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Saturday, November 23rd, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

August 22 - Bible-in-a-Year
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1 Chronicles 18-19

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Chapter 18

David's Military Campaigns

1 After this,(a) David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its villages from Philistine control. 2 He also defeated the Moabites, and they became David's subjects and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah at Hamath when he went to establish his control at the Euphrates River. 4 David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him, hamstrung all the horses, and kept 100 chariots.[a]

5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah,(b) David struck down 22,000 Aramean men. 6 Then he placed garrisons[b](c) in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

7 David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer's cities, David also took huge quantities of bronze, from which Solomon made the bronze reservoir, the pillars, and the bronze articles.(d)

9 When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Hadoram brought all kinds of gold, silver, and bronze items. 11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord , along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all the nations—from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.

12 Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

14 So David reigned over all Israel,(e) administering justice and righteousness for all his people.

15 Joab(f) son of Zeruiah was over the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was court historian;
16 Zadok son of Ahitub
and Ahimelech[c](g) son of Abiathar were priests;
Shavsha was court secretary;
17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada(h) was over
the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
and David's sons were the chief officials at the king's side.

Chapter 19

War with the Ammonites

1 Some time later,(a) King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son became king in his place. 2 Then David said, "I'll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me."

So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. However, when David's emissaries arrived in the land of the Ammonites to console him, 3 the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, "Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he's showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn't David sent his emissaries in order to scout out, overthrow, and spy on the land?" 4 So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.(b)

5 It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return."

6 When the Ammonites realized(c) they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 38 tons[a] of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.(d) 7 They hired 32,000 chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped near Medeba.(e) The Ammonites also came together from their cities for the battle.

8 David heard about this and sent Joab and the entire army of warriors. 9 The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance of the city while the kings who had come were in the field by themselves. 10 When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some men out of all the elite troops[b](f) of Israel and lined up in battle formation to engage the Arameans. 11 He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai, and they lined up in battle formation to engage the Ammonites.

12 "If the Arameans are too strong for me," Joab said, "then you'll be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I'll help you. 13 Be strong! We must prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God.(g) May the Lord 's will be done."[c]

14 Joab and the people with him approached the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him. 15 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Joab's brother Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.

16 When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who were across the Euphrates. They were led by Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer's army.

17 When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up in battle formation against them. When David lined up to engage them in battle, they fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 7,000 of their charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army. 19 When Hadadezer's subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.

Zechariah 7

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Chapter 7

Disobedience and Fasting

1 In the fourth year of King Darius,(a) the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their men to plead for the Lord 's favor(b) 3 by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Hosts as well as the prophets, "Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?"

4 Then the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me: 5 "Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these 70 years, did you really fast for Me?(c) 6 When you eat and drink, don't you eat and drink simply for yourselves?(d) 7 Aren't these the words that the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure,[a] along with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited?"

8 The word of the Lord came to Zechariah: 9 "The Lord of Hosts says this: Make fair decisions.(e) Show faithful love and compassion(f) to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor,(g) and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.(h) 11 But they refused to pay attention(i) and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear.(j) 12 They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets.(k) Therefore great anger came from the Lord of Hosts. 13 Just as He had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen," says the Lord of Hosts. 14 "I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation."

John 5:1-18

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Chapter 5

The Third Sign: Healing the Sick

1 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(a) 2 By the Sheep Gate(b) in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda[a] in Hebrew, which has five colonnades.[b] 3 Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].[c]

5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time,(c) He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

7 "Sir,"(d) the sick man answered, "I don't have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, someone goes down ahead of me."

8 "Get up," Jesus told him, "pick up your mat and walk!" 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Now that day was the Sabbath,(e) 10 so the Jews(f) said to the man who had been healed, "This is the Sabbath!(g) It's illegal for you to pick up your mat."

11 He replied, "The man who made me well(h) told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.' "

12 "Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk' ?" they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was,(i) because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.[d]

14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex(j) and said to him, "See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn't happen to you." 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.(k)

Honoring the Father and the Son

16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting(l) Jesus[e] because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.(m) 17 But Jesus responded to them, "My Father(n) is still working, and I am working also." 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him:(o) Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

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