Read the Bible in a Year
Each day, we'll post passages so that you can read the Bible in one year. This is part of The Colossians 13:16 Project, sponsored by Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia. You're invited to worship with us Sundays, at 11:00 a.m. or Saturdays, at 6:30 p.m. You may also want to consider joining one our adult Bible Studies: Thursdays at 12:00 noon and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. We also have a full range of programs for children. If you want more information about the church, check out the other blogs. And please feel free to leave any comments.
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Today our passages are Ezekiel 37:1-38:23; James 1:19–2:17; Psalm
117:1-2; and Proverbs 28:1. 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 Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal.
Ezekiel
37-38:23 (Contemporary English Version)
Ezekiel 37
Dry Bones Live Again
1Some time
later, I felt the LORD's power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to
a valley full of bones. 2The LORD
showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out.
3He said, "Ezekiel, son of man, can
these bones come back to life?"
I replied, "LORD God, only you can answer
that."
4He
then told me to say:
Dry bones, listen to what the LORD is saying
to you, 5"I, the LORD God, will put
breath in you, and once again you will live. 6I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life
into you. Then you will know that I am the LORD."
7I
did what the LORD said, but before I finished speaking, I heard a rattling
noise. The bones were coming together! 8I saw muscles and skin cover the bones, but they had no
life in them.
9The LORD said:
Ezekiel, now say to the wind,
"The LORD God commands you to blow from every direction and to breathe life into
these dead bodies, so they can live again." 10As soon as I said this, the wind blew among the bodies,
and they came back to life! They all stood up, and there were enough to make a
large army.
11The LORD said:
Ezekiel, the people of Israel are like dead
bones. They complain that they are dried up and that they have no hope for the
future. 12So tell them, "I, the LORD
God, promise to open your graves and set you free. I will bring you back to
Israel, 13and when that happens, you
will realize that I am the LORD. 14My
Spirit will give you breath, and you will live again. I will bring you home, and
you will know that I have kept my promise. I, the LORD, have spoken."
Judah and Israel Together Again
15The LORD
said:
16Ezekiel, son of man, get a stick and write on it, "The
kingdom of Judah." Then get another stick and write on it, "The kingdom of
Israel."
17Hold these two sticks end to end, so
they look like one stick. 18And when
your people ask you what this means, 19tell them that I, the LORD, will join together the stick
of Israel and the stick of Judah. I will hold them in my hand, and they will
become one. 20Hold these two sticks
where they can be seen by everyone 21and then say:
I, the LORD God, will gather the people of
Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live. 22I will make them into one nation and let
them once again live in the land of Israel. Only one king will rule them, and
they will never again be divided into two nations. 23They will no longer worship idols and do things that make
them unacceptable to me. I will wash away their sin and make them clean, and I
will protect them from everything that makes them unclean. They will be my
people, and I will be their God.
24-25Their king will always come from the family of my
servant King David and will care for them like a shepherd. The people of Israel
will faithfully obey my laws. They and their descendants will live in the land I
gave my servant Jacob, just as their ancestors did. 26I solemnly promise to bless the people of Israel with
unending peace. I will protect them and let them become a powerful nation. My
temple will stand in Israel for all time, 27and I will live among my people and be their God. 28Every nation on earth will know that my
temple is in Israel and that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people.
Ezekiel 38
Gog Invades Israel
1The LORD said:
2Ezekiel, son of man, condemn Gog, that wicked ruler of the
kingdoms of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Tell him:
3I,
the LORD God, am your enemy, 4and I
will make you powerless! I will put a hook in your jaw and drag away both you
and your large army. You command cavalry troops that wear heavy armor and carry
shields and swords. 5Your army
includes soldiers from Persia, Ethiopia,
and Libya, 6as well as from Gomer and
Beth-Togarmah in the north. Your army is enormous! 7So keep your troops prepared to fight, 8because in a few years, I will command you
to invade Israel, a country that was ruined by war. It was deserted for a long
time, but its people have returned from the foreign nations where they once
lived. The Israelites now live in peace in the mountains of their own land. 9But you and your army will attack them
like a fierce thunderstorm and surround them like a cloud.
