the Week of Proper 17 / Ordinary 22
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Daily Bible Reading
July 20 - Old & New Testament
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2 Kings 24,25
Jehoiakim's Rebellion and Death
1 During(a) Jehoiakim's reign,(b) Nebuchadnezzar(c) king of Babylon(d) attacked.(e) Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 The Lord sent Chaldean, Aramean,(f) Moabite,(g) and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through His servants the prophets.(h) 3 Indeed, this happened to Judah at the Lord 's command to remove them from His sight.(i) It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,(j) 4 and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,(k) and the Lord would not forgive.
5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim's reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.(l) 6 Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.(m)
7 Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again,(n) for the king of Babylon took everything that belonged to the king of Egypt,(o) from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.(p)
Judah's King Jehoiachin
8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king and reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.(q) 9 He did what was evil in the Lord 's sight as his father had done.
Deportations to Babylon
10 At that time(r) the servants of Nebuchadnezzar(s) king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the king of Babylon.(t)
So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He also carried off from there all the treasures of the Lord 's temple and the treasures of the king's palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made(u) for the Lord 's sanctuary, just as God had predicted.(v) 14 Then he deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the fighting men,(w) 10,000 captives,(x) and all the craftsmen and metalsmiths.(y) Except for the poorest people of the land,(z) no one remained.
15 Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. Also, he took the king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.(aa) 16 The king of Babylon also brought captive into Babylon all 7,000 fighting men and 1,000 craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for war. 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's[a] uncle,[b] king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.(ab)
Judah's King Zedekiah
18 Zedekiah(ac) was 21 years old when he became king(ad) and reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal(ae) daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 19 Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord 's sight just as Jehoiakim had done.(af) 20 Because of the Lord 's anger,(ag) it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence.(ah) Then, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.(ai)
Nebuchadnezzar's Siege of Jerusalem
1 In the ninth year(a) of Zedekiah's reign,(b) on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army.(c) They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.(d) 2 The city was under siege until King Zedekiah's eleventh year.
3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the people of the land had no food.(e) 4 Then the city was broken into,(f) and all the warriors fled(g) by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king's garden,(h) even though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. As the king made his way along the route to the Arabah,(i) 5 the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah's entire army was scattered from him.(j) 6 The Chaldeans seized the king(k) and brought him up to the king of Babylon(l) at Riblah,(m) and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his eyes. Finally, the king of Babylon blinded Zedekiah, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.(n)
Jerusalem Destroyed
8 On(o) the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.(p) 9 He burned the Lord 's temple,(q) the king's palace,(r) and all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down(s) all the great houses. 10 The whole Chaldean army with the commander of the guards tore down the walls(t) surrounding Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.(u) 12 But the commander of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.(v)
13 Now(w) the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars(x) of the Lord 's temple, the water carts, and the bronze reservoir,(y) which were in the Lord 's temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.(z) 14 They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze articles used in temple service.(aa) 15 The commander of the guards took away the firepans and the sprinkling basins—whatever was gold or silver.(ab)
16 As for the two pillars, the one reservoir, and the water carts that Solomon had made for the Lord 's temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.(ac) 17 One pillar was 27 feet[a] tall and had a bronze capital on top of it. The capital, encircled by a grating and pomegranates of bronze, stood five feet[b] high. The second pillar was the same, with its own grating.(ad)
18 The commander of the guards(ae) also took away Seraiah(af) the chief priest, Zephaniah(ag) the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers. 19 He took a court official who had been appointed over the warriors from the city; five trusted royal aides[c](ah) found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and 60 men from the common people[d] who were found within the city. 20 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.(ai) 21 The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.(aj)
Gedaliah Made Governor
22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah(ak) son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.(al) 23 When all the commanders of the armies—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.(am) The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.(an) 24 Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, "Don't be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you."(ao)
25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with 10 men and struck down Gedaliah, and he died. Also, they killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.(ap) 26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.(aq)
Jehoiachin Pardoned
27 On(ar) the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah's King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he pardoned King Jehoiachin(as) of Judah and released him from prison.(at) 28 He spoke kindly(au) to him and set his throne over the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.(av) 29 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life.(aw) 30 As for his allowance, a regular allowance(ax) was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, for the rest of his life.
Acts 16:1-21
Chapter 16
Paul Selects Timothy
1 Then he went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy,(a) the son of a believing Jewish woman,(b) but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him.(c) 3 Paul wanted Timothy[a] to go with him, so he took him and circumcised(d) him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for them to observe.(e) 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily.(f)
Evangelization of Europe
6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia.(g) 7 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(h) did not allow them. 8 So, bypassing Mysia, they came down to Troas.(i) 9 During the night a vision appeared to Paul: A Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, "Cross over to Macedonia and help us!"(j) 10 After(k) he had seen the vision, we[b] immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to evangelize them.
Lydia's Conversion
11 Then, setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi,(l) a Roman colony, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for a number of days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. 14 A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was spoken by Paul.(m) 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house."(n) And she persuaded us.
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction.[c](o) She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, "These men, who are proclaiming to you[d] the way of salvation, are the slaves of the Most High God." 18 And she did this for many days.
But Paul was greatly aggravated and turning to the spirit, said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out right away.[e](p)
19 When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas(q) and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice."(r)
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