Bible Readings for July 29, 2017

Today our passages are 2 Chronicles 24:1–25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; and Proverbs 20:8-10. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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2 Chronicles 24-25:28 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Chronicles 24

King Joash of Judah

(2 Kings 12.1-16)

 ¹Joash was only seven years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled forty years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.    ²While Jehoiada the priest was alive, Joash obeyed the LORD by doing right.
   ³Jehoiada even chose two women for Joash to marry so he could have a family.
   ⁴Some time later, Joash decided it was time to repair the temple.
   ⁵He called together the priests and Levites and said, "Go everywhere in Judah and collect the annual tax from the people. I want this done right away--we need that money to repair the temple."
   But the Levites were in no hurry to follow the king's orders.
   ⁶So he sent for Jehoiada the high priest and asked, "Why didn't you send the Levites to collect the taxes? The LORD's servant Moses and the people agreed long ago that this tax would be collected and used to pay for the upkeep of the sacred tent.
   ⁷And now we need it to repair the temple because the sons of that evil woman Athaliah came in and wrecked it. They even used some of the sacred objects to worship the god Baal."
   ⁸Joash gave orders for a wooden box to be made and had it placed outside, near the gate of the temple.
   ⁹He then sent letters everywhere in Judah and Jerusalem, asking everyone to bring their taxes to the temple, just as Moses had required their ancestors to do.
   ¹⁰The people and their leaders agreed, and they brought their money to Jerusalem and placed it in the box.
   ¹¹Each day, after the Levites took the box into the temple, the king's secretary and the high priest's assistant would dump out the money and count it. Then the empty box would be taken back outside.
   This happened day after day, and soon a large amount of money was collected.
   ¹²Joash and Jehoiada turned the money over to the men who were supervising the repairs to the temple. They used the money to hire stonecutters, carpenters, and experts in working with iron and bronze.
   ¹³These workers went right to work repairing the temple, and when they were finished, it looked as good as new.
   ¹⁴They did not use all the tax money for the repairs, so the rest of it was handed over to Joash and Jehoiada, who then used it to make dishes and other gold and silver objects for the temple.
   Sacrifices to please the LORD ^[a] were offered regularly in the temple for as long as Jehoiada lived.
   ¹⁵He died at the ripe old age of one hundred thirty years,
   ¹⁶and he was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem, because he had done so much good for the people of Israel, for God, and for the temple.
   

Joash Turns Away from the LORD

 ¹⁷After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted.    ¹⁸Right away, the people of Judah stopped worshiping in the temple of the LORD God, and they started worshiping idols and the symbols of the goddess Asherah. These sinful things made the LORD God angry at the people of Judah and Jerusalem,
   ¹⁹but he still sent prophets who warned them to turn back to him. The people refused to listen.
   ²⁰God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: "Why are you disobeying me and my laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you."
   ^21-22King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said, "I pray that the LORD will see this and punish all of you."
   

Joash Is Killed

 ²³In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all of the nation's leaders. They collected everything of value that belonged to the people and took it back to their king in Damascus.    ²⁴The Syrian army was very small, but the LORD let them defeat Judah's large army, because he was punishing Joash and the people of Judah for turning away from him.
   ^25-26Joash was severely wounded during the battle, and as soon as the Syrians left Judah, two of his officials, Zabad and Jehozabad, ^[b] decided to revenge the death of Zechariah. They plotted and killed Joash while he was in bed, recovering from his wounds. Joash was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs.
   ²⁷The History of the Kings also tells more about the sons of Joash, what the prophets said about him, and how he repaired the temple. Amaziah son of Joash became king after his father's death.
   

