Bible Readings for June 29, 2015

Today our passages are 2 Kings 15:1–16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; and Proverbs 18:4-5. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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2 Kings 15-16:20 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Kings 15

King Azariah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 26.1-23)

 ¹Azariah son of Amaziah became king of Judah in Jeroboam's twenty-seventh year as king of Israel. ²He was only sixteen years old when he became king, and he ruled fifty-two years from Jerusalem, which was also the hometown of his mother Jecoliah.     ³Azariah obeyed the LORD by doing right, as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴But Azariah did not destroy the local shrines, ^[a] and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices. ⁵The LORD punished Azariah with leprosy ^[b] for the rest of his life. He wasn't allowed to live in the royal palace, so his son Jotham lived there and ruled in his place. ⁶Everything else Azariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ⁷Azariah died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jotham then became king.
   

King Zechariah of Israel

 ⁸Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah's rule in Judah, but he ruled only six months from Samaria. ⁹Like his ancestors, Zechariah disobeyed the LORD by following the evil ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.     ¹⁰Shallum son of Jabesh plotted against Zechariah and killed him in public. ^[c] Shallum then became king. ^11-12So the LORD had kept his promise to Jehu that the next four kings of Israel would come from his family. ^[d] Everything else Zechariah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
   

King Shallum of Israel

 ¹³Shallum became king of Israel in the thirty-ninth year of Azariah's ^[e] rule in Judah. But only one month after Shallum became king, ^14-16Menahem son of Gadi came to Samaria from Tirzah and killed him. Menahem then became king. The town of Tiphsah would not surrender to him, so he destroyed it and all the surrounding towns as far as Tirzah. He killed everyone living in Tiphsah, and with his sword he even ripped open pregnant women. Everything else Shallum did while he was king, including his plot against Zechariah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.    

King Menahem of Israel

 ¹⁷Menahem became king of Israel in Azariah's thirty-ninth year as king of Judah, and he ruled Israel ten years from Samaria. ¹⁸He constantly disobeyed the LORD by following the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.     ¹⁹During Menahem's rule, King Tiglath Pileser ^[f] of Assyria invaded Israel. He agreed to help Menahem keep control of his kingdom, if Menahem would pay him over thirty tons of silver. ²⁰So Menahem ordered every rich person in Israel to give him at least one pound of silver, and he gave it all to Tiglath Pileser, who stopped his attack and left Israel. ²¹Everything else Menahem did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ²²Menahem died, and his son Pekahiah became king.
   

King Pekahiah of Israel

 ²³Pekahiah became king of Israel in the fiftieth year of Azariah's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria. ²⁴He disobeyed the LORD and caused the Israelites to sin, just as Jeroboam son of Nebat had done.     ²⁵Pekah son of Remaliah was Pekahiah's chief officer, but he made plans to kill the king. So he and fifty men from Gilead broke into the strongest part of the palace in Samaria and murdered Pekahiah, together with Argob and Arieh. ^[g] Pekah then became king. ²⁶Everything else Pekahiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
   

King Pekah of Israel

 ²⁷Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Azariah's fifty-second year as king of Judah, and he ruled twenty years from Samaria. ²⁸He disobeyed the LORD and followed the evil example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused the Israelites to sin.     ²⁹During Pekah's rule, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria marched into Israel. He captured the territories of Gilead and Galilee, including the towns of Ijon, Abel-Bethmaacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor, as well as the entire territory of Naphtali. Then he took Israelites from those regions to Assyria as prisoners. ^{[h] 30}In the twentieth year of Jotham's rule in Judah, Hoshea son of Elah plotted against Pekah and murdered him. Hoshea then became king of Israel.
    ³¹Everything else Pekah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
   

King Jotham of Judah

(2 Chronicles 27.1-9)

 ³²Jotham son of Azariah ^[i] became king of Judah in the second year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ³³Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled sixteen years from Jerusalem. His mother Jerusha was the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴Jotham followed the example of his father by obeying the LORD and doing right. ³⁵It was Jotham who rebuilt the Upper Gate that led into the court around the LORD's temple. But the local shrines were not destroyed, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.     ³⁶Everything else Jotham did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ³⁷During his rule, the LORD let King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel start attacking Judah. ³⁸Jotham died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.
   

