Bible Reading Plan

2 Kings 25

Chapter 25

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

^1 (C1)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(C2)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and ^(C3)built a siege wall all around ^(F1)it.² So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(C1)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.^4 (C1)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside ^(C2)the king's garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^(F1)they went by way of the Arabah.⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.⁶ Then ^(C1)they captured the king and ^(C2)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(C3)Riblah, and he ^(F1)passed sentence on him.⁷ And ^(C1)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then ^(C2)put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

^8 (C1)Now on the seventh day of the ^(C2)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.⁹ And ^(C1)he burned the house of the LORD, ^(C2)the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.¹⁰ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards ^(C1)tore down the walls around Jerusalem.¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile ^(C1)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the ^(F1)people.¹² But the captain of the bodyguards left some of ^(C1)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

^13 (C1)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and ^(C2)the bronze ^(F1)Sea which were in the house of the LORD, and carried the ^(F2)bronze to Babylon.^14 (C1)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the ^(F1)shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils ^(F2)which were used in temple service.¹⁵ The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver.¹⁶ The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—^(F1)(C1)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh.^17 (C1)The height of the one pillar was ^(F1)eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was ^(F2)three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.

¹⁸ Then the captain of the bodyguards took ^(C1)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(C2)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three ^(F1)doorkeepers.¹⁹ And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and ^(C1)five ^(F1)of the king's advisers who were found in the city; and the ^(F2)scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.²⁰ Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(C1)Riblah.²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(C1)So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

²² Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(C1)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them.^23 (C1)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at ^(C2)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, "Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you."

^25 (C1)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^(F1)family, came ^(F2)with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.^26 (C1)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

^27 (C1)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of ^(C2)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, ^(F1)(C3)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison;²⁸ and he ^(C1)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon.²⁹ So ^(F1)Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and ^(F2)(C1)had his meals in ^(F3)the king's presence regularly all the days of his life;³⁰ and as his ^(C1)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Habakkuk 2

Chapter 2

God Answers the Prophet

¹ I will ^(C1)stand at my guard post
And station myself on the watchtower;
And I will ^(C2)keep watch to see ^(C3)what He will say to me,
And how I may reply ^(F1)when I am reprimanded.

² Then the LORD answered me and said,
"^(C1)Write down the vision
And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
So that one who ^(F1)reads it may run.

³ "For the vision is yet for the ^(C1)appointed time;
It ^(F1)hurries toward the goal and it will not ^(F2)fail.
Though it delays, ^(C2)wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it ^(C3)will not delay long.

⁴ "Behold, as for the ^(C1)impudent one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the ^(C2)righteous one will live by his ^(F1)faith.

⁵ "Furthermore, ^(C1)wine betrays an ^(C2)arrogant man,
So that he does not ^(C3)achieve his objective.
He ^(C4)enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all the nations
And collects to himself all the peoples.

⁶ "Will all of these not ^(C1)take up a song of ridicule against him,
Even a saying and insinuations against him
And say, '^(C2)Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself ^(F1)rich with debts!'

⁷ "Will ^(F1)your creditors not ^(C1)rise up suddenly,
And those who ^(F2)collect from you awaken?
Indeed, you will become plunder for them.

⁸ "Since you have ^(C1)looted many nations,
All the rest of the peoples will loot you—
Because of human bloodshed and violence ^(F1)done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.

⁹ "Woe to him who makes ^(C1)evil profit for his household,
To ^(C2)put his nest on high,
To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!

¹⁰ "You have planned a ^(C1)shameful thing for your house
By bringing many peoples to an end;
So you are ^(C2)sinning against yourself.

¹¹ "For the ^(C1)stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the ^(F1)framework.

¹² "Woe to him who ^(C1)builds a city with bloodshed,
And founds a town with ^(F1)violence!

¹³ "Is it not indeed from the LORD of armies
That peoples ^(C1)labor merely for fire,
And nations become weary for nothing?

¹⁴ "For the earth will be ^(C1)filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea.

¹⁵ "Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink;
^(F1)To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk,
So as to look at their genitalia!

¹⁶ "You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
^(C1)Drink, you yourself, and ^(F1)expose your own foreskin!
The ^(C2)cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you,
And ^(C3)utter disgrace will come upon your glory.

¹⁷ "For the ^(C1)violence ^(F1)done to Lebanon will ^(F2)overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its animals ^(F3)by which you terrified them,
^(C2)Because of human bloodshed and ^(C3)violence ^(F4)done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.