2 Chronicles 25

King Amaziah of Judah

(2 Kings 14.1-6)

 ¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled twenty-nine years from Jerusalem, the hometown of his mother Jehoaddin. ^[c]    ²Even though Amaziah obeyed the LORD by doing right, he refused to be completely faithful.
   ³For example, as soon as he had control of Judah, he arrested and killed the officers who had murdered his father.
   ⁴But the children of those officers were not killed; the LORD had commanded in the Law of Moses that only the people who sinned were to be punished. ^[d]
   

Edom Is Defeated

(2 Kings 14.7)

 ⁵Amaziah sent a message to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and called together all the men who were twenty years old and older. Three hundred thousand men went to Jerusalem, all of them ready for battle and able to fight with spears and shields. Amaziah grouped these soldiers according to their clans and put them under the command of his army officers.    ⁶Amaziah also paid almost four tons of silver to hire one hundred thousand soldiers from Israel.
   ⁷One of God's prophets said, "Your Majesty, don't let these Israelite soldiers march into battle with you. The LORD has refused to help anyone from the northern kingdom of Israel,
   ⁸and so he will let your enemies defeat you, even if you fight hard. He is the one who brings both victory and defeat."
   ⁹Amaziah replied, "What am I supposed to do about all the silver I paid those troops?"
   "The LORD will give you back even more than you paid," the prophet answered.
   ¹⁰Amaziah ordered the troops from Israel to go home, but when they left, they were furious with the people of Judah.
   ¹¹After Amaziah got his courage back, he led his troops to Salt Valley, where he killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in battle.
   ¹²He captured ten thousand more soldiers and dragged them to the top of a high cliff. Then he pushed them over the side, and they all were killed on the rocks below.
   ¹³Meanwhile, the Israelite troops that Amaziah had sent home, raided the towns in Judah between Samaria and Beth-Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off their possessions.
   ¹⁴After Amaziah had defeated the Edomite army, he returned to Jerusalem. He took with him the idols of the Edomite gods and set them up. Then he bowed down and offered them sacrifices.
   ¹⁵This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask Amaziah, "Why would you worship these foreign gods that couldn't even save their own people from your attack?"
   ¹⁶But before the prophet finished speaking, Amaziah interrupted and said, "You're not one of my advisors! Don't say another word, or I'll have you killed."
   The prophet stopped. But then he added, "First you sinned and now you've ignored my warning. It's clear that God has decided to punish you!"
   

Israel Defeats Judah

(2 Kings 14.8-14)

 ¹⁷King Amaziah of Judah talked with his officials, then sent a message to King Jehoash ^[e] of Israel: "Come out and face me in battle!"    ¹⁸Jehoash sent back a reply that said:
   Once upon a time, a small thornbush in Lebanon arranged the marriage between his son and the daughter of a large cedar tree. But a wild animal came along and trampled the small bush.
   ¹⁹Amaziah, you think you're so powerful because you defeated Edom. But stay at home and do your celebrating. If you cause any trouble, both you and your kingdom of Judah will be destroyed.
   ²⁰God made Amaziah stubborn because he was planning to punish him for worshiping the Edomite gods. Amaziah refused to listen to Jehoash's warning,
   ²¹so Jehoash led his army to the town of Beth-Shemesh in Judah to attack Amaziah and his troops.
   ²²During the battle, Judah's army was crushed. Every soldier from Judah ran back home,
   ²³and Jehoash captured Amaziah.
   Jehoash took Amaziah with him when he went to attack Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to Corner Gate, a section about six hundred feet long.
   ²⁴He carried away the gold, the silver, and all the valuable furnishings from God's temple where the descendants of Obed-Edom stood guard. He robbed the king's treasury, took hostages, then returned to Samaria.
   