10When that day comes, I know that you will have an evil
plan 11to take advantage of Israel,
that weak and peaceful country where people live safely inside towns that have
no walls or gates or locks. 12You will
rob the people in towns that were once a pile of rubble. These people lived as
prisoners in foreign nations, but they have returned to Israel, the most
important place in the world, and they own livestock and property. 13The people of Sheba and Dedan, along with
merchants from villages in
southern Spain,
will be your allies. They will want some of the silver and gold, as well as the
livestock and property that your army takes from Israel. 14I, the LORD God, know that when you see
my people Israel living in peace, 15you will lead your powerful cavalry from your kingdom in
the north. 16You will attack my people
like a storm-cloud that covers their land. I will let you invade my country
Israel, so that every nation on earth will know that I, the LORD, am holy.
Judgment on Gog
17The LORD said
to Gog:
Long ago, I had my prophets warn the people of
Israel that someday I would send an enemy to attack them. You, Gog, are that
enemy, and that day is coming. 18When
you invade Israel, I will become furious, 19and in my anger I will send a terrible earthquake to
shake Israel. 20Every living thing on
earth will tremble in fear of me--every fish and bird, every wild animal and
reptile, and every human. Mountains will crumble, cliffs will fall, and cities
will collapse. 21I, the LORD, will
make the mountains of Israel turn against you.
Your troops will be so terrified that they will attack each other. 22I will strike you with diseases and
punish you with death. You and your army will be pounded with rainstorms,
hailstones, and burning sulfur. 23I
will do these things to show the world that I, the LORD, am holy.
James 1:19-2:17 (Contemporary
English Version)
Hearing and Obeying
19My dear
friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. 20If you are angry, you cannot do any of
the good things that God wants done. 21You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be
humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you.
22Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just
listening to it. 23If you hear the
message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a
mirror 24and forget what they look
like as soon as they leave. 25But you
must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless
you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and
forget.
26If you think you are being religious, but can't control
your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and everything you do is useless. 27Religion that pleases God the Father must
be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this
world make you evil.
James 2
Warning against Having
Favorites
1My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus
Christ, you won't treat some people better than others. 2Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold
ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in
worn-out clothes also comes. 3You must
not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor
to stand at the side or sit on the floor. 4That is the same as saying that some people are better
than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.
5My
dear friends, pay attention. God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in
this world. He has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give
to everyone who loves him. 6You
mistreat the poor. But isn't it the rich who boss you around and drag you off to
court? 7Aren't they the ones who make
fun of your Lord?
8You will do all right, if you obey the most important law
in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we
love ourselves. 9But if you treat some
people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that
you have sinned. 10If you obey every
law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all. 11The same God who told us to be faithful in marriage also
told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in marriage, but murder
someone, you still have broken God's Law.
12Speak and act like people who will be judged by the law
that sets us free. 13Do this, because
on the day of judgment there will be no pity for those who have not had pity on
others. But even in judgment, God is merciful!
Faith and Works
14My friends,
what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that
you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? 15If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food,
16you shouldn't just say, "I hope all
goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is
it to say this, unless you do something to help? 17Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone
and dead!
Psalm 117:1-2 (Contemporary
English Version)
Psalm 117
Come Praise the LORD
1All of you
nations,
come praise the LORD!
Let everyone praise him.
2His love for us is wonderful;
his faithfulness never ends.
Shout praises to the LORD!
Proverbs 28:1 (Contemporary
English Version)
Proverbs 28
The Law of God Makes Sense
1Wicked people
run away
when no one chases them,
but those who live right
are as brave as lions.
Verse of the
Day
“Your word is the truth. So let this truth make
them completely yours.” - John 17:17
Thought
for the Day
German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, composer, and Latin and Greek
scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy and
modern intellectual history, Friedrich Nietzsche
wrote, “Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes.”
