Bible Readings for August 5, 2018

Today our passages are Ezra 1:1–2:70; 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5; Psalm 27:7-14; and Proverbs 20:22-23. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Ezra 1-2:70 (The Message)

Ezra 1

Cyrus King of Persia: "Build The Temple of God!"

 ^1-4In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—this fulfilled the Message of God preached by Jeremiah—God prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows:    From Cyrus king of Persia, a Proclamation: God, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship in Jerusalem, Judah. Who among you belongs to his people? God be with you! Go to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build The Temple of God, the God of Israel, Jerusalem's God. Those who stay behind, wherever they happen to live, will support them with silver, gold, tools, and pack animals, along with Freewill-Offerings for The Temple of God in Jerusalem.
 ^5-6 The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone, in fact, God prodded—set out to build The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Their neighbors rallied behind them enthusiastically with silver, gold, tools, pack animals, expensive gifts, and, over and above these, Freewill-Offerings.
 ^7-10 Also, King Cyrus turned over to them all the vessels and utensils from The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had hauled from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia put Mithredath the treasurer in charge of the transfer; he provided a full inventory for Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah, including the following:
   30 gold dishes
   1,000 silver dishes
   29 silver pans
   30 gold bowls
   410 duplicate silver bowls
   1,000 miscellaneous items.
 ¹¹ All told, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles that Sheshbazzar took with him when he brought the exiles back from Babylon to Jerusalem. 

Ezra 2

 ^1-58 These are the people from the province who now returned from the captivity, exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried off captive. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his hometown. They came in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.     The numbers of the returning Israelites by families of origin were as follows:
      Parosh, 2,172
      Shephatiah, 372
      Arah, 775
      Pahath-Moab (sons of Jeshua and Joab), 2,812
      Elam, 1,254
      Zattu, 945
      Zaccai, 760
      Bani, 642
      Bebai, 623
      Azgad, 1,222
      Adonikam, 666
      Bigvai, 2,056
      Adin, 454
      Ater (sons of Hezekiah), 98
      Bezai, 323
      Jorah, 112
      Hashum, 223
      Gibbar, 95. 
   Israelites identified by place of origin were as follows:
      Bethlehem, 123
      Netophah, 56
      Anathoth, 128
      Azmaveth, 42
      Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743
      Ramah and Geba, 621
      Micmash, 122
      Bethel and Ai, 223
      Nebo, 52
      Magbish, 156
      Elam (the other one), 1,254
      Harim, 320
      Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725
      Jericho, 345
      Senaah, 3,630. 
   Priestly families:
      Jedaiah (sons of Jeshua), 973
      Immer, 1,052
      Pashhur, 1,247
      Harim, 1,017. 
   Levitical families:
      Jeshua and Kadmiel (sons of Hodaviah), 74. 
   Singers:
      Asaph's family line, 128. 
   Security guard families:
      Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai, 139. 
   Families of temple support staff:
      Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
      Keros, Siaha, Padon,
      Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
      Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan,
      Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
      Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
      Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
      Asnah, Meunim, Nephussim,
      Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
      Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
      Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
      Neziah, and Hatipha. 
   Families of Solomon's servants:
      Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,
      Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,
      Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and Ami. 
   Temple support staff and Solomon's servants added up to 392. 
 ^59-60 These are those who came from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. They weren't able to prove their ancestry, whether they were true Israelites or not:

 ⁶¹ Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, 652 in all. Likewise with these priestly families:
      Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai, who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and took that name. 
 ^62-63 They had thoroughly searched for their family records but couldn't find them. And so they were barred from priestly work as ritually unclean. The governor ruled that they could not eat from the holy food until a priest could determine their status with the Urim and Thummim. 
 ^64-67 The total count for the congregation was 42,360. That did not include the male and female slaves, which numbered 7,337. There were also 200 male and female singers, and they had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. 

^68-69 Some of the heads of families, on arriving at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, made Freewill-Offerings toward the rebuilding of The Temple of God on its site. They gave to the building fund as they were able, about 1,100 pounds of gold, about three tons of silver, and 100 priestly robes. 
 ⁷⁰ The priests, Levites, and some of the people lived in Jerusalem. The singers, security guards, and temple support staff found places in their hometowns. All the Israelites found a place to live.

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1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 (The Message)

 ^18-21The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written,

   I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
   I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots.
So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.
 ^22-25While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness."
 ^26-31Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God." 

1 Corinthians 2

 ^1-2You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.  ^3-5I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else. 