Amaziah Is Killed

(2 Kings 14.15-20)

 ²⁵Amaziah lived fifteen years after Jehoash died.    ²⁶Everything else Amaziah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
   ²⁷As soon as Amaziah started disobeying the LORD, some people in Jerusalem plotted against Amaziah. He was able to escape to the town of Lachish, but another group of people caught him and killed him there.
   ²⁸His body was taken to Jerusalem on horseback and buried beside his ancestors.
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Chronicles 24:14 Sacrifices to please the LORD: See the note at 1.6.
2. 2 Chronicles 24:25 Zabad and Jehozabad: Hebrew "Zabad son of Shimeath from Ammon and Jehozabad son of Shimrith from Moab."
3. 2 Chronicles 25:1 Jehoaddin: The Hebrew text has "Jehoaddan," another spelling of the name.
4. 2 Chronicles 25:4 the LORD had commanded. . . punished: See Deuteronomy 24.16.
5. 2 Chronicles 25:17 King Jehoash: The Hebrew text has "King Joash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu"; Jehoash is another spelling for the name Joash.

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Romans 12:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

Romans 12

Christ Brings New Life

 ¹Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. ²Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.     ³I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. ⁴A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. ⁵That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.
    ⁶God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. ⁷If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. ⁸If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.
   

Rules for Christian Living

 ⁹Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. ¹⁰Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. ¹¹Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. ¹²Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. ¹³Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.     ¹⁴Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. ¹⁵When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. ¹⁶Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. ^[a] ¹⁷Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, ¹⁸and do your best to live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
   "I am the one to take revenge
   and pay them back."
    ²⁰The Scriptures also say,
   "If your enemies are hungry,
   give them something to eat.
   And if they are thirsty,
   give them something
   to drink.
   This will be the same
   as piling burning coals
   on their heads."
    ²¹Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
   

Footnotes:

1. Romans 12:16 Make friends with ordinary people: Or " Do ordinary jobs."

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Psalm 22:19-31 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹Don't stay far away, LORD!
   My strength comes from you,
   so hurry and help.
    ²⁰Rescue me from enemy swords
   and save me from those dogs.
    ²¹Don't let lions eat me.
   You rescued me from the horns
   of wild bulls,
    ²²and when your people meet,
   I will praise you, LORD.
    ²³All who worship the LORD,
   now praise him!
   You belong to Jacob's family
   and to the people of Israel,
   so fear and honor the LORD!
    ²⁴The LORD doesn't hate
   or despise the helpless
   in all of their troubles.
   When I cried out, he listened
   and did not turn away.
    ²⁵When your people meet,
   you will fill my heart
   with your praises, LORD,
   and everyone will see me
   keep my promises to you.
    ²⁶The poor will eat and be full,
   and all who worship you
   will be thankful
   and live in hope.
    ²⁷Everyone on this earth
   will remember you, LORD.
   People all over the world
   will turn and worship you,
    ²⁸because you are in control,
   the ruler of all nations.
    ²⁹All who are rich
   and have more than enough
   will bow down to you, Lord.
   Even those who are dying
   and almost in the grave
   will come and bow down.
    ³⁰In the future, everyone
   will worship
   and learn
   about you, our Lord.
    ³¹People not yet born
   will be told,
   "The Lord has saved us!"

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Proverbs 20:8-10 (Contemporary English Version)

⁸When rulers decide cases,
   they weigh the evidence.
    ⁹Can any of us really say,
   "My thoughts are pure,
   and my sins are gone"?
    ¹⁰Two things the LORD hates
   are dishonest scales
   and dishonest measures.

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Verse of the Day

“I won't ever forget your teachings, because you give me new life by following them.” - Psalm 119:93

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Swedish diplomat, economist, and author, who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961, Dag Hammarskjöld wrote, “God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason.”

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A Joke for Today

A couple had been married for 35 years, and the pair was also celebrating their 60th birthdays. During the celebration, a fairy godmother appeared and said that because they had been such a loving couple all those years, she would give them each one wish.

The wife said she wanted to travel around the world. The fairy godmother waved her magic wand and BOOM! The wife had the tickets in her hand.

Then it was the husband's turn. He paused for a moment, then said boldly, "Well, I'd like to have a wife 30 years younger than I." The fairy godmother picked up her wand and BOOM! He was now 90.

