he was stricken. [f]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with
the rich in his death,
though he
had done no violence,
nor was
any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to
suffer,
and though
the LORD makes [g] his life a guilt offering,
he will
see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the
will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will
see the light of life [h] and be satisfied [i] ;
by his
knowledge [j] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he
will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [k]
and he
will divide the spoils with the strong, [l]
because he
poured out his life unto death,
and was
numbered with the transgressors.
For he
bore the sin of many,
and made
intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 54
The Future Glory of Zion
1 "Sing, O barren woman,
you who
never bore a child;
burst into
song, shout for joy,
you who
were never in labor;
because
more are the children of the desolate woman
than of
her who has a husband,"
says the
LORD.
2 "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch
your tent curtains wide,
do not
hold back;
lengthen
your cords,
strengthen
your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your
descendants will dispossess nations
and settle
in their desolate cities.
4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not
fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will
forget the shame of your youth
and
remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD
Almighty is his name—
the Holy
One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is
called the God of all the earth.
6 The LORD will call you back
as if you
were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who
married young,
only to be
rejected," says your God.
7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with
deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid my
face from you for a moment,
but with
everlasting kindness
I will
have compassion on you,"
says the
LORD your Redeemer.
9 "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I
swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I
have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to
rebuke you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the
hills be removed,
yet my
unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my
covenant of peace be removed,"
says the
LORD, who has compassion on you.
11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will
build you with stones of turquoise, [m]
your
foundations with sapphires. [n]
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates
of sparkling jewels,
and all
your walls of precious stones.
13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great
will be your children's peace.
14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny
will be far from you;
you will
have nothing to fear.
Terror
will be far removed;
it will
not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever
attacks you will surrender to you.
16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans
the coals into flame
and forges
a weapon fit for its work.
And it is
I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you
will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is
the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this
is their vindication from me,"
declares
the LORD.
Isaiah 55
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to
the waters;
and you
who have no money,
come, buy
and eat!
Come, buy
wine and milk
without
money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your
labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen,
listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your
soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me,
that your soul may live.
I will
make an everlasting covenant with you,
my
faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader
and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and
nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of
the LORD your God,
the Holy
One of Israel,
for he has
endowed you with splendor."
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on
him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the
evil man his thoughts.
Let him
turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our
God, for he will freely pardon.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither
are your ways my ways,"
declares
the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my
ways higher than your ways
and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down
from heaven,
and do not
return to it
without
watering the earth
and making
it bud and flourish,
so that it
yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will
not return to me empty,
but will
accomplish what I desire
and
achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led
forth in peace;
the
mountains and hills
will burst
into song before you,
and all
the trees of the field
will clap
their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and
instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will
be for the LORD's renown,
for an
everlasting sign,
which will
not be destroyed."
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2 Kings 21
Manasseh King of Judah
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable
practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also
erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel
had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4
He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said,
"In Jerusalem I will put my Name." 5 In both courts of the temple of
the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his
own son in [a] the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and
consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the
LORD, provoking him to anger.
7 He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in
the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon,
"In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the
tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make
the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their
forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded
them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them." 9
But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they
did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the
Israelites.
10 The LORD said through his servants the prophets: 11
"Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has
done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah
into sin with his idols. 12 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah
that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 I will
stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and
the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out
Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14
I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to
their enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their foes, 15
because they have done evil in my eyes and have provoked me to anger
from the day their forefathers came out of Egypt until this day."
16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that
he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he
had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the
LORD.
17 As for the other events of Manasseh's reign, and all he
did, including the sin he committed, are they not written in the book
of the annals of the kings of Judah? 18 Manasseh rested with his
fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And
Amon his son succeeded him as king.
Amon King of Judah
19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother's name was Meshullemeth
daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did evil in the eyes of
the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He walked in all the ways
of his father; he worshiped the idols his father had worshiped, and
bowed down to them. 22 He forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and
did not walk in the way of the LORD.
23 Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated
the king in his palace. 24 Then the people of the land killed all who
had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his
place.
25 As for the other events of Amon's reign, and what he did,
are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
26 He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son
succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 22
The Book of the Law Found
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah
daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in
the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David,
not turning aside to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the
secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple
of the LORD. He said: 4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him
get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD,
which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them
entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple.
And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD -
6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase
timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not
account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting
faithfully."
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I
have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it
to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king
and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the money that was
in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and
supervisors at the temple." 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the
king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from
it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he
tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam
son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah
the king's attendant: 13 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the
people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has
been found. Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because our
fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in
accordance with all that is written there concerning us."
14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went
to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of
Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in
Jerusalem, in the Second District.
15 She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 'This is what the
LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people,
according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.
17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and
provoked me to anger by all the idols their hands have made, [b] my
anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.' 18 Tell
the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, 'This is what
the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19
Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the
LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its
people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you
tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the
LORD. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be
buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to
bring on this place.' "
So they took her
answer back to the king.
2 Kings 23
Josiah Renews the Covenant
1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and
Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of
Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the
prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He
read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which
had been found in the temple of the LORD. 3 The king stood by the
pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD -to follow
the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his
heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant
written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the
covenant.
4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next
in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all
the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He
burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and
took the ashes to Bethel. 5 He did away with the pagan priests
appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of
the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who
burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and
to all the starry hosts. 6 He took the Asherah pole from the temple of
the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He
ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the
common people. 7 He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine
prostitutes, which were in the temple of the LORD and where women did
weaving for Asherah.
8 Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and
desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests
had burned incense. He broke down the shrines [c] at the
gates—at the entrance to the Gate of Joshua, the city
governor, which is on the left of the city gate. 9 Although the priests
of the high places did not serve at the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem,
they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.
10 He desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben
Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice his son or daughter in [d]
the fire to Molech. 11 He removed from the entrance to the temple of
the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun.
They were in the court near the room of an official named
Nathan-Melech. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.
12 He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected
on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had
built in the two courts of the temple of the LORD. He removed them from
there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron
Valley. 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of
Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones
Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the
Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molech [e] the
detestable god of the people of Ammon. 14 Josiah smashed the sacred
stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human
bones.
15 Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam
son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar
and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to
powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. 16 Then Josiah looked around,
and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the
bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in
accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who
foretold these things.
17 The king asked, "What is that tombstone I see?"
The men of the city
said, "It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and
pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to
it."
18 "Leave it alone," he said. "Don't let anyone disturb his
bones." So they spared his bones and those of the prophet who had come
from Samaria.
19 Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed and defiled
all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built
in the towns of Samaria that had provoked the LORD to anger. 20 Josiah
slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and
burned human bones on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
21 The king gave this order to all the people: "Celebrate the
Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the
Covenant." 22 Not since the days of the judges who led Israel, nor
throughout the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, had
any such Passover been observed. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King
Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem.
24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists,
the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen
in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the
law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the
temple of the LORD. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king
like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart
and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all
the Law of Moses.
26 Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the heat of
his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that
Manasseh had done to provoke him to anger. 27 So the LORD said, "I will
remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will
reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I
said, 'There shall my Name be.' [f] "
28 As for the other events of Josiah's reign, and all he did,
are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up
to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched
out to meet him in battle, but Neco faced him and killed him at
Megiddo. 30 Josiah's servants brought his body in a chariot from
Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of
the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king
in place of his father.
Jehoahaz King of Judah
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king,
and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Hamutal
daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did evil in the eyes
of the LORD, just as his fathers had done. 33 Pharaoh Neco put him in
chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath [g] so that he might not reign
in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents [h]
of silver and a talent [i] of gold. 34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of
Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to
Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there
he died. 35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he
demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver
and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king,
and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Zebidah
daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 And he did evil in the eyes
of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
2 Chronicles 33
Manasseh King of Judah
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the
LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had
driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his
father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and
made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped
them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD
had said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." 5 In both courts
of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6
He sacrificed his sons in [a] the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,
practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and
spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to
anger.
7 He took the carved image he had made and put it in God's
temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this
temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of
Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of
the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only
they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all
the laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses." 9 But Manasseh
led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more
evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid
no attention. 11 So the LORD brought against them the army commanders
of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his
nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his
distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself
greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him,
the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he
brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew
that the LORD is God.
14 Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David,
west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the
Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much
higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in
Judah.
15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from
the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the
temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16
Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship
offerings [b] and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the
LORD, the God of Israel. 17 The people, however, continued to sacrifice
at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
18 The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer
to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the
LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of
Israel. [c] 19 His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as
well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built
high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled
himself—all are written in the records of the seers. [d] 20
Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace. And Amon
his son succeeded him as king.
Amon King of Judah
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD,
as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices
to all the idols Manasseh had made. 23 But unlike his father Manasseh,
he did not humble himself before the LORD; Amon increased his guilt.
24 Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated
him in his palace. 25 Then the people of the land killed all who had
plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his
place.
2 Chronicles 34
Josiah's Reforms
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he
reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. 2 He did what was right in the
eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not
turning aside to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young,
he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he
began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles,
carved idols and cast images. 4 Under his direction the altars of the
Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were
above them, and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images.
These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had
sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of the priests on their
altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the towns of
Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins
around them, 7 he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and
crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars
throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, to purify the
land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the
ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the
temple of the LORD his God.
9 They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money
that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who
were the doorkeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim
and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and
Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 Then they entrusted it to
the men appointed to supervise the work on the LORD's temple. These men
paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. 11 They also
gave money to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone,
and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of
Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.
12 The men did the work faithfully. Over them to direct them
were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah
and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who
were skilled in playing musical instruments- 13 had charge of the
laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the
Levites were secretaries, scribes and doorkeepers.
The Book of the Law Found
14 While they were bringing out the money that had been taken
into the temple of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the
Law of the LORD that had been given through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to
Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple
of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan.
16 Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to
him: "Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to
them. 17 They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the
LORD and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers." 18 Then
Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given
me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his
robes. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon
son of Micah, [e] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's
attendant: 21 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in
Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been
found. Great is the LORD's anger that is poured out on us because our
fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in
accordance with all that is written in this book."
22 Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him [f] went to
speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of
Tokhath, [g] the son of Hasrah, [h] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived
in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
23 She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 'This is what the
LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its
people—all the curses written in the book that has been read
in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me
and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all that
their hands have made, [i] my anger will be poured out on this place
and will not be quenched.' 26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to
inquire of the LORD, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says
concerning the words you heard: 27 Because your heart was responsive
and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke
against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself
before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard
you, declares the LORD. 28 Now I will gather you to your fathers, and
you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I
am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.' "
So they took her
answer back to the king.
29 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and
Jerusalem. 30 He went up to the temple of the LORD with the men of
Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the
Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He
read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which
had been found in the temple of the LORD. 31 The king stood by his
pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD -to follow
the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his
heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written
in this book.
32 Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge
themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with
the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the
territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present
in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not
fail to follow the LORD, the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 35
Josiah Celebrates the Passover
1 Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem,
and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the
first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged
them in the service of the LORD's temple. 3 He said to the Levites, who
instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the LORD : "Put
the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel
built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the
LORD your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves by families
in your divisions, according to the directions written by David king of
Israel and by his son Solomon.
5 "Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each
subdivision of the families of your fellow countrymen, the lay people.
6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the
lambs for your fellow countrymen, doing what the LORD commanded through
Moses."
7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a
total of thirty thousand sheep and goats for the Passover offerings,
and also three thousand cattle—all from the king's own
possessions.
8 His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people
and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the
administrators of God's temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred
Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. 9 Also Conaniah along with
Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad,
the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings
and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.
10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their
places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered. 11
The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests sprinkled the
blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They
set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the
families of the people to offer to the LORD, as is written in the Book
of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They roasted the
Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy
offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the
people. 14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for
the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were
sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall.
So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic
priests.
15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the
places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer.
The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because
their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.
16 So at that time the entire service of the LORD was carried
out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt
offerings on the altar of the LORD, as King Josiah had ordered. 17 The
Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and
observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 The Passover
had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet
Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a
Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and
Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover
was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.
The Death of Josiah
20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order,
Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and
Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21 But Neco sent messengers
to him, saying, "What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of
Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with
which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who
is with me, or he will destroy you."
22 Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but
disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what
Neco had said at God's command but went to fight him on the plain of
Megiddo.
23 Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, "Take
me away; I am badly wounded." 24 So they took him out of his chariot,
put him in the other chariot he had and brought him to Jerusalem, where
he died. He was buried in the tombs of his fathers, and all Judah and
Jerusalem mourned for him.
25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all
the men and women singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These
became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.
26 The other events of Josiah's reign and his acts of
devotion, according to what is written in the Law of the LORD - 27 all
the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings
of Israel and Judah.
Day
30
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Back
Nahum 1
1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of
Nahum the Elkoshite.
The Lord 's Anger Against Nineveh
2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD
takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The LORD
takes vengeance on his foes
and
maintains his wrath against his enemies.
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power;
the LORD
will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is
in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds
are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes
all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and
Carmel wither
and the
blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
and the
hills melt away.
The earth
trembles at his presence,
the world
and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can
endure his fierce anger?
His wrath
is poured out like fire;
the rocks
are shattered before him.
7 The LORD is good,
a refuge
in times of trouble.
He cares
for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will
make an end of Nineveh ;
he will
pursue his foes into darkness.
9 Whatever they plot against the LORD
he [a]
will bring to an end;
trouble
will not come a second time.
10 They will be entangled among thorns
and drunk
from their wine;
they will
be consumed like dry stubble. [b]
11 From you, O Nineveh , has one come forth
who plots
evil against the LORD
and
counsels wickedness.
12 This is what the LORD says:
"Although
they have allies and are numerous,
they will
be cut off and pass away.
Although I
have afflicted you, O Judah ,
I will
afflict you no more.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck
and tear
your shackles away."
14 The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh :
"You will
have no descendants to bear your name.
I will
destroy the carved images and cast idols
that are
in the temple of your gods.
I will
prepare your grave,
for you
are vile."
15 Look, there on the mountains,
the feet
of one who brings good news,
who
proclaims peace!
Celebrate
your festivals, O Judah,
and
fulfill your vows.
No more
will the wicked invade you;
they will
be completely destroyed.
Zephaniah 3
The Future of Jerusalem
1 Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious
and defiled!
2 She obeys no one,
she
accepts no correction.
She does
not trust in the LORD,
she does
not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials are roaring lions,
her rulers
are evening wolves,
who leave
nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant;
they are
treacherous men.
Her
priests profane the sanctuary
and do
violence to the law.
5 The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no
wrong.
Morning by
morning he dispenses his justice,
and every
new day he does not fail,
yet the
unrighteous know no shame.
6 "I have cut off nations;
their
strongholds are demolished.
I have
left their streets deserted,
with no
one passing through.
Their
cities are destroyed;
no one
will be left—no one at all.
7 I said to the city,
'Surely
you will fear me
and accept
correction!'
Then her
dwelling would not be cut off,
nor all my
punishments come upon her.
But they
were still eager
to act
corruptly in all they did.
8 Therefore wait for me," declares the LORD,
"for the
day I will stand up to testify. [a]
I have
decided to assemble the nations,
to gather
the kingdoms
and to
pour out my wrath on them—
all my
fierce anger.
The whole
world will be consumed
by the
fire of my jealous anger.
9 "Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,
that all
of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve
him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush [b]
my
worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring
me offerings.
11 On that day you will not be put to shame
for all
the wrongs you have done to me,
because I
will remove from this city
those who
rejoice in their pride.
Never
again will you be haughty
on my holy
hill.
12 But I will leave within you
the meek
and humble,
who trust
in the name of the LORD.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will
speak no lies,
nor will
deceit be found in their mouths.
They will
eat and lie down
and no one
will make them afraid."
14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout
aloud, O Israel!
Be glad
and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter
of Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has
turned back your enemy.
The LORD,
the King of Israel, is with you;
never
again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not
fear, O Zion;
do not let
your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you,
he is
mighty to save.
He will
take great delight in you,
he will
quiet you with his love,
he will
rejoice over you with singing."