Today our passages are Jeremiah 30:1–31:26;
1 Timothy 2:1-15; Psalm 87:1-7; and Proverbs 25:18-19.
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 Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal.
Jeremiah 30-31:26 (Contemporary English Version)
Jeremiah 30
The LORD Will Rescue Israel and Judah
1-2The LORD God of Israel said, "Jeremiah, get a scroll
and write down everything I have told you. 3Someday I will let my people from both Israel
and Judah return to the land I gave their ancestors." 4-5Then the LORD told me to say to Israel and Judah:
I, the LORD, hear screams
of terror,
and there is no peace.
6Can men give birth?
Then why do I see them
looking so pale
and clutching their stomachs
like women in labor?
7My people, soon you will
suffer
worse than ever before,
but I will save you.
8Now you are slaves
of other nations,
but I will break the chains
and smash the yokes
that keep you in slavery.
9Then you will be my servants,
and I will choose a king for you
from the family of David.
10Israel,
you belong to me, so don't be afraid.
You deserved to be punished;
that's why I scattered you
in distant nations.
But I am with you,
and someday I will destroy
those nations.
11Then I will bring you
and your descendants
back to your land,
where I will protect you
and give you peace.
Then your fears will be gone.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
The LORD Will Heal Israel and Judah
12The LORD said:
My people, you are wounded
and near death.
13You are accused of a crime
with no one to defend you,
and you are covered with sores
that no medicine can cure.
14Your friends have forgotten
you;
they don't care anymore.
Even I have acted like an enemy.
And because your sins
are horrible and countless,
I will be cruel
as I punish you.
15So don't bother to cry out
for relief from your pain.
16But if your enemies try to
rob
or destroy you,
I will rob and destroy them,
and they will be led as captives
to foreign lands.
17No one wants you as a friend
or cares what happens to you.
But I will heal your injuries,
and you will get well.
The LORD Will Rescue Israel and Judah
18The LORD said:
Israel, I will be kind to you
and let you come home.
Jerusalem now lies in ruins,
but you will rebuild it,
complete with a new palace.
19Other nations will respect
and honor you.
Your homes will be filled
with children,
and you will celebrate,
singing praises to me.
20It will be just like old
times.
Your nation will worship me,
and I will punish anyone
who abuses you.
21One of your own people
will become your ruler.
And when I invite him
to come near me
at the place of worship,
he will do so.
No one would dare to come near
without being invited.
22You will be my people,
and I will be your God.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
23I am furious!
And like a violent storm
I will strike those
who do wrong.
24I won't calm down
until I have finished
what I have decided to do.
Someday, you will understand
what I mean.
Jeremiah 31
Israel Will Return to God
1The LORD said:
Israel, I promise
that someday all your tribes
will again be my people,
and I will be your God.
2In the desert I was kind
to those who escaped death.
I gave them peace,
and when the time is right,
I'll do the same for you.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
The LORD Will Rebuild Israel
3Some time ago, the LORD appeared to me
and told me to say: Israel, I will always love you;
that's why I've been so patient
and kind.
4You are precious to me,
and so I will rebuild
your nation.
Once again you will dance for joy
and play your tambourines.
5You will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria
and enjoy the grapes.
6Someday those who guard
the hill country of Ephraim
will shout, "Let's go to Zion
and worship the LORD our God."
Israel Will Return to Its Own Land
7The LORD says:
Celebrate and sing for Israel,
the greatest of nations.
Offer praises and shout,
"Come and rescue
your people, LORD!
Save what's left of Israel."
8I, the LORD, will bring
my people back from Babylonia
and everywhere else on earth.
The blind and the lame
will be there.
Expectant mothers
and women about to give birth
will come and be part
of that great crowd.
9They will weep and pray
as I bring them home.
I will lead them
to streams of water.
They will walk on a level
road and not stumble.
I am a father to Israel,
my favorite children.
10Listen to me, you nations
nearby or across the sea.
I scattered the people of Israel,
but I will gather them again.