Bible Readings for March 15, 2014

Today our passages are Numbers 22:21–23:30; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 58:1-11; and Proverbs 11:12-13. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Numbers 22:21-23:30 (The Message)

 ^21-23 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went off with the noblemen from Moab. As he was going, though, God's anger flared. The angel of God stood in the road to block his way. Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. When the donkey saw the angel blocking the road and brandishing a sword, she veered off the road into the ditch. Balaam beat the donkey and got her back on the road.
 ^24-25 But as they were going through a vineyard, with a fence on either side, the donkey again saw God's angel blocking the way and veered into the fence, crushing Balaam's foot against the fence. Balaam hit her again.
 ^26-27 God's angel blocked the way yet again—a very narrow passage this time; there was no getting through on the right or left. Seeing the angel, Balaam's donkey sat down under him. Balaam lost his temper; he beat the donkey with his stick.
 ²⁸ Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: "What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?"
 ²⁹ Balaam said, "Because you've been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now."
 ³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you've ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?"
   He said, "No."
 ³¹ Then God helped Balaam see what was going on: He saw God's angel blocking the way, brandishing a sword. Balaam fell to the ground, his face in the dirt.
 ^32-33 God's angel said to him: "Why have you beaten your poor donkey these three times? I have come here to block your way because you're getting way ahead of yourself. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she hadn't, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey. I would have let her off."
 ³⁴ Balaam said to God's angel, "I have sinned. I had no idea you were standing in the road blocking my way. If you don't like what I'm doing, I'll head back."
 ³⁵ But God's angel said to Balaam, "Go ahead and go with them. But only say what I tell you to say—absolutely no other word."
   And so Balaam continued to go with Balak's nobles.
 ³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him in the Moabite town that was on the banks of the Arnon, right on the boundary of his land.
 ³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, "Didn't I send an urgent message for help? Why didn't you come when I called? Do you think I can't pay you enough?"
 ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, "Well, I'm here now. But I can't tell you just anything. I can speak only words that God gives me—no others."
 ^39-40 Balaam then accompanied Balak to Kiriath Huzoth (Street-Town). Balak slaughtered cattle and sheep for sacrifices and presented them to Balaam and the nobles who were with him.
 ⁴¹ At daybreak Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal (The Heights of Baal) so that he could get a good view of some of the people.

Numbers 23

 ¹ Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and then prepare seven bulls and seven rams."  ² Balak did it. Then Balaam and Balak sacrificed a bull and a ram on each of the altars. ³ Balaam instructed Balak: "Stand watch here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I go off by myself. Maybe God will come and meet with me. Whatever he shows or tells me, I'll report to you." Then he went off by himself.
 ⁴ God did meet with Balaam. Balaam said, "I've set up seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar."
 ⁵ Then God gave Balaam a message: "Return to Balak and give him this message."
 ^6-10 He went back and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and with him all the nobles of Moab. Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:

   Balak led me here from Aram,
      the king of Moab all the way from the eastern mountains.
   "Go, curse Jacob for me;
      go, damn Israel."
   How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
      How can I damn whom God has not damned?
   From rock pinnacles I see them,
      from hilltops I survey them:
   Look! a people camping off by themselves,
      thinking themselves outsiders among nations.
   But who could ever count the dust of Jacob
      or take a census of cloud-of-dust Israel?
   I want to die like these right-living people!
      I want an end just like theirs!
 ¹¹ Balak said to Balaam, "What's this? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and all you've done is bless them."
 ¹² Balaam answered, "Don't I have to be careful to say what God gives me to say?"

