the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Daily Bible Reading
September 5 - Old & New Testament
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2 Chronicles 23
Chapter 23
Athaliah Overthrown
1 Then, in the seventh year,(a) Jehoiada summoned his courage and took the commanders of hundreds into a covenant with him: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. 2 They made a circuit throughout Judah. They gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in God's temple. Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the king's son! He must reign, just as the Lord promised(b) concerning David's sons. 4 This is what you are to do: a third of you, priests and Levites who are coming on duty on the Sabbath,(c) are to be gatekeepers. 5 A third are to be at the king's palace, and a third are to be at the Foundation Gate, and all the troops will be in the courtyards of the Lord 's temple. 6 No one is to enter the Lord 's temple but the priests and those Levites who serve;(d) they may enter because they are holy, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the Lord . 7 You must completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. You must be with the king in all his daily tasks."[a]
8 So the commanders of hundreds did everything Jehoiada the priest commanded. They each brought their men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty on the Sabbath—for Jehoiada the priest did not release the divisions.(e) 9 Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears, shields, and quivers[b] that were in God's temple. 10 Then he stationed all the troops with their weapons in hand surrounding the king—from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.
11 They brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony,(f) and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and cried, "Long live the king!"(g)
12 When Athaliah heard the noise from the troops, the guards, and those praising the king, she went to the troops in the Lord 's temple. 13 As she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar[c] at the entrance. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets(h) while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Treason, treason!"
14 Then Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of hundreds, those in charge of the army, saying, "Take her out between the ranks, and put anyone who follows her to death by the sword," for the priest had said, "Don't put her to death in the Lord 's temple." 15 So they arrested her, and she went by the entrance of the Horses' Gate(i) to the king's palace, where they put her to death.
Jehoiada's Reforms
16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord 's people. 17 So all the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars.(j)
18 Then Jehoiada put the oversight of the Lord 's temple into the hands of the Levitical priests,(k) whom David had appointed(l) over the Lord 's temple, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord as it is written in the law of Moses,(m) with rejoicing and song ordained by[d] David. 19 He stationed gatekeepers(n) at the gates of the Lord 's temple so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason. 20 Then he took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the Lord 's temple. They entered the king's palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the throne of the kingdom. 21 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword.
Joel 2,3
1 Blow the horn in Zion;(a)
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the Day of the
Lord
is coming;(b)
in fact, it is near—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,(c)
a day of clouds and dense overcast,(d)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people(e) appears,
such as never existed in ages past(f)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.(g)
3 A fire destroys[a] in front of them,(h)
and behind them a flame devours.
The land in front of them
is like the Garden of Eden,(i)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;(j)
there is no escape from them.
4 Their appearance is like that of horses,(k)
and they gallop like war horses.
5 They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,(l)
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,(m)
like a mighty army deployed for war.
6 Nations writhe in horror before them;(n)
all faces turn pale.
7 They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,(o)
and they do not change their course.
8 They do not push each other;
each man proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
9 They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses;(p)
they enter through the windows like thieves.(q)
10 The earth quakes before them;(r)
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,(s)
and the stars cease their shining.(t)
11 The
Lord
raises His voice(u)
in the presence of His army.(v)
His camp is very large;
Those who carry out His command are powerful.(w)
Indeed, the Day of the
Lord
is terrible and dreadful(x)—
who can endure it?(y)
God's Call for Repentance
12 Even now—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
turn to Me with all your heart,(z)
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.(aa)
13 Tear your hearts,(ab)
not just your clothes,(ac)
and return to the
Lord
your God.
For He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, rich in faithful love,
and He relents from sending disaster.(ad)
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent(ae)
and leave a blessing behind Him,(af)
so you can offer grain and wine
to the
Lord
your God.(ag)
15 Blow the horn in Zion!(ah)
Announce a sacred fast;(ai)
proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;(aj)
assemble the aged;[b](ak)
gather the children,
even those nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom,(al)
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
17 Let the priests,(am) the
Lord
's ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.(an)
Let them say:
"Have pity on Your people,
Lord
,(ao)
and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace,(ap)
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?'"(aq)
God's Response to His People
18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land(ar) and spared His people.(as) 19 The Lord answered His people:
Look, I am about to send you
grain, new wine, and olive oil.(at)
You will be satiated with them,
and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations.(au)
20 I will drive the northerner far from you(av)
and banish him to a dry and desolate land,
his front ranks into the Dead Sea,(aw)
and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.(ax)
His stench will rise;
yes, his rotten smell will rise,(ay)
for he has done catastrophic things.