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Psalm 27:7-14 (The Message)

 ^7-9 Listen, God, I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
      "Be good to me! Answer me!"
   When my heart whispered, "Seek God,"
      my whole being replied,
   "I'm seeking him!"
      Don't hide from me now!

 ^9-10 You've always been right there for me;
      don't turn your back on me now.
   Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
      you've always kept the door open.
   My father and mother walked out and left me,
      but God took me in.

 ^11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
      direct me along a well-lighted street;
      show my enemies whose side you're on.
   Don't throw me to the dogs,
      those liars who are out to get me,
      filling the air with their threats.

 ^13-14 I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
      in the exuberant earth.
   Stay with God!
      Take heart. Don't quit.
   I'll say it again:
      Stay with God. 

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Proverbs 20:22-23 (The Message)

 ²² Don't ever say, "I'll get you for that!"
   Wait for God; he'll settle the score.

 ²³ God hates cheating in the marketplace;
   rigged scales are an outrage.

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Verse of the Day

“Understanding your word brings light to the minds of ordinary people.” - Psalm 119:130 

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet, Christopher Morley wrote, “Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.”

Bible Readings for September 16, 2016

Today our passages are Isaiah 22:1–24:23; Galatians 2:17–3:9; Psalm 60:1-12; and Proverbs 23:15-16. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal.

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Isaiah 22-24:23 (The Message)

Isaiah 22

A Country of Cowards

 ^1-3 A Message concerning the Valley of Vision:    What's going on here anyway?
   All this partying and noisemaking,
Shouting and cheering in the streets,
   the city noisy with celebrations!
You have no brave soldiers to honor,
   no combat heroes to be proud of.
Your leaders were all cowards,
   captured without even lifting a sword,
A country of cowards
   captured escaping the battle.

You Looked, but You Never Looked to Him

 ^4-8In the midst of the shouting, I said, "Let me alone.
   Let me grieve by myself.
Don't tell me it's going to be all right.
   These people are doomed. It's not all right."
For the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
   is bringing a day noisy with mobs of people,
Jostling and stampeding in the Valley of Vision,
   knocking down walls
   and hollering to the mountains, "Attack! Attack!"
Old enemies Elam and Kir arrive armed to the teeth—
   weapons and chariots and cavalry.
Your fine valleys are noisy with war,
   chariots and cavalry charging this way and that.
   God has left Judah exposed and defenseless.  ^8-11You assessed your defenses that Day, inspected your arsenal of weapons in the Forest Armory. You found the weak places in the city walls that needed repair. You secured the water supply at the Lower Pool. You took an inventory of the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some to get bricks to fortify the city wall. You built a large cistern to ensure plenty of water.
   You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city.
 ^12-13The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
   called out on that Day,
Called for a day of repentant tears,
   called you to dress in somber clothes of mourning.
But what do you do? You throw a party!
   Eating and drinking and dancing in the streets!
You barbecue bulls and sheep, and throw a huge feast—
   slabs of meat, kegs of beer.
"Seize the day! Eat and drink!
   Tomorrow we die!"
 ¹⁴God-of-the-Angel-Armies whispered to me his verdict on this frivolity: "You'll pay for this outrage until the day you die." The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says so.

The Key of the Davidic Heritage

 ^15-19The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, spoke: "Come. Go to this steward, Shebna, who is in charge of all the king's affairs, and tell him: What's going on here? You're an outsider here and yet you act like you own the place, make a big, fancy tomb for yourself where everyone can see it, making sure everyone will think you're important. God is about to sack you, to throw you to the dogs. He'll grab you by the hair, swing you round and round dizzyingly, and then let you go, sailing through the air like a ball, until you're out of sight. Where you'll land, nobody knows. And there you'll die, and all the stuff you've collected heaped on your grave. You've disgraced your master's house! You're fired—and good riddance!  ^20-24"On that Day I'll replace Shebna. I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I'll dress him in your robe. I'll put your belt on him. I'll give him your authority. He'll be a father-leader to Jerusalem and the government of Judah. I'll give him the key of the Davidic heritage. He'll have the run of the place—open any door and keep it open, lock any door and keep it locked. I'll pound him like a nail into a solid wall. He'll secure the Davidic tradition. Everything will hang on him—not only the fate of Davidic descendants but also the detailed daily operations of the house, including cups and cutlery.
 ²⁵"And then the Day will come," says God-of-the-Angel-Armies, "when that nail will come loose and fall out, break loose from that solid wall—and everything hanging on it will go with it." That's what will happen. God says so.