¹³ Balak said to him, "Go with me to another place from which you can only see the outskirts of their camp—you won't be able to see the whole camp. From there, curse them for my sake."
 ¹⁴ So he took him to Watchmen's Meadow at the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars there and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
 ¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, "Take up your station here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I meet with him over there."
 ¹⁶ God met with Balaam and gave him a message. He said, "Return to Balak and give him the message."
 ^17-24 Balaam returned and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and the nobles of Moab with him. Balak said to him, "What did God say?" Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle:

   On your feet, Balak. Listen,
      listen carefully son of Zippor:
   God is not man, one given to lies,
      and not a son of man changing his mind.
   Does he speak and not do what he says?
      Does he promise and not come through?
   I was brought here to bless;
      and now he's blessed—how can I change that?
   He has no bone to pick with Jacob,
      he sees nothing wrong with Israel.
   God is with them,
      and they're with him, shouting praises to their King.
   God brought them out of Egypt,
      rampaging like a wild ox.
   No magic spells can bind Jacob,
      no incantations can hold back Israel.
   People will look at Jacob and Israel and say,
      "What a great thing has God done!"
   Look, a people rising to its feet, stretching like a lion,
      a king-of-the-beasts, aroused,
   Unsleeping, unresting until its hunt is over
      and it's eaten and drunk its fill.
 ²⁵ Balak said to Balaam, "Well, if you can't curse them, at least don't bless them."
 ²⁶ Balaam replied to Balak, "Didn't I tell you earlier: 'All God speaks, and only what he speaks, I speak'?"

^27-28 Balak said to Balaam, "Please, let me take you to another place; maybe we can find the right place in God's eyes where you'll be able to curse them for me." So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, with a vista over the Jeshimon (Wasteland).
 ²⁹ Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for sacrifice."
 ³⁰ Balak did it and presented an offering of a bull and a ram on each of the altars.

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Luke 1:57-80 (The Message)

The Birth of John

 ^57-58When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

 ^59-60On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John."

 ^61-62"But," they said, "no one in your family is named that." They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

 ^63-64Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

 ^65-66A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this."

 ^67-79Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

   Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
      he came and set his people free.
   He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
      and in the very house of David his servant,
   Just as he promised long ago
      through the preaching of his holy prophets:
   Deliverance from our enemies
      and every hateful hand;
   Mercy to our fathers,
      as he remembers to do what he said he'd do,
   What he swore to our father Abraham—
      a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
   So we can worship him without a care in the world,
      made holy before him as long as we live.

   And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest,"
      will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
   Present the offer of salvation to his people,
      the forgiveness of their sins.
   Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
      God's Sunrise will break in upon us,
   Shining on those in the darkness,
      those sitting in the shadow of death,
   Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
      down the path of peace.

 ⁸⁰The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

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Psalm 58:1-11 (The Message)

Psalm 58

A David Psalm

 ^1-2 Is this any way to run a country? Is there an honest politician in the house?
   Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil,
      behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

 ^3-5 The wicked crawl from the wrong side of the cradle;
      their first words out of the womb are lies.
   Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison,
      drips from their forked tongues—
   Deaf to threats, deaf to charm,
      decades of wax built up in their ears.

 ^6-9 God, smash their teeth to bits,
      leave them toothless tigers.
   Let their lives be buckets of water spilled,
      all that's left, a damp stain in the sand.
   Let them be trampled grass
      worn smooth by the traffic.
   Let them dissolve into snail slime,
      be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight.
   Before what they cook up is half-done, God,
      throw it out with the garbage!

 ^10-11 The righteous will call up their friends
      when they see the wicked get their reward,
   Serve up their blood in goblets
      as they toast one another,
   Everyone cheering, "It's worth it to play by the rules!
      God's handing out trophies and tending the earth!"

A David Psalm, When Saul Set a Watch on

    David's House in Order to Kill Him

 

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Proverbs 11:12-13 (The Message)

 ¹² Mean-spirited slander is heartless;
   quiet discretion accompanies good sense.

 ¹³ A gadabout gossip can't be trusted with a secret,
   but someone of integrity won't violate a confidence.

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Verse of the Day

“But there is something we must tell you and everyone else in Israel. This man is standing here completely well because of the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You put Jesus to death on a cross, but God raised him to life. Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone.” - Acts 4:10,12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

Swedish diplomat, economist, and author, Dag Hammarskjöld wrote, “Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.”

