Bible Readings for August 14, 2019

Today our passages are Nehemiah 7:61–9:21; 1 Corinthians 9:1-18; Psalm 33:12-22; and Proverbs 21:11-12. 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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Nehemiah 7:61-9:21 (Contemporary English Version)

^61-62There were 642 who returned from the families of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, though they could not prove they were Israelites. They had lived in the Babylonian towns of Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer.

    ^63-64The families of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai could not prove they were priests. The ancestor of the family of Barzillai had married the daughter of Barzillai from Gilead and had taken his wife's family name. But the records of these three families could not be found, and none of them were allowed to serve as priests. ⁶⁵In fact, the governor told them, " You cannot eat the food offered to God until he lets us know if you really are priests." ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[] 66-69}There were 42,360 who returned, in addition to 7,337 servants, and 245 musicians. Altogether, they brought with them 736 horses, 245 mules, ^[b<="">] 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. ^70-72Many people gave gifts to help pay for the materials to rebuild the temple. The governor himself gave 17 pounds of gold, 50 bowls to be used in the temple, and 530 robes for the priests. Family leaders gave 337 pounds of gold and 3,215 pounds of silver. The rest of the people gave 337 pounds of gold, 2,923 pounds of silver, and 67 robes for the priests.

    ⁷³And so, by the seventh month, ^[c<="">] priests, Levites, temple guards, musicians, workers, and many of the ordinary people had settled in the towns of Judah.

   

Nehemiah 8

Ezra Reads God's Law to the People

 ^1-2On the first day of the seventh month, ^{[d<="" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">]}the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the LORD had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. ³From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully. ⁴Ezra stood on a high wooden platform that had been built for this occasion. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah were standing to his right, while Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash Baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam were standing to his left.

    ⁵Ezra was up on the high platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, they all stood up. ⁶Ezra praised the great LORD God, and the people shouted, " Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the LORD.

    ^7-8After this, the Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah went among the people, explaining the meaning of what Ezra had read.

    ⁹The people started crying when God's Law was read to them. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who had been teaching the people all said, " This is a special day for the LORD your God. So don't be sad and don't cry!"

    ¹⁰Nehemiah told the people, " Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who didn't have anything to bring. Don't be sad! This is a special day for the LORD, and he will make you happy and strong."

    ¹¹The Levites encouraged the people by saying, " This is a sacred day, so don't worry or mourn!" ¹²When the people returned to their homes, they celebrated by eating and drinking and by sharing their food with those in need, because they had understood what had been read to them.   

Celebrating the Festival of Shelters

 ¹³On the second day of the seventh month, ^{[e<="" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">]} the leaders of all the family groups came together with the priests and the Levites, so Ezra could teach them the Law ¹⁴that the LORD had given to Moses. They learned from the Law that the people of Israel were to live in shelters when they celebrated the festival in the seventh month of the year. ¹⁵They also learned that they were to go into the woods and gather branches of leafy trees such as olives, myrtles, and palms for making these shelters. ¹⁶So the people gathered branches and made shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the courtyard of the temple, and in the open areas around the Water Gate and Ephraim Gate. ¹⁷Everyone who had returned from Babylonia built shelters. They lived in them and joyfully celebrated the Festival of Shelters for the first time since the days of Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸On each of the first seven days of the festival, Ezra read to the people from God's Law. Then on the eighth day, everyone gathered for worship, just as the Law had said they must.

   

Nehemiah 9

The People Confess Their Sins

 ¹On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, ^{[f<="" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">]} the people of Israel went without eating, and they dressed in sackcloth and threw dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. ²They refused to let foreigners join them, as they met to confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors. ³For three hours they stood and listened to the Law of the LORD their God, and then for the next three hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the LORD.

    ⁴Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the special platform for the Levites and prayed aloud to the LORD their God. ⁵Then the Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said:

   " Stand and shout praises

   to your LORD,

   the eternal God!

   Praise his wonderful name,

   though he is greater

   than words can express."   