18 "The sorrows for the appointed feasts
I will
remove from you;
they are a
burden and a reproach to you. [c]
19 At that time I will deal
with all
who oppressed you;
I will
rescue the lame
and gather
those who have been scattered.
I will
give them praise and honor
in every
land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that
time I will bring you home.
I will
give you honor and praise
among all
the peoples of the earth
when I
restore your fortunes [d]
before
your very eyes,"
says the
LORD.
Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at
Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the LORD came to
him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of
Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of
Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of
Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,
before you
were born I set you apart;
I
appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak;
I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.'
You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,"
declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and
said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I
appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to
destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see,
Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of
an almond tree," I replied.
12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am
watching [b] to see that my word is fulfilled."
13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
"I see a boiling
pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.
14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be
poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the
peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
"Their
kings will come and set up their thrones
in the
entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will
come against all her surrounding walls
and
against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of
their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning
incense to other gods
and in
worshiping what their hands have made.
17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I
command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before
them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a
bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings
of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19
They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with
you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 2
Israel Forsakes God
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Go and proclaim in the
hearing of Jerusalem:
" 'I
remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a
bride you loved me
and
followed me through the desert,
through a
land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
the
firstfruits of his harvest;
all who
devoured her were held guilty,
and
disaster overtook them,' "
declares
the LORD.
4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
all you
clans of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the LORD says:
"What
fault did your fathers find in me,
that they
strayed so far from me?
They
followed worthless idols
and became
worthless themselves.
6 They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD,
who
brought us up out of Egypt
and led us
through the barren wilderness,
through a
land of deserts and rifts,
a land of
drought and darkness, [c]
a land
where no one travels and no one lives?'
7 I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its
fruit and rich produce.
But you
came and defiled my land
and made
my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests did not ask,
'Where is
the LORD ?'
Those who
deal with the law did not know me;
the
leaders rebelled against me.
The
prophets prophesied by Baal,
following
worthless idols.
9 "Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
declares
the LORD.
"And I
will bring charges against your children's children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Kittim [d] and look,
send to
Kedar [e] and observe closely;
see if
there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they
are not gods at all.)
But my
people have exchanged their [f] Glory
for
worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and
shudder with great horror,"
declares
the LORD.
13 "My people have committed two sins:
They have
forsaken me,
the spring
of living water,
and have
dug their own cisterns,
broken
cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
Why then
has he become plunder?
15 Lions have roared;
they have
growled at him.
They have
laid waste his land;
his towns
are burned and deserted.
16 Also, the men of Memphis [g] and Tahpanhes
have
shaved the crown of your head. [h]
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves
by
forsaking the LORD your God
when he
led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt
to drink
water from the Shihor [i] ?
And why go
to Assyria
to drink
water from the River [j] ?
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
your
backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider
then and realize
how evil
and bitter it is for you
when you
forsake the LORD your God
and have
no awe of me,"
declares
the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
20 "Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore
off your bonds;
you said,
'I will not serve you!'
Indeed, on
every high hill
and under
every spreading tree
you lay
down as a prostitute.
21 I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound
and reliable stock.
How then
did you turn against me
into a
corrupt, wild vine?
22 Although you wash yourself with soda
and use an
abundance of soap,
the stain
of your guilt is still before me,"
declares
the Sovereign LORD.
23 "How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
I have not
run after the Baals'?
See how
you behaved in the valley;
consider
what you have done.
You are a
swift she-camel
running
here and there,
24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing
the wind in her craving—
in her
heat who can restrain her?
Any males
that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating
time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
and your
throat is dry.
But you
said, 'It's no use!
I love
foreign gods,
and I must
go after them.'
26 "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
so the
house of Israel is disgraced—
they,
their kings and their officials,
their
priests and their prophets.
27 They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
and to
stone, 'You gave me birth.'
They have
turned their backs to me
and not
their faces;
yet when
they are in trouble, they say,
'Come and
save us!'
28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them
come if they can save you
when you
are in trouble!
For you
have as many gods
as you
have towns, O Judah.
29 "Why do you bring charges against me?
You have
all rebelled against me,"
declares
the LORD.
30 "In vain I punished your people;
they did
not respond to correction.
Your sword
has devoured your prophets
like a
ravening lion.
31 "You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD :
"Have I
been a desert to Israel
or a land
of great darkness?
Why do my
people say, 'We are free to roam;
we will
come to you no more'?
32 Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride
her wedding ornaments?
Yet my
people have forgotten me,
days
without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the
worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes men find
the
lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you
did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in
spite of all this
35 you say, 'I am innocent;
he is not
angry with me.'
But I will
pass judgment on you
because
you say, 'I have not sinned.'
36 Why do you go about so much,
changing
your ways?
You will
be disappointed by Egypt
as you
were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
with your
hands on your head,
for the
LORD has rejected those you trust;
you will
not be helped by them.
Jeremiah 3
1 "If a man divorces his wife
and she
leaves him and marries another man,
should he
return to her again?
Would not
the land be completely defiled?
But you
have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
would you
now return to me?"
declares
the LORD.
2 "Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there
any place where you have not been ravished?
By the
roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a
nomad [k] in the desert.
You have
defiled the land
with your
prostitution and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no
spring rains have fallen.
Yet you
have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse
to blush with shame.
4 Have you not just called to me:
'My
Father, my friend from my youth,
5 will you always be angry?
Will your
wrath continue forever?'
This is
how you talk,
but you do
all the evil you can."
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have
you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high
hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7
I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but
she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless
Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her
adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she
also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality
mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery
with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister
Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,"
declares the LORD.
11 The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous
than unfaithful Judah. 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
" 'Return,
faithless Israel,' declares the LORD,
'I will
frown on you no longer,
for I am
merciful,' declares the LORD,
'I will
not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt—
you have
rebelled against the LORD your God,
you have
scattered your favors to foreign gods
under
every spreading tree,
and have
not obeyed me,' "
declares
the LORD.
14 "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am
your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from
a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you
shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and
understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased
greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The
ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be
remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At
that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all
nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No
longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In
those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and
together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your
forefathers as an inheritance.
19 "I myself said,
" 'How
gladly would I treat you like sons
and give
you a desirable land,
the most
beautiful inheritance of any nation.'
I thought
you would call me 'Father'
and not
turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you
have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,"
declares
the LORD.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,
the
weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because
they have perverted their ways
and have
forgotten the LORD their God.
22 "Return, faithless people;
I will
cure you of backsliding."
"Yes, we
will come to you,
for you
are the LORD our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills
and
mountains is a deception;
surely in
the LORD our God
is the
salvation of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful gods have consumed
the fruits
of our fathers' labor—
their
flocks and herds,
their sons
and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let
our disgrace cover us.
We have
sinned against the LORD our God,
both we
and our fathers;
from our
youth till this day
we have
not obeyed the LORD our God."
Jeremiah 4
1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to
me,"
declares
the LORD.
"If you
put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no
longer go astray,
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear,
'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the
nations will be blessed by him
and in him
they will glory."
3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to
Jerusalem:
"Break up
your unplowed ground
and do not
sow among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise
your hearts,
you men of
Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my
wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of
the evil you have done—
burn with
no one to quench it.
Disaster From the North
5 "Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:
'Sound the
trumpet throughout the land!'
Cry aloud
and say:
'Gather
together!
Let us
flee to the fortified cities!'
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for
safety without delay!
For I am
bringing disaster from the north,
even
terrible destruction."
7 A lion has come out of his lair;
a
destroyer of nations has set out.
He has
left his place
to lay
waste your land.
Your towns
will lie in ruins
without
inhabitant.
8 So put on sackcloth,
lament and
wail,
for the
fierce anger of the LORD
has not
turned away from us.
9 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"the king
and the officials will lose heart,
the
priests will be horrified,
and the
prophets will be appalled."
10 Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have
deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,'
when the sword is at our throats."
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A
scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my
people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that
comes from me. [l] Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
13 Look! He advances like the clouds,
his
chariots come like a whirlwind,
his horses
are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us!
We are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
How long
will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
16 "Tell this to the nations,
proclaim
it to Jerusalem:
'A
besieging army is coming from a distant land,
raising a
war cry against the cities of Judah.
17 They surround her like men guarding a field,
because
she has rebelled against me,' "
declares
the LORD.
18 "Your own conduct and actions
have
brought this upon you.
This is
your punishment.
How bitter
it is!
How it
pierces to the heart!"
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
I writhe
in pain.
Oh, the
agony of my heart!
My heart
pounds within me,
I cannot
keep silent.
For I have
heard the sound of the trumpet;
I have
heard the battle cry.
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole
land lies in ruins.
In an
instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter
in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard
and hear
the sound of the trumpet?
22 "My people are fools;
they do
not know me.
They are
senseless children;
they have
no understanding.
They are
skilled in doing evil;
they know
not how to do good."
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was
formless and empty;
and at the
heavens,
and their
light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they
were quaking;
all the
hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird
in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its
towns lay in ruins
before the
LORD, before his fierce anger.
27 This is what the LORD says:
"The whole
land will be ruined,
though I
will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the
heavens above grow dark,
because I
have spoken and will not relent,
I have
decided and will not turn back."
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers
every town
takes to flight.
Some go
into the thickets;
some climb
up among the rocks.
All the
towns are deserted;
no one
lives in them.
30 What are you doing, O devastated one?
Why dress
yourself in scarlet
and put on
jewels of gold?
Why shade
your eyes with paint?
You adorn
yourself in vain.
Your
lovers despise you;
they seek
your life.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
a groan as
of one bearing her first child—
the cry of
the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
stretching
out her hands and saying,
"Alas! I
am fainting;
my life is
given over to murderers."
Jeremiah 5
Not One Is Upright
1 "Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
look
around and consider,
search
through her squares.
If you can
find but one person
who deals
honestly and seeks the truth,
I will
forgive this city.
2 Although they say, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
still they
are swearing falsely."
3 O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
You struck
them, but they felt no pain;
you
crushed them, but they refused correction.
They made
their faces harder than stone
and
refused to repent.
4 I thought, "These are only the poor;
they are
foolish,
for they
do not know the way of the LORD,
the
requirements of their God.
5 So I will go to the leaders
and speak
to them;
surely
they know the way of the LORD,
the
requirements of their God."
But with
one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn
off the bonds.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf
from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard
will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to
pieces any who venture out,
for their
rebellion is great
and their
backslidings many.
7 "Why should I forgive you?
Your
children have forsaken me
and sworn
by gods that are not gods.
I supplied
all their needs,
yet they
committed adultery
and
thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
each
neighing for another man's wife.
9 Should I not punish them for this?"
declares
the LORD.
"Should I
not avenge myself
on such a
nation as this?
10 "Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
but do not
destroy them completely.
Strip off
her branches,
for these
people do not belong to the LORD.
11 The house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been
utterly unfaithful to me,"
declares
the LORD.
12 They have lied about the LORD;
they said,
"He will do nothing!
No harm
will come to us;
we will
never see sword or famine.
13 The prophets are but wind
and the
word is not in them;
so let
what they say be done to them."
14 Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says:
"Because
the people have spoken these words,
I will
make my words in your mouth a fire
and these
people the wood it consumes.
15 O house of Israel," declares the LORD,
"I am
bringing a distant nation against you—
an ancient
and enduring nation,
a people
whose language you do not know,
whose
speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers are like an open grave;
all of
them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvests and food,
devour
your sons and daughters;
they will
devour your flocks and herds,
devour
your vines and fig trees.
With the
sword they will destroy
the
fortified cities in which you trust.
18 "Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not
destroy you completely. 19 And when the people ask, 'Why has the LORD
our God done all this to us?' you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken
me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve
foreigners in a land not your own.'
20 "Announce this to the house of Jacob
and
proclaim it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
who have
eyes but do not see,
who have
ears but do not hear:
22 Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD.
"Should
you not tremble in my presence?
I made the
sand a boundary for the sea,
an
everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves
may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may
roar, but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have
turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
'Let us
fear the LORD our God,
who gives
autumn and spring rains in season,
who
assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins
have deprived you of good.
26 "Among my people are wicked men
who lie in
wait like men who snare birds
and like
those who set traps to catch men.
27 Like cages full of birds,
their
houses are full of deceit;
they have
become rich and powerful
28 and have grown fat and sleek.
Their evil
deeds have no limit;
they do
not plead the case of the fatherless to win it,
they do
not defend the rights of the poor.
29 Should I not punish them for this?"
declares
the LORD.
"Should I
not avenge myself
on such a
nation as this?
30 "A horrible and shocking thing
has
happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the
priests rule by their own authority,
and my
people love it this way.
But what
will you do in the end?
Habakkuk 1
1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk's Complaint
2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do
not listen?
Or cry out
to you, "Violence!"
but you do
not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you
tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is
strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and
justice never prevails.
The wicked
hem in the righteous,
so that
justice is perverted.
The Lord 's Answer
5 "Look at the nations and watch—
and be
utterly amazed.
For I am
going to do something in your days
that you
would not believe,
even if
you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians, [a]
that
ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep
across the whole earth
to seize
dwelling places not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a
law to themselves
and
promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer
than wolves at dusk.
Their
cavalry gallops headlong;
their
horsemen come from afar.
They fly
like a vulture swooping to devour;
9 they all come bent on violence.
Their
hordes [b] advance like a desert wind
and gather
prisoners like sand.
10 They deride kings
and scoff
at rulers.
They laugh
at all fortified cities;
they build
earthen ramps and capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
guilty
men, whose own strength is their god."
Habakkuk's Second Complaint
12 O LORD, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my
Holy One, we will not die.
O LORD,
you have appointed them to execute judgment;
O Rock,
you have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot
tolerate wrong.
Why then
do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are
you silent while the wicked
swallow up
those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made men like fish in the sea,
like sea
creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
he catches
them in his net,
he gathers
them up in his dragnet;
and so he
rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns
incense to his dragnet,
for by his
net he lives in luxury
and enjoys
the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying
nations without mercy?
Day
31
Go
Back
Ezekiel 1
The Living Creatures and the Glory of the Lord
1 In the [a] thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth
day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were
opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year
of the exile of King Jehoiachin- 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel
the priest, the son of Buzi, [b] by the Kebar River in the land of the
Babylonians. [c] There the hand of the LORD was upon him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the
north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded
by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5
and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In
appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four
faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like
those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings
on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had
faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went
straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the
face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and
on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11
Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out upward; each had two
wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and
two wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever
the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13
The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire
or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was
bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14 The creatures sped back and
forth like flashes of lightning.
15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the
ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the
appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite,
and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel
intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the
four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about [d]
as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all
four rims were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them
moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels
also rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the
wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living
creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, they also
moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when
the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them,
because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was
what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome. 23 Under
the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and
each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I
heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like
the voice of the Almighty, [e] like the tumult of an army. When they
stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their
heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the expanse over their
heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, [f] and high above on
the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what
appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of
fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light
surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a
rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I
fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel 2
Ezekiel's Call
1 He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I
will speak to you." 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised
me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their
fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people
to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This
is what the Sovereign LORD says.' 5 And whether they listen or fail to
listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will
know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, do not
be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and
thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be
afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a
rebellious house. 7 You must speak my words to them, whether they
listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of
man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious
house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."
9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it
was a scroll, 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were
written words of lament and mourning and woe.
Ezekiel 3
1 And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat
this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened
my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am
giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted
as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of
Israel and speak my words to them. 5 You are not being sent to a people
of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel- 6
not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose
words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they
would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel is not willing to
listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the
whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. 8 But I will make you
as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead
like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or
terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."
10 And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take
to heart all the words I speak to you. 11 Go now to your countrymen in
exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD
says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud
rumbling sound—May the glory of the LORD be praised in his
dwelling place!- 13 the sound of the wings of the living creatures
brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a
loud rumbling sound. 14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away,
and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong
hand of the LORD upon me. 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib
near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among
them for seven days-overwhelmed.