I will protect them like a shepherd
guarding a flock;
11I will rescue them from
enemies
who could overpower them.
12My people will come
to Mount Zion
and celebrate;
their faces will glow
because of my blessings.
I'll give them grain, grapes,
and olive oil,
as well as sheep and cattle.
Israel will be prosperous
and grow
like a garden
with plenty of water.
13Young women and young men,
together with the elderly,
will celebrate and dance,
because I will comfort them
and turn their sorrow
into happiness.
14I will bless my people
with more food
than they need,
and the priests will enjoy
the choice cuts of meat.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
The LORD Offers Hope
15In
Ramah
a voice is heard, crying and weeping loudly.
Rachel mourns for her children
and refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead.
16But I, the LORD, say
to dry your tears.
Someday your children
will come home
from the enemy's land.
Then all you have done for them
will be greatly rewarded.
17So don't lose hope.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
18The people of Israel
moan and say to me,
"We were like wild bulls,
but you, LORD, broke us,
and we learned to obey.
You are our God--
please let us come home.
19When we were young,
we strayed and sinned,
but then we realized
what we had done.
We are ashamed and disgraced
and want to return to you."
20People of Israel,
you are my own dear children.
Don't I love you best of all?
Though I often make threats,
I want you to be near me,
so I will have mercy on you.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
21With rock piles and
signposts,
mark the way home,
my dear people.
It is the same road
by which you left.
22Will you ever decide
to be faithful?
I will make sure that someday
things will be different,
as different as a woman
protecting a man.
The LORD Will Bring Judah Home
23The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said:
I promise to set the people of Judah free and to lead them back to their
hometowns. And when I do, they will once again say,
"We pray that the LORD
will bless his home,
the sacred hill in Jerusalem
where his temple stands."
24The people will live in
Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. Some will be farmers, and others will be
shepherds. 25Those who feel tired and
worn out will find new life and energy, 26and when they sleep, they will wake up refreshed.
1 Timothy 2:1-15 (Contemporary English Version)
1 Timothy 2
How To Pray
1First of all, I
ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God
how thankful you are for each of them. 2Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live
quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God. 3This kind of prayer is good, and it pleases God our
Savior. 4God wants everyone to be
saved and to know the whole truth, which is,
5There is only one God,
and Christ Jesus
is the only one
who can bring us
to God.
Jesus was truly human,
and he gave himself
to rescue all of us.
6God showed us this
at the right time.
7This is why God chose me to be
a preacher and an apostle of the good news. I am telling the truth. I am not
lying. God sent me to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth.
8I want everyone everywhere to
lift innocent hands toward heaven and pray, without being angry or arguing with
each other.
9I would like for women to wear
modest and sensible clothes. They should not have fancy hairdos, or wear
expensive clothes, or put on jewelry made of gold or pearls. 10Women who claim to love God should do
helpful things for others, 11and they
should learn by being quiet and paying attention. 12They should be silent and not be allowed to teach or to
tell men what to do. 13After all, Adam
was created before Eve, 14and the man
Adam wasn't the one who was fooled. It was the woman Eve who was completely
fooled and sinned. 15But women will be
saved by having children,
if they stay faithful, loving, holy, and modest.
Psalm 87:1-7 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 87
(A psalm and a song by the people of Korah.)
The Glory of Mount Zion
1Zion
was built by the LORD
on the holy mountain,
2and he loves that city
more than any other place
in all of Israel.
3Zion, you are the city of God,
and wonderful things
are told about you.
4Egypt,
Babylonia, Philistia, Phoenicia,
and Ethiopia
are some of those nations
that know you,
and their people all say,
"I was born in Zion."
5God Most High will strengthen
the city of Zion.
Then everyone will say,
"We were born here too."
6The LORD will make a list
of his people,
and all who were born here
will be included.
7All who sing or dance will
say,
"I too am from Zion."
Proverbs 25:18-19 (Contemporary English Version)
18Telling lies about friends
is like attacking them
with clubs and swords
and sharp arrows.