The People Pray

 ⁶You alone are the LORD,

   Creator of the heavens

   and all the stars,

   Creator of the earth

   and those who live on it,

   Creator of the ocean

   and all its creatures.

   You are the source of life,

   praised by the stars

   that fill the heavens.

    ⁷You are the LORD our God,

   the one who chose Abram--

   you brought him from Ur

   in Babylonia

   and named him Abraham.

    ⁸Because he was faithful,

   you made an agreement

   to give his descendants

   the land of the Canaanites

   and Hittites,

   of the Amorites and Perizzites,

   and of the Jebusites

   and Girgashites.

   Now you have kept your promise,

   just as you always do.

    ⁹When our ancestors

   were in Egypt,

   you saw their suffering;

   when they were at the Red Sea, ^[g<="">] you heard their cry for help.

    ¹⁰You knew that the King of Egypt

   and his officials and his nation

   had mistreated your people.

   So you worked fearsome miracles

   against the Egyptians

   and earned a reputation

   that still remains.

    ¹¹You divided the deep sea,

   and your people walked through

   on dry land.

   But you tossed their enemies in,

   and they sank down

   like a heavy stone.

    ¹²Each day you led your people

   with a thick cloud,

   and at night you showed the way

   with a flaming fire.

    ¹³At Sinai you came down

   from heaven,

   and you gave your people

   good laws and teachings

   that are fair and honest.

    ¹⁴You commanded them to respect

   your holy Sabbath,

   and you instructed

   your servant Moses

   to teach them your laws.

    ¹⁵When they were hungry,

   you sent bread from heaven,

   and when they were thirsty,

   you let water flow

   from a rock.

   Then you commanded them

   to capture the land

   that you had solemnly promised.

    ¹⁶Our stubborn ancestors

   refused to obey--

   they forgot about the miracles

   you had worked for them,

   and they were determined

   to return to Egypt

   and become slaves again.

    ¹⁷But, our God, you are merciful

   and quick to forgive;

   you are loving, kind,

   and very patient.

   So you never turned away

   from them--

    ¹⁸not even when they made

   an idol shaped like a calf

   and insulted you by claiming,

   " This is the god who rescued us

   from Egypt."

    ¹⁹Because of your great mercy,

   you never abandoned them

   in the desert.

   And you always guided them

   with a cloud by day

   and a fire at night.

    ²⁰Your gentle Spirit

   instructed them, ^[h<="">] and you gave them manna ^[i<="">] to eat and water to drink.

    ²¹You took good care of them,

   and for forty years

   they never lacked a thing.

   Their shoes didn't wear out,

   and their feet were never swollen.

   

Footnotes:

1. Nehemiah 7:65 until. . . priests: The Hebrew text has " until a priest comes with the urim and thummim," sacred objects which were used in some way to receive answers from God.
2. Nehemiah 7:66 736 horses, 245 mules: A few Hebrew manuscripts; this is not found in most Hebrew manuscripts of verse 68.
3. Nehemiah 7:73 seventh month: Tishri(also called Ethanim,) the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-September to mid-October.
4. Nehemiah 8:1 e
5. Nehemiah 8:13 seventh month: Hebrew " same month."
6. Nehemiah 9:1 shout. . . God: Or " shout eternal praises to the LORD your God."
7. Nehemiah 9:9 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph " Sea of Reeds," one of the marshes of fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta. This identification is based on Exodus 13.17--14.9, which lists the towns on the route of the Israelites before crossing the sea. In the Greek translation of the Scriptures made about 200 B.C., the " Sea of Reeds" was named " Red Sea."
8. Nehemiah 9:20 Your gentle Spirit instructed them: Or " You gently instructed them."
9. Nehemiah 9:20 manna: This was something like a thin wafer (see Exodus 16.1-36).

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1 Corinthians 9:1-18 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Corinthians 9

The Rights of an Apostle

 ¹I am free. I am an apostle. I have seen the Lord Jesus and have led you to have faith in him. ²Others may think that I am not an apostle, but you are proof that I am an apostle to you.

