the Third Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
July 15 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
1 Kings 15:33-16:34
Chapter 15
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah,(aq) and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil(ar) in the eyes of the Lord , following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
Chapter 16
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu(a) son of Hanani(b) concerning Baasha: 2 "I lifted you up from the dust(c) and appointed you ruler(d) over my people Israel, but you followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused(e) my people Israel to sin and to arouse my anger by their sins. 3 So I am about to wipe out Baasha(f) and his house,(g) and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs(h) will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and birds(i) will feed on those who die in the country."
5 As for the other events of Baasha's reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals(j) of the kings of Israel? 6 Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah.(k) And Elah his son succeeded him as king.
7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came(l) through the prophet Jehu(m) son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the Lord , arousing his anger by the things he did, becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it.
Elah King of Israel
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
9 Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk(n) in the home of Arza, the palace administrator(o) at Tirzah. 10 Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.(p)
11 As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha's whole family.(q) He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. 12 So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— 13 because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord , the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.(r)
14 As for the other events of Elah's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Zimri King of Israel
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon,(s) a Philistine town. 16 When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, 19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
20 As for the other events of Zimri's reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Omri King of Israel
21 Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri's followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.(t) 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[a] of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria,(u) after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.
25 But Omri did evil(v) in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused(w) Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord , the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.(x)
27 As for the other events of Omri's reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 28 Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria.(y) And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.
Ahab Becomes King of Israel
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more(z) evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married(aa) Jezebel daughter(ab) of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal(ac) and worship him. 32 He set up an altar(ad) for Baal in the temple(ae) of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole(af) and did more(ag) to arouse the anger of the Lord , the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
34 In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.(ah)
Joel 3
Chapter 3
The Nations Judged
1 [a]"In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes(a) of Judah(b) and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather(c) all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b](d)
There I will put them on trial(e)
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered(f) my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
3 They cast lots(g) for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine(h) to drink.
4 "Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon(i) and all you regions of Philistia?(j) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.(k) 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[c](l) 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(m) that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 "See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,(n) and I will return(o) on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons(p) and daughters to the people of Judah,(q) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,(r) a nation far away." The Lord has spoken.(s)
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!(t)
Rouse the warriors!(u)
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks(v) into spears.(w)
Let the weakling(x) say,
"I am strong!"(y)
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble(z) there.
Bring down your warriors,(aa) Lord !
12 "Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,(ab)
for there I will sit
to judge(ac) all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,(ad)
for the harvest(ae) is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,(af)
for the winepress(ag) is full
and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!"
14 Multitudes,(ah) multitudes
in the valley(ai) of decision!
For the day of the
Lord
(aj) is near
in the valley of decision.(ak)
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.(al)
16 The
Lord
will roar(am) from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;(an)
the earth and the heavens will tremble.(ao)
But the
Lord
will be a refuge(ap) for his people,
a stronghold(aq) for the people of Israel.
Blessings for God's People
17 "Then you will know(ar) that I, the
Lord
your God,(as)
dwell in Zion,(at) my holy hill.(au)
Jerusalem will be holy;(av)
never again will foreigners invade her.(aw)
18 "In that day the mountains will drip new wine,(ax)
and the hills will flow with milk;(ay)
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.(az)
A fountain will flow out of the
Lord
's house(ba)
and will water the valley of acacias.[d](bb)
19 But Egypt(bc) will be desolate,
Edom(bd) a desert waste,
because of violence(be) done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever(bf)
and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?(bg)
No, I will not.(bh)"
The Lord dwells in Zion!(bi)
1 Corinthians 3
Chapter 3
The Church and Its Leaders
1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit(a) but as people who are still worldly(b)—mere infants(c) in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food,(d) for you were not yet ready for it.(e) Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling(f) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos,"(g) are you not mere human beings?
5 What, after all, is Apollos?(h) And what is Paul? Only servants,(i) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed,(j) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.(k) 9 For we are co-workers in God's service;(l) you are God's field,(m) God's building.(n)
10 By the grace God has given me,(o) I laid a foundation(p) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.(q) 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is,(r) because the Day(s) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work.(t) 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.(u) 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.(v)
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple(w) and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?(x) 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise(y) by the standards of this age,(z) you should become "fools" so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness(aa) in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"[a];(ab) 20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."[b](ac) 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders!(ad) All things are yours,(ae) 22 whether Paul or Apollos(af) or Cephas[c](ag) or the world or life or death or the present or the future(ah)—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ,(ai) and Christ is of God.
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