2 Kings 16

King Ahaz of Judah

(2 Chronicles 28.1-27)

 ¹Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah in the seventeenth year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ²He was twenty years old at the time, and he ruled from Jerusalem for sixteen years.    Ahaz wasn't like his ancestor David. Instead, he disobeyed the LORD ³and was even more sinful than the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the LORD had forced out of Israel. ⁴Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.
    ^5-6While Ahaz was ruling Judah, the king of Edom recaptured the town of Elath from Judah and forced out the people of Judah. Edomites ^[j] then moved into Elath, and they still live there. About the same time, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched to Jerusalem and attacked, but they could not capture it.
    ⁷Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria that said, "Your Majesty, King Rezin and King Pekah are attacking me, your loyal servant. Please come and rescue me." ⁸Along with the message, Ahaz sent silver and gold from the LORD's temple and from the palace treasury as a gift for the Assyrian king.
    ⁹As soon as Tiglath Pileser received the message, he and his troops marched to Syria. He captured the capital city of Damascus, then he took the people living there to the town of Kir as prisoners and killed King Rezin. ^{[k] 10}Later, Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser. And while Ahaz was there, he saw an altar and sent a model of it back to Uriah the priest, along with the plans for building one. ¹¹Uriah followed the plans and built an altar exactly like the one in Damascus, finishing it just before Ahaz came back.
    ¹²When Ahaz returned, he went to see the altar and to offer sacrifices on it. He walked up to the altar ¹³and poured wine over it. Then he offered sacrifices to please the LORD, to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessings. ^{[l] 14}After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside, ^[m] so his new altar would be right in front of the LORD's temple. ¹⁵He told Uriah the priest: From now on, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as all gifts of grain and wine are to be offered on this altar. The sacrifices for the people and for the king must also be offered here. Sprinkle the blood from all the sacrifices on it, but leave the bronze altar for me to use for prayer and finding out what God wants me to do.
    ¹⁶Uriah did everything Ahaz told him.
    ¹⁷Ahaz also had the side panels and the small bowls taken off the movable stands in the LORD's temple. He had the large bronze bowl, called the Sea, removed from the bronze bulls on which it rested and had it placed on a stand made of stone. ¹⁸He took down the special tent that was used for worship on the Sabbath ^[n] and closed up the private entrance that the kings of Judah used for going into the temple. He did all these things to please Tiglath Pileser. ¹⁹Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁰Ahaz died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, ^[o] and his son Hezekiah became king.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Kings 15:4 local shrines: See the note at 12.3.
2. 2 Kings 15:5 leprosy: See the note at 5.1.
3. 2 Kings 15:10 in public: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation "in Ibleam."
4. 2 Kings 15:11 So the LORD. . . family: See 10.28-31.
5. 2 Kings 15:13 Azariah's: The Hebrew text has "Uzziah's," another spelling of the name.
6. 2 Kings 15:19 Tiglath Pileser: The Hebrew text has "Pul," another name for Tiglath Pileser, who ruled Assyria from 745 to 727 B.C.
7. 2 Kings 15:25 together with Argob and Arieh: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. 2 Kings 15:29 prisoners: The events in this verse probably took place around 733 B.C.
9. 2 Kings 15:32 Azariah: See the note at 15.13.
10. 2 Kings 16:5 the king of Edom. . . Edomites: The Hebrew text has "King Rezin of Syria. . . Syrians"; in Hebrew, there is only one letter difference between "Edom" and "Aram," which is the usual Hebrew name for Syria in the Bible (see also 2 Chronicles 28.17).
11. 2 Kings 16:9 King Rezin: This probably took place around 734 B.C., before the events in 15.29.
12. 2 Kings 16:13 offered. . . blessings: In traditional translations, these sacrifices are usually called "whole burnt offerings," "grain offerings," and "peace offerings." These are described in Leviticus 1--3.
13. 2 Kings 16:14 aside: Hebrew "to the north."
14. 2 Kings 16:18 the special tent. . . Sabbath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15. 2 Kings 16:20 Jerusalem: See the note at 8.24.