    ³When people question me, I tell them ⁴that Barnabas and I have the right to our food and drink. ⁵We each have the right to marry one of the Lord's followers and to take her along with us, just as the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} do. ⁶Are we the only ones who have to support ourselves by working at another job? ⁷Do soldiers pay their own salaries? Don't people who raise grapes eat some of what they grow? Don't shepherds get milk from their own goats? ^8-9I am not saying this on my own authority. The Law of Moses tells us not to muzzle an ox when it is grinding grain. But was God concerned only about an ox? ¹⁰No, he wasn't! He was talking about us. This was written in the Scriptures so that all who plow and all who grind the grain will look forward to sharing in the harvest.

    ¹¹When we told the message to you, it was like planting spiritual seed. So we have the right to accept material things as our harvest from you. ¹²If others have the right to do this, we have an even greater right. But we haven't used this right of ours. We are willing to put up with anything to keep from causing trouble for the message about Christ.

    ¹³Don't you know that people who work in the temple make their living from what is brought to the temple? Don't you know that a person who serves at the altar is given part of what is offered? ¹⁴In the same way, the Lord wants everyone who preaches the good news to make a living from preaching this message.

    ¹⁵But I have never used these privileges of mine, and I am not writing this because I want to start now. I would rather die than have someone rob me of the right to take pride in this. ¹⁶I don't have any reason to brag about preaching the good news. Preaching is something God told me to do, and if I don't do it, I am doomed. ¹⁷If I preach because I want to, I will be paid. But even if I don't want to, it is still something God has sent me to do. ¹⁸What pay am I given? It is the chance to preach the good news free of charge and not to use the privileges that are mine because I am a preacher.

   

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 9:5 Peter: See the note at 1.12.

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Psalm 33:12-22 (Contemporary English Version)

¹²The LORD blesses each nation

   that worships only him.

   He blesses his chosen ones.

    ¹³The LORD looks at the world

    ¹⁴from his throne in heaven,

   and he watches us all.

    ¹⁵The LORD gave us each a mind,

   and nothing we do

   can be hidden from him.

    ¹⁶Mighty armies alone

   cannot win wars for a king;

   great strength by itself

   cannot keep a soldier safe.

    ¹⁷In war the strength of a horse

   cannot be trusted

   to take you to safety.

    ¹⁸But the LORD watches over

   all

   who honor him

   and trust his kindness.

    ¹⁹He protects them from death

   and starvation.

    ²⁰We depend on you, LORD,

   to help and protect us.

    ²¹You make our hearts glad

   because we trust you,

   the only God.

    ²²Be kind and bless us!

   We depend on you.

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Proverbs 21:11-12 (Contemporary English Version)

¹¹An ignorant fool learns

   by seeing others punished;

   a sensible person learns

   by being instructed.

    ¹²God is always fair!

   He knows what the wicked do

   and will punish them.  

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Verse of the Day

 

“[ The Letter to Laodicea ] This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: I am the one called Amen! I am the faithful and true witness and the source of God’s creation. Listen to what I say. Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together.” - Revelation 3:14,20

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

English novelist and playwright, John Galsworthy wrote, “There is one rule for politicians all over the world: Don't say in Power what you say in opposition; if you do, you only have to carry out what the other fellows have found impossible.”

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A Joke for Today

A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The audience would be different each week, so the magician allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again. There was only one problem: The captain's parrot saw the shows every week and began to understand what the magician does in every trick. 

Once he understood that, he started shouting in the middle of the show: Look, it's not the same hat. Look, he is hiding the flowers under the table! Hey, why are all the cards the Ace of Spades?

The magician was furious but couldn't do anything, it was the captain's parrot after all. One day the ship had an accident and sunk. The magician found himself on a piece of wood, in the middle of the ocean, with the parrot of course. They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. This went on for a day, and another, and another.

After a week the parrot finally said: OK. I give up. What'd you do with the boat?

Bible Readings for May 2, 2019

Today our passages are Judges 15:1–16:31; John 2:1-25; Psalm 103:1-22; and Proverbs 14:17-19. 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 by using the link below.