Isaiah 23

It Was All Numbers, Dead Numbers, Profit and Loss

 ^1-4 Wail, ships of Tarshish, your strong seaports all in ruins!
When the ships returned from Cyprus,
   they saw the destruction.
Hold your tongue, you who live on the seacoast,
   merchants of Sidon.
Your people sailed the deep seas,
   buying and selling,
Making money on wheat from Shihor,
   grown along the Nile—
   multinational broker in grains!
Hang your head in shame, Sidon. The Sea speaks up,
   the powerhouse of the ocean says,
"I've never had labor pains, never had a baby,
   never reared children to adulthood,
Never gave life, never worked with life.
   It was all numbers, dead numbers, profit and loss."  ⁵When Egypt gets the report on Tyre,
   what wailing! what wringing of hands!

Nothing Left Here to Be Proud Of

 ^6-12Visit Tarshish, you who live on the seacoast.
   Take a good, long look and wail—yes, cry buckets of tears!
Is this the city you remember as energetic and alive,
   bustling with activity, this historic old city,
Expanding throughout the globe,
   buying and selling all over the world?
And who is behind the collapse of Tyre,
   the Tyre that controlled the world markets?
Tyre's merchants were the business tycoons.
   Tyre's traders called all the shots.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies ordered the crash
   to show the sordid backside of pride
   and puncture the inflated reputations.
Sail for home, O ships of Tarshish.
   There are no docks left in this harbor.
God reached out to the sea and sea traders,
   threw the sea kingdoms into turmoil.
God ordered the destruction
   of the seacoast cities, the centers of commerce.
God said, "There's nothing left here to be proud of,
   bankrupt and bereft Sidon.
Do you want to make a new start in Cyprus?
   Don't count on it. Nothing there will work out for you either."  ¹³Look at what happened to Babylon: There's nothing left of it. Assyria turned it into a desert, into a refuge for wild dogs and stray cats. They brought in their big siege engines, tore down the buildings, and left nothing behind but rubble.
 ¹⁴Wail, ships of Tarshish,
   your strong seaports all in ruins!
 ^15-16For the next seventy years, a king's lifetime, Tyre will be forgotten. At the end of the seventy years, Tyre will stage a comeback, but it will be the comeback of a worn-out whore, as in the song:
   "Take a harp, circle the city,
   unremembered whore.
Sing your old songs, your many old songs.
   Maybe someone will remember."
 ^17-18At the end of the seventy years, God will look in on Tyre. She'll go back to her old whoring trade, selling herself to the highest bidder, doing anything with anyone—promiscuous with all the kingdoms of earth—for a fee. But everything she gets, all the money she takes in, will be turned over to God. It will not be put in banks. Her profits will be put to the use of God-Aware, God-Serving-People, providing plenty of food and the best of clothing.

Isaiah 24

The Landscape Will Be a Moonscape

 ^1-3 Danger ahead! God's about to ravish the earth and leave it in ruins,
Rip everything out by the roots
   and send everyone scurrying:
         priests and laypeople alike,
         owners and workers alike,
         celebrities and nobodies alike,
         buyers and sellers alike,
         bankers and beggars alike,
         the haves and have-nots alike.
The landscape will be a moonscape,
   totally wasted.
And why? Because God says so.
   He's issued the orders.  ⁴The earth turns gaunt and gray,
   the world silent and sad,
   sky and land lifeless, colorless.