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Acts 19:13-41 (Contemporary English Version)

¹³Some Jewish men started going around trying to force out evil spirits by using the name of the Lord Jesus. They said to the spirits, "Come out in the name of that same Jesus that Paul preaches about!"
    ¹⁴Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this, ¹⁵when an evil spirit said to them, "I know Jesus! And I have heard about Paul. But who are you?" ¹⁶Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them up. They ran out of the house, naked and bruised.
    ¹⁷When the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus heard about this, they were so frightened that they praised the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁸Many who were followers now started telling everyone about the evil things they had been doing. ¹⁹Some who had been practicing witchcraft even brought their books and burned them in public. These books were worth about fifty thousand silver coins. ²⁰So the Lord's message spread and became even more powerful.
   

The Riot in Ephesus

 ²¹After all of this had happened, Paul decided ^[a] to visit Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had said, "From there I will go on to Rome." ²²So he sent his two helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia. But he stayed on in Asia for a while.     ²³At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord's Way. ^{[b] 24}A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money. ²⁵Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:
   Friends, you know that we make a good living at this. ²⁶But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia. He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. ²⁷Everyone will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!
    ²⁸When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, "Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!" ²⁹Soon the whole city was in a riot, and some men grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, who had come from Macedonia with Paul. Then everyone in the crowd rushed to the place where the town meetings were held.
    ³⁰Paul wanted to go out and speak to the people, but the Lord's followers would not let him. ³¹A few of the local officials were friendly to Paul, and they sent someone to warn him not to go.
    ³²Some of the people in the meeting were shouting one thing, and others were shouting something else. Everyone was completely confused, and most of them did not even know why they were there.
    ³³Several of the Jewish leaders pushed a man named Alexander to the front of the crowd and started telling him what to say. He motioned with his hand and tried to explain what was going on. ³⁴But when the crowd saw that he was Jewish, they all shouted for two hours, "Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!"
    ³⁵Finally, a town official made the crowd be quiet. Then he said:
   People of Ephesus, who in the world doesn't know that our city is the center for worshiping the great goddess Artemis? Who doesn't know that her image which fell from heaven is right here? ³⁶No one can deny this, and so you should calm down and not do anything foolish. ³⁷You have brought men in here who have not robbed temples or spoken against our goddess.
    ³⁸If Demetrius and his workers have a case against these men, we have courts and judges. Let them take their complaints there. ³⁹But if you want to do more than that, the matter will have to be brought before the city council. ⁴⁰We could easily be accused of starting a riot today. There is no excuse for it! We cannot even give a reason for this uproar.
    ⁴¹After saying this, he told the people to leave.
   

Footnotes:

1. Acts 19:21 Paul decided: Or "Paul was led by the Holy Spirit."
2. Acts 19:23 the Lord's Way: See the note at 9.2.

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Psalm 147:1-20 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 147

Sing and Praise the LORD

 ¹Shout praises to the LORD!    Our God is kind,
   and it is right and good
   to sing praises to him.
    ²The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem
   and brings the people of Israel
   back home again.
    ³He renews our hopes
   and heals our bodies.
    ⁴He decided how many stars
   there would be in the sky
   and gave each one a name.
    ⁵Our LORD is great and powerful!
   He understands everything.
    ⁶The LORD helps the poor,
   but he smears the wicked
   in the dirt.
    ⁷Celebrate and sing!
   Play your harps
   for the LORD our God.
    ⁸He fills the sky with clouds
   and sends rain to the earth,
   so that the hills
   will be green with grass.
    ⁹He provides food for cattle
   and for the young ravens,
   when they cry out.
    ¹⁰The LORD doesn't care about
   the strength of horses
   or powerful armies.
    ¹¹The LORD is pleased only
   with those who worship him
   and trust his love.
    ¹²Everyone in Jerusalem,
   come and praise
   the LORD your God!
    ¹³He makes your city gates strong
   and blesses your people
   by giving them children.
    ¹⁴God lets you live in peace,
   and he gives you
   the very best wheat.
    ¹⁵As soon as God speaks,
   the earth obeys.
    ¹⁶He covers the ground with snow
   like a blanket of wool,
   and he scatters frost
   like ashes on the ground.
    ¹⁷God sends down hailstones
   like chips of rocks.
   Who can stand the cold?
    ¹⁸At his command the ice melts,
   the wind blows,
   and streams begin to flow.
    ¹⁹God gave his laws and teachings
   to the descendants of Jacob,
   the nation of Israel.
    ²⁰But he has not given his laws
   to any other nation.
   Shout praises to the LORD!