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Judges 15-16:31 (Contemporary English Version)

Judges 15

 ¹Later, during the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit the young woman he thought was still his wife. ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]}He brought along a young goat as a gift and said to her father, " I want to go into my wife's bedroom." " You can't do that," he replied.     ²" When you left the way you did, I thought you were divorcing ^[b<="">] her. So I arranged for her to marry one of the young men who were at your party. But my younger daughter is even prettier, and you can have her as your wife." 
    ³" This time," Samson answered, " I have a good reason for really hurting some Philistines." 

Samson Takes Revenge

 ⁴Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them together in pairs with oil-soaked rags around their tails.     ⁵Then Samson took the foxes into the Philistine wheat fields that were ready to be harvested. He set the rags on fire and let the foxes go. The wheat fields went up in flames, and so did the stacks of wheat that had already been cut. Even the Philistine vineyards and olive orchards burned. 
    ⁶Some of the Philistines started asking around, " Who could have done such a thing?" 
   "It was Samson," someone told them. "He married the daughter of that man in Timnah, but then the man gave Samson's wife to one of the men at the wedding." 
   The Philistine leaders went to Timnah and burned to death Samson's wife and her father. ^{[c<="">] 
    7}When Samson found out what they had done, he went to them and said, " You killed them! And I won't rest until I get even with you." 
    ⁸Then Samson started hacking them to pieces with his sword. ^[d<="">] Samson left Philistia and went to live in the cave at Etam Rock. 
    ⁹But it wasn't long before the Philistines invaded Judah ^[e<="">] and set up a huge army camp at Jawbone. ^{[f<="">] 
    10}The people of Judah asked, " Why have you invaded our land?" 
   The Philistines answered, " We've come to get Samson. We're going to do the same things to him that he did to our people." 
    ¹¹Three thousand men from Judah went to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, " Don't you know that the Philistines rule us, and they will punish us for what you did?" 
   " I was only getting even with them," Samson replied. " They did the same things to me first." 
    ¹²" We came here to tie you up and turn you over to them," said the men of Judah. 
   " I won't put up a fight," Samson answered, " but you have to promise not to hurt me yourselves." 
    ^13-14" We promise," the men said. " We will only tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines. We won't kill you." Then they tied up his hands and arms with two brand-new ropes and led him away from Etam Rock. 
   When the Philistines saw that Samson was being brought to their camp at Jawbone, they started shouting and ran toward him. But the LORD's Spirit took control of Samson, and Samson broke the ropes, as though they were pieces of burnt cloth. 
    ¹⁵Samson glanced around and spotted the jawbone of a donkey. The jawbone had not yet dried out, so it was still hard and heavy. Samson grabbed it and started hitting Philistines--he killed a thousand of them! 
    ¹⁶After the fighting was over, he made up this poem about what he had done to the Philistines: 
   I used a donkey's jawbone 
   to kill a thousand men; 
   I beat them with this jawbone 
   over and over again. ^{[g<="">] 
    17}Samson tossed the jawbone on the ground and decided to call the place Jawbone Hill. ^[h<="">] It is still called that today. 
    ¹⁸Samson was so thirsty that he prayed, " Our LORD, you helped me win a battle against a whole army. Please don't let me die of thirst now. Those heathen Philistines will carry off my dead body." 
    ¹⁹Samson was tired and weary, but God sent water gushing from a rock. ^[i<="">] Samson drank some and felt strong again. Samson named the place Caller Spring, ^[j<="">] because he had called out to God for help. The spring is still there at Jawbone. 
    ²⁰Samson was a leader ^[k<="">] of Israel for twenty years, but the Philistines were still the rulers of Israel. 
    

Judges 16

Samson Carries Off the Gates of Gaza

 ¹One day while Samson was in Gaza, he saw a prostitute and went to her house to spend the night.     ²The people who lived in Gaza found out he was there, and they decided to kill him at sunrise. So they went to the city gate and waited all night in the guardrooms on each side of the gate. ^{[l<="">] 
    3}But Samson got up in the middle of the night and went to the town gate. He pulled the gate doors and doorposts out of the wall and put them on his shoulders. Then he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, ^[m<="">] where he set the doors down, still closed and locked.    