Earth Polluted by Its Very Own People

 ^5-13Earth is polluted by its very own people,
   who have broken its laws,
Disrupted its order,
   violated the sacred and eternal covenant.
Therefore a curse, like a cancer,
   ravages the earth.
Its people pay the price of their sacrilege.
   They dwindle away, dying out one by one.
No more wine, no more vineyards,
   no more songs or singers.
The laughter of castanets is gone,
   the shouts of celebrants, gone,
   the laughter of fiddles, gone.
No more parties with toasts of champagne.
   Serious drinkers gag on their drinks.
The chaotic cities are unlivable. Anarchy reigns.
   Every house is boarded up, condemned.
People riot in the streets for wine,
   but the good times are gone forever—
   no more joy for this old world.
The city is dead and deserted,
   bulldozed into piles of rubble.
That's the way it will be on this earth.
   This is the fate of all nations:
An olive tree shaken clean of its olives,
   a grapevine picked clean of its grapes.  ^14-16But there are some who will break into glad song.
   Out of the west they'll shout of God's majesty.
Yes, from the east God's glory will ascend.
   Every island of the sea
Will broadcast God's fame,
   the fame of the God of Israel.
From the four winds and the seven seas we hear the singing:
   "All praise to the Righteous One!"
 ^16-20But I said, "That's all well and good for somebody,
   but all I can see is doom, doom, and more doom."
All of them at one another's throats,
   yes, all of them at one another's throats.
Terror and pits and booby traps
   are everywhere, whoever you are.
If you run from the terror,
   you'll fall into the pit.
If you climb out of the pit,
   you'll get caught in the trap.
Chaos pours out of the skies.
   The foundations of earth are crumbling.
Earth is smashed to pieces,
   earth is ripped to shreds,
   earth is wobbling out of control,
Earth staggers like a drunk,
   sways like a shack in a high wind.
Its piled-up sins are too much for it.
   It collapses and won't get up again.
 ^21-23That's when God will call on the carpet
   rebel powers in the skies and
Rebel kings on earth.
   They'll be rounded up like prisoners in a jail,
Corralled and locked up in a jail,
   and then sentenced and put to hard labor.
Shamefaced moon will cower, humiliated,
   red-faced sun will skulk, disgraced,
Because God-of-the-Angel-Armies will take over,
   ruling from Mount Zion and Jerusalem,
Splendid and glorious
   before all his leaders.

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Galatians 2:17-3:9 (The Message)

 ^17-18Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren't perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.
 ^19-21What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
   Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.

Galatians 3

Trust in Christ, Not the Law

 ¹ You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.  ^2-4Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!
 ^5-6Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.
 ^7-8Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed in you."
 ^9-10So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law."

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Psalm 60:1-12 (The Message)

Psalm 60

 ^1-2 God! you walked off and left us, kicked our defenses to bits
   And stalked off angry.
      Come back. Oh please, come back!    You shook earth to the foundations,
      ripped open huge crevasses.
   Heal the breaks! Everything's
      coming apart at the seams.

 ^3-5 You made your people look doom in the face,
      then gave us cheap wine to drown our troubles.
   Then you planted a flag to rally your people,
      an unfurled flag to look to for courage.
   Now do something quickly, answer right now,
      so the one you love best is saved.

 ^6-8 That's when God spoke in holy splendor,
      "Bursting with joy,
   I make a present of Shechem,
      I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.
   Gilead's in my pocket,
      to say nothing of Manasseh.
   Ephraim's my hard hat,
      Judah my hammer;
   Moab's a scrub bucket,
      I mop the floor with Moab,
   Spit on Edom,
      rain fireworks all over Philistia."

 ^9-10 Who will take me to the thick of the fight?
      Who'll show me the road to Edom?
   You aren't giving up on us, are you, God?
      refusing to go out with our troops?

 ^11-12 Give us help for the hard task;
      human help is worthless.
   In God we'll do our very best;
      he'll flatten the opposition for good.

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Proverbs 23:15-16 (The Message)

13

 ^15-16 Dear child, if you become wise,
   I'll be one happy parent.
My heart will dance and sing
   to the tuneful truth you'll speak.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“[Wisdom from Above]Are any of you wise or sensible? Then show it by living right and by being humble and wise in everything you do.” - James 3:13

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet, Christopher Morley wrote, “Act like you expect to get into the end zone.”

The Bible Readings for August 5, 2016

Today our passages are Ezra 1:1–2:70; 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5; Psalm 27:7-14; and Proverbs 20:22-23. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal.

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Ezra 1-2:70 (The Message)

Ezra 1

Cyrus King of Persia: "Build The Temple of God!"

 ^1-4In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—this fulfilled the Message of God preached by Jeremiah—God prodded Cyrus king of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote it out as follows:    From Cyrus king of Persia, a Proclamation: God, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also assigned me to build him a Temple of worship in Jerusalem, Judah. Who among you belongs to his people? God be with you! Go to Jerusalem which is in Judah and build The Temple of God, the God of Israel, Jerusalem's God. Those who stay behind, wherever they happen to live, will support them with silver, gold, tools, and pack animals, along with Freewill-Offerings for The Temple of God in Jerusalem.
 ^5-6 The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone, in fact, God prodded—set out to build The Temple of God in Jerusalem. Their neighbors rallied behind them enthusiastically with silver, gold, tools, pack animals, expensive gifts, and, over and above these, Freewill-Offerings.
 ^7-10 Also, King Cyrus turned over to them all the vessels and utensils from The Temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had hauled from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia put Mithredath the treasurer in charge of the transfer; he provided a full inventory for Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah, including the following:
   30 gold dishes
   1,000 silver dishes
   29 silver pans
   30 gold bowls
   410 duplicate silver bowls
   1,000 miscellaneous items.
 ¹¹ All told, there were 5,400 gold and silver articles that Sheshbazzar took with him when he brought the exiles back from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Ezra 2

