the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
July 5 - Old & New Testament
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1 Kings 19,20
Elijah's Journey to Horeb
1 Ahab told Jezebel(a) everything that Elijah had done(b) and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.(c) 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "May the gods punish me and do so severely(d) if I don't make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!"
3 Then Elijah became afraid[a](e) and immediately ran for his life.(f) When he came to Beer-sheba(g) that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there,(h) 4 but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree(i) and prayed that he might die. He said, "I have had enough! Lord , take my life,(j) for I'm no better than my fathers." 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.
Suddenly, an angel touched him.(k) The angel told him, "Get up and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water.(l) So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the Lord (m) returned for a second time and touched him. He said, "Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you." 8 So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights(n) to Horeb, the mountain of God.(o) 9 He entered a cave(p) there and spent the night.
Elijah's Encounter with the Lord
Then the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"(q)
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous(r) for the Lord God of Hosts, but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant,(s) torn down Your altars,(t) and killed Your prophets(u) with the sword. I alone am left,(v) and they are looking for me to take my life."(w)
11 Then He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord 's presence."(x)
At that moment, the Lord passed by.(y) A great and mighty wind(z) was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord , but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake,(aa) but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire,(ab) but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper.(ac) 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle(ad) and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
14 "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts," he replied, "but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they're looking for me to take my life."(ae)
15 Then the Lord said to him, "Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael(af) as king over Aram. 16 You are to anoint Jehu(ag) son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha(ah) son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael,(ai) and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.(aj) 18 But I will leave 7,000 in Israel(ak)—every knee that has not bowed to Baal(al) and every mouth that has not kissed him."(am)
Elisha's Appointment as Elijah's Successor
19 Elijah left there and found Elisha(an) son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him.(ao) 20 Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you."(ap)
"Go on back," he replied, "for what have I done to you?"
21 So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen's wooden yoke and plow,(aq) he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.(ar)
Victory over Ben-hadad
1 Now Ben-hadad(a) king of Aram assembled his entire army. Thirty-two kings,(b) along with horses and chariots, were with him. He marched up, besieged Samaria,(c) and fought against it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, "This is what Ben-hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine! And your best wives and children are mine as well!'"(d)
4 Then the king of Israel answered, "Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have."
5 The messengers then returned and said, "This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent messengers to you, saying: You are to give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children. 6 But at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your palace and your servants' houses. They will lay their hands on and take away whatever is precious to you.'"
7 Then the king of Israel called for all the elders of the land and said, "Think it over and you will see that this one is only looking for trouble,(e) for he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I didn't turn him down."
8 All the elders and all the people said to him, "Don't listen or agree."
9 So he said to Ben-hadad's messengers, "Say to my lord the king, ‘Everything you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'" So the messengers left and took word back to him.
10 Then Ben-hadad sent messengers to him and said, "May the gods punish me and do so severely(f) if Samaria's dust(g) amounts to a handful for each of the people who follow me."
11 The king of Israel answered, "Say this: ‘Don't let the one who puts on his armor boast(h) like the one who takes it off.'"
12 When Ben-hadad heard this response, while he and the kings were drinking(i) in the tents, he said to his servants, "Take your positions." So they took their positions against the city.
13 A prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Watch, I am handing it over to you today so that you may know that I am Yahweh.'"(j)
14 Ahab asked, "By whom?"
And the prophet said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘By the young men of the provincial leaders.'"
Then he asked, "Who is to start the battle?"(k)
He said, "You."
15 So Ahab counted the young men of the provincial leaders, and there were 232. After them he counted all the Israelite troops: 7,000.(l) 16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings(m) who were helping him were getting drunk in the tents. 17 The young men of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, "Men are marching out of Samaria."(n)
18 So he said, "If they have marched out in peace,(o) take them alive, and if they have marched out for battle, take them alive."
19 The young men of the provincial leaders and the army behind them marched out from the city, 20 and each one struck down his opponent.(p) So the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them,(q) but Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry. 21 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the cavalry and the chariots. He inflicted a great slaughter on Aram.