Bible Readings for July 29, 2013

Today our passages are 2 Chronicles 24:1–25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; and Proverbs 20:8-10. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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2 Chronicles 24-25:28 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Chronicles 24

King Joash of Judah

(2 Kings 12.1-16)

 ¹Joash was only seven years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled forty years from Jerusalem. His mother Zibiah was from the town of Beersheba.    ²While Jehoiada the priest was alive, Joash obeyed the LORD by doing right.
   ³Jehoiada even chose two women for Joash to marry so he could have a family.
   ⁴Some time later, Joash decided it was time to repair the temple.
   ⁵He called together the priests and Levites and said, "Go everywhere in Judah and collect the annual tax from the people. I want this done right away--we need that money to repair the temple."
   But the Levites were in no hurry to follow the king's orders.
   ⁶So he sent for Jehoiada the high priest and asked, "Why didn't you send the Levites to collect the taxes? The LORD's servant Moses and the people agreed long ago that this tax would be collected and used to pay for the upkeep of the sacred tent.
   ⁷And now we need it to repair the temple because the sons of that evil woman Athaliah came in and wrecked it. They even used some of the sacred objects to worship the god Baal."
   ⁸Joash gave orders for a wooden box to be made and had it placed outside, near the gate of the temple.
   ⁹He then sent letters everywhere in Judah and Jerusalem, asking everyone to bring their taxes to the temple, just as Moses had required their ancestors to do.
   ¹⁰The people and their leaders agreed, and they brought their money to Jerusalem and placed it in the box.
   ¹¹Each day, after the Levites took the box into the temple, the king's secretary and the high priest's assistant would dump out the money and count it. Then the empty box would be taken back outside.
   This happened day after day, and soon a large amount of money was collected.
   ¹²Joash and Jehoiada turned the money over to the men who were supervising the repairs to the temple. They used the money to hire stonecutters, carpenters, and experts in working with iron and bronze.
   ¹³These workers went right to work repairing the temple, and when they were finished, it looked as good as new.
   ¹⁴They did not use all the tax money for the repairs, so the rest of it was handed over to Joash and Jehoiada, who then used it to make dishes and other gold and silver objects for the temple.
   Sacrifices to please the LORD ^[a] were offered regularly in the temple for as long as Jehoiada lived.
   ¹⁵He died at the ripe old age of one hundred thirty years,
   ¹⁶and he was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem, because he had done so much good for the people of Israel, for God, and for the temple.
   

Joash Turns Away from the LORD

 ¹⁷After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the leaders of Judah went to Joash and talked him into doing what they wanted.    ¹⁸Right away, the people of Judah stopped worshiping in the temple of the LORD God, and they started worshiping idols and the symbols of the goddess Asherah. These sinful things made the LORD God angry at the people of Judah and Jerusalem,
   ¹⁹but he still sent prophets who warned them to turn back to him. The people refused to listen.
   ²⁰God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, and Zechariah told everyone that God was saying: "Why are you disobeying me and my laws? This will only bring punishment! You have deserted me, so now I will desert you."
   ^21-22King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father had always been a loyal friend. So when the people of Judah plotted to kill Zechariah, Joash joined them and gave orders for them to stone him to death in the courtyard of the temple. As Zechariah was dying, he said, "I pray that the LORD will see this and punish all of you."
   

Joash Is Killed

 ²³In the spring of the following year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killing all of the nation's leaders. They collected everything of value that belonged to the people and took it back to their king in Damascus.    ²⁴The Syrian army was very small, but the LORD let them defeat Judah's large army, because he was punishing Joash and the people of Judah for turning away from him.
   ^25-26Joash was severely wounded during the battle, and as soon as the Syrians left Judah, two of his officials, Zabad and Jehozabad, ^[b] decided to revenge the death of Zechariah. They plotted and killed Joash while he was in bed, recovering from his wounds. Joash was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs.
   ²⁷The History of the Kings also tells more about the sons of Joash, what the prophets said about him, and how he repaired the temple. Amaziah son of Joash became king after his father's death.
   