 ^1-58 These are the people from the province who now returned from the captivity, exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried off captive. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his hometown. They came in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.     The numbers of the returning Israelites by families of origin were as follows:
      Parosh, 2,172
      Shephatiah, 372
      Arah, 775
      Pahath-Moab (sons of Jeshua and Joab), 2,812
      Elam, 1,254
      Zattu, 945
      Zaccai, 760
      Bani, 642
      Bebai, 623
      Azgad, 1,222
      Adonikam, 666
      Bigvai, 2,056
      Adin, 454
      Ater (sons of Hezekiah), 98
      Bezai, 323
      Jorah, 112
      Hashum, 223
      Gibbar, 95.
   Israelites identified by place of origin were as follows:
      Bethlehem, 123
      Netophah, 56
      Anathoth, 128
      Azmaveth, 42
      Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743
      Ramah and Geba, 621
      Micmash, 122
      Bethel and Ai, 223
      Nebo, 52
      Magbish, 156
      Elam (the other one), 1,254
      Harim, 320
      Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725
      Jericho, 345
      Senaah, 3,630.
   Priestly families:
      Jedaiah (sons of Jeshua), 973
      Immer, 1,052
      Pashhur, 1,247
      Harim, 1,017.
   Levitical families:
      Jeshua and Kadmiel (sons of Hodaviah), 74.
   Singers:
      Asaph's family line, 128.
   Security guard families:
      Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai, 139.
   Families of temple support staff:
      Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
      Keros, Siaha, Padon,
      Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
      Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan,
      Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
      Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
      Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
      Asnah, Meunim, Nephussim,
      Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
      Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
      Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
      Neziah, and Hatipha.
   Families of Solomon's servants:
      Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,
      Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,
      Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and Ami.
   Temple support staff and Solomon's servants added up to 392.
 ^59-60 These are those who came from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. They weren't able to prove their ancestry, whether they were true Israelites or not:

 ⁶¹ Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, 652 in all. Likewise with these priestly families:
      Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai, who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and took that name.
 ^62-63 They had thoroughly searched for their family records but couldn't find them. And so they were barred from priestly work as ritually unclean. The governor ruled that they could not eat from the holy food until a priest could determine their status with the Urim and Thummim.
 ^64-67 The total count for the congregation was 42,360. That did not include the male and female slaves, which numbered 7,337. There were also 200 male and female singers, and they had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

^68-69 Some of the heads of families, on arriving at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, made Freewill-Offerings toward the rebuilding of The Temple of God on its site. They gave to the building fund as they were able, about 1,100 pounds of gold, about three tons of silver, and 100 priestly robes.
 ⁷⁰ The priests, Levites, and some of the people lived in Jerusalem. The singers, security guards, and temple support staff found places in their hometowns. All the Israelites found a place to live.

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1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 (The Message)

 ^18-21The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written,

   I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
   I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots.
So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.
 ^22-25While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness."
 ^26-31Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

1 Corinthians 2

 ^1-2You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.  ^3-5I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.

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Psalm 27:7-14 (The Message)

 ^7-9 Listen, God, I'm calling at the top of my lungs:
      "Be good to me! Answer me!"
   When my heart whispered, "Seek God,"
      my whole being replied,
   "I'm seeking him!"
      Don't hide from me now!

 ^9-10 You've always been right there for me;
      don't turn your back on me now.
   Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
      you've always kept the door open.
   My father and mother walked out and left me,
      but God took me in.

 ^11-12 Point me down your highway, God;
      direct me along a well-lighted street;
      show my enemies whose side you're on.
   Don't throw me to the dogs,
      those liars who are out to get me,
      filling the air with their threats.

 ^13-14 I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
      in the exuberant earth.
   Stay with God!
      Take heart. Don't quit.
   I'll say it again:
      Stay with God.

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Proverbs 20:22-23 (The Message)

 ²² Don't ever say, "I'll get you for that!"
   Wait for God; he'll settle the score.

 ²³ God hates cheating in the marketplace;
   rigged scales are an outrage.

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Verse of the Day
“Understanding your word brings light to the minds of ordinary people.” - Psalm 119:130

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet, Christopher Morley wrote, “Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.”