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Proverbs 18:4-5 (Contemporary English Version)

⁴Words of wisdom
   are a stream
   that flows
   from a deep fountain.
    ⁵It's wrong to favor the guilty
   and keep the innocent
   from getting justice.

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Verse of the Day

“You, LORD, will always treat me with kindness. Your love never fails. You have made us what we are. Don't give up on us now!” - Psalm 138:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

French aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator, Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote, “Confuse not love with the raptures of possession, which bring the cruelest of sufferings. For, notwithstanding the general opinion, love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite.”

Bible Readings for June 29, 2014

Today our passages are 2 Kings 15:1–16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; and Proverbs 18:4-5. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you missed a day, you can find all the readings at our blog, The Bible in a Year.

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2 Kings 15-16:20 (The Message)

2 Kings 15

Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah

 ^1-5 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah became king in Judah. He was sixteen years old when he began his rule and he was king for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah. She was from Jerusalem. He did well in the eyes of God, following in the footsteps of his father Amaziah. But he also failed to get rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines; they continued to be popular with the people. God afflicted the king with a bad skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in the palace but no longer acted as king; his son Jotham ran the government and ruled the country.  ^6-7 The rest of the life and times of Azariah, everything he accomplished, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Azariah died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Jotham his son was king after him.

Zechariah of Israel

^8-9 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria. He lasted only six months. He lived a bad life before God, no different from his ancestors. He continued in the line of Jeroboam son of Nebat who led Israel into a life of sin.  ¹⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him, assassinated him in public view, and took over as king.
 ^11-12 The rest of the life and times of Zechariah is written plainly in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. That completed the word of God that was given to Jehu, namely, "For four generations your sons will sit on the throne of Israel." Zechariah was the fourth.

Shallum of Israel

¹³ Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah. He was king in Samaria for only a month.  ¹⁴ Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh and killed him. He then became king.
 ¹⁵ The rest of the life and times of Shallum and the account of the conspiracy are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Menahem of Israel

¹⁶ Using Tirzah as his base, Menahem opened his reign by smashing Tiphsah, devastating both the town and its suburbs because they didn't welcome him with open arms. He savagely ripped open all the pregnant women.  ^17-18 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He ruled from Samaria for ten years. As far as God was concerned he lived an evil life. Sin for sin, he repeated the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin.
 ^19-20 Then Tiglath-Pileser III king of Assyria showed up and attacked the country. But Menahem made a deal with him: He bought his support by handing over about thirty-seven tons of silver. He raised the money by making every landowner in Israel pay fifty shekels to the king of Assyria. That satisfied the king of Assyria, and he left the country.
 ^21-22 The rest of the life and times of Menahem, everything he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Menahem died and joined his ancestors. His son Pekahiah became the next king.

Pekahiah of Israel

^23-24 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for two years. In God's eyes he lived an evil life. He stuck to the old sin tracks of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin.  ²⁵ And then his military aide Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him—killed him in cold blood while he was in his private quarters in the royal palace in Samaria. He also killed Argob and Arieh. Fifty Gadites were in on the conspiracy with him. After the murder he became the next king.
 ²⁶ The rest of the life and times of Pekahiah, everything he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Pekah of Israel

^27-28 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel in Samaria. He ruled for twenty years. In God's view he lived an evil life; he didn't deviate so much as a hair's breadth from the path laid down by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin.  ²⁹ During the reign of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser III king of Assyria invaded the country. He captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee—the whole country of Naphtali—and took everyone captive to Assyria.
 ³⁰ But then Hoshea son of Elah mounted a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took over as king. This was in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
 ³¹ The rest of the life and times of Pekah, everything he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Jotham of Judah

^32-35 In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king in Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He acted well in God's eyes, following in the steps of his father Uzziah. But he didn't interfere with the traffic to the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines; they continued, as popular as ever. The construction of the High Gate to The Temple of God was his work.  ^36-38 The rest of the life and times of Jotham, the record of his work, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. It was during these years that God began sending Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. Jotham died and joined his ancestors. They buried him in the family cemetery in the City of David. His son Ahaz was the next king.