2 Chronicles 25

King Amaziah of Judah

(2 Kings 14.1-6)

 ¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled twenty-nine years from Jerusalem, the hometown of his mother Jehoaddin. ^{[c]    2}Even though Amaziah obeyed the LORD by doing right, he refused to be completely faithful.
   ³For example, as soon as he had control of Judah, he arrested and killed the officers who had murdered his father.
   ⁴But the children of those officers were not killed; the LORD had commanded in the Law of Moses that only the people who sinned were to be punished. ^[d]
   

Edom Is Defeated

(2 Kings 14.7)

 ⁵Amaziah sent a message to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and called together all the men who were twenty years old and older. Three hundred thousand men went to Jerusalem, all of them ready for battle and able to fight with spears and shields. Amaziah grouped these soldiers according to their clans and put them under the command of his army officers.    ⁶Amaziah also paid almost four tons of silver to hire one hundred thousand soldiers from Israel.
   ⁷One of God's prophets said, "Your Majesty, don't let these Israelite soldiers march into battle with you. The LORD has refused to help anyone from the northern kingdom of Israel,
   ⁸and so he will let your enemies defeat you, even if you fight hard. He is the one who brings both victory and defeat."
   ⁹Amaziah replied, "What am I supposed to do about all the silver I paid those troops?"
   "The LORD will give you back even more than you paid," the prophet answered.
   ¹⁰Amaziah ordered the troops from Israel to go home, but when they left, they were furious with the people of Judah.
   ¹¹After Amaziah got his courage back, he led his troops to Salt Valley, where he killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in battle.
   ¹²He captured ten thousand more soldiers and dragged them to the top of a high cliff. Then he pushed them over the side, and they all were killed on the rocks below.
   ¹³Meanwhile, the Israelite troops that Amaziah had sent home, raided the towns in Judah between Samaria and Beth-Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off their possessions.
   ¹⁴After Amaziah had defeated the Edomite army, he returned to Jerusalem. He took with him the idols of the Edomite gods and set them up. Then he bowed down and offered them sacrifices.
   ¹⁵This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask Amaziah, "Why would you worship these foreign gods that couldn't even save their own people from your attack?"
   ¹⁶But before the prophet finished speaking, Amaziah interrupted and said, "You're not one of my advisors! Don't say another word, or I'll have you killed."
   The prophet stopped. But then he added, "First you sinned and now you've ignored my warning. It's clear that God has decided to punish you!"
   

Israel Defeats Judah

(2 Kings 14.8-14)

 ¹⁷King Amaziah of Judah talked with his officials, then sent a message to King Jehoash ^[e] of Israel: "Come out and face me in battle!"    ¹⁸Jehoash sent back a reply that said:
   Once upon a time, a small thornbush in Lebanon arranged the marriage between his son and the daughter of a large cedar tree. But a wild animal came along and trampled the small bush.
   ¹⁹Amaziah, you think you're so powerful because you defeated Edom. But stay at home and do your celebrating. If you cause any trouble, both you and your kingdom of Judah will be destroyed.
   ²⁰God made Amaziah stubborn because he was planning to punish him for worshiping the Edomite gods. Amaziah refused to listen to Jehoash's warning,
   ²¹so Jehoash led his army to the town of Beth-Shemesh in Judah to attack Amaziah and his troops.
   ²²During the battle, Judah's army was crushed. Every soldier from Judah ran back home,
   ²³and Jehoash captured Amaziah.
   Jehoash took Amaziah with him when he went to attack Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to Corner Gate, a section about six hundred feet long.
   ²⁴He carried away the gold, the silver, and all the valuable furnishings from God's temple where the descendants of Obed-Edom stood guard. He robbed the king's treasury, took hostages, then returned to Samaria.
   