Delilah Tricks Samson

 ⁴Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley.     ⁵The Philistine rulers ^[n<="">] went to Delilah and said, " Trick Samson into telling you what makes him so strong and what can make him weak. Then we can tie him up so he can't get away. If you find out his secret, we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." ^{[o<="">] 
    6}The next time Samson was at Delilah's house, she asked, " Samson, what makes you so strong? How can I tie you up so you can't get away? Come on, you can tell me." 
    ⁷Samson answered, " If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that have never been dried, ^[p<="">] it will make me just as weak as anyone else." 
    ^8-9The Philistine rulers gave seven new bowstrings to Delilah. They also told some of their soldiers to go to Delilah's house and hide in the room where Samson and Delilah were. If the bowstrings made Samson weak, they would be able to capture him. 
   Delilah tied up Samson with the bowstrings and shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" 
   Samson snapped the bowstrings, as though they were pieces of scorched string. The Philistines had not found out why Samson was so strong. 
    ¹⁰" You lied and made me look like a fool," Delilah said. " Now tell me. How can I really tie you up?" 
    ¹¹Samson answered, " Use some new ropes. If I'm tied up with ropes that have never been used, I'll be just as weak as anyone else." 
    ¹²Delilah got new ropes and again had some Philistines hide in the room. Then she tied up Samson's arms and shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" 
   Samson snapped the ropes as if they were threads. 
    ¹³" You're still lying and making a fool of me," Delilah said. " Tell me how I can tie you up!" 
   " My hair is in seven braids," Samson replied. " If you weave my braids into the threads on a loom and nail the loom ^[q<="">] to a wall, then I will be as weak as anyone else." 
    ¹⁴While Samson was asleep, Delilah wove his braids into the threads on a loom and nailed the loom to a wall. ^[r<="">]Then she shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking !" Samson woke up and pulled the loom free from its posts in the ground and from the nails in the wall. Then he pulled his hair free from the woven cloth. 
    ¹⁵" Samson," Delilah said, " you claim to love me, but you don't mean it! You've made me look like a fool three times now, and you still haven't told me why you are so strong." 
    ¹⁶Delilah started nagging and pestering him day after day, until he couldn't stand it any longer. 
    ¹⁷Finally, Samson told her the truth. " I have belonged to God ^[s<="">] ever since I was born, so my hair has never been cut. If it were ever cut off, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as anyone else." 
    ¹⁸Delilah realized that he was telling the truth. So she sent someone to tell the Philistine rulers, " Come to my house one more time. Samson has finally told me the truth." 
   The Philistine rulers went to Delilah's house, and they brought along the silver they had promised her. 
    ¹⁹Delilah had lulled Samson to sleep with his head resting in her lap. She signaled to one of the Philistine men as she began cutting off Samson's seven braids. And by the time she was finished, Samson's strength was gone. Delilah tied him up 
    ²⁰and shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking!" 
   Samson woke up and thought, " I'll break loose and escape, just as I always do." He did not realize that the LORD had stopped helping him. 
    ²¹The Philistines grabbed Samson and poked out his eyes. They took him to the prison in Gaza and chained him up. Then they put him to work, turning a millstone to grind grain. 
    ²²But they didn't cut his hair any more, so it started growing back. 
    ²³The Philistine rulers threw a big party and sacrificed a lot of animals to their god Dagon. The rulers said: 
   Samson was our enemy, 
   but our god Dagon 
   helped us capture him! 
    ^24-25Everyone there was having a good time, and they shouted, " Bring out Samson--he's still good for a few more laughs!" 
   The rulers had Samson brought from the prison, and when the people saw him, this is how they praised their god: 
   Samson ruined our crops 
   and killed our people. 
   He was our enemy, 
   but our god 
   helped us 
   capture him. 
   They made fun of Samson for a while, then they told him to stand near the columns that supported the roof. 
    ²⁶A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, " I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof." 
    ²⁷The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with people and with three thousand ^[t<="">] more on the flat roof. They had all been watching Samson and making fun of him. ^{[u<="">] 
    28}Samson prayed, " Please remember me, LORD God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!" ^{[v<="">] 
    29}Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand. 
    ³⁰Then he shouted, " Let me die with the Philistines!" He pushed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with the Philistine rulers and everyone else still inside. Samson killed more Philistines when he died than he had killed during his entire life. 
    ³¹His brothers and the rest of his family went to Gaza and took his body back home. They buried him in his father's tomb, ^[w<="">] which was located between Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson was a leader ^[x<="">] of Israel for twenty years. 
    

