the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 4 - Old & New Testament
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2 Chronicles 22
Chapter 22
Judah's King Ahaziah
1 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs(a) to the camp had killed all the older sons.[a] So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. 2 Ahaziah(b) was 22[b] years old when he became king and reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, granddaughter[c] of Omri.
3 He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother gave him evil advice. 4 So he did what was evil in the Lord 's sight like the house of Ahab, for they were his advisers after the death of his father, to his destruction. 5 He also followed their advice and went with Joram[d] son of Israel's King Ahab to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, in Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans[e] wounded Joram, 6 so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead[f] when he fought against Aram's King Hazael. Then Judah's King Ahaziah[g] son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.
7 Ahaziah's downfall came from God when he went to Joram.(c) When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi,(d) whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.(e) 8 So when Jehu executed judgment on the house of Ahab,(f) he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them. 9 Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah,(g) and Jehu's soldiers captured him (he was hiding in Samaria). So they brought Ahaziah to Jehu, and they killed him. The soldiers buried him, for they said, "He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart."(h) So no one from the house of Ahaziah had the strength to rule the kingdom.
Athaliah Usurps the Throne
10 When(i) Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs[h] of the house of Judah. 11 Jehoshabeath,[i] the king's daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king's sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Since she was Ahaziah's sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12 While Athaliah ruled over the land, he was hiding with them in God's temple six years.
Joel 1
Chapter 1
1 The word of the Lord that came(a) to Joel son of Pethuel:
A Plague of Locusts
2 Hear this,(b) you elders;
listen, all you inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days(c)
or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it,(d)
and let your children tell their children,
and their children the next generation.
4 What the devouring locust(e) has left,
the swarming locust has eaten;
what the swarming locust has left,
the young locust(f) has eaten;
and what the young locust has left,
the destroying locust(g) has eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards,(h) and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been taken from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded My land,(i)
powerful and without number;
its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.(j)
7 It has devastated My grapevine
and splintered My fig tree.
It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away;
its branches have turned white.
8 Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth,(k)
mourning for the husband of her youth.
9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off(l)
from the house of the
Lord
;
the priests, who are ministers of the
Lord
, mourn.(m)
10 The fields are destroyed;(n)
the land grieves;
indeed, the grain is destroyed;
the new wine is dried up;(o)
and the olive oil fails.(p)
11 Be ashamed, you farmers,(q)
wail, you vinedressers,[a]
over the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.(r)
12 The grapevine is dried up,(s)
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate,(t) the date palm,(u) and the apple(v)—
all the trees of the orchard—have withered.
Indeed, human joy has dried up.(w)
13 Dress in sackcloth and lament,(x) you priests;(y)
wail,(z) you ministers of the altar.
Come and spend the night in sackcloth,(aa)
you ministers of my God,
because grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Announce a sacred fast;(ab)
proclaim an assembly!
Gather the elders(ac)
and all the residents of the land
at the house of the
Lord
your God,(ad)
and cry out to the
Lord
.(ae)
The Day of the Lord
15 Woe because of that day!(af)
For the Day of the
Lord
is near
and will come as devastation from the Almighty.(ag)
16 Hasn't the food been cut off
before our eyes,(ah)
joy and gladness(ai)
from the house of our God?
17 The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.[b](aj)
The storehouses are in ruin,
and the granaries are broken down,
because the grain has withered away.
18 How the animals groan!(ak)
The herds of cattle wander in confusion
since they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
19 I call to You,
Lord
,(al)
for fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness,(am)
and flames have devoured
all the trees of the countryside.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to[c] You,(an)
for the river beds are dried up,(ao)
and fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness.
2 Corinthians 9
Chapter 9
Motivations for Giving
1 Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you. 2 For I know your eagerness, and I brag about you to the Macedonians:[a](a) "Achaia[b](b) has been prepared since last year," and your zeal(c) has stirred up most of them.(d) 3 But I sent the brothers so our boasting about you in the matter would not prove empty, and so you would be prepared just as I said. 4 For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be embarrassed in that situation.[c] 5 Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift(e) you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.(f)
6 Remember this:[d] The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves(g) a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able(h) to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 9 As it is written:
He scattered;
(i)
He gave to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.
(j)[e]
10 Now the One who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.(k) 11 You will be enriched(l) in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. 12 For the ministry of this service(m) is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God. 13 They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of[f] the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity(n) in sharing with them and with others through the proof provided by this service. 14 And they will have deep affection for[g] you in their prayers on your behalf because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
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