Warning to Israel
16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me:
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so
hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a
wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out
to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that
wicked man will die for [g] his sin, and I will hold you accountable
for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not
turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his
sin; but you will have saved yourself.
20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness
and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die.
Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous
things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable
for his blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and
he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you
will have saved yourself."
22 The hand of the LORD was upon me there, and he said to me,
"Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you." 23 So
I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was
standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I
fell facedown.
24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He
spoke to me and said: "Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you,
son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you
cannot go out among the people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the
roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke
them, though they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak to you, I
will open your mouth and you shall say to them, 'This is what the
Sovereign LORD says.' Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever
will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 18
The Soul Who Sins Will Die
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "What do you people mean
by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:
" 'The
fathers eat sour grapes,
and the
children's teeth are set on edge'?
3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will
no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For every living soul belongs
to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me.
The soul who sins is the one who will die.
5 "Suppose there is a righteous man
who does
what is just and right.
6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines
or look to
the idols of the house of Israel.
He does
not defile his neighbor's wife
or lie
with a woman during her period.
7 He does not oppress anyone,
but
returns what he took in pledge for a loan.
He does
not commit robbery
but gives
his food to the hungry
and
provides clothing for the naked.
8 He does not lend at usury
or take
excessive interest. [a]
He
withholds his hand from doing wrong
and judges
fairly between man and man.
9 He follows my decrees
and
faithfully keeps my laws.
That man
is righteous;
he will
surely live,
declares
the Sovereign LORD.
10 "Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any
of these other things [b] 11 (though the father has done none of them):
"He eats
at the mountain shrines.
He defiles
his neighbor's wife.
12 He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits
robbery.
He does
not return what he took in pledge.
He looks
to the idols.
He does
detestable things.
13 He lends at usury and takes excessive interest.
Will such a man
live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he
will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.
14 "But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his
father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
15 "He does not eat at the mountain shrines
or look to
the idols of the house of Israel.
He does
not defile his neighbor's wife.
16 He does not oppress anyone
or require
a pledge for a loan.
He does
not commit robbery
but gives
his food to the hungry
and
provides clothing for the naked.
17 He withholds his hand from sin [c]
and takes
no usury or excessive interest.
He keeps
my laws and follows my decrees.
He will not die for
his father's sin; he will surely live. 18 But his father will die for
his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did
what was wrong among his people.
19 "Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his
father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been
careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20 The soul who
sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the
father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the
wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
21 "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has
committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he
will surely live; he will not die. 22 None of the offenses he has
committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous
things he has done, he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the
death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not
pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and
commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does,
will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be
remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because
of the sins he has committed, he will die.
25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O
house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
26 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he
will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. 27
But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and
does what is just and right, he will save his life. 28 Because he
considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them,
he will surely live; he will not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says,
'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of
Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one
according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away
from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid
yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart
and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no
pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent
and live!
Ezekiel 33
Ezekiel a Watchman
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, speak to
your countrymen and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a
land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him
their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and
blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the
trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his
life, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of
the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own
head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6 But if
the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to
warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them,
that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the
watchman accountable for his blood.'
7 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of
Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When
I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do
not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die
for [a] his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But
if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do
so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.
10 "Son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you
are saying: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting
away because of [b] them. How then can we live?" ' 11 Say to them, 'As
surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in
the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and
live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of
Israel?'
12 "Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, 'The
righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys,
and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he
turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to
live because of his former righteousness.' 13 If I tell the righteous
man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness
and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be
remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. 14 And if I say to
the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns away from his
sin and does what is just and right- 15 if he gives back what he took
in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees
that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die.
16 None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He
has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
17 "Yet your countrymen say, 'The way of the Lord is not
just.' But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous man
turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it. 19 And
if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just
and right, he will live by doing so. 20 Yet, O house of Israel, you
say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you
according to his own ways."
Jerusalem's Fall Explained
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on
the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and
said, "The city has fallen!" 22 Now the evening before the man arrived,
the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he opened my mouth before the man
came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer
silent.
23 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 24 "Son of man, the
people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham
was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely
the land has been given to us as our possession.' 25 Therefore say to
them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with
the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you
then possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable
things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then
possess the land?'
27 "Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the
sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be
devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. 28 I
will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come
to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no
one will cross them. 29 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I
have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable
things they have done.'
30 "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking
together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying
to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.'
31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to
listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With
their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for
unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings
love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for
they hear your words but do not put them into practice.
33 "When all this comes true—and it surely
will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
Lamentations 3
1 [a] I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod
of his wrath.
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in
darkness rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me
again and
again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
and has
broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with
bitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those
long dead.
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he has
weighed me down with chains.
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts
out my prayer.
9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
he has
made my paths crooked.
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a
lion in hiding,
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left
me without help.
12 He drew his bow
and made
me the target for his arrows.
13 He pierced my heart
with
arrows from his quiver.
14 I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock
me in song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and sated
me with gall.
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has
trampled me in the dust.
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have
forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, "My splendor is gone
and all
that I had hoped from the LORD."
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the
bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my
soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and
therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his
compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is
your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore
I will wait for him."
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one
who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the
salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he
is young.
28 Let him sit alone in silence,
for the
LORD has laid it on him.
29 Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may
yet be hope.
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let
him be filled with disgrace.
31 For men are not cast off
by the
Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great
is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief
to the children of men.
34 To crush underfoot
all
prisoners in the land,
35 to deny a man his rights
before the
Most High,
36 to deprive a man of justice—
would not
the Lord see such things?
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the
Lord has not decreed it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both
calamities and good things come?
39 Why should any living man complain
when
punished for his sins?
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us
return to the LORD.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in
heaven, and say:
42 "We have sinned and rebelled
and you
have not forgiven.
43 "You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;
you have
slain without pity.
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud
so that no
prayer can get through.
45 You have made us scum and refuse
among the
nations.
46 "All our enemies have opened their mouths
wide
against us.
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,
ruin and
destruction."
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes
because my
people are destroyed.
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,
without
relief,
50 until the LORD looks down
from
heaven and sees.
51 What I see brings grief to my soul
because of
all the women of my city.
52 Those who were my enemies without cause
hunted me
like a bird.
53 They tried to end my life in a pit
and threw
stones at me;
54 the waters closed over my head,
and I
thought I was about to be cut off.
55 I called on your name, O LORD,
from the
depths of the pit.
56 You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears
to my cry
for relief."
57 You came near when I called you,
and you
said, "Do not fear."
58 O Lord, you took up my case;
you
redeemed my life.
59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me.
Uphold my
cause!
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
all their
plots against me.
61 O LORD, you have heard their insults,
all their
plots against me-
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter
against me
all day long.
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,
they mock
me in their songs.
64 Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,
for what
their hands have done.
65 Put a veil over their hearts,
and may
your curse be on them!
66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them
from under
the heavens of the LORD.
Obadiah 1
1 The vision of Obadiah.
This is what the
Sovereign LORD says about Edom—
We have
heard a message from the LORD :
An envoy
was sent to the nations to say,
"Rise, and
let us go against her for battle"-
2 "See, I will make you small among the nations;
you will
be utterly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who
live in the clefts of the rocks [a]
and make
your home on the heights,
you who
say to yourself,
'Who can
bring me down to the ground?'
4 Though you soar like the eagle
and make
your nest among the stars,
from there
I will bring you down,"
declares
the LORD.
5 "If thieves came to you,
if robbers
in the night—
Oh, what a
disaster awaits you—
would they
not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape
pickers came to you,
would they
not leave a few grapes?
6 But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden
treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies will force you to the border;
your
friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who
eat your bread will set a trap for you, [b]
but you
will not detect it.
8 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"will I
not destroy the wise men of Edom,
men of
understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, O Teman, will be terrified,
and
everyone in Esau's mountains
will be
cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob,
you will
be covered with shame;
you will
be destroyed forever.
11 On the day you stood aloof
while
strangers carried off his wealth
and
foreigners entered his gates
and cast
lots for Jerusalem,
you were
like one of them.
12 You should not look down on your brother
in the day
of his misfortune,
nor
rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day
of their destruction,
nor boast
so much
in the day
of their trouble.
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day
of their disaster,
nor look
down on them in their calamity
in the day
of their disaster,
nor seize
their wealth
in the day
of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
to cut
down their fugitives,
nor hand
over their survivors
in the day
of their trouble.
15 "The day of the LORD is near
for all
nations.
As you
have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds
will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank on my holy hill,
so all the
nations will drink continually;
they will
drink and drink
and be as
if they had never been.
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be
holy,
and the
house of Jacob
will
possess its inheritance.
18 The house of Jacob will be a fire
and the
house of Joseph a flame;
the house
of Esau will be stubble,
and they
will set it on fire and consume it.
There will
be no survivors
from the
house of Esau."
The LORD
has spoken.
19 People from the Negev will occupy
the
mountains of Esau,
and people
from the foothills will possess
the land
of the Philistines.
They will
occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,
and
Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will
possess the land as far as Zarephath;
the exiles
from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will
possess the towns of the Negev.
21 Deliverers will go up on [c] Mount Zion
to govern
the mountains of Esau.
And the
kingdom will be the LORD's.
Day
32
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Back
Daniel 1
Daniel's Training in Babylon
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And
the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with
some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to
the temple of his god in Babylonia [a] and put in the treasure house of
his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court
officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and
the nobility- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome,
showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to
understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to
teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. [b] 5 The
king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's
table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they
were to enter the king's service.
6 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael
and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the
name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to
Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal
food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to
defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show
favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am
afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your [c] food and drink.
Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age?
The king would then have my head because of you."
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had
appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test
your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and
water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young
men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with
what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and
better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16
So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to
drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and
understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could
understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in,
the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked
with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of
wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found
them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his
whole kingdom.
21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King
Cyrus.
Daniel 2
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams;
his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned
the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers [d] to tell him
what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he
said to them, "I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know
what it means. [e] "
4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, [f] "O
king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret
it."
5 The king replied to the astrologers, "This is what I have
firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret
it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles
of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will
receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream
and interpret it for me."
7 Once more they replied, "Let the king tell his servants the
dream, and we will interpret it."
8 Then the king answered, "I am certain that you are trying
to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly
decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty
for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things,
hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I
will know that you can interpret it for me."
10 The astrologers answered the king, "There is not a man on
earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty,
has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.
11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the
king except the gods, and they do not live among men."
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered
the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was
issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for
Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone
out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with
wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king's officer, "Why did the king
issue such a harsh decree?" Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.
16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he
might interpret the dream for him.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter
to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead
for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he
and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of
Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a
vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
"Praise be
to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and
power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he sets up
kings and deposes them.
He gives
wisdom to the wise
and
knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows
what lies in darkness,
and light
dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers:
You have
given me wisdom and power,
you have
made known to me what we asked of you,
you have
made known to us the dream of the king."
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to
execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not execute the
wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his
dream for him."
25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, "I have
found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his
dream means."
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), "Are you
able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"
27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or
diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but
there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King
Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the
visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
29 "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to
things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going
to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not
because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O
king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went
through your mind.
31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large
statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.
32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of
silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet
partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a
rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its
feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the
bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time
and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind
swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the
statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 "This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the
king. 37 You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has
given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he
has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the
air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are
that head of gold.
39 "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours.
Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as
iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as
iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the
others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked
clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will
have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed
with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this
kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you
saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and
will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up
a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another
people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but
it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of
the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock
that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to
pieces.
"The great God has
shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true
and the interpretation is trustworthy."
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and
paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to
him. 47 The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods
and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to
reveal this mystery."
48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and
lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province
of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover,
at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself
remained at the royal court.
Daniel 4
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of a Tree
1 King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the
peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world:
May you
prosper greatly!
2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs
and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3 How great are his signs,
how mighty
his wonders!
His
kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his
dominion endures from generation to generation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and
prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my
bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6
So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to
interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters,
astrologers [a] and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they
could not interpret it for me. 8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence
and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of
my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)
9 I said, "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that
the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult
for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10 These are the
visions I saw while lying in my bed: I looked, and there before me
stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. 11 The
tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible
to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit
abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field
found shelter, and the birds of the air lived in its branches; from it
every creature was fed.
13 "In the visions I saw while lying in my bed, I looked, and
there before me was a messenger, [b] a holy one, coming down from
heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: 'Cut down the tree and trim off
its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the
animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But let
the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the
ground, in the grass of the field.
" 'Let him
be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals
among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of
a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times [c]
pass by for him.
17 " 'The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones
declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is
sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes
and sets over them the lowliest of men.'
18 "This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now,
Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my
kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the
holy gods is in you."
Daniel Interprets the Dream
19 Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly
perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said,
"Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you."
Belteshazzar answered, "My lord, if only the dream applied to your
enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! 20 The tree you saw, which
grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the
whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing
food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having
nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air- 22 you, O
king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness
has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to
distant parts of the earth.
23 "You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down
from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave
the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while
its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of
heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by
for him.'
24 "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the
decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will
be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you
will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven.
Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most
High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he
wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots
means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge
that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my
advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness
by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity
will continue."
The Dream Is Fulfilled
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months
later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of
Babylon, 30 he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the
royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"
31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from
heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your
royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away
from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass
like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge
that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them
to anyone he wishes."
33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was
fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle.
His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like
the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes
toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most
High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His
dominion is an eternal dominion;
his
kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are
regarded as nothing.
He does as
he pleases
with the
powers of heaven
and the
peoples of the earth.
No one can
hold back his hand
or say to
him: "What have you done?"
36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and
splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers
and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became
even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt
and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and
all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Daniel 5
The Writing on the Wall
1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his
nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his
wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that
Nebuchadnezzar his father [d] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,
so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might
drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been
taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles,
his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine,
they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and
stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on
the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The
king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so
frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
7 The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers [e] and
diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever
reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple
and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the
third highest ruler in the kingdom."
8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not
read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar
became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were
baffled.
10 The queen, [f] hearing the voices of the king and his
nobles, came into the banquet hall. "O king, live forever!" she said.
"Don't be alarmed! Don't look so pale! 11 There is a man in your
kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your
father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like
that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father
the king, I say—appointed him chief of the magicians,
enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 This man Daniel, whom the king
called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and
understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain
riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell
you what the writing means."
13 So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said
to him, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought
from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and
that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. 15 The wise
men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell
me what it means, but they could not explain it. 16 Now I have heard
that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult
problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you
will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your
neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."
17 Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts
for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I
will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
18 "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar
sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 Because of the
high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every
language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death,
he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted
to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20
But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was
deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was
driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with
the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched
with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is
sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.
22 "But you his son, [g] O Belshazzar, have not humbled
yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself
up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple
brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines
drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of
bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.
But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all
your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
25 "This is the inscription that was written:
Mene ,
Mene , Tekel , Parsin [h]
26 "This is what these words mean:
Mene [i] :
God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27 Tekel [j] : You have been weighed on the scales and found
wanting.
28 Peres [k] : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes
and Persians."
29 Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in
purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed
the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, [l]
was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of
sixty-two.
Daniel 6
Daniel in the Den of Lions
1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout
the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was
Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king
might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the
administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the
king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the
administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges
against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were
unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was
trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men
said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel
unless it has something to do with the law of his God."
6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to
the king and said: "O King Darius, live forever! 7 The royal
administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all
agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that
anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except
to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den. 8 Now, O king,
issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be
altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and
Persians, which cannot be repealed." 9 So King Darius put the decree in
writing.
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been
published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened
toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and
prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then
these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for
help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal
decree: "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days
anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be
thrown into the lions' den?"
The king answered,
"The decree stands—in accordance with the laws of the Medes
and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
13 Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the
exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree
you put in writing. He still prays three times a day." 14 When the king
heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue
Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him,
"Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians
no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and
threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God,
whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den,
and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of
his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. 18 Then
the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and
without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to
the lions' den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an
anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom
you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his
angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me,
because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any
wrong before you, O king."