2 Kings 16

Ahaz of Judah

 ^1-4 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king and he ruled for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He didn't behave in the eyes of his God; he wasn't at all like his ancestor David. Instead he followed in the track of the kings of Israel. He even indulged in the outrageous practice of "passing his son through the fire"—a truly abominable act he picked up from the pagans God had earlier thrown out of the country. He also participated in the activities of the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines that flourished all over the place.  ⁵ Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel ganged up against Jerusalem, throwing a siege around the city, but they couldn't make further headway against Ahaz.
 ⁶ At about this same time and on another front, the king of Edom recovered the port of Elath and expelled the men of Judah. The Edomites occupied Elath and have been there ever since.
 ^7-8 Ahaz sent envoys to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria with this message: "I'm your servant and your son. Come and save me from the heavy-handed invasion of the king of Aram and the king of Israel. They're attacking me right now." Then Ahaz robbed the treasuries of the palace and The Temple of God of their gold and silver and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.
 ⁹ The king of Assyria responded to him. He attacked and captured Damascus. He deported the people to Nineveh as exiles. Rezin he killed.
 ^10-11 King Ahaz went to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria in Damascus. The altar in Damascus made a great impression on him. He sent back to Uriah the priest a drawing and set of blueprints of the altar. Uriah the priest built the altar to the specifications that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. By the time the king returned from Damascus, Uriah had completed the altar.
 ^12-14 The minute the king saw the altar he approached it with reverence and arranged a service of worship with a full course of offerings: Whole-Burnt-Offerings with billows of smoke, Grain-Offerings, libations of Drink-Offerings, the sprinkling of blood from the Peace-Offerings—the works. But the old bronze Altar that signaled the presence of God he displaced from its central place and pushed it off to the side of his new altar.
 ¹⁵ Then King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest: "From now on offer all the sacrifices on the new altar, the great altar: morning Whole-Burnt-Offerings, evening Grain-Offerings, the king's Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Grain-Offerings, the people's Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Grain-Offerings, and also their Drink-Offerings. Splash all the blood from the burnt offerings and sacrifices against this altar. The old bronze Altar will be for my personal use.
 ¹⁶ The priest Uriah followed King Ahaz's orders to the letter.
 ^17-18 Then King Ahaz proceeded to plunder The Temple furniture of all its bronze. He stripped the bronze from The Temple furnishings, even salvaged the four bronze oxen that supported the huge basin, The Sea, and set The Sea unceremoniously on the stone pavement. Finally, he removed any distinctive features from within The Temple that were offensive to the king of Assyria.
 ^19-20 The rest of the life and times of Ahaz is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Ahaz died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah became the next king.

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Acts 19:13-41 (The Message)

 ^13-16Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul's "game." They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, "I command you by the Jesus preached by Paul!" The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man when the evil spirit talked back: "I know Jesus and I've heard of Paul, but who are you?" Then the possessed man went berserk—jumped the exorcists, beat them up, and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.
 ^17-20It was soon news all over Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. The realization spread that God was in and behind this. Curiosity about Paul developed into reverence for the Master Jesus. Many of those who thus believed came out of the closet and made a clean break with their secret sorceries. All kinds of witches and warlocks came out of the woodwork with their books of spells and incantations and made a huge bonfire of them. Someone estimated their worth at fifty thousand silver coins. In such ways it became evident that the Word of the Master was now sovereign and prevailed in Ephesus.