19A friend you can't trust
in times of trouble
is like having a toothache
or a sore foot.
Verse of the Day
“Our LORD, you are the friend of your worshipers, and you make an agreement
with all of us. I always look to you, because you rescue me from every trap.” -
Psalm
25:14-15
Thought
for the Day
German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, composer, and Latin and Greek
scholar, Friedrich
Nietzsche wrote, “There are no facts, only interpretations.”
Today our passages are Esther 1:1–3:15; 1
Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17-28; and Proverbs
21:19-20. 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 Street, Weirton, West Virginia or
through PayPal.
Esther 1-3:15 (Contemporary
English Version)
Esther 1
Queen Vashti Disobeys King
Xerxes
1-2King Xerxes of
Persia lived in his capital city of Susa and
ruled one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia.
3During the third year of his rule,
Xerxes gave a big dinner for all his officials and officers. The governors and
leaders of the provinces were also invited, and even the commanders of the
Persian and Median armies came. 4For
one hundred eighty days he showed off his wealth and spent a lot of money to
impress his guests with the greatness of his kingdom. 5King Xerxes soon gave another dinner and invited everyone
in the city of Susa, no matter who they were. The eating and drinking lasted
seven days in the beautiful palace gardens. 6The area was decorated with blue and white cotton curtains
tied back with purple linen cords that ran through silver rings fastened to
marble columns. Couches of gold and silver rested on pavement that had all kinds
of designs made from costly bright-colored stones and marble and
mother-of-pearl.
7The
guests drank from gold cups, and each cup had a different design. The king was
generous 8and said to them, " Drink all
you want!" Then he told his servants, " Keep their cups full."
9While the men were enjoying themselves, Queen Vashti gave
the women a big dinner inside the royal palace.
10By
the seventh day, King Xerxes was feeling happy because of so much wine. And he
asked his seven personal servants, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha,
Zethar, and Carkas, 11to bring Queen
Vashti to him. The king wanted her to wear her crown and let his people and his
officials see how beautiful she was. 12The king's servants told Queen Vashti what he had said,
but she refused to go to him, and this made him terribly angry.
13-14The king called in the seven highest officials of
Persia and Media. They were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres,
Marsena, and Memucan. These men were very wise and understood all the laws and
customs of the country, and the king always asked them what they thought about
such matters.
15The king said to them, " Queen Vashti refused to come to
me when I sent my servants for her. What does the law say I should do about
that?"
16Then Memucan told the king and the officials:
Your Majesty, Queen Vashti has not only
embarrassed you, but she has insulted your officials and everyone else in all
the provinces.
17The women in the kingdom will hear about this, and they
will refuse to respect their husbands. They will say, " If Queen Vashti doesn't
obey her husband, why should we?" 18Before this day is over, the wives of the officials of
Persia and Media will find out what Queen Vashti has done, and they will refuse
to obey their husbands. They won't respect their husbands, and their husbands
will be angry with them.
19Your Majesty, if you agree, you should write for the
Medes and Persians a law that can never be changed. This law would keep Queen
Vashti from ever seeing you again. Then you could let someone who respects you
be queen in her place.
20When the women in your great kingdom hear about this new
law, they will respect their husbands, no matter if they are rich or poor.
21King Xerxes and his officials liked what Memucan had
said, 22and he sent letters to all of
his provinces. Each letter was written in the language of the province to which
it was sent, and it said that husbands should have complete control over their
wives and children.
Esther 2
Esther Becomes Queen
1After a while,
King Xerxes got over being angry. But he kept thinking about what Vashti had
done and the law that he had written because of her. 2Then the king's personal servants said:
Your Majesty, a search must be made to find
you some beautiful young women. 3You
can select officers in every province to bring them to the place where you keep
your wives in the capital city of Susa. Put your servant Hegai in charge of them
since that is his job. He can see to it that they are given the proper beauty
treatments. 4Then let the young woman
who pleases you most take Vashti's place as queen.
King Xerxes liked these suggestions, and he
followed them.