Bible Readings for September 16, 2013

Today our passages are Isaiah 22:1–24:23; Galatians 2:17–3:9; Psalm 60:1-12; and Proverbs 23:15-16. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Isaiah 22-24:23 (Contemporary English Version)

Isaiah 22

Trouble in Vision Valley

 ¹This is a message    about Vision Valley: ^[a] Why are you celebrating
   on the flat roofs ^[b] of your houses?
    ²Your city is filled
   with noisy shouts.
   Those who lie drunk
   in your streets
   were not killed in battle.
    ³Your leaders ran away,
   but they were captured
   without a fight.
   No matter how far they ran,
   they were found and caught. ^{[c] 4}Then I said, "Leave me alone!
   Let me cry bitter tears.
   My people have been destroyed,
   so don't try to comfort me."
    ⁵The LORD All-Powerful
   had chosen a time
   for noisy shouts and confusion
   to fill Vision Valley,
   and for everyone to beg
   the mountains for help. ^{[d] 6}The people of Elam and Kir ^[e] attacked with chariots ^[f] and carried shields.
    ⁷Your most beautiful valleys
   were covered with chariots;
   your cities were surrounded
   by cavalry troops.
    ⁸Judah was left defenseless.
   At that time you trusted in the weapons you had stored in Forest Palace. ^{[g] 9}You saw the holes in the outer wall of Jerusalem, and you brought water from the lower pool. ^{[h] 10}You counted the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some of them, so you could get stones to repair the city wall. ¹¹Then you built a large tank between the walls ^[i] to store the water. But you refused to trust the God who planned this long ago and made it happen.

A Time To Weep

 ¹²When all of this happened,    the LORD All-Powerful told you
   to weep and mourn,
   to shave your heads,
   and wear sackcloth.
    ¹³But instead, you celebrated
   by feasting on beef and lamb
   and by drinking wine,
   because you said,
   "Let's eat and drink!
   Tomorrow we may die."
    ¹⁴The LORD All-Powerful
   has spoken to me
   this solemn promise:
   "I won't forgive them for this,
   not as long as they live."
   

Selfish Officials Are Doomed

 ¹⁵The LORD All-Powerful is sending you with this message for Shebna, the prime minister:     ¹⁶Shebna, what gives you the right to have a tomb carved out of rock in this burial place of royalty? None of your relatives are buried here. ¹⁷You may be powerful, but the LORD is about to snatch you up and throw you away. ¹⁸He will roll you into a ball and throw you into a wide open country, where you will die and your chariots will be destroyed. You're a disgrace to those you serve.
    ¹⁹The LORD is going to take away your job! ^20-21He will give your official robes and your authority to his servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
   Eliakim will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the royal family of Judah. ²²The LORD will put him in charge of the key that belongs to King David's family. No one will be able to unlock what he locks, and no one will be able to lock what he unlocks. ²³The LORD will make him as firm in his position as a tent peg hammered in the ground, and Eliakim will bring honor to his family.
    ²⁴His children and relatives will be supported by him, like pans hanging from a peg on the wall. ²⁵That peg is fastened firmly now, but someday it will be shaken loose and fall down. Then everything that was hanging on it will be destroyed. This is what the LORD All-Powerful has promised.
   

Isaiah 23

The City of Tyre Will Be Punished

 ¹This is a message    from distant islands
   about the city of Tyre: ^[j] Cry, you seagoing ships! ^[k] Tyre and its houses
   lie in ruins. ^{[l] 2}Mourn in silence,
   you shop owners of Sidon, ^[m] you people on the coast.
   Your sailors crossed oceans,
   making your city rich.
    ³Your merchants sailed the seas,
   making you wealthy
   by trading
   with nation after nation.
   They brought back grain
   that grew along the Nile. ^{[n] 4}Sidon, you are a mighty fortress
   built along the sea.
   But you will be disgraced
   like a married woman
   who never had children. ^{[o] 5}When Egypt hears about Tyre,
   it will tremble.
    ⁶All of you along the coast
   had better cry
   and sail
   far across the ocean. ^{[p] 7}Can this be the happy city
   that has stood for centuries?
   Its people have spread
   to distant lands;
    ⁸its merchants were kings
   honored all over the world.
   Who planned to destroy Tyre?
    ⁹The LORD All-Powerful planned it
   to bring shame and disgrace
   to those
   who are honored
   by everyone on earth.
    ¹⁰People of Tyre, ^[q] your harbor is destroyed!
   You will have to become farmers
   just like the Egyptians. ^[r]

Tyre Will Be Forgotten

 ¹¹The LORD's hand has reached    across the sea,
   upsetting the nations.
   He has given a command
   to destroy fortresses
   in the land of Canaan.
    ¹²The LORD has said
   to the people of Sidon,
   "Your celebrating is over--
   you are crushed.
   Even if you escape to Cyprus,
   you won't find peace."
    ¹³Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins. ^{[s] 14}Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships ^[t] to mourn. ¹⁵The city of Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
    ¹⁶You're gone and forgotten,
   you evil woman!
   So strut through the town,
   singing and playing
   your favorite tune
   to be remembered again.
    ¹⁷At the end of those seventy years, the LORD will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth, ¹⁸but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the LORD, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the LORD.
   