Footnotes:

1. Judges 15:1 Samson went to visit. . . his wife: See the note at 8.31.
2. Judges 15:2 divorcing: It was often very easy for a husband to divorce his wife.
3. Judges 15:6 and her father: Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and two ancient translations " and her family."
4. Judges 15:8 hacking. . . sword: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Judges 15:9 Judah: Samson belonged to the Dan tribe, but his hideout in the cave at Etam Rock was in Judah, a few miles southwest of Bethlehem.
6. Judges 15:9 Jawbone: Or " Lehi" (see verse 17).
7. Judges 15:16 I beat. . . again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. Judges 15:17 Jawbone Hill: Or " Ramath-Lehi."
9. Judges 15:19 God sent. . a rock: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Judges 15:19 Caller Spring: Or " Enhakkore."
11. Judges 15:20 leader: See 2.16 and the note there.
12. Judges 16:2 guardrooms. . . gate: The gate was often in a part of the town wall that was thicker and taller than the rest of the wall, and that had rooms where guards stayed when they were on duty.
13. Judges 16:3 Hebron: About forty miles from Gaza.
14. Judges 16:5 Philistine rulers: There were five rulers, each one controlling part of Philistia.
15. Judges 16:5 silver: About 140 pounds of silver altogether.
16. Judges 16:7 new bowstrings. . . dried: The string for a bow was often made from sinews or internal organs of animals. These strings were made while the animal tissues were still moist, and they became much stronger, once they were dry.
17. Judges 16:13 loom: A large wooden frame on which cloth is woven.
18. Judges 16:14 If you weave. . . to a wall: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation; Hebrew " Weave my braids into the threads on a loom. She nailed the loom to a wall."
19. Judges 16:17 belonged to God: See the note at 13.3-5.
20. Judges 16:27 three thousand: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation " seven hundred."
21. Judges 16:27 They. . . him: Samson may have been in a courtyard visible from the roof.
22. Judges 16:28 one of my eyes: Or " my eyes."
23. Judges 16:31 buried him in his father's tomb: Several family members were often buried in one tomb.
24. Judges 16:31 leader: See 2.16 and the note there.

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John 2:1-25 (Contemporary English Version)

John 2

Jesus at a Wedding in Cana

 ¹Three days later Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited and were there.     ³When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, "They don't have any more wine." 
    ⁴Jesus replied, "Mother, my time hasn't yet come: ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} You must not tell me what to do." ⁵Mary then said to the servants, "Do whatever Jesus tells you to do." 
    ⁶At the feast there were six stone water jars that were used by the people for washing themselves in the way that their religion said they must. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus told the servants to fill them to the top with water. Then after the jars had been filled, ⁸he said, "Now take some water and give it to the man in charge of the feast." 
   The servants did as Jesus told them, ⁹and the man in charge drank some of the water that had now turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from, but the servants did. He called the bridegroom over ¹⁰and said, "The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!" 
    ¹¹This was Jesus' first miracle, ^[b<="">] and he did it in the village of Cana in Galilee. There Jesus showed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. ¹²After this, he went with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples to the town of Capernaum, where they stayed for a few days. 