5At
this time a Jew named Mordecai was living in Susa. His father was Jair, and his
grandfather Shimei was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. 6Kish was
one of the people that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem, when he took
King Jeconiah of Judah to Babylonia. 7Mordecai had a very beautiful cousin named Esther, whose
Hebrew name was Hadassah. He had raised her as his own daughter, after her
father and mother died. 8When the king
ordered the search for beautiful women, many were taken to the king's palace in
Susa, and Esther was one of them.
Hegai was put in charge of all the women, 9and from the first day, Esther was his
favorite. He began her beauty treatments at once. He also gave her plenty of
food and seven special maids from the king's palace, and they had the best
rooms.
10Mordecai had warned Esther not to tell anyone that she
was a Jew, and she obeyed him. 11He was
anxious to see how Esther was getting along and to learn what had happened to
her. So each day he would walk back and forth in front of the court where the
women lived.
12The young women were given beauty treatments for one
whole year. The first six months their skin was rubbed with olive oil and myrrh,
and the last six months it was treated with perfumes and cosmetics. Then each of
them spent the night alone with King Xerxes. 13When a young woman went to the king, she could wear
whatever clothes or jewelry she chose from the women's living quarters. 14In the evening she would go to the king,
and the following morning she would go to the place where his wives stayed after
being with him. There a man named Shaashgaz was in charge of the king's wives.
Only the ones the king wanted and asked for by name could go back to the king.
15-16Xerxes had been king for seven
years when Esther's turn came to go to him during Tebeth, the
tenth month of the year. Everyone liked Esther. The king's personal servant
Hegai was in charge of the women, and Esther trusted Hegai and asked him what
she ought to take with her.
17Xerxes liked Esther more than he did
any of the other young women. None of them pleased him as much as she did, and
right away he fell in love with her and crowned her queen in place of Vashti.
18In honor of Esther he gave a big
dinner for his leaders and officials. Then he declared a holiday everywhere in
his kingdom and gave expensive gifts.
Mordecai Saves the King's Life
19When the young
women were brought together again, Esther's cousin Mordecai had become a palace
official. 20He had told Esther never to
tell anyone that she was a Jew, and she obeyed him, just as she had always done.
21Bigthana and Teresh were the two men who guarded King
Xerxes' rooms, but they got angry with the king and decided to kill him. 22Mordecai found out about their plans and
asked Queen Esther to tell the king what he had found out. 23King Xerxes learned that Mordecai's report was true, and
he had the two men hanged. Then the king had all of this written down in his
record book as he watched.
Esther 3
Haman Plans To Destroy the Jews
1Later, King
Xerxes promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha to the highest position in his
kingdom. Haman was a descendant of Agag,
2and the king had given orders for his
officials at the royal gate to honor Haman by kneeling down to him. All of them
obeyed except Mordecai. 3When the other
officials asked Mordecai why he disobeyed the king's command, 4he said, " Because I am a Jew." They spoke
to him for several days about kneeling down, but he still refused to obey.
Finally, they reported this to Haman, to find out if he would let Mordecai get
away with it. 5Haman was furious to
learn that Mordecai refused to kneel down and honor him. 6And when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, he knew
that killing only Mordecai was not enough. Every Jew in the whole kingdom had to
be killed.
7It
was now the twelfth year of the rule of King Xerxes. During Nisan, the
first month of the year, Haman said, " Find out the best time for me to do
this." The
time chosen was Adar, the
twelfth month. 8Then Haman went to the
king and said:
Your Majesty, there are some people who live
all over your kingdom and won't have a thing to do with anyone else. They have
customs that are different from everyone else's, and they refuse to obey your
laws. We would be better off to get rid of them! 9Why not give orders for all of them to be killed? I can
promise that you will get tons of silver for your treasury.
10The king handed his official ring to Haman, who hated the
Jews, and the king told him, 11" Do
what you want with those people! You can keep their money."