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out
of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found
on him, because he had trusted in his God.
24 At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused
Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their
wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the
lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men
of every language throughout the land:
"May you
prosper greatly!
26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people
must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
"For he is
the living God
and he
endures forever;
his
kingdom will not be destroyed,
his
dominion will never end.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he
performs signs and wonders
in the
heavens and on the earth.
He has
rescued Daniel
from the
power of the lions."
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the
reign of Cyrus [m] the Persian.
Day
33
Go Back
Ezra 3
Rebuilding the Altar
1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled
in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then
Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of
Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of
Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is
written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Despite their fear of the
peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and
sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and
evening sacrifices. 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they
celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt
offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the
regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for
all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD, as well as those brought
as freewill offerings to the LORD. 6 On the first day of the seventh
month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the
foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.
Rebuilding the Temple
7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave
food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they
would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by
Cyrus king of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival
at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua
son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers (the priests and the
Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began
the work, appointing Levites twenty years of age and older to supervise
the building of the house of the LORD. 9 Jeshua and his sons and
brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah [a] ) and
the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all
Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the
house of God.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the
LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites
(the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD,
as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving
they sang to the LORD :
"He is
good;
his love
to Israel endures forever."
And all the people
gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the
house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and
Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud
when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many
others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the
shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so
much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
Ezra 6
The Decree of Darius
1 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the
archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the
citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on
it:
Memorandum:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree
concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:
Let the
temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its
foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet [a] high and ninety feet
wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The
costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver
articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple
in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places
in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of
God.
6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and
Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay
away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of
God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this
house of God on its site.
8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these
elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:
The
expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury,
from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9
Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt
offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as
requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them
daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to
the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a
beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and
impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of
rubble. 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow
any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy
this temple in Jerusalem.
I Darius
have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.
Completion and Dedication of the Temple
13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent,
Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their
associates carried it out with diligence. 14 So the elders of the Jews
continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the
prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the
temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of
Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 15 The temple was
completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the
reign of King Darius.
16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the
Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication
of the house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of
God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male
lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for
each of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they installed the priests in
their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God
at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.
The Passover
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles
celebrated the Passover. 20 The priests and Levites had purified
themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the
Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and
for themselves. 21 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile
ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean
practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God
of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing
the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the
work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
Ezra 7
Ezra Comes to Jerusalem
1 After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of
Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2
the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of
Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of
Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the
son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest-
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the
Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king
had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God
was on him. 7 Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites,
singers, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in
the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
8 Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh
year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first
day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of
the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. 10 For
Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the
LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
King Artaxerxes' Letter to Ezra
11 This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to
Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the
commands and decrees of the LORD for Israel:
12 [b] Artaxerxes, king of kings,
To Ezra
the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:
Greetings.
13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom,
including priests and Levites, who wish to go to Jerusalem with you,
may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire
about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is
in your hand. 15 Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold
that the king and his advisers have freely given to the God of Israel,
whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 together with all the silver and
gold you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the
freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their
God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and
male lambs, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings,
and sacrifice them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.
18 You and your brother Jews may then do whatever seems best
with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of
your God. 19 Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted
to you for worship in the temple of your God. 20 And anything else
needed for the temple of your God that you may have occasion to supply,
you may provide from the royal treasury.
21 Now I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers of
Trans-Euphrates to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, a
teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you- 22 up to a
hundred talents [c] of silver, a hundred cors [d] of wheat, a hundred
baths [e] of wine, a hundred baths [f] of olive oil, and salt without
limit. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done
with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be
wrath against the realm of the king and of his sons? 24 You are also to
know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any
of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants or other
workers at this house of God.
25 And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God,
which you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice
to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of
your God. And you are to teach any who do not know them. 26 Whoever
does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely
be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or
imprisonment.
27 Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put
it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in
Jerusalem in this way 28 and who has extended his good favor to me
before the king and his advisers and all the king's powerful officials.
Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and
gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
Haggai 1
A Call to Build the House of the LORD
1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the
sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua [a] son
of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say,
'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "
3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,
while this house remains a ruin?"
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful
thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested
little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your
fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put
them in a purse with holes in it."
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought
to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and
build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,"
says the LORD. 9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be
little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD
Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you
is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens
have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a
drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine,
the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the
labor of your hands."
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak,
the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice
of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because
the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.
13 Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of
the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD. 14 So the
LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of
Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and
the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to
work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, 15 on the
twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.
Haggai 2
The Promised Glory of the New House
1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of
the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 2 "Speak to Zerubbabel son of
Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high
priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 'Who of you is
left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you
now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, O
Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak,
the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the
LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 5
'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my
Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I
will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry
land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will
come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 8
'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.
9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of
the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will
grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Blessings for a Defiled People
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second
year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: 11
"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law
says: 12 If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his
garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or
other food, does it become consecrated?' "
The priests
answered, "No."
13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a
dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?"
"Yes," the priests
replied, "it becomes defiled."
14 Then Haggai said, " 'So it is with this people and this
nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever
they offer there is defiled.
15 " 'Now give careful thought to this from this day on [b]
—consider how things were before one stone was laid on
another in the LORD's temple. 16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty
measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw
fifty measures, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the work of
your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,'
declares the LORD. 18 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of
the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of
the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any
seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the
pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.
" 'From this day on
I will bless you.' "
Zerubbabel the LORD's Signet Ring
20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the
twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah
that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal
thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow
chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by
the sword of his brother.
23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take
you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I
will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the
LORD Almighty."
Zechariah 1
A Call to Return to the LORD
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word
of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of
Iddo:
2 "The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. 3 Therefore
tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,'
declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD
Almighty. 4 Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier
prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from
your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or
pay attention to me, declares the LORD. 5 Where are your forefathers
now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not my words and
my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your
forefathers?
"Then they repented
and said, 'The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices
deserve, just as he determined to do.'"
The Man Among the Myrtle Trees
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month
of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to
the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
8 During the night I had a vision—and there before
me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees
in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9 I asked, "What are these, my lord?"
The angel who was
talking with me answered, "I will show you what they are."
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained,
"They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth."
11 And they reported to the angel of the LORD, who was
standing among the myrtle trees, "We have gone throughout the earth and
found the whole world at rest and in peace."
12 Then the angel of the LORD said, "LORD Almighty, how long
will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah,
which you have been angry with these seventy years?" 13 So the LORD
spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, "Proclaim this
word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for
Jerusalem and Zion, 15 but I am very angry with the nations that feel
secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.'
16 "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I will return to
Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the
measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the LORD
Almighty.
17 "Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says:
'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again
comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.' "
Four Horns and Four Craftsmen
18 Then I looked up—and there before me were four
horns! 19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?"
He answered me,
"These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem."
20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, "What
are these coming to do?"
He answered, "These
are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head,
but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns
of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to
scatter its people."
Zechariah 2
A Man With a Measuring Line
1 Then I looked up—and there before me was a man
with a measuring line in his hand! 2 I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered me, "To
measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."
3 Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another
angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: "Run, tell that young man,
'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of
men and livestock in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around
it,' declares the LORD, 'and I will be its glory within.'
6 "Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north," declares the
LORD, "for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven," declares
the LORD.
7 "Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of
Babylon!" 8 For this is what the LORD Almighty says: "After he has
honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered
you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye- 9 I
will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will
plunder them. [a] Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.
10 "Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming,
and I will live among you," declares the LORD. 11 "Many nations will be
joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live
among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
12 The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will
again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the LORD, all mankind,
because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."
Day
34
Go Back
Esther 1
Queen Vashti Deposed
1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, [a] the
Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush [b] :
2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel
of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all
his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the
princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
4 For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his
kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these days
were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed
garden of the king's palace, for all the people from the least to the
greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa. 6 The garden had hangings of
white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple
material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold
and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl
and other costly stones. 7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one
different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping
with the king's liberality. 8 By the king's command each guest was
allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine
stewards to serve each man what he wished.
9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal
palace of King Xerxes.
10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits
from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served
him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and
Carcas- 11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown,
in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was
lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered the king's
command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and
burned with anger.
13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in
matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood
the times 14 and were closest to the king—Carshena, Shethar,
Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of
Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in
the kingdom.
15 "According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?" he
asked. "She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs
have taken to her."
16 Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the
nobles, "Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but
also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of
King Xerxes. 17 For the queen's conduct will become known to all the
women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, 'King Xerxes
commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not
come.' 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility
who have heard about the queen's conduct will respond to all the king's
nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
19 "Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal
decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which
cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of
King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else
who is better than she. 20 Then when the king's edict is proclaimed
throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their
husbands, from the least to the greatest."
21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so
the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of
the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in
its own language, proclaiming in each people's tongue that every man
should be ruler over his own household.
Esther 2
Esther Made Queen
1 Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he
remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about
her. 2 Then the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be
made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint
commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these
beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be
placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of
the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4 Then let the
girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This advice
appealed to the king, and he followed it.
5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of
Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of
Kish, 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with
Jehoiachin [c] king of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah,
whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This
girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features,
and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and
mother died.
8 When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many
girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of
Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to
Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9 The girl pleased him and won his
favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and
special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's
palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.
10 Esther had not revealed her nationality and family
background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11 Every day
he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out
how Esther was and what was happening to her.
12 Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had
to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the
women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and
cosmetics. 13 And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she
wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king's
palace. 14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return
to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king's
eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the
king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
15 When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had
adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she
asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in
charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone
who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in
the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of
the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of
the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her
queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's
banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday
throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy
19 When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai
was sitting at the king's gate. 20 But Esther had kept secret her
family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do,
for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions as she had done
when he was bringing her up.
21 During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate,
Bigthana [d] and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the
doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22 But
Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn
reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23 And when the
report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were
hanged on a gallows. [e] All this was recorded in the book of the
annals in the presence of the king.
Esther 3
Haman's Plot to Destroy the Jews
1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of
Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor
higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at
the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had
commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay
him honor.
3 Then the royal officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai,
"Why do you disobey the king's command?" 4 Day after day they spoke to
him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see
whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he
was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay
him honor, he was enraged. 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai's people
were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman
looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout
the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the
month of Nisan, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) in the presence of
Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on [f] the twelfth
month, the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, "There is a certain people
dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your
kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and
who do not obey the king's laws; it is not in the king's best interest
to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to
destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents [g] of silver into
the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business."
10 So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave
it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11
"Keep the money," the king said to Haman, "and do with the people as
you please."
12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal
secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each
province and in the language of each people all Haman's orders to the
king's satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles
of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes
himself and sealed with his own ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by
couriers to all the king's provinces with the order to destroy, kill
and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and little
children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth
month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the
text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made
known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for
that day.
15 Spurred on by the king's command, the couriers went out,
and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat
down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.
Esther 4
Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore
his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city,
wailing loudly and bitterly. 2 But he went only as far as the king's
gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3 In
every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was
great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many
lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her about
Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on
instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther
summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her, and
ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the
city in front of the king's gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that
had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had
promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the
Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their
annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and
explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king's
presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had
said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 "All the king's
officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man
or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being
summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only
exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and
spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to
the king."
12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent
back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's
house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain
silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise
from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And
who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as
this?"
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go, gather
together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or
drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do.
When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the
law. And if I perish, I perish."
17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's
instructions.
Esther 7
Haman Hanged
1 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, 2 and
as they were drinking wine on that second day, the king again asked,
"Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is
your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted."
3 Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor with
you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my
life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this
is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold for destruction and
slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and
female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would
justify disturbing the king. [a] "
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, "Who is he? Where is the
man who has dared to do such a thing?"
6 Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman."
Then Haman was
terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left
his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that
the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen
Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the
banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was
reclining.
The king exclaimed,
"Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?"
As soon as the word
left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 9 Then Harbona, one
of the eunuchs attending the king, said, "A gallows seventy-five feet
[b] high stands by Haman's house. He had it made for Mordecai, who
spoke up to help the king."
The king said, "Hang
him on it!" 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for
Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided.
Esther 8
The King's Edict in Behalf of the Jews
1 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of
Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of
the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. 2 The king
took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and
presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman's estate.
3 Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and
weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the
Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king
extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.
5 "If it pleases the king," she said, "and if he regards me
with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased
with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman
son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews
in all the king's provinces. 6 For how can I bear to see disaster fall
on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?"
7 King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the
Jew, "Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to
Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows. 8 Now write another
decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you,
and seal it with the king's signet ring—for no document
written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked."
9 At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on
the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote
out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors
and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. [c]
These orders were written in the script of each province and the
language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and
language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the
dispatches with the king's signet ring, and sent them by mounted
couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.
11 The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right
to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any
armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and
their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.
12 The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of
King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of
Adar. 13 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in
every province and made known to the people of every nationality so
that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their
enemies.
14 The couriers, riding the royal horses, raced out, spurred
on by the king's command. And the edict was also issued in the citadel
of Susa.
15 Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments
of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine
linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. 16 For the Jews
it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. 17 In every
province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there
was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And
many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews
had seized them.
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Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah's Prayer
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
In the month of
Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2
Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I
questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and
also about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back
in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of
Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some
days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I
said:
"O LORD,
God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of
love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be
attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying
before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I
confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house,
have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you.
We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant
Moses.
8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses,
saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9
but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled
people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and
bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'
10 "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed
by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be
attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your
servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success
today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."
I was cupbearer to
the king.
Nehemiah 2
Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem
1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King
Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it
to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king
asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This
can be nothing but sadness of heart."
I was very much
afraid, 3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why
should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried
lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the
God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and
if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the
city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me,
"How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It
pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have
letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide
me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to
Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make
beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall
and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of
my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the
governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king
had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite
official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone
had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12
I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what
my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts
with me except the one I was riding on.
13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the
Jackal [a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem,
which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by
fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool,
but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went
up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and
reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where
I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to
the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would
be doing the work.
17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in:
Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.
Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in
disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon
me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, "Let
us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite
official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed
us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling
against the king?"
20 I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us
success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you
have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."
Nehemiah 4
Opposition to the Rebuilding
1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he
became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in
the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What
are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they
offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones
back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?"
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they
are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break
down their wall of stones!"
4 Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults
back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of
captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from
your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of [a] the
builders.
6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its
height, for the people worked with all their heart.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and
the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone
ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They
all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up
trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day
and night to meet this threat.
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the
laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot
rebuild the wall."
11 Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we
will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the
work."
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten
times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."
13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest
points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families,
with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I
stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the
people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and
awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters,
your wives and your homes."
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot
and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to
his own work.
16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the
other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The
officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were
building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one
hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore
his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet
stayed with me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of
the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely
separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the
sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!"
21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears,
from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I
also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper stay inside
Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen
by day." 23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me
took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.
Nehemiah 6
Further Opposition to the Rebuilding
1 When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and
the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was
left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in
the gates- 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us
meet together in one of the villages [a] on the plain of Ono."
But they were
scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I
am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work
stop while I leave it and go down to you?" 4 Four times they sent me
the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with
the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was
written:
"It is
reported among the nations—and Geshem [b] says it is
true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and
therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these
reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed
prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: 'There is a
king in Judah!' Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let
us confer together."
8 I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is
happening; you are just making it up out of your head."
9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands
will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed."
But I
prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."
10 One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah,
the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, "Let us
meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the
temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night
they are coming to kill you."
11 But I said, "Should a man like me run away? Or should one
like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!" 12 I
realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against
me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to
intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they
would give me a bad name to discredit me.
14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what
they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of
the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.
The Completion of the Wall
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in
fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the
surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because
they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
17 Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many
letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. 18 For
many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to
Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter
of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 Moreover, they kept reporting to me
his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent
letters to intimidate me.
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Malachi 1
1 An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
[a]
Jacob Loved, Esau Hated
2 "I have loved you," says the LORD.
"But you ask, 'How
have you loved us?'