Jesus in the Temple

(Matthew 21.12,13; Mark 11.15-17; Luke 19.45,46)

 ¹³Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴There he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. He also saw moneychangers sitting at their tables. ¹⁵So he took some rope and made a whip. Then he chased everyone out of the temple, together with their sheep and cattle. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins.     ¹⁶Jesus said to the people who had been selling doves, "Get those doves out of here! Don't make my Father's house a marketplace." 
    ¹⁷The disciples then remembered that the Scriptures say, "My love for your house burns in me like a fire." 
    ¹⁸The Jewish leaders asked Jesus, "What miracle ^[c<="">] will you work to show us why you have done this?" ¹⁹"Destroy this temple," Jesus answered, "and in three days I will build it again!" 
    ²⁰The leaders replied, "It took forty-six years to build this temple. What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days?" 
    ²¹But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. ²²And when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered what he had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.     

Jesus Knows What People Are Like

 ²³In Jerusalem during Passover many people put their faith in Jesus, because they saw him work miracles. ^[d<="">]24But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he would not let them have power over him. ²⁵No one had to tell him what people were like. He already knew.     

Footnotes:

1. John 2:4 my time hasn't yet come: The time when the true glory of Jesus would be seen, and he would be recognized as God's Son (see 12.23).
2. John 2:11 miracle: The Greek text has " sign." In the Gospel of John the word " sign" is used for the miracle itself and as a way of pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
3. John 2:18 miracle: The Greek text has " sign." In the Gospel of John the word " sign" is used for the miracle itself and as a way of pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
4. John 2:23 from above: Or " in a new way." The same Greek word is used in verses 7,31.

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Psalm 103:1-22 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 103

(By David.)

The LORD's Wonderful Love

 ¹With all my heart    I praise the LORD, 
   and with all that I am 
   I praise his holy name! 
    ²With all my heart 
   I praise the LORD! 
   I will never forget 
   how kind he has been. 
    ³The LORD forgives our sins, 
   heals us when we are sick, 
    ⁴and protects us from death. 
   His kindness and love 
   are a crown on our heads. 
    ⁵Each day that we live, ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} he provides for our needs 
   and gives us the strength 
   of a young eagle. 
    ⁶For all who are mistreated, 
   the LORD brings justice. 
    ⁷He taught his Law to Moses 
   and showed all Israel 
   what he could do. 
    ⁸The LORD is merciful! 
   He is kind and patient, 
   and his love never fails. 
    ⁹The LORD won't always be angry 
   and point out our sins; 
    ¹⁰he doesn't punish us 
   as our sins deserve. 
    ¹¹How great is God's love for all 
   who worship him? 
   Greater than the distance 
   between heaven and earth! 
    ¹²How far has the LORD taken 
   our sins from us? 
   Farther than the distance 
   from east to west! 
    ¹³Just as parents are kind 
   to their children, 
   the LORD is kind 
   to all who worship him, 
    ¹⁴because he knows 
   we are made of dust. 
    ¹⁵We humans are like grass 
   or wild flowers 
   that quickly bloom. 
    ¹⁶But a scorching wind blows, 
   and they quickly wither 
   to be forever forgotten. 
    ¹⁷The LORD is always kind 
   to those who worship him, 
   and he keeps his promises 
   to their descendants 
    ¹⁸who faithfully obey him. 
    ¹⁹God has set up his kingdom 
   in heaven, 
   and he rules 
   the whole creation. 
    ²⁰All of you mighty angels, 
   who obey God's commands, 
   come and praise your LORD! 
    ²¹All of you thousands 
   who serve and obey God, 
   come and praise your LORD! 
    ²²All of God's creation 
   and all that he rules, 
   come and praise your LORD! 
   With all my heart 
   I praise the LORD! 
    

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 103:5 Each. . . live: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 14:17-19 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁷Fools have quick tempers, 
   and no one likes you 
   if you can't be trusted. 
    ¹⁸Stupidity leads to foolishness; 
   be smart and learn. 
    ¹⁹The wicked will come crawling 
   to those who obey God. 

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Verse of the Day
“We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.” - 1 John 5:14-15 

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

English novelist and playwright, John Galsworthy wrote, “Those are the moments that I think are precious to a dog – when, with his adoring soul coming through his eyes, he feels that you are really thinking of him.”

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A Joke for Today

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.