12On
the thirteenth day of Nisan, Haman called in the king's secretaries and ordered
them to write letters in every language used in the kingdom. The letters were
written in the name of the king and sealed by using the king's own ring. At
once they were sent to the king's highest officials, the governors of each
province, and the leaders of the different nations in the kingdom of Xerxes.
13The letters were taken by messengers
to every part of the kingdom, and this is what was said in the letters:
On the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth
month, all Jewish men, women, and children are to be killed. And their property
is to be taken.
14-15King Xerxes gave orders for these letters to be posted
where they could be seen by everyone all over the kingdom. The king's command
was obeyed, and one of the letters was read aloud to the people in the walled
city of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink together, but no one in
the city
could figure out what was going on.
1 Corinthians
11:17-34 (Contemporary English Version)
Rules for the Lord's Supper
17Your worship
services do you more harm than good. I am certainly not going to praise you for
this. 18I am told that you can't get
along with each other when you worship, and I am sure that some of what I have
heard is true. 19You are bound to
argue with each other, but it is easy to see which of you have God's approval.
20When you meet together, you don't really celebrate the
Lord's Supper. 21You even start eating
before everyone gets to the meeting, and some of you go hungry, while others get
drunk. 22Don't you have homes where
you can eat and drink? Do you hate God's church? Do you want to embarrass people
who don't have anything? What can I say to you? I certainly cannot praise you.
The Lord's Supper
(Matthew 26.26-29; Mark 14.22-25; Luke
22.14-20)
23I have already told you what the Lord Jesus did on the
night he was betrayed. And it came from the Lord himself.
He took some bread in his hands. 24Then after he had given thanks, he broke
it and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this and remember
me."
25After the meal, Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and
said, "This is my blood, and with it God makes his new agreement with you. Drink
this and remember me."
26The Lord meant that when you eat this bread and drink
from this cup, you tell about his death until he comes.
27But if you eat the bread and drink the wine in a way that
isn't worthy of the Lord, you sin against his body and blood. 28That's why you must examine the way you
eat and drink. 29If you fail to
understand that you are the body of the Lord, you will condemn yourselves by the
way you eat and drink. 30That's why
many of you are sick and weak and why a lot of others have died. 31If we carefully judge ourselves, we won't
be punished. 32But when the Lord
judges and punishes us, he does it to keep us from being condemned with the rest
of the world.
33My dear friends, you should wait until everyone gets
there before you start eating. 34If
you really are hungry, you can eat at home. Then you won't condemn yourselves
when you meet together.
After I arrive, I will instruct you about the
other matters.
Psalm 35:17-28 (Contemporary
English Version)
17But
all you do is watch!
When will you do something?
Save me from the attack
of those vicious lions.
18And when your people meet,
I will praise you
and thank you, Lord,
in front of them all.
19Don't let my brutal enemies
be glad because of me.
They hate me for no reason.
Don't let them wink
behind my back.
20They say hurtful things,
and they lie to people
who want to live in peace.
21They are quick to accuse me.
They say, "You did it!
We saw you ourselves."
22You see everything, LORD!
Please don't keep silent
or stay so far away.
23Fight to defend me, Lord God,
24and prove that I am right
by your standards.
Don't let them laugh at me
25or say to each other,
"Now we've got what we want!
We'll gobble him down!"
26Disappoint and confuse
all who are glad
to see me in trouble,
but disgrace and embarrass
my proud enemies
who say to me,
"You are nothing!"
27Let all who want me to win
be happy and joyful.
From now on let them say,
"The LORD is wonderful!
God is glad when all goes well
for his servant."
28Then I will shout all day,
"Praise the LORD God!
He did what was right."
Proverbs
21:19-20 (Contemporary English Version)
19It's
better out in the desert
than at home with a nagging,
complaining wife.
20Be sensible and store up
precious treasures--
don't waste them
like a fool.
Verse of the
Day
“If I live, it will be for Christ, and if I die,
I will gain even more.” - Philippians 1:21
Thought
for the Day
German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, composer, and Latin and Greek
scholar, Friedrich Nietzsche
wrote, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