The Goddess Artemis

 ^21-22After all this had come to a head, Paul decided it was time to move on to Macedonia and Achaia provinces, and from there to Jerusalem. "Then," he said, "I'm off to Rome. I've got to see Rome!" He sent two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, on to Macedonia and then stayed for a while and wrapped things up in Asia.  ^23-26But before he got away, a huge ruckus occurred over what was now being referred to as "the Way." A certain silversmith, Demetrius, conducted a brisk trade in the manufacture of shrines to the goddess Artemis, employing a number of artisans in his business. He rounded up his workers and others similarly employed and said, "Men, you well know that we have a good thing going here—and you've seen how Paul has barged in and discredited what we're doing by telling people that there's no such thing as a god made with hands. A lot of people are going along with him, not only here in Ephesus but all through Asia province.
 ²⁷"Not only is our little business in danger of falling apart, but the temple of our famous goddess Artemis will certainly end up a pile of rubble as her glorious reputation fades to nothing. And this is no mere local matter—the whole world worships our Artemis!"
 ^28-31That set them off in a frenzy. They ran into the street yelling, "Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!" They put the whole city in an uproar, stampeding into the stadium, and grabbing two of Paul's associates on the way, the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the disciples wouldn't let him. Prominent religious leaders in the city who had become friendly to Paul concurred: "By no means go near that mob!"
 ^32-34Some were yelling one thing, some another. Most of them had no idea what was going on or why they were there. As the Jews pushed Alexander to the front to try to gain control, different factions clamored to get him on their side. But he brushed them off and quieted the mob with an impressive sweep of his arms. But the moment he opened his mouth and they knew he was a Jew, they shouted him down: "Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!"—on and on and on, for over two hours.
 ^35-37Finally, the town clerk got the mob quieted down and said, "Fellow citizens, is there anyone anywhere who doesn't know that our dear city Ephesus is protector of glorious Artemis and her sacred stone image that fell straight out of heaven? Since this is beyond contradiction, you had better get hold of yourselves. This is conduct unworthy of Artemis. These men you've dragged in here have done nothing to harm either our temple or our goddess.
 ^38-41"So if Demetrius and his guild of artisans have a complaint, they can take it to court and make all the accusations they want. If anything else is bothering you, bring it to the regularly scheduled town meeting and let it be settled there. There is no excuse for what's happened today. We're putting our city in serious danger. Rome, remember, does not look kindly on rioters." With that, he sent them home.

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Psalm 147:1-20 (The Message)

Psalm 147

    Hallelujah! It's a good thing to sing praise to our God;
      praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.

 ^2-6 God's the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
      who regathers Israel's scattered exiles.
   He heals the heartbroken
      and bandages their wounds.
   He counts the stars
      and assigns each a name.
   Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
      we'll never comprehend what he knows and does.
   God puts the fallen on their feet again
      and pushes the wicked into the ditch.

 ^7-11 Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,
      play music on your instruments to God,
   Who fills the sky with clouds,
      preparing rain for the earth,
   Then turning the mountains green with grass,
      feeding both cattle and crows.
   He's not impressed with horsepower;
      the size of our muscles means little to him.
   Those who fear God get God's attention;
      they can depend on his strength.

 ^12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!
      Zion, praise your God!
   He made your city secure,
      he blessed your children among you.
   He keeps the peace at your borders,
      he puts the best bread on your tables.
   He launches his promises earthward—
      how swift and sure they come!
   He spreads snow like a white fleece,
      he scatters frost like ashes,
   He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
      who can survive his winter?
   Then he gives the command and it all melts;
      he breathes on winter—suddenly it's spring!

 ^19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,
      speaks words that work to Israel.
   He never did this to the other nations;
      they never heard such commands.
   Hallelujah!

 

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Proverbs 18:4-5 (The Message)

 ⁴ Many words rush along like rivers in flood,
   but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

 ⁵ It's not right to go easy on the guilty,
   or come down hard on the innocent.

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Verse of the Day

“You, LORD, will always treat me with kindness. Your love never fails. You have made us what we are. Don't give up on us now!” - Psalm 138:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

French aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator, Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote, “To love is not to look at one another: it is to look, together, in the same direction.”