Amaziah Is Killed

(2 Kings 14.15-20)

 ²⁵Amaziah lived fifteen years after Jehoash died.    ²⁶Everything else Amaziah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
   ²⁷As soon as Amaziah started disobeying the LORD, some people in Jerusalem plotted against Amaziah. He was able to escape to the town of Lachish, but another group of people caught him and killed him there.
   ²⁸His body was taken to Jerusalem on horseback and buried beside his ancestors.
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Chronicles 24:14 Sacrifices to please the LORD: See the note at 1.6.
2. 2 Chronicles 24:25 Zabad and Jehozabad: Hebrew "Zabad son of Shimeath from Ammon and Jehozabad son of Shimrith from Moab."
3. 2 Chronicles 25:1 Jehoaddin: The Hebrew text has "Jehoaddan," another spelling of the name.
4. 2 Chronicles 25:4 the LORD had commanded. . . punished: See Deuteronomy 24.16.
5. 2 Chronicles 25:17 King Jehoash: The Hebrew text has "King Joash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu"; Jehoash is another spelling for the name Joash.

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Romans 12:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

Romans 12

Christ Brings New Life

 ¹Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. ²Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.     ³I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. ⁴A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. ⁵That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.
    ⁶God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. ⁷If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. ⁸If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.
   

Rules for Christian Living

 ⁹Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. ¹⁰Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. ¹¹Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. ¹²Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. ¹³Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.     ¹⁴Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. ¹⁵When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. ¹⁶Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. ^{[a] 17}Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, ¹⁸and do your best to live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
   "I am the one to take revenge
   and pay them back."
    ²⁰The Scriptures also say,
   "If your enemies are hungry,
   give them something to eat.
   And if they are thirsty,
   give them something
   to drink.
   This will be the same
   as piling burning coals
   on their heads."
    ²¹Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
   

Footnotes:

1. Romans 12:16 Make friends with ordinary people: Or " Do ordinary jobs."

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Psalm 22:19-31 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹Don't stay far away, LORD!
   My strength comes from you,
   so hurry and help.
    ²⁰Rescue me from enemy swords
   and save me from those dogs.
    ²¹Don't let lions eat me.
   You rescued me from the horns
   of wild bulls,
    ²²and when your people meet,
   I will praise you, LORD.
    ²³All who worship the LORD,
   now praise him!
   You belong to Jacob's family
   and to the people of Israel,
   so fear and honor the LORD!
    ²⁴The LORD doesn't hate
   or despise the helpless
   in all of their troubles.
   When I cried out, he listened
   and did not turn away.
    ²⁵When your people meet,
   you will fill my heart
   with your praises, LORD,
   and everyone will see me
   keep my promises to you.
    ²⁶The poor will eat and be full,
   and all who worship you
   will be thankful
   and live in hope.
    ²⁷Everyone on this earth
   will remember you, LORD.
   People all over the world
   will turn and worship you,
    ²⁸because you are in control,
   the ruler of all nations.
    ²⁹All who are rich
   and have more than enough
   will bow down to you, Lord.
   Even those who are dying
   and almost in the grave
   will come and bow down.
    ³⁰In the future, everyone
   will worship
   and learn
   about you, our Lord.
    ³¹People not yet born
   will be told,
   "The Lord has saved us!"

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Proverbs 20:8-10 (Contemporary English Version)

⁸When rulers decide cases,
   they weigh the evidence.
    ⁹Can any of us really say,
   "My thoughts are pure,
   and my sins are gone"?
    ¹⁰Two things the LORD hates
   are dishonest scales
   and dishonest measures.

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Verse of the Day

“I won't ever forget your teachings, because you give me new life by following them.” - Psalm 119:93

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, economist, and author, wrote, “A task becomes a duty from the moment you suspect it to be an essential part of that integrity which alone entitles a man to assume responsibility.”