¹⁸ "What ^(C1)benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
Or a cast metal image, a ^(C2)teacher of falsehood?
For its maker ^(C3)trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.

¹⁹ "Woe to him who ^(C1)says to a piece of wood, '^(C2)Awake!'
To a mute stone, 'Arise!'
That is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with ^(C3)gold and silver,
Yet there is ^(C4)no breath at all inside it.

²⁰ "But the ^(C1)LORD is in His holy temple.
^(F1)Let all the earth ^(C2)be silent before Him."

2 Corinthians 11

Chapter 11

Paul Defends His Apostleship

¹ I wish that you would ^(C1)bear with me in a little ^(C2)foolishness; but ^(F1)indeed you are bearing with me.² For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I ^(C1)betrothed you to one husband, to ^(C2)present you as a pure virgin to Christ.³ But I am afraid that, as the ^(C1)serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ.⁴ For if ^(F1)one comes and preaches ^(C1)another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a ^(C2)different spirit which you have not received, or a ^(C3)different gospel which you have not accepted, this you ^(C4)tolerate ^(C5)very well!⁵ For I consider myself ^(C1)not in the least inferior to the ^(F1)most eminent apostles.⁶ But even if I am ^(C1)unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in ^(C2)knowledge; in fact, in every way we have ^(C3)made this evident to you in all things.

⁷ Or ^(C1)did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the ^(C2)gospel of God to you ^(C3)without charge?⁸ I robbed other churches by ^(C1)taking wages from them to serve you;⁹ and when I was present with you and was in need, I was ^(C1)not a burden to anyone; for when ^(C2)the brothers came from ^(C3)Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from ^(C1)being a burden to you, ^(F1)and will continue to do so.^10 (C1)As the truth of Christ is in me, ^(C2)this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of ^(C3)Achaia.¹¹ Why? ^(C1)Because I do not love you? ^(C2)God knows that I do!

¹² But what I am doing I will also continue to do, ^(C1)so that I may eliminate the opportunity from those who want an opportunity to be ^(F1)regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.¹³ For such men are ^(C1)false apostles, ^(C2)deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.¹⁴ No wonder, for even ^(C1)Satan disguises himself as an ^(C2)angel of light.¹⁵ Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, ^(C1)whose end will be according to their deeds.

^16 (C1)Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little.¹⁷ What I am saying, I am not saying ^(F1)(C1)as the Lord would, but as ^(C2)in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.¹⁸ Since ^(C1)many boast ^(C2)according to the flesh, I will boast also.¹⁹ For you, ^(C1)being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly.²⁰ For you tolerate it if anyone ^(C1)enslaves you, if anyone ^(C2)devours you, if anyone ^(C3)takes advantage of you, if anyone ^(C4)exalts himself, if anyone ^(C5)hits you in the face.

²¹ To my ^(C1)shame I must say that we have been ^(C2)weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else ^(C3)is bold—I am ^(C4)speaking in foolishness—I too am bold.²² Are they ^(C1)Hebrews? ^(C2)So am I. Are they ^(C3)Israelites? ^(C3)So am I. Are they ^(F1)(C4)descendants of Abraham? ^(C5)So am I.²³ Are they ^(C1)servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in ^(C2)far more labors, in ^(C3)far more imprisonments, ^(F1)(C4)beaten times without number, often in danger of ^(C5)death.²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews ^(C1)thirty-nine lashes.²⁵ Three times I was ^(C1)beaten with rods, once I was ^(C2)stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea.²⁶ I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my ^(C1)countrymen, dangers from the ^(C2)Gentiles, dangers in the ^(C3)city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among ^(C4)false brothers;²⁷ I have been in ^(C1)labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in ^(C2)hunger and thirst, often ^(C3)without food, in cold and ^(F1)(C4)exposure.²⁸ Apart from such ^(F1)external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for ^(C1)all the churches.²⁹ Who is ^(C1)weak without my being weak? Who is ^(F1)led into sin ^(F2)without my intense concern?

³⁰ If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my ^(C1)weakness.³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^(C1)He who is blessed forever, ^(C2)knows that I am not lying.³² In ^(C1)Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was ^(C2)guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me,³³ and I was let down in a basket ^(C1)through a window ^(F1)in the wall, and so escaped his hands.