21 Don't be afraid, land;(az)
rejoice and be glad,
for the
Lord
has done great things.(ba)
22 Don't be afraid, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures have turned green,(bb)
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.
23 Children of Zion,(bc) rejoice and be glad
in the
Lord
your God,(bd)
because He gives you the autumn rain
for your vindication.[c](be)
He sends showers for you,
both autumn and spring rain(bf) as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,(bg)
and the vats will overflow
with new wine and olive oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,(bh)
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
My great army that I sent against you.
26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.(bi)
You will praise the name of Yahweh your God,(bj)
who has dealt wondrously with you.(bk)
My people will never again be put to shame.(bl)
27 You will know that I am present in Israel(bm)
and that I am Yahweh your God,
and there is no other.(bn)
My people will never again be put to shame.(bo)
God's Promise of His Spirit
28 [d] After this(bp)
I will pour out My Spirit(bq) on all humanity;(br)
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 I will even pour out My Spirit
on the male and female slaves in those days.(bs)
30 I will display wonders
in the heavens and on the earth:(bt)
blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood(bu)
before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the
Lord
comes.(bv)
32 Then everyone who calls
on the name of Yahweh will be saved,(bw)
for there will be an escape
for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the
Lord
promised,(bx)
among the survivors the
Lord
calls.
Judgment of the Nations
1 [a]Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,(a)
2 I will gather all the nations(b)
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b](c)
I will enter into judgment with them there(d)
because of My people, My inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries(e)
and divided up My land.(f)
3 They cast lots for My people;(g)
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.(h)
4 And also: Tyre,(i) Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia(j)—what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.(k) 5 For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures(l) to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks(m) to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them;(n) I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,(o) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[c](p) to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:(q)
Prepare for holy war;(r)
rouse the warriors;(s)
let all the men of war advance and attack!
10 Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.(t)
Let even the weakling say, "I am a warrior."
11 Come quickly,[d] all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves.(u)
Bring down Your warriors there,
Lord
.(v)
12 Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations.(w)
13 Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.(x)
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;(y)
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is great.(z)
14 Multitudes, multitudes(aa)
in the valley of decision!
For the Day of the
Lord
is near(ab)
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining.(ac)
16 The
Lord
will roar from Zion(ad)
and raise His voice from Jerusalem;(ae)
heaven and earth will shake.(af)
But the
Lord
will be a refuge for His people,(ag)
a stronghold for the Israelites.(ah)
Israel Blessed
17 Then you will know
that I am Yahweh your God,(ai)
who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain.(aj)
Jerusalem will be holy,(ak)
and foreigners will never overrun it again.(al)
18 In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine,(am)
and the hills will flow with milk.(an)
All the streams of Judah will flow with water,(ao)
and a spring will issue from the
Lord
's house,(ap)
watering the Valley of Acacias.[e](aq)
19 Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah(ar)
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever,(as)
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 I will pardon their bloodguilt,[f](at)
which I have not pardoned,
for the
Lord
dwells in Zion.
2 Corinthians 10
Chapter 10
Paul's Apostolic Authority
1 Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. 2 I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving in an unspiritual way.[a](a) 3 For though we live in the body,[b] we do not wage war in an unspiritual way,[c] 4 since the weapons of our warfare(b) are not worldly,[d] but are powerful(c) through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge(d) of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. 6 And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience has been confirmed.
7 Look at what is obvious.[e] If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ,(e) he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. 8 For if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up(f) and not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed. 9 I don't want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. 10 For it is said, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable." 11 Such a person should consider this: What we are in the words of our letters when absent, we will be in actions when present.
12 For we don't dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend(g) themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves,(h) they lack understanding.(i) 13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned(j) to us, which reaches even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We are not bragging beyond measure about other people's labors. But we have the hope(k) that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you,(l) not boasting about what has already been done in someone else's area of ministry.(m) 17 So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord. (n)[f] 18 For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.(o)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