"Was not Esau
Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I
have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left
his inheritance to the desert jackals."
4 Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild
the ruins."
But this is what the
LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be
called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. 5
You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even
beyond the borders of Israel!'
Blemished Sacrifices
6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am
a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the
respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who
show contempt for my name.
"But you ask, 'How
have we shown contempt for your name?'
7 "You place defiled food on my altar.
"But you ask, 'How
have we defiled you?'
"By saying that the
LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for
sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased
animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would
he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings
from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty.
10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that
you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with
you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your
hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to
the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will
be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the
nations," says the LORD Almighty.
12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is
defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What
a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty.
"When you bring
injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices,
should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. 14 "Cursed is the
cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but
then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,"
says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.
Malachi 2
Admonition for the Priests
1 "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. 2 If you do
not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says
the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your
blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set
your heart to honor me.
3 "Because of you I will rebuke [b] your descendants [c] ; I
will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and
you will be carried off with it. 4 And you will know that I have sent
you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says
the LORD Almighty. 5 "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and
peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered
me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and
nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and
uprightness, and turned many from sin.
7 "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and
from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the
messenger of the LORD Almighty. 8 But you have turned from the way and
by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the
covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty. 9 "So I have caused you to
be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not
followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law."
Judah Unfaithful
10 Have we not all one Father [d] ? Did not one God create
us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith
with one another?
11 Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been
committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the
sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. 12
As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him
off from the tents of Jacob [e] —even though he brings
offerings to the LORD Almighty.
13 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with
tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your
offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask,
"Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and
the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though
she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
15 Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they
are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. [f] So
guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of
your youth.
16 "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate
a man's covering himself [g] with violence as well as with his
garment," says the LORD Almighty.
So guard yourself in
your spirit, and do not break faith.
The Day of Judgment
17 You have wearied the LORD with your words.
"How have we wearied
him?" you ask.
By saying, "All who
do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them"
or "Where is the God of justice?"
Malachi 3
1 "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way
before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his
temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,"
says the LORD Almighty.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand
when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's
soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify
the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will
have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings
of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone
by, as in former years.
5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick
to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those
who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the
fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says
the LORD Almighty.
Robbing God
6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob,
are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have
turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I
will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How
are we to return?'
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How
do we rob you?'
"In tithes and
offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of
you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into
the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,"
says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not
have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your
crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says
the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for
yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
13 "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD.
"Yet you ask, 'What
have we said against you?'
14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we
gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners
before the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed.
Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God
escape.' "
16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and
the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his
presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day
when I make up my treasured possession. [h] I will spare them, just as
in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will
again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between
those who serve God and those who do not.
Malachi 4
The Day of the LORD
1 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All
the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is
coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a
branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun
of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go
out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will
trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your
feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.
4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws
I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great
and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their
fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
New Testament
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37
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whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, wh
Matthew 1
The Genealogy of Jesus
1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David,
the son of Abraham:
2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the
father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the
father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon
the father of Boaz, ose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse
the father of King David.
David was the father
of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8Asa the
father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9Uzziah
the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10Hezekiah
the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11and
Josiah the father of Jeconiah[a] and his brothers at the time of the
exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14Azor the
father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud
the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16and
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born
Jesus, who is called Christ.
17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to
David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from
the exile to the Christ.[b]
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His
mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came
together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to
expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her
is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to
give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their
sins."
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give
birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d]—which
means, "God with us."
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union
with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 2
The Visit of the Magi
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time
of King Herod, Magi[e] from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked,
"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star
in the east[f] and have come to worship him."
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief
priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[g] was
to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what
the prophet has written:
6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the
shepherd of my people Israel.'[h]"
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and
said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find
him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and
the star they had seen in the east[i] went ahead of them until it
stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star,
they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with
his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they
opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of
incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go
back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and
escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to
search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and
his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until
the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through
the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."[j]
16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi,
he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem
and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with
the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the
prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great
mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be
comforted,
because they are no more."[k]
The Return to Nazareth
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother
and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the
child's life are dead."
21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the
land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in
Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having
been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and
he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was
said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
Luke 1
Introduction
1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things
that have been fulfilled[a] among us, 2just as they were handed down to
us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the
word. 3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything
from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly
account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the
certainty of the things you have been taught.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named
Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife
Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in
the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations
blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren;
and they were both well along in years.
8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was
serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the
custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn
incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the
assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the
right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was
startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do
not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of
his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never
to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the
Holy Spirit even from birth.[b] 16Many of the people of Israel will he
bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord,
in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to
their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am
an old man and my wife is well along in years."
19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence
of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good
news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day
this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come
true at their proper time."
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and
wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he
could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the
temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months
remained in seclusion. 25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In
these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the
people."
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth,
a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named
Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel
went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord
is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what
kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be
afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child
and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He
will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God
will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over
the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a
virgin?"
35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to
be born will be called[c] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your
relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said
to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with
God."
38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me
as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the
hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted
Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in
her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud
voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the
child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my
Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached
my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has
believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Mary's Song
46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state
of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great
things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to
generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered
those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up
the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the
rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be
merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to
our fathers."
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then
returned home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave
birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had
shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and
they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60but his
mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who
has that name."
62Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he
would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to
everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64Immediately his
mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak,
praising God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout
the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this
child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
Zechariah's Song
67His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and
prophesied:
68"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come
and has redeemed his people.
69He has raised up a horn[d] of salvation for us
in the house of his
servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of
all who hate us—
72to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his
holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to
serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most
High;
for you will go on
before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the
forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising
sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of
death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."
80And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he
lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census
should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census
that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone
went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee
to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the
house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was
pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they
were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth
to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,
keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is
Christ[e] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with
the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace
to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the
baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her
heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all
the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been
told.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he
was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been
conceived.
22When the time of their purification according to the Law of
Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to
present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
"Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[f]), 24and to
offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord:
"a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[g]
25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was
righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and
the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy
Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents
brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law
required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss[h]
your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight
of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to
your people Israel."
33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said
about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:
"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the
thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your
own soul too."
36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel,
of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband
seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was
eighty-four.[i] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day,
fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave
thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward
to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the
Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of
Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with
wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of
the Passover. 42When he was twelve years old, they went up to the
Feast, according to the custom. 43After the Feast was over, while his
parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem,
but they were unaware of it. 44Thinking he was in their company, they
traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their
relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him, they went back to
Jerusalem to look for him. 46After three days they found him in the
temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his
understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were
astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like
this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
49"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know
I had to be in my Father's house?" 50But they did not understand what
he was saying to them.
51Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to
them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Day
38
Go Back
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light
of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood[a] it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.
7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through
him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only
as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every
man was coming into the world.[b]
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through
him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his
own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God— 13children born not of natural descent,[c] nor of human
decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from
the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This
was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because
he was before me.' " 16From the fullness of his grace we have all
received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through
Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever
seen God, but God the One and Only,[e][f]who is at the Father's side,
has made him known.
John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ
19Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem
sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to
confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ.[g]"
21They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the
Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
22Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take
back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the
voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the
Lord.' "[h]
24Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, "Why
then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the
Prophet?"
26"I baptize with[i] water," John replied, "but among you
stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the
thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the
Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Jesus the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is
the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me
because he was before me.' 31I myself did not know him, but the reason
I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
32Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down
from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him,
except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man
on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize
with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son
of God."
Jesus' First Disciples
35The next day John was there again with two of his
disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of
God!"
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed
Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do
you want?"
They said, "Rabbi"
(which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw
where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the
tenth hour.
40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard
what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew
did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the
Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him
and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas"
(which, when translated, is Peter[j]).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding
Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of
Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the
one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also
wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael
asked.
"Come and see," said
Philip.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here
is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I
saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called
you."
49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel."
50Jesus said, "You believe[k] because I told you I saw you
under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then
added, "I tell you[l] the truth, you[m] shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Mark 1
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of
God.[a]
2It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare
your way"[b]—
3"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths
for him.' "[c] 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The
whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to
him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan
River. 6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt
around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his
message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of
whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you
with[d] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the
water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him
like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I
love; with you I am well pleased."
12At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he
was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the
wild animals, and angels attended him.
The Calling of the First Disciples
14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee,
proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The
kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and
his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were
fishermen. 17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you
fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him.
19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of
Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without
delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat
with the hired men and followed him.
Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus
went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at
his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as
the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was
possessed by an evil[e] spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us,
Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you
are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The
evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other,
"What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even
gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many
29As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James
and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30Simon's mother-in-law was
in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31So he went to
her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began
to wait on them.
32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all
the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door,
34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out
many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew
who he was.
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus
got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he
prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when
they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the
nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I
have come." 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their
synagogues and driving out demons.
A Man With Leprosy
40A man with leprosy[f] came to him and begged him on his
knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
41Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and
touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42Immediately the
leprosy left him and he was cured.
43Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44"See
that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest
and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a
testimony to them." 45Instead he went out and began to talk freely,
spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town
openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came
to him from everywhere.
John 3
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a
member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and
said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no
one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not
with him."
3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can
see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.[a]"
4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked.
"Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be
born!"
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the
kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives
birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7You should
not be surprised at my saying, 'You[c] must be born again.' 8The wind
blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born
of the Spirit."
9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not
understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we
know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not
accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you
do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly
things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from
heaven—the Son of Man.[d] 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake
in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life.[e]
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is
not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[g]
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who
does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear
that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes
into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done
has been done through God."[h]
John the Baptist's Testimony About Jesus
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the
Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.
23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was
plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.
24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed
between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew[i] over the matter
of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi,
that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the
one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone
is going to him."
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given
him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not
the Christ[j] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the
bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for
him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy
is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must
become less.
31"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is
from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.
The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he
has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33The man who has
accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God
has sent speaks the words of God, for God[k] gives the Spirit without
limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his
hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."[l]
John 4
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
1The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing
more disciples than John, 2although in fact it was not Jesus who
baptized, but his disciples. 3When the Lord learned of this, he left
Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in
Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his
son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from
the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to
her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8(His disciples had gone into the town
to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a
Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not
associate with Samaritans.[m])
10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it
is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would
have given you living water."
11"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and
the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you
greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it
himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"
13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be
thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never
thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of
water welling up to eternal life."
15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I
won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
17"I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you
have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man
you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite
true."
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.
20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the
place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when
you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do
know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has
now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is
spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is
coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."
The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find
him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why
are you talking with her?"
28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the
town and said to the people, 29"Come, see a man who told me everything
I ever did. Could this be the Christ[n]?" 30They came out of the town
and made their way toward him.
31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."
32But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know
nothing about."
33Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have
brought him food?"
34"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent
me and to finish his work. 35Do you not say, 'Four months more and then
the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They
are ripe for harvest. 36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now
he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper
may be glad together. 37Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is
true. 38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have
done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."
Many Samaritans Believe
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him
because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."
40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them,
and he stayed two days. 41And because of his words many more became
believers.
42They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because
of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that
this man really is the Savior of the world."
Jesus Heals the Official's Son
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus
himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own
country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him.
They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast,
for they also had been there.
46Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned
the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son
lay sick at Capernaum. 47When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in
Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his
son, who was close to death.
48"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus
told him, "you will never believe."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child
dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus
at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants
met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to
the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him
yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at
which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his
household believed.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed,
having come from Judea to Galilee.
Day
39
Go Back
Luke 4
The Temptation of Jesus
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was
tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end
of them he was hungry.
3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this
stone to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread
alone.'[a]"
5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an
instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will
give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me,
and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will
all be yours."
8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God
and serve him only.'[b]"
9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the
highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said,
"throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you
carefully;
11they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not
strike your foot against a stone.'[c]"
12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to
the test.'[d]"
13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him
until an opportune time.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and
news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in
their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on
the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he
stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.
Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has
anointed me
to preach good news
to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
prisoners
and recovery of
sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor."[e]
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant
and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on
him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing."
22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words
that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.
23Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to
me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have
heard that you did in Capernaum.' "
24"I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is
accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in
Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half
years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah
was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region
of Sidon. 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy[f] in the time
of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only
Naaman the Syrian."
28All the people in the synagogue were furious when they
heard this. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to
the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him
down the cliff. 30But he walked right through the crowd and went on his
way.
Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit
31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on
the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his
teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an
evil[g]spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you
want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know
who you are—the Holy One of God!"
35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the
demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring
him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is
this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits
and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the
surrounding area.
Jesus Heals Many
38Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now
Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked
Jesus to help her. 39So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it
left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all
who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he
healed them. 41Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You
are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to
speak, because they knew he was the Christ.[h]
42At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people
were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to
keep him from leaving them. 43But he said, "I must preach the good news
of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I
was sent." 44And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.[i]
Luke 5
The Calling of the First Disciples
1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret,[j]with the people crowding around him and listening to the
word of God, 2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the
fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats,
the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from
shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out
into deep water, and let down[k] the nets for a catch."
5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and
haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the
nets."
6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of
fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners
in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both
boats so full that they began to sink.
8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said,
"Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his
companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and
so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from
now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore,
left everything and followed him.
The Man With Leprosy
12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who
was covered with leprosy.[l] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face
to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make
me clean."
13Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am
willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
14Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show
yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded
for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."
15Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds
of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16But
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
17One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the
law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and
Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present
for him to heal the sick. 18Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat
and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19When
they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up
on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the
middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are
forgiven."
21The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to
themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive
sins but God alone?"
22Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you
thinking these things in your hearts? 23Which is easier: to say, 'Your
sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 24But that you may
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He
said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go
home." 25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had
been lying on and went home praising God. 26Everyone was amazed and
gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen
remarkable things today."
The Calling of Levi
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the
name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him,
28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and
a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect
complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax
collectors and 'sinners'?"
31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a
doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance."
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
33They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray,
and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and
drinking."
34Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom
fast while he is with them? 35But the time will come when the
bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast."
36He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new
garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the
new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37And
no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will
burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be
ruined. 38No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39And no one
after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is
better.' "
Luke 6
Lord of the Sabbath
1One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his
disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands
and eat the kernels. 2Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing
what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
3Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God,
and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for
priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 5Then Jesus
said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
6On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was
teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7The
Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to
accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on
the Sabbath. 8But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the
man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone."
So he got up and stood there.
9Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the
Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"
10He looked around at them all, and then said to the man,
"Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely
restored. 11But they were furious and began to discuss with one another
what they might do to Jesus.
The Twelve Apostles
12One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray,
and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his
disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated
apostles: 14Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James,
John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called the Zealot, 16Judas son of James, and Judas
Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Blessings and Woes
17He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large
crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all
over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who
had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled
by evil[m] spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him,
because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the
kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be
satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude
you and insult you
and reject your name
as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is
your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the
prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already
received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go
hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn
and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how
their fathers treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who
mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the
other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking
your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what
belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have
them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to
you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to
those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners'
do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting
to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and
lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward
will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is
kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful.
Judging Others
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn,
and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
39He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a
blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student is not above
his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's
eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you
say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,'
when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite,
first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother's eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear
good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not
pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man
brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil
man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out
of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I
say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my
words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house,
who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came,
the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was
well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into
practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a
foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and
its destruction was complete."
Mark 2
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the
people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no
room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.
4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made
an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it,
lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their
faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to
themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming!
Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they
were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you
thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your
sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10But
that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take
your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full
view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying,
"We have never seen anything like this!"
The Calling of Levi
13Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd
came to him, and he began to teach them. 14As he walked along, he saw
Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me,"
Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax
collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for
there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who
were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors,
they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and
'sinners'?"
17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners."
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some
people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the
disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"
19Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast
while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.
20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,
and on that day they will fast.
21"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.
If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear
worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the
wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be
ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."
Lord of the Sabbath
23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as
his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.
24The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful
on the Sabbath?"
25He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he
and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar
the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated
bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some
to his companions."
27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Mark 3
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a
shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to
accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him
on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand
up in front of everyone."