Isaiah 24

The Earth Will Be Punished

 ¹The LORD is going to twist the earth out of shape and turn it into a desert. Everyone will be scattered, ²including ordinary people and priests, slaves and slave owners, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, the rich and the poor. ³The earth will be stripped bare and left that way. This is what the LORD has promised.     ⁴The earth wilts away;
   its mighty leaders melt
   to nothing. ^{[u] 5}The earth is polluted
   because its people
   disobeyed the laws of God,
   breaking their agreement
   that was to last forever.
    ⁶The earth is under a curse;
   its people are dying out
   because of their sins.
    ⁷Grapevines have dried up:
   wine is almost gone--
   mournful sounds are heard
   instead of joyful shouts.
    ⁸No one plays tambourines
   or stringed instruments;
   all noisy celebrating
   has come to an end.
    ⁹They no longer sing
   as they drink their wine,
   and it tastes sour.
    ¹⁰Towns are crushed and in chaos;
   houses are locked tight.
    ¹¹Happy times have disappeared
   from the earth,
   and people shout in the streets,
   "We're out of wine!"
    ¹²Cities are destroyed;
   their gates are torn down.
    ¹³Nations will be stripped bare,
   like olive trees
   or vineyards
   after the harvest season.
   

Praise the God of Justice

 ¹⁴People in the west shout;    they joyfully praise
   the majesty of the LORD.
    ¹⁵And so, everyone in the east
   and those on the islands
   should praise the LORD,
   the God of Israel.
    ¹⁶From all over the world
   songs of praise are heard
   for the God of justice. ^[v] But I feel awful,
   terribly miserable.
   Can anyone be trusted?
   So many are treacherous!
   

There's No Escape

 ¹⁷Terror, traps, and pits    are waiting for everyone.
    ¹⁸If you are terrified and run,
   you will fall into a pit;
   if you crawl out of the pit,
   you will get caught in a trap.
   The sky has split apart
   like a window thrown open.
   The foundations of the earth
   have been shaken;
    ¹⁹the earth is shattered,
   ripped to pieces.
    ²⁰It staggers and shakes
   like a drunkard
   or a hut in a windstorm.
   It is burdened down with sin;
   the earth will fall,
   never again to get up.
    ²¹On that day the LORD
   will punish
   the powers
   in the heavens ^[w] and the kings of the earth.
    ²²He will put them in a pit
   and keep them prisoner.
   Then later on,
   he will punish them.
    ²³The moon and sun will both
   be embarrassed and ashamed.
   The LORD All-Powerful will rule
   on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
   where he will show its rulers
   his wonderful glory.
   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 22:1 Vision Valley: The exact location is not known. In Hebrew the name sounds something like "Hinnom Valley," where the people of Jerusalem sometimes offered human sacrifices to the gods of Canaan.
2. Isaiah 22:1 flat roofs: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth.
3. Isaiah 22:3 No matter. . . caught: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Isaiah 22:5 and for. . . help: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Isaiah 22:6 Elam and Kir: Regions in the Iranian highlands.
6. Isaiah 22:6 chariots: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Isaiah 22:8 Forest Palace: Built by Solomon (1 Kings 7.2) and used as a place for storing weapons.
8. Isaiah 22:9 the lower pool: Mentioned only here; probably in the southern part of the Central Valley (Tyropoean Valley) of Jerusalem.
9. Isaiah 22:11 between the walls: Some cities had two walls with a space between them. If the enemy broke through the outer wall, the city was still protected by the inner wall. The houses that were torn down to repair the outer wall were probably squatters' huts that had been built between the two walls.
10. Isaiah 23:1 Tyre: A fortress city built on an island in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of what is now Lebanon.
11. Isaiah 23:1 seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.
12. Isaiah 23:1 Tyre. . . ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13. Isaiah 23:2 Sidon: A coastal city just north of Tyre.
14. Isaiah 23:3 along the Nile: The Hebrew text has "grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile," but Shihor is probably a name for a region near the lower part of the Nile.
15. Isaiah 23:4 children: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16. Isaiah 23:6 far across the ocean: The Hebrew text has "to Tarshish," probably meaning a long distance.
17. Isaiah 23:10 People of Tyre: The Hebrew text has "the people of Tarshish," which stands for the colonies of Tyre.
18. Isaiah 23:10 Egyptians: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
19. Isaiah 23:13 ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
20. Isaiah 23:14 seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.
21. Isaiah 24:4 its. . . to nothing: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
22. Isaiah 24:16 God of justice: Or "people who do right."
23. Isaiah 24:21 the powers in the heavens: In ancient times the stars were thought of as powerful spiritual beings, and sometimes they stood for pagan gods.

