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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
July 2 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
1 Kings 2
Chapter 2
David's Charge to Solomon(a)
1 When the time drew near for David to die,(b) he gave a charge to Solomon his son.
2 "I am about to go the way of all the earth,"(c) he said. "So be strong,(d) act like a man, 3 and observe(e) what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper(f) in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise(g) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully(h) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'
5 "Now you yourself know what Joab(i) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner(j) son of Ner and Amasa(k) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom,(l) but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 "But show kindness(m) to the sons of Barzillai(n) of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table.(o) They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 "And remember, you have with you Shimei(p) son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim.(q) When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore(r) to him by the Lord : ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.' 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom;(s) you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood."
10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried(t) in the City of David.(u) 11 He had reigned(v) forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne(w) of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.(x)
Solomon's Throne Established
13 Now Adonijah,(y) the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked him, "Do you come peacefully?"(z)
He answered, "Yes, peacefully." 14 Then he added, "I have something to say to you."
"You may say it," she replied.
15 "As you know," he said, "the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord . 16 Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me."
"You may make it," she said.
17 So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag(aa) the Shunammite as my wife."
18 "Very well," Bathsheba replied, "I will speak to the king for you."
19 When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother,(ab) and she sat down at his right hand.(ac)
20 "I have one small request to make of you," she said. "Do not refuse me."
The king replied, "Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you."
21 So she said, "Let Abishag(ad) the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah."
22 King Solomon answered his mother, "Why do you request Abishag(ae) the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother(af)—yes, for him and for Abiathar(ag) the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!"
23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord : "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,(ah) if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! 24 And now, as surely as the Lord lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised(ai)—Adonijah shall be put to death today!" 25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah(aj) son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.(ak)
26 To Abiathar(al) the priest the king said, "Go back to your fields in Anathoth.(am) You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark(an) of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father's hardships."(ao) 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord , fulfilling(ap) the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.
28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns(aq) of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar.(ar) Then Solomon ordered Benaiah(as) son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down!"
30 So Benaiah entered the tent(at) of the Lord and said to Joab, "The king says, ‘Come out!(au)'"
But he answered, "No, I will die here."
Benaiah reported to the king, "This is how Joab answered me."
31 Then the king commanded Benaiah, "Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood(av) that Joab shed. 32 The Lord will repay(aw) him for the blood he shed,(ax) because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa(ay) son of Jether, commander of Judah's army—were better(az) men and more upright than he. 33 May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord 's peace forever."
34 So Benaiah(ba) son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab(bb) and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. 35 The king put Benaiah(bc) son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab's position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok(bd) the priest.
36 Then the king sent for Shimei(be) and said to him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley,(bf) you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head."(bg)
38 Shimei answered the king, "What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said." And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.
39 But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves ran off to Achish(bh) son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, "Your slaves are in Gath." 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.
41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn(bi) you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die'? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.' 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?"
44 The king also said to Shimei, "You know in your heart all the wrong(bj) you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure(bk) before the Lord forever."
46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah(bl) son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei(bm) down and he died.
The kingdom was now established(bn) in Solomon's hands.
Hosea 5:5-15
Chapter 5
5 Israel's arrogance testifies(k) against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble(l) in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.(m)
6 When they go with their flocks and herds
to seek the
Lord
,(n)
they will not find him;
he has withdrawn(o) himself from them.
7 They are unfaithful(p) to the
Lord
;
they give birth to illegitimate(q) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,(r)
he will devour[a](s) their fields.
8 "Sound the trumpet(t) in Gibeah,(u)
the horn in Ramah.(v)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven[b];(w)
lead on, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be laid waste(x)
on the day of reckoning.(y)
Among the tribes of Israel
I proclaim what is certain.(z)
10 Judah's leaders are like those
who move boundary stones.(aa)
I will pour out my wrath(ab) on them
like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols.[c](ac)
12 I am like a moth(ad) to Ephraim,
like rot(ae) to the people of Judah.
13 "When Ephraim(af) saw his sickness,
and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,(ag)
and sent to the great king for help.(ah)
But he is not able to cure(ai) you,
not able to heal your sores.(aj)
14 For I will be like a lion(ak) to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces(al) and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.(am)
15 Then I will return to my lair(an)
until they have borne their guilt(ao)
and seek my face(ap)—
in their misery(aq)
they will earnestly seek me.(ar)"
Mark 11:15-33
Chapter 11
15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'[c]?(n) But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'[d]"(o)
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him,(p) because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.(q)
19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples[e] went out of the city.(r)
20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi,(s) look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
22 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23 "Truly[f] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.(t) 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.(u) 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."(v) [26] [g]
The Authority of Jesus Questioned(w)
27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"
29 Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John's baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!"
31 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, ‘From heaven,' he will ask, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?' 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin' …" (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(x)
33 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."
Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