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to
do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained
silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at
their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He
stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the
Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might
kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow Jesus
7Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large
crowd from Galilee followed. 8When they heard all he was doing, many
people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions
across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9Because of the crowd he
told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the
people from crowding him. 10For he had healed many, so that those with
diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11Whenever the evil[a]
spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the
Son of God." 12But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.
The Appointing of the Twelve Apostles
13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he
wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed
twelve—designating them apostles[b]—that they might
be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have
authority to drive out demons. 16These are the twelve he appointed:
Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter 17 James son of Zebedee and his
brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of
Thunder); 18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of
Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19and Judas Iscariot, who
betrayed him.
Jesus and Beelzebub
20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so
that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21When his family
heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He
is out of his mind."
22And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem
said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub[c]! By the prince of demons he is
driving out demons."
23So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How
can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that
house cannot stand. 26And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he
cannot stand; his end has come. 27In fact, no one can enter a strong
man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the
strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28I tell you the truth, all the
sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29But whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty
of an eternal sin."
30He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil
spirit."
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside,
they sent someone in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting around him, and
they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."
33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and
said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is
my brother and sister and mother."
Mark 4
The Parable of the Sower
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that
gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it
out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the
water's edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his
teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was
scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and
ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.
It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun
came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had
no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the
plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good
soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty,
or even a hundred times."
9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him
asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the
kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside
everything is said in parables 12so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but
never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'[d]"
13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this
parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows
the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is
sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that
was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the
word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root,
they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because
of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown
among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the
deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and
choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good
soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty,
sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
A Lamp on a Stand
21He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a
bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22For whatever
is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant
to be brought out into the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him
hear."
24"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the
measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.
25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he
has will be taken from him."
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A
man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or
gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All
by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the
head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe,
he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is
like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a
mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet
when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants,
with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its
shade."
33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as
much as they could understand. 34He did not say anything to them
without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples,
he explained everything.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let
us go over to the other side." 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took
him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats
with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the
boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping
on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't
you care if we drown?"
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet!
Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you
still have no faith?"
41They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Day
40
Go Back
Matthew 5
The Beatitudes
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and
sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them
saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be
comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will
inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be
filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be
shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see
God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be
called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness,
for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and
be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be
hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the
house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The Fulfillment of the Law
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell
you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from
the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of
the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will
be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Murder
21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago,
'Do not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.'
22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[b]will be
subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,[c]'
is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will
be in danger of the fire of hell.
23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and
there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave
your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to
your brother; then come and offer your gift.
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking
you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may
hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the
officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you
will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[d]
Adultery
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit
adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If
your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is
better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body
to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut
it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your
body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce
31"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give
her a certificate of divorce.'[f] 32But I tell you that anyone who
divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to
become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits
adultery.
Oaths
33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long
ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the
Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it
is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by
your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply
let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this
comes from the evil one.
An Eye for an Eye
38"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth
for tooth.'[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If
someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have
your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him
two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from
the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h]
and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray
for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love
you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing
that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more
than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6
Giving to the Needy
1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before
men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your
Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with
trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to
be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left
hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in
secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward
you.
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be
seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in
full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to
your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling
like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many
words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before
you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in
heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have
forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[j]' 14For if you
forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father
will not forgive your sins.
Fasting
16"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do,
for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you
the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you
fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be
obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is
unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward
you.
Treasures in Heaven
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good,
your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your
whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is
darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what
you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not
life more important than food, and the body more important than
clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or
store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a
single hour to his life[k]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of
the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not
even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or
'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run
after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.
Matthew 7
Judging Others
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same
way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's
eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say
to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the
time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the
plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the
speck from your brother's eye.
6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls
to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then
turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks
receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be
opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a
stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you,
then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to
those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have
them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you
will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs
from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad
tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will
recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform
many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.
Away from me, you evildoers!'
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts
them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation
on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not
put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on
sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds
were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had
authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Day
41
Go Back
Mark 10
Divorce
1Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea
and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was
his custom, he taught them.
2Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful
for a man to divorce his wife?"
3"What did Moses command you?" he replied.
4They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of
divorce and send her away."
5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you
this law," Jesus replied. 6"But at the beginning of creation God 'made
them male and female.'[a] 7'For this reason a man will leave his father
and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8and the two will become one
flesh.'[c] So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has
joined together, let man not separate."
10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked
Jesus about this. 11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and
marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she
divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."
The Little Children and Jesus
13People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him
touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he
was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as
these. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom
of God like a little child will never enter it." 16And he took the
children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
The Rich Young Man
17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell
on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to
inherit eternal life?"
18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is
good—except God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'Do not
murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false
testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'[d]"
20"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was
a boy."
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he
said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he
had great wealth.
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it
is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said
again, "Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25It
is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of God."
26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each
other, "Who then can be saved?"
27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is
impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
28Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"
29"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left
home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields
for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in
this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and
fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come,
eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last
first."
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
32They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading
the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed
were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was
going to happen to him. 33"We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and
the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of
the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the
Gentiles, 34who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.
Three days later he will rise."
The Request of James and John
35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.
"Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the
other at your left in your glory."
38"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you
drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized
with?"
39"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will
drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized
with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These
places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with
James and John. 42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that
those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many."
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples,
together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man,
Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside
begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to
shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted
all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
49Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the
blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing his
cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.
The blind man said,
"Rabbi, I want to see."
52"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately
he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Luke 8
The Parable of the Sower
1After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village
to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve
were with him, 2and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits
and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come
out; 3Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household;
Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out
of their own means.
4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to
Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5"A farmer went out
to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the
path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some
fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had
no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and
choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and
yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."
When he said this,
he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10He said,
"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to
you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
" 'though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they
may not understand.'[a]
11"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word
of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the
devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may
not believe and be saved. 13Those on the rock are the ones who receive
the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They
believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14The
seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go
on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures,
and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those
with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by
persevering produce a crop.
A Lamp on a Stand
16"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it
under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in
can see the light. 17For there is nothing hidden that will not be
disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out
into the open. 18Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever
has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he
has will be taken from him."
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
19Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they
were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20Someone told him,
"Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."
21He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear
God's word and put it into practice."
Jesus Calms the Storm
22One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the
other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23As they
sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the
boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master,
we're going to drown!"
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging
waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25"Where is your faith?"
he asked his disciples.
In fear and
amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the
winds and the water, and they obey him."
The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man
26They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[b] which is
across the lake from Galilee. 27When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met
by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had
not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.
28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the
top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most
High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" 29For Jesus had commanded the
evil[c] spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him,
and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had
broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone
into him. 31And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into
the Abyss.
32A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The
demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them
permission. 33When the demons came out of the man, they went into the
pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was
drowned.
34When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran
off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35and the people
went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found
the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet,
dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36Those who had
seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.
37Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to
leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the
boat and left.
38The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with
him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39"Return home and tell how much
God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how
much Jesus had done for him.
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman
40Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they
were all expecting him. 41Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the
synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to
his house 42because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was
dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed
him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for
twelve years,[d] but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him
and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied
it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against
you."
46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has
gone out from me."
47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed,
came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people,
she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in
peace."
49While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house
of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said.
"Don't bother the teacher any more."
50Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just
believe, and she will be healed."
51When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let
anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's
father and mother. 52Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and
mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but
asleep."
53They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54But he
took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" 55Her spirit
returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her
something to eat. 56Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them
not to tell anyone what had happened.
Luke 9
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them
power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2and
he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3He
told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no
bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4Whatever house you enter, stay there
until you leave that town. 5If people do not welcome you, shake the
dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against
them." 6So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the
gospel and healing people everywhere.
7Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on.
And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been
raised from the dead, 8others that Elijah had appeared, and still
others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9But
Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things
about?" And he tried to see him.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
10When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what
they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by
themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11but the crowds learned about
it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the
kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
12Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said,
"Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and
countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place
here."
13He replied, "You give them something to eat."
They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread
and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."
14(About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down
in groups of about fifty each." 15The disciples did so, and everybody
sat down. 16Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to
heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the
disciples to set before the people. 17They all ate and were satisfied,
and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that
were left over.
Peter's Confession of Christ
18Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples
were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"
19They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say
Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come
back to life."
20"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "The
Christ[e] of God."
21Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
22And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected
by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life."
23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole
world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of
me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in
his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27I
tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death
before they see the kingdom of God."
The Transfiguration
28About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John
and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29As he was
praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as
bright as a flash of lightning. 30Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31appeared
in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his
departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully
awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33As the
men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us
to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for
Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)
34While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them,
and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35A voice came from the
cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
36When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The
disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what
they had seen.
The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit
37The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a
large crowd met him. 38A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg
you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39A spirit seizes him
and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he
foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.
40I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not."
41"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied,
"how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son
here."
42Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the
ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil[f] spirit, healed
the boy and gave him back to his father. 43And they were all amazed at
the greatness of God.
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus
did, he said to his disciples, 44"Listen carefully to what I am about
to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of
men." 45But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from
them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him
about it.
Who Will Be the Greatest
46An argument started among the disciples as to which of them
would be the greatest. 47Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little
child and had him stand beside him. 48Then he said to them, "Whoever
welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes
me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you
all—he is the greatest."
49"Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in
your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."
50"Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against
you is for you."
Samaritan Opposition
51As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,
Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers on
ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him;
53but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for
Jerusalem. 54When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked,
"Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy
them[g]?" 55But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56and[h] they went to
another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I
will follow you wherever you go."
58Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
59He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied,
"Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but
you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first
let me go back and say good-by to my family."
62Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and
looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Luke 10
Jesus Sends Out the Seventytwo
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[i] others and sent
them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about
to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are
few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into
his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the
road.
5"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'
6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it
will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever
they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around
from house to house.
8"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set
before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of
God is near you.' 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go
into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to
our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of
God is near.' 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for
Sodom than for that town.
13"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the
miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and
ashes. 14But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the
judgment than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to
the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.[j]
16"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you
rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the
demons submit to us in your name."
18He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to
overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20However,
do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your
names are written in heaven."
21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit,
said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to
little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
22"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one
knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father
is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
23Then he turned to his disciples and said privately,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many
prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and
to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test
Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read
it?"
27He 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'[k]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[l]"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and
you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And
who is my neighbor?"
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem
to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him
of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A
priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the
man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came
to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a
Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him,
he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring
on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an
inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver
coins[m] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said,
'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may
have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the
man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on
him."
Jesus told him, "Go
and do likewise."
At the Home of Martha and Mary
38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a
village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a
sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he
said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to
be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my
sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and
upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.[n] Mary has
chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Luke 11
Jesus' Teaching on Prayer
1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he
finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray,
just as John taught his disciples."
2He said to them, "When you pray, say:
" 'Father,[o]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.[p]
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive
everyone who sins against us.[q]
And lead us not into temptation.[r]' "
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and
he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of
bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I
have nothing to set before him.'
7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is
already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and
give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him
the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's
boldness[s] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone
who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door
will be opened.
11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[t] a fish, will
give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a
scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Jesus and Beelzebub
14Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon
left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15But
some of them said, "By Beelzebub,[u] the prince of demons, he is
driving out demons." 16Others tested him by asking for a sign from
heaven.
17Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom
divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against
itself will fall. 18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his
kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by
Beelzebub. 19Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your
followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20But if I
drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come
to you.
21"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his
possessions are safe. 22But when someone stronger attacks and
overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and
divides up the spoils.
23"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not
gather with me, scatters.
24"When an evil[v] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through
arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will
return to the house I left.' 25When it arrives, it finds the house
swept clean and put in order. 26Then it goes and takes seven other
spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the
final condition of that man is worse than the first."
27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd
called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you."
28He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of
God and obey it."
The Sign of Jonah
29As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked
generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it
except the sign of Jonah. 30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites,
so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31The Queen of the
South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and
condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to
Solomon's wisdom, and now one[w] greater than Solomon is here. 32The
men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and
condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one
greater than Jonah is here.
The Lamp of the Body
33"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will
be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that
those who come in may see the light. 34Your eye is the lamp of your
body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light.
But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35See to it,
then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36Therefore, if your
whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be
completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."
Six Woes
37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to
eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38But the
Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was
surprised.
39Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean
the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and
wickedness. 40You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside
make the inside also? 41But give what is inside the dish [x] to the
poor, and everything will be clean for you.
42"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your
mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice
and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without
leaving the former undone.
43"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important
seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which
men walk over without knowing it."
45One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when
you say these things, you insult us also."
46Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you,
because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and
you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and
it was your forefathers who killed them. 48So you testify that you
approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you
build their tombs. 49Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will
send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others
they will persecute.' 50Therefore this generation will be held
responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since
the beginning of the world, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I
tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
52"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away
the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have
hindered those who were entering."
53When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of
the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,
54waiting to catch him in something he might say.
Luke 12
Warnings and Encouragements
1Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so
that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to
his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the
Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing concealed that will
not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3What you have
said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have
whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the
roofs.
4"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill
the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you
should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to
throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6Are not five sparrows
sold for two pennies[y]? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid;
you are worth more than many sparrows.
8"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of
Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9But he who
disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. 10And
everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but
anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and
authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what
you will say, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what
you should say."
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother
to divide the inheritance with me."
14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter
between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard
against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions."
16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain
rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I
do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my
barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my
goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid
up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life
will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for
yourself?'
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things
for himself but is not rich toward God."
Do Not Worry
22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do
not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what
you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than
clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no
storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you
are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his
life[z]? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry
about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.
Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like
one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much
more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your
heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the
pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you
need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to
you as well.
32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been
pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to
the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a
treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.
Watchfulness
35"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,
36like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet,
so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for
him. 37It will be good for those servants whose master finds them
watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to
serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on
them. 38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them
ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.
39But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour
the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour
when you do not expect him."
41Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or
to everyone?"
42The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise
manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them
their food allowance at the proper time? 43It will be good for that
servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44I tell you
the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But
suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time
in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants
and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46The master of that servant will
come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not
aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the
unbelievers.
47"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get
ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many
blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving
punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been
given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been
entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Not Peace but Division
49"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it
were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how
distressed I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring
peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will
be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and
two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son
against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against
mother-in-law."
Interpreting the Times
54He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the
west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. 55And
when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is.
56Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and
the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present
time?
57"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? 58As you
are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be
reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and
the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into
prison. 59I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last
penny.
Matthew 17
The Transfiguration
1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the
brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There
he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before
them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If
you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for
Moses and one for Elijah."
5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them,
and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him
I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the
ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said.
"Don't be afraid." 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed
them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has
been raised from the dead."
10The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the
law say that Elijah must come first?"
11Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore
all things. 12But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not
recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same
way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13Then the
disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
The Healing of a Boy With a Demon
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and
knelt before him. 15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has
seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into
the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal
him."
17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied,
"how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?
Bring the boy here to me." 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out
of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why
couldn't we drive it out?"
20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you
the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to
this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will
be impossible for you."[a]
22When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The
Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23They will
kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the
disciples were filled with grief.
The Temple Tax
24After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the
collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't
your teacher pay the temple tax[b]?"
25"Yes, he does," he replied.
When Peter came into
the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he
asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and
taxes—from their own sons or from others?"
26"From others," Peter answered.
"Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him.
27"But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out
your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will
find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and
yours."
Matthew 18
The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is
the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And
he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name
welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe
in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung
around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to
sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it
away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to
have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if
your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is
better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be
thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones.
For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my
Father in heaven.[c]
12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one
of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills
and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I
tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the
ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in
heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
A Brother Who Sins Against You
15"If your brother sins against you,[d] go and show him his
fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won
your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others
along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two
or three witnesses.'[e] 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to
the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him
as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will
be[f]bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[g] loosed
in heaven.
19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about
anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with
them."
