1 Kings 15
1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah [grand]daughter of Abishalom (Absalom). 3 He walked in all the sins [of idol worship] that his father [Rehoboam] committed before him; and his heart was not entirely devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father (forefather) David. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp (descendant on the throne) in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of [the betrayal of] Uriah the Hittite. 6 There was war between Rehoboam [Abijam’s father] and Jeroboam all the days of Rehoboam’s life.
7 Now as for the rest of the acts of Abijam and everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
8 Abijam slept with his fathers [in death] and they buried him in the City of David. Asa his son became king in his place.
9 So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king over Judah. 10 He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His [great-grand]mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom (Absalom). 11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father (forefather) David. 12 He expelled the male cult prostitutes (sodomites) from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers [Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijam] had made. 13 He also deposed his [great-grand]mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid (obscene, vulgar) image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her horrid image, and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 14 But the high places [of idol worship] were not removed. Nevertheless, Asa’s heart was entirely devoted to the Lord all his days. 15 He brought the things which his father had dedicated and the things which he had dedicated into the house of the Lord—silver, gold, and utensils and accessories.
16 Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah [north of Jerusalem], in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the palace of the king and handed them over to his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram (Syria), who lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 20 So Ben-hadad listened to king Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth [the region of the Sea of Galilee], along with all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard about it, he stopped fortifying Ramah and stayed in Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built [the fortifications]. And King Asa built with them [border fortresses at] Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
23 Now as for the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, everything that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But during the time of his old age he had a foot disease. 24 Asa slept with his fathers [in death] and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David. Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
25 Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. 26 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father [Jeroboam] and in his sin [of idolatry], with which he made Israel sin. 27 Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house (tribe) of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.
28 So Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 29 As soon as he was king, Baasha struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave for Jeroboam anyone alive, but he destroyed them in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite— 30 because of the sins committed by Jeroboam and which he made Israel commit, and because he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.
31 Now as for the rest of Nadab’s acts and everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
32 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah [the capital city], and reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin [of idolatry] with which he made Israel sin.
Colossians 2
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those [believers] at Laodicea, and for all who [like yourselves] have never seen me face to face. 2 [For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God]. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments. 5 For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], 7 having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God]. 10 And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ], and He is the head over all rule and authority [of every angelic and earthly power]. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but by the [spiritual] circumcision of Christ in the stripping off of the body of the flesh [the sinful carnal nature], 12 having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God, [as displayed] when He raised Christ from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross.
16 Therefore let no one judge you in regard to food and drink or in regard to [the observance of] a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 Such things are only a shadow of what is to come and they have only symbolic value; but the substance [the reality of what is foreshadowed] belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one defraud you of your prize [your freedom in Christ and your salvation] by insisting on mock humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about visions [he claims] he has seen [to justify his authority], puffed up [in conceit] by his unspiritual mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head [of the body, Jesus Christ], from whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth [that can come only] from God.
20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as, 21 “Do not handle [this], do not taste [that], do not [even] touch!”? 22 (these things all perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men. 23 These practices indeed have the appearance [that popularly passes as that] of wisdom in self-made religion and mock humility and severe treatment of the body (asceticism), but are of no value against sinful indulgence [because they do not honor God].
Ezekiel 45
1 “Moreover, when you divide the land by lot for inheritance, you shall [set apart and] offer an allotment (contribution) to the Lord, a holy portion of the land [to be used for sacred purposes]. The length shall be 25,000 cubits, and the width shall be 20,000 cubits. It shall be holy (set apart for sacred use) within its every area. 2 Of this there shall be a square plot five hundred by five hundred cubits in perimeter for the holy place, and fifty cubits for the open space around it. 3 And in this area you shall measure off a portion 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 cubits in width. And in it shall be the sanctuary which is most holy. 4 It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 And another portion of land 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the temple (house), and they shall possess it as a place in which to live.
6 “You shall give the city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the portion set aside as a holy section. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