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Galatians 2:17-3:9 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁷When we Jews started looking for a way to please God, we discovered that we are sinners too. Does this mean that Christ is the one who makes us sinners? No, it doesn't! ¹⁸But if I tear down something and then build it again, I prove that I was wrong at first. ¹⁹It was the Law itself that killed me and freed me from its power, so that I could live for God.
   I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. ²⁰I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. ²¹I don't turn my back on God's undeserved kindness. If we can be acceptable to God by obeying the Law, it was useless for Christ to die.
   

Galatians 3

Faith Is the Only Way

 ¹You stupid Galatians! I told you exactly how Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross. Has someone now put an evil spell on you? ²I want to know only one thing. How were you given God's Spirit? Was it by obeying the Law of Moses or by hearing about Christ and having faith in him? ³How can you be so stupid? Do you think that by yourself you can complete what God's Spirit started in you? ⁴Have you gone through all of this for nothing? Is it all really for nothing? ⁵God gives you his Spirit and works miracles in you. But does he do this because you obey the Law of Moses or because you have heard about Christ and have faith in him?     ⁶The Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith. ⁷And so, you should understand that everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham. ^{[a] 8}Long ago the Scriptures said that God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. That's why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him. ⁹This means that everyone who has faith will share in the blessings that were given to Abraham because of his faith.

Footnotes:

1. Galatians 3:7 a child of Abraham: God chose Abraham, and so it was believed that anyone who was a child of Abraham was also a child of God (see the note at 3.29).

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Psalm 60:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 60

(For the music leader. To the tune "Lily of the Promise." A special psalm by David for teaching. He wrote it during his wars with the Arameans of northern Syria, ^[a] in Salt Valley.)

You Can Depend on God

 ¹You, God, are angry with us!    We are rejected and crushed.
   Make us strong again!
    ²You made the earth shake
   and split wide open;
   now heal its wounds
   and stop its trembling.
    ³You brought hard times
   on your people,
   and you gave us wine
   that made us stagger.
    ⁴You gave a signal to those
   who worship you,
   so they could escape
   from enemy arrows. ^{[b] 5}Answer our prayers!
   Use your powerful arm
   and give us victory.
   Then the people you love
   will be safe.
    ⁶Our God, you solemnly promised,
   "I would gladly divide up
   the city of Shechem
   and give away Succoth Valley
   piece by piece.
    ⁷The lands of Gilead
   and Manasseh are mine.
   Ephraim is my war helmet,
   and Judah is the symbol
   of my royal power.
    ⁸Moab is merely my washbasin.
   Edom belongs to me,
   and I shout in triumph
   over the Philistines."
    ⁹Our God, who will bring me
   to the fortress,
   or lead me to Edom?
    ¹⁰Have you rejected us
   and deserted our armies?
    ¹¹Help us defeat our enemies!
   No one else can rescue us.
    ¹²You will give us victory
   and crush our enemies.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 60:1 (Psalm 60 wars. . . Syria: See 2 Samuel 8.3-8; 10.16-18; 1 Chronicles 18.3-11; 19.6-19.) when Joab came back and killed twelve thousand Edomites Psalm 60 killed. . . Edomites: See 2 Samuel 8.13; 1 Chronicles 18.12.
2. Psalm 60:4 so. . . arrows: Some ancient translations and one possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 23:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)

-13-

 ¹⁵ My children,    if you show good sense,
   I will be happy,
    ¹⁶and if you are truthful,
   I will really be glad.

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Verse of the Day

“[Wisdom from Above]Are any of you wise or sensible? Then show it by living right and by being humble and wise in everything you do.” - James 3:13

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Christopher Morley,  American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet, wrote, “There is only one rule for being a good talker - learn to listen.”