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times
shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but
seventy-seven times.[h]
23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a
man who owed him ten thousand talents[i] was brought to him. 25Since he
was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his
children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with
me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's
master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[j] He grabbed him and began to
choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be
patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man
thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other
servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went
and told their master everything that had happened.
32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked
servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you
begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant
just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the
jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you
unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Day
42
Go Back
John 13
Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the
time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having
loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent
of his love.[a]
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already
prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew
that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had
come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal,
took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his
disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you
going to wash my feet?"
7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but
later you will understand."
8"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered,
"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my
hands and my head as well!"
10Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to
wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not
every one of you." 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that
was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his
clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done
for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and
rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I
have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I
tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a
messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these
things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have
chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread
has lifted up his heel against me.'[b]
19"I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it
does happen you will believe that I am He. 20I tell you the truth,
whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me
accepts the one who sent me."
21After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and
testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
22His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know
which of them he meant. 23One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved,
was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and
said, "Ask him which one he means."
25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
26Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this
piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the
piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27As soon
as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
"What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told
him, 28but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling
him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the
poor. 30As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was
night.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
31When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man
glorified and God is glorified in him. 32If God is glorified in him,[c]
God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You
will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where
I am going, you cannot come.
34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know
that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
36Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
37Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay
down my life for you."
38Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life
for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown
me three times!
John 14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[d]; trust
also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to
be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the
place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are
going, so how can we know the way?"
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you
would know[e] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have
seen him."
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be
enough for us."
9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I
have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen
the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe
that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say
to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who
is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and
the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the
miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me
will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you
ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You
may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you
forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he
lives with you and will be[f] in you. 18I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me
anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On
that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me,
and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the
one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too
will love him and show myself to him."
22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do
you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my
teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our
home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent
me.
25"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to
you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not
be afraid.
28"You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to
you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I. 29I have told you now before it
happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30I will not
speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He
has no hold on me, 31but the world must learn that I love the Father
and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
"Come now; let us
leave.
John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts
off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes[g] so that it will be even more fruitful.
3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless
you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me
and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is
thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the
fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's
glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain
in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just
as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have
told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be
complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer
call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's
business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose
me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear
fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
The World Hates the Disciples
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me
first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As
it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to
you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[h] If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will
obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for
they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to
them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no
excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I
had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty
of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated
both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in
their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'[i]
26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will
testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with
me from the beginning.
John 16
1"All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.
2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when
anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3They
will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4I
have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that
I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me,
'Where are you going?' 6Because I have said these things, you are
filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that
I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you;
but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict
the world of guilt[j] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to
righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me
no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this
world now stands condemned.
12"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now
bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into
all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he
hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory
to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All
that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will
take from what is mine and make it known to you.
16"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after
a little while you will see me."
The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy
17Some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he
mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then
after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the
Father'?" 18They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'?
We don't understand what he is saying."
19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he
said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In
a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while
you will see me'? 20I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while
the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come;
but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy
that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of
grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will
take away your joy. 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I
tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my
name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and
you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming
when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you
plainly about my Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name. I am
not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27No, the Father
himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I
came from God. 28I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am
leaving the world and going back to the Father."
29Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly
and without figures of speech. 30Now we can see that you know all
things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions.
This makes us believe that you came from God."
31"You believe at last!"[k] Jesus answered. 32"But a time is
coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home.
You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with
me.
33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have
peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world."
John 17
Jesus Prays for Himself
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify
you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give
eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal
life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the
work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence
with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6"I have revealed you[l] to those whom you gave me out of the
world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your
word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They
knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you
sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for
those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and
all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will
remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I
am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your
name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one
as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them
safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed
to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13"I am coming to
you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that
they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given
them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the
world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take
them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify[m] them
by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I
have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they
too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who
will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be
one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in
us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given
them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let
the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have
loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where
I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you
loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though
the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have
sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you
known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I
myself may be in them."
Day
43
Go Back
Matthew 26
The Plot Against Jesus
1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to
his disciples, 2"As you know, the Passover is two days
away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people
assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
4and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. 5"But
not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the
people."
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as
Simon the Leper, 7a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very
expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at
the table.
8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this
waste?" they asked. 9"This perfume could have been sold at a high price
and the money given to the poor."
10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering
this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11The poor you will
always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12When she
poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
13I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the
world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas
Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15and asked, "What are you
willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for
him thirty silver coins. 16From then on Judas watched for an
opportunity to hand him over.
The Lord's Supper
17On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the
disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make
preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
18He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell
him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to
celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' " 19So the
disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with
the Twelve. 21And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the
truth, one of you will betray me."
22They were very sad and began to say to him one after the
other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the
bowl with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man will go just as it is
written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It
would be better for him if he had not been born."
25Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not
I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered,
"Yes, it is you."[a]
26While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is
my body."
27Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them,
saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28This is my blood of the[b]
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29I
tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until
that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."
30When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
31Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall
away on account of me, for it is written:
" 'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the
flock will be scattered.'[c] 32But after I have risen, I will go ahead
of you into Galilee."
33Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I
never will."
34"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night,
before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
35But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will
never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
Gethsemane
36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called
Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and
pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and
he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul
is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep
watch with me."
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground
and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.
"Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit
is willing, but the body is weak."
42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is
not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your
will be done."
43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because
their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and
prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are
you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of
Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us go! Here
comes my betrayer!"
Jesus Arrested
47While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve,
arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent
from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48Now the betrayer
had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest
him." 49Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and
kissed him.
50Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for."[d]
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and
arrested him. 51With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his
sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting
off his ear.
52"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for
all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53Do you think I cannot
call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than
twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the Scriptures be
fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
55At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a
rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?
Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest
me. 56But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets
might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Before the Sanhedrin
57Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high
priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled.
58But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of
the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the
outcome.
59The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for
false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60But
they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61and declared, "This
fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in
three days.' "
62Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you
not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing
against you?" 63But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said
to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are
the Christ,[e] the Son of God."
64"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all
of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right
hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has
spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have
heard the blasphemy. 66What do you think?"
"He is worthy of
death," they answered.
67Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.
Others slapped him 68and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?"
Peter Disowns Jesus
69Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant
girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.
70But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're
talking about," he said.
71Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him
and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."
72He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"
73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter
and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."
74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore
to them, "I don't know the man!"
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter
remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you
will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Matthew 27
Judas Hangs Himself
1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders
of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound
him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was
condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver
coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said,
"for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to
us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he
went away and hanged himself.
6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is
against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood
money." 7So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as
a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the
Field of Blood to this day. 9Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the
prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price
set on him by the people of Israel, 10and they used them to buy the
potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."[f]
Jesus Before Pilate
11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor
asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you
say," Jesus replied.
12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he
gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony
they are bringing against you?" 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to
a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a
prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16At that time they had a notorious
prisoner, called Barabbas. 17So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate
asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or
Jesus who is called Christ?" 18For he knew it was out of envy that they
had handed Jesus over to him.
19While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent
him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man,
for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to
ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked
the governor.
"Barabbas," they
answered.
22"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?"
Pilate asked.
They all answered,
"Crucify him!"
23"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all
the louder, "Crucify him!"
24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that
instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in
front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It
is your responsibility!"
25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our
children!"
26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus
flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium
and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped
him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then twisted together a crown
of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand
and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!"
they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the
head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took off the
robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify
him.
The Crucifixion
32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named
Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33They came to a place
called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34There they
offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he
refused to drink it. 35When they had crucified him, they divided up his
clothes by casting lots.[g] 36And sitting down, they kept watch over
him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him:
THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38Two robbers were crucified with
him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled
insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, "You who are going to
destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down
from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law
and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he
can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from
the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God
rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped
insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over
all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi,[h] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?"[i]
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said,
"He's calling Elijah."
48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it
with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.
49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to
save him."
50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave
up his spirit.
51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two
from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs
broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised
to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection
they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding
Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were
terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son[j] of God!"
55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had
followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of
Zebedee's sons.
The Burial of Jesus
57As evening approached, there came a rich man from
Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.
58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it
be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen
cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the
rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and
went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there
opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief
priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63"Sir," they said, "we
remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three
days I will rise again.' 64So give the order for the tomb to be made
secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal
the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.
This last deception will be worse than the first."
65"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as
secure as you know how." 66So they went and made the tomb secure by
putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 28
The Resurrection
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord
came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and
sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were
white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and
became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know
that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he
has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then
go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is
going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have
told you."
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled
with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them.
"Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped
him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my
brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
The Guards' Report
11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went
into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had
happened. 12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised
a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13telling them,
"You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him
away while we were asleep.' 14If this report gets to the governor, we
will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15So the soldiers took
the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been
widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
The Great Commission
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped
him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[k] the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age."
Mark 15
Jesus Before Pilate
1Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the
elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a
decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.
"Yes, it is as you
say," Jesus replied.
3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again
Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they
are accusing you of."
5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner
whom the people requested. 7A man called Barabbas was in prison with
the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8The
crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?"
asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had
handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd
to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of
the Jews?" Pilate asked them.
13"Crucify him!" they shouted.
14"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all
the louder, "Crucify him!"
15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to
them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the
Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They
put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and
set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the
Jews!" 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and
spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And
when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own
clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander
and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they
forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called
Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23Then they offered him
wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified
him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26The
written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his
left.[a] 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their
heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and
build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!"
31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the
law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he
can't save himself! 32Let this Christ,[b] this King of Israel, come
down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified
with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until
the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud
voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?"[c]
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said,
"Listen, he's calling Elijah."
36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a
stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's
see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus,
heard his cry and[d] saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the
Son[e] of God!"
40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and
Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his
needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also
there.
The Burial of Jesus
42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the
Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent
member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God,
went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 44Pilate was surprised
to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him
if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it
was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linen
cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a
tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of
the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he
was laid.
Mark 16
The Resurrection
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother
of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint
Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after
sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other,
"Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was
very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a
young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they
were alarmed.
6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the
Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the
place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He
is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he
told you.' "
8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from
the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
((The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do
not have Mark 16:9-20.))
9When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven
demons. 10She went and told those who had been with him and who were
mourning and weeping. 11When they heard that Jesus was alive and that
she had seen him, they did not believe it.
12Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them
while they were walking in the country. 13These returned and reported
it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he
rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to
believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good
news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will
accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons;
they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their
hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up
into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples
went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and
confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Day
44
Go Back
Luke 22
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
1Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was
approaching, 2and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were
looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the
people. 3Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
4And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple
guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5They were
delighted and agreed to give him money. 6He consented, and watched for
an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
The Last Supper
7Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover
lamb had to be sacrificed. 8Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and
make preparations for us to eat the Passover."
9"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of
water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11and say
to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room,
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12He will show you a
large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So
they prepared the Passover.
14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the
table. 15And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this
Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you, I will not eat it
again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this
and divide it among you. 18For I tell you I will not drink again of the
fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to
them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of
me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the
table. 22The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that
man who betrays him." 23They began to question among themselves which
of them it might be who would do this.
24Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was
considered to be greatest. 25Jesus said to them, "The kings of the
Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them
call themselves Benefactors. 26But you are not to be like that.
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the
one who rules like the one who serves. 27For who is greater, the one
who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at
the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28You are those who
have stood by me in my trials. 29And I confer on you a kingdom, just as
my Father conferred one on me, 30so that you may eat and drink at my
table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.
31"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you[a] as wheat.
32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And
when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
33But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison
and to death."
34Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster
crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
35Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag
or sandals, did you lack anything?"
"Nothing," they
answered.
36He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and
also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
37It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'[b]; and I
tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about
me is reaching its fulfillment."
38The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."
"That is enough," he
replied.
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his
disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray
that you will not fall into temptation." 41He withdrew about a stone's
throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are
willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And
being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like
drops of blood falling to the ground.[c]
45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he
found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46"Why are you sleeping?" he
asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Jesus Arrested
47While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man
who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He
approached Jesus to kiss him, 48but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you
betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
49When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they
said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" 50And one of them
struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the
man's ear and healed him.
52Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the
temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a
rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53Every day I was
with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But
this is your hour—when darkness reigns."
Peter Disowns Jesus
54Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the
house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55But when they
had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down
together, Peter sat down with them. 56A servant girl saw him seated
there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man
was with him."
57But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said.
58A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are
one of them."
"Man, I am not!"
Peter replied.
59About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this
fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
60Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking
about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61The Lord turned
and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord
had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me
three times." 62And he went outside and wept bitterly.
The Guards Mock Jesus
63The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating
him. 64They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?"
65And they said many other insulting things to him.
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
66At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both
the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was
led before them. 67"If you are the Christ,[d]" they said, "tell us."
Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not
believe me, 68and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69But from now
on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
70They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"
He replied, "You are
right in saying I am."
71Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have
heard it from his own lips."
Luke 23
1Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2And
they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting
our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be
Christ,[e] a king."
3So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Yes, it is as you
say," Jesus replied.
4Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I
find no basis for a charge against this man."
5But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over
Judea[f]by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way
here."
6On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean.
7When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him
to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a
long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about
him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. 9He plied him with many
questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10The chief priests and the
teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him.
11Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in
an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12That day Herod and
Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
13Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and
the people, 14and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was
inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence
and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15Neither has
Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing
to deserve death. 16Therefore, I will punish him and then release
him."[g]
18With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release
Barabbas to us!" 19(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an
insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again.
21But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
22For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has
this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death
penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."
23But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be
crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24So Pilate decided to grant
their demand. 25He released the man who had been thrown into prison for
insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus
to their will.
The Crucifixion
26As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who
was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made
him carry it behind Jesus. 27A large number of people followed him,
including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28Jesus turned and said
to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for
yourselves and for your children. 29For the time will come when you
will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and
the breasts that never nursed!' 30Then
" 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and to the hills,
"Cover us!" '[h] 31For if men do these things when the tree is green,
what will happen when it is dry?"
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him
to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there
they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his
right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing."[i] And they divided up his
clothes by casting lots.
35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at
him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the
Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him
wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save
yourself."
38There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS
IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:
"Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God,"
he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished
justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has
done nothing wrong."
42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.[j]"
43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will
be with me in paradise."
Jesus' Death
44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the
whole land until the ninth hour, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the
curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud
voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said
this, he breathed his last.
47The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and
said, "Surely this was a righteous man." 48When all the people who had
gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their
breasts and went away. 49But all those who knew him, including the
women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching
these things.
Jesus' Burial
50Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council,
a good and upright man, 51who had not consented to their decision and
action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting
for the kingdom of God. 52Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body.
53Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a
tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54It was
Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed
Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56Then they
went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the
Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Luke 24
The Resurrection
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the
women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They
found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they
did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering
about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning
stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their
faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the
living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he
told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must
be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the
third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.
9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these
things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told
this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because
their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and
ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by
themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13Now that same day two of them were going to a village
called Emmaus, about seven miles[k] from Jerusalem. 14They were talking
with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked
and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and
walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you
walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of
them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem
and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19"What things?" he asked.
"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a
prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The
chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death,
and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was
going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all
this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went
to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came
and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was
alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just
as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the
Christ[l] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what
was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28As they approached the village to which they were going,
Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly,
"Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he
went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave
thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were
opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while
he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they
found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying,
"It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the
two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by
them when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself
stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
37They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a
ghost. 38He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise
in your minds? 39Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me
and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
40When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
41And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement,
he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" 42They gave him a
piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still
with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the
Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the
Scriptures. 46He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will
suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49I am
going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city
until you have been clothed with power from on high."
The Ascension
50When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he
lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he
left them and was taken up into heaven. 52Then they worshiped him and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53And they stayed continually at
the temple, praising God.
John 19
Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers
twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed
him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying,
"Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am
bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a
charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns
and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him,
they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"
But Pilate answered,
"You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge
against him."
7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law
he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he
went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus,
but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate
said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify
you?"
11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were
not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to
you is guilty of a greater sin."
12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews
kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.
Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."
13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down
on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in
Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week,
about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king,"
Pilate said to the Jews.