22 The prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, "Go and strengthen yourself, then consider what you should do, for in the spring(r) the king of Aram will march against you."
23 Now the king of Aram's servants said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hill country.(s) That's why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they will be. 24 Also do this: remove each king from his position and appoint captains in their place. 25 Raise another army for yourself like the army you lost—horse for horse, chariot for chariot—and let's fight with them on the plain; and we will certainly be stronger than they will be." The king listened to them and did so.
26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek(t) to battle Israel. 27 The Israelites mobilized, gathered supplies, and went to fight them. The Israelites camped in front of them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the landscape.(u)
28 Then the man of God(v) approached and said to the king of Israel, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans have said: Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,(w) I will hand over all this great army to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord .'"(x)
29 They camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day,(y) the battle took place, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 The ones who remained fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on those 27,000 remaining men.
Ben-hadad also fled and went into an inner room(z) in the city. 31 His servants said to him, "Consider this: we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. So let's put sackcloth around our waists(aa) and ropes around our heads, and let's go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life."
32 So they dressed with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.'"
So he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."
33 Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, so they quickly picked up on this[a] and responded, "Yes, it is your brother Ben-hadad."
Then he said, "Go and bring him."
So Ben-hadad came out to him, and Ahab had him come up into the chariot. 34 Then Ben-hadad said to him, "I restore to you the cities that my father took from your father,(ab) and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, like my father set up in Samaria."(ac)
Ahab responded, "On the basis of this treaty, I release you." So he made a treaty with him and released him.
Ahab Rebuked by the Lord
35 One of the sons of the prophets(ad) said to his fellow prophet by the word of the Lord , "Strike me!" But the man refused to strike him.
36 He told him, "Because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord , mark my words: When you leave me, a lion will kill you."(ae) When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said to him, "Strike me!" So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. 38 Then the prophet went and waited for the king on the road. He disguised(af) himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, "Your servant marched out into the middle of the battle. Suddenly, a man turned aside and brought someone to me and said, ‘Guard this man! If he is ever missing, it will be your life in place of his life,(ag) or you will weigh out 75 pounds[b] of silver.' 40 But while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared."
The king of Israel said to him, "That will be your sentence; you yourself have decided it."(ah)
41 He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. 42 The prophet said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you released from your hand the man I had set apart for destruction,(ai) it will be your life in place of his life and your people in place of his people.'" 43 The king of Israel left for home resentful and angry,(aj) and he entered Samaria.
Acts 13:26-52
Chapter 13
26 "Brothers, sons of Abraham's race, and those among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us.(aa) 27 For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words[g] by condemning Him.(ab) 28 Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have Him killed.(ac) 29 When they had fulfilled all that had been written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and put Him in a tomb.(ad) 30 But God raised Him from the dead,(ae) 31 and He appeared for many days to those who came with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people.(af) 32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.(ag) 33 God has fulfilled this 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.
[h](ah)[i]
34 Since He raised Him from the dead, never to return to decay, He has spoken in this way, I will grant you the faithful covenant blessings [j] made to David. (ai)[k] 35 Therefore He also says in another passage, You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay. (aj)[l] 36 For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep,(ak) was buried with his fathers, and decayed.(al) 37 But the One God raised up did not decay. 38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you,(am) 39 and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.(an) 40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:
41
Look, you scoffers,
marvel and vanish away,
because I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will never believe,
even if someone were to explain it to you.
"(ao)[m]
Paul and Barnabas in Antioch
42 As they[n] were leaving, the people[o] begged that these matters be presented to them the following Sabbath. 43 After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and persuading them to continue in the grace of God.(ap)
44 The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the message of the Lord.[p] 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.(aq)
46 Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said: "It was necessary that God's message be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles!(ar) 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
I have made you
a light for the Gentiles
to bring salvation
to the ends
[q]
of the earth.
"(as)[r]
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 So the message of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the prominent women, who worshiped God, and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.(at) 51 But they shook the dust off their feet(au) against them(av) and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.(aw)
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