15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify
him!"
"Shall I crucify
your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but
Caesar," the chief priests answered.
16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which
in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18Here they crucified him, and with him
two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It
read:|sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20Many of the Jews
read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the
city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief
priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the
Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
22Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes,
dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the
undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece
from top to bottom.
24"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's
decide by lot who will get it."
This happened that
the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
"They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my
clothing."[a] So this is what the soldiers did.
25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw
his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he
said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the
disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took
her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the
Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of
wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge
on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he
had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he
bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to
be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on
the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs
broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and
broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and
then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that
he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the
soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of
blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his
testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies
so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the
scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"[b]
37and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have
pierced."[c]
The Burial of Jesus
38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of
Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he
feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body
away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had
visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about seventy-five pounds.[d] 40Taking Jesus' body, the two of them
wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance
with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified,
there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had
ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and
since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 20
The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed
from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other
disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out
of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both
were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb
first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there
but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and
went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as
the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded
up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who
had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise
from the dead.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary
stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into
the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had
been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I
don't know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and
saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are
looking for?"
Thinking he was the
gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where
you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward
him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet
returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am
returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have
seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the
disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After
he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were
overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has
sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and
said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they
are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not
with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him,
"We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the
nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and
Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to
Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and
put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of
his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are
written that you may[e] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 21
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
1Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea
of Tiberias.[f] It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called
Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two
other disciples were together. 3"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter
told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got
into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the
disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
6He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and
you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in
because of the large number of fish.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the
Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he
wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and
jumped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat,
towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a
hundred yards.[g] 9When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals
there with fish on it, and some bread.
10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just
caught."
11Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It
was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not
torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the
disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord.
13Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with
the fish. 14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples
after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he
said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my
lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love
me?"
He answered, "Yes,
Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take
care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you
love me?"
Peter was hurt
because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said,
"Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell
you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went
where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to
go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter
would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was
following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at
the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") 21When
Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I
return, what is that to you? You must follow me." 23Because of this,
the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die.
But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want
him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who
wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them
were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have
room for the books that would be written.
Day
45
Go Back
Acts 1
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus
began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he
had chosen. 3After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over
a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one
occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do
not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which
you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with[a] water, but in
a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at
this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or
dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth."
9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes,
and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going,
when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of
Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This
same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in
the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the
Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk[b] from the city. 13When they
arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those
present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in
prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brothers.
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers[c] (a
group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16and said, "Brothers, the
Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago
through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for
those who arrested Jesus— 17he was one of our number and
shared in this ministry."
18(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a
field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his
intestines spilled out. 19Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so
they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of
Blood.)
20"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms,
" 'May his place be deserted;
let there be no one
to dwell in it,'[d] and,
" 'May another take his place of leadership.'[e]
21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with
us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning
from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For
one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."
23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also
known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, "Lord, you know
everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take
over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."
26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to
the eleven apostles.
Acts 2
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in
one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They
saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest
on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other tongues[f] as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from
every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came
together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his
own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who
are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in
his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
11(both Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we
hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed
and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had
too much wine.[g]"
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and
addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem,
let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These men
are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No,
this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my
Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will
see visions,
your old men will
dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my
Spirit in those days,
and they will
prophesy.
19I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the
earth below,
blood and fire and
billows of smoke.
20The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to
blood
before the coming of
the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21And everyone who calls
on the name of the
Lord will be saved.'[h]
22"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man
accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did
among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed
over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the
help of wicked men,[i] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of
death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25David said about him:
" 'I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my
right hand,
I will not be
shaken.
26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will
live in hope,
27because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let
your Holy One see decay.
28You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me
with joy in your presence.'[j]
29"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch
David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he
was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would
place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was ahead, he
spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,[k] that he was not abandoned
to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus
to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33Exalted to the right
hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit
and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34For David did not
ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
" 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right
hand
35until I make your enemies
a footstool for your
feet." '[l]
36"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made
this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and
said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and
your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the
Lord our God will call."
40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with
them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41Those who
accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added
to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to
the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was
filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the
apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in
common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as
he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple
courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and
sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the
people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved.
Acts 3
Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar
1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the
time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled
from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where
he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.
3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at
us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something
from them.
6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I
have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."
7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the
man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began
to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and
jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and
praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit
begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with
wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter Speaks to the Onlookers
11While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people
were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's
Colonnade. 12When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why
does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power
or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You
handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate,
though he had decided to let him go. 14You disowned the Holy and
Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15You
killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are
witnesses of this. 16By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you
see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that
comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you
can all see.
17"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did
your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold
through all the prophets, saying that his Christ[m] would suffer.
19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send
the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21He
must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore
everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22For
Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me
from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.
23Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from
among his people.'[n]
24"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have
spoken, have foretold these days. 25And you are heirs of the prophets
and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham,
'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'[o]
26When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you
by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Acts 4
Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the
Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the
people. 2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching
the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They
seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in
jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and
the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met
in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas,
John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. 7They
had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By
what power or what name did you do this?"
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them:
"Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account
today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he
was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom
God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11He
is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the
capstone.[p]'[q] 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized
that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they
took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14But since they could
see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was
nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the
Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16"What are we going to do with
these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have
done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17But to stop this
thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these
men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to
speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John
replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to
obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we
have seen and heard."
21After further threats they let them go. They could not
decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for
what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over
forty years old.
The Believers' Prayer
23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own
people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to
them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in
prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and
the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy
Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
" 'Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot
in vain?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers
gather together
against the Lord
and against his
Anointed One.[r]'[s] 27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together
with the Gentiles and the people[t] of Israel in this city to conspire
against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what
your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord,
consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with
great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous
signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was
shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the
word of God boldly.
The Believers Share Their Possessions
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one
claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared
everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to
testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon
them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to
time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from
the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to
anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called
Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned
and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
Acts 8
1And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke
out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were
scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and
mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going
from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in
prison.
Philip in Samaria
4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they
went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the
Christ[a]there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous
signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7With
shrieks, evil[b] spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and
cripples were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in
the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was
someone great, 10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their
attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the
Great Power." 11They followed him because he had amazed them for a long
time with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached the
good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were
baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and was
baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great
signs and miracles he saw.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they
arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had
simply been baptized into[c] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter
and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on
of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also
this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the
Holy Spirit."
20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because
you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no
part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before
God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will
forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that
you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
24Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that
nothing you have said may happen to me."
25When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the
Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in
many Samaritan villages.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the
road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem
to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an
Ethiopian[d]eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury
of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to
worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the
book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that
chariot and stay near it."
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading
Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip
asked.
31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?"
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before
the shearer is silent,
so he did not open
his mouth.
33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his
descendants?
For his life was
taken from the earth."[e]
34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the
prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35Then Philip began
with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about
Jesus.
36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water
and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be
baptized?"[f] 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both
Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly
took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his
way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled
about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Acts 9
Saul's Conversion
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats
against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any
there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them
as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey,
suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground
and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
5"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he
replied. 6"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what
you must do."
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they
heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by
the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat
or drink anything.
10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord
called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he
answered.
11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight
Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands
on him to restore his sight."
13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about
this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest
all who call on your name."
15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen
instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and
before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer
for my name."
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his
hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who
appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent
me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he
could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some
food, he regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the
disciples in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues
that Jesus is the Son of God. 21All those who heard him were astonished
and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those
who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as
prisoners to the chief priests?" 22Yet Saul grew more and more powerful
and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the
Christ.[g]
23After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill
him, 24but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close
watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25But his followers took
him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a
disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He
told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord
had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in
the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in
Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He talked and
debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30When the
brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him
off to Tarsus.
31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria
enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the
Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
Aeneas and Dorcas
32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the
saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who
had been bedridden for eight years. 34"Aeneas," Peter said to him,
"Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately
Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and
turned to the Lord.
36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when
translated, is Dorcas[h]), who was always doing good and helping the
poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was
washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when
the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him
and urged him, "Please come at once!"
39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken
upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and
showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she
was still with them.
40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on
his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha,
get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took
her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the
believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became
known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter
stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Acts 10
Cornelius Calls for Peter
1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in
what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were
devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed
to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a
vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said,
"Cornelius!"
4Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he
asked.
The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the
poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5Now send men to
Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is
staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea."
7When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called
two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.
8He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Peter's Vision
9About noon the following day as they were on their journey
and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He
became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being
prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something
like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It
contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the
earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter.
Kill and eat."
14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten
anything impure or unclean."
15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything
impure that God has made clean."
16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was
taken back to heaven.
17While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision,
the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped
at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter
was staying there.
19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit
said to him, "Simon, three[i] men are looking for you. 20So get up and
go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."
21Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're
looking for. Why have you come?"
22The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the
centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by
all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his
house so that he could hear what you have to say." 23Then Peter invited
the men into the house to be his guests.
Peter at Cornelius' House
The next day Peter started out with
them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. 24The following
day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called
together his relatives and close friends. 25As Peter entered the house,
Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26But Peter made
him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself."
27Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large
gathering of people. 28He said to them: "You are well aware that it is
against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But
God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29So
when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask
why you sent for me?"
30Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house
praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in
shining clothes stood before me 31and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard
your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32Send to Joppa for
Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the
tanner, who lives by the sea.' 33So I sent for you immediately, and it
was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to
listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."
34Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is
that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation
who fear him and do what is right. 36You know the message God sent to
the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus
Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what has happened throughout
Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John
preached— 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who
were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of
the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to
be seen. 41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God
had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he
rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to
testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living
and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who
believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had
come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had
been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in
tongues[j] and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47"Can anyone keep these people
from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just
as we have." 48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Acts 12
Peter's Miraculous Escape From Prison
1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who
belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the
brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3When he saw that this
pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened
during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After arresting him, he put him
in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four
soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after
the Passover.
5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly
praying to God for him.
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was
sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries
stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared
and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him
up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and
sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,"
the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had
no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought
he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and
came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by
itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of
one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a
doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches
and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
12When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary
the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered
and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant
girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter's
voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and
exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"
15"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept
insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door
and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for
them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of
prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he
left for another place.
18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the
soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough
search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards
and ordered that they be executed.
Herod's Death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea
and stayed there a while. 20He had been quarreling with the people of
Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with
him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant
of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's
country for their food supply.
21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on
his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22They
shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23Immediately,
because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck
him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24But the word of God continued to increase and spread.
25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they
returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Acts 13
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for
me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3So
after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and
sent them off.
On Cyprus
4The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went
down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5When they arrived at
Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John
was with them as their helper.
6They traveled through the whole island until they came to
Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named
Bar-Jesus, 7who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The
proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he
wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is
what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from
the faith. 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy
Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10"You are a child of the
devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all
kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right
ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are
going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light
of the sun."
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and
he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the
proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the
teaching about the Lord.
In Pisidian Antioch
13From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in
Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14From Perga
they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the
synagogue and sat down. 15After the reading from the Law and the
Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if
you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."
16Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of
Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17The God of the
people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during
their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country,
18he endured their conduct[b] for about forty years in the desert, 19he
overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as
their inheritance. 20All this took about 450 years.
"After this, God gave them judges until the time
of Samuel the prophet. 21Then the people asked for a king, and he gave
them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
22After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified
concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own
heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
23"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the
Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24Before the coming of Jesus, John
preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25As John
was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that
one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to
untie.'
26"Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing
Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet
in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are
read every Sabbath. 28Though they found no proper ground for a death
sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29When they had
carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the
tree and laid him in a tomb. 30But God raised him from the dead, 31and
for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from
Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.
32"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers
33he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it
is written in the second Psalm:
" 'You are my Son;
today I have become
your Father.[c]'[d] 34The fact that God raised him from the dead, never
to decay, is stated in these words:
" 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings
promised to David.'[e] 35So it is stated elsewhere:
" 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.'[f]
36"For when David had served God's purpose in his own
generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body
decayed. 37But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through
Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him
everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be
justified from by the law of Moses. 40Take care that what the prophets
have said does not happen to you:
41" 'Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never
believe,
even if someone told
you.'[g]"
42As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people
invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.
43When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout
converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them
and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear
the word of the Lord. 45When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled
with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.
46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to
speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not
consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
Gentiles. 47For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you[h] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[i] may
bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'[j]"
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored
the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life
believed.
49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But
the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading
men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust from
their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52And the
disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 14
In Iconium
1At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish
synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews
and Gentiles believed. 2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up
the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3So Paul
and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the
Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do
miraculous signs and wonders. 4The people of the city were divided;
some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5There was a plot
afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to
mistreat them and stone them. 6But they found out about it and fled to
the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding
country, 7where they continued to preach the good news.
In Lystra and Derbe
8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame
from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was
speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be
healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man
jumped up and began to walk.
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the
Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!"
12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was
the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside
the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and
the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they
tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why
are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are
bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things
to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in
them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has
not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you
rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with
plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18Even with these
words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the
crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking
he was dead. 20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got
up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for
Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21They preached the good news in that city and won a large
number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,
22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to
the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of
God," they said. 23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[k] for them in
each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord,
in whom they had put their trust. 24After going through Pisidia, they
came into Pamphylia, 25and when they had preached the word in Perga,
they went down to Attalia.
26From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had
been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
27On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all
that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith
to the Gentiles. 28And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Day
46
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Galatians 3
Faith or Observance of the Law
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your
very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would
like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by
observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish?
After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal
by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it
really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles
among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you
heard?
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to
him as righteousness."[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are
children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All
nations will be blessed through you."[b] 9So those who have faith are
blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it
is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything
written in the Book of the Law."[c] 11Clearly no one is justified
before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."[d]
12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does
these things will live by them."[e] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is
everyone who is hung on a tree."[f] 14He redeemed us in order that the
blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ
Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law and the Promise
15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just
as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly
established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to
Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds,"
meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[g] meaning one person, who
is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later,
does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus
do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law,
then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to
Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added
because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred
had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A
mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God?
Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life,
then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the
Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that
what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be
given to those who believe.
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law,
locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in
charge to lead us to Christ[h] that we might be justified by faith.
25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of
the law.
Sons of God
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 4
1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he
is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2He is
subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So
also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic
principles of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent
his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law,
that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6Because you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls
out, "Abba,[i] Father." 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and
since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Paul's Concern for the Galatians
8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to
those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know
God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you
are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to
be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days
and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have
wasted my efforts on you.
12I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became
like you. You have done me no wrong. 13As you know, it was because of
an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14Even though my
illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or
scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I
were Christ Jesus himself. 15What has happened to all your joy? I can
testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your
eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling
you the truth?
17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good.
What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous
for them. 18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and
to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19My dear children,
for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed
in you, 20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone,
because I am perplexed about you!
Hagar and Sarah
21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not
aware of what the law says? 22For it is written that Abraham had two
sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23His son
by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the
free woman was born as the result of a promise.
24These things may be taken figuratively, for the women
represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears
children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for
Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem,
because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that
is above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written:
"Be glad, O barren woman,
who bears no
children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have no
labor pains;
because more are the children of the desolate
woman
than of her who has
a husband."[j]
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born
by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30But what does the
Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave
woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's
son."[k] 31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman,
but of the free woman.
Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm,
then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves
be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I
declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is
obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by
law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for
which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith
expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you
from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the
one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of
dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.
The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty,
whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision,
why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross
has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the
whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use
your freedom to indulge the sinful nature[l]; rather, serve one another
in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your
neighbor as yourself."[m] 15If you keep on biting and devouring each
other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the
desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is
contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful
nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do
what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under
law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred,
discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as
I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since
we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us
not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also
may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will
fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is
nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions.
Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to
somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all
good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what
he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that
nature[n]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit,
from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in
doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not
give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all
people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Not Circumcision but a New Creation
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own
hand!
12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are
trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is
to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who
are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that
they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[o] the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace
and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body
the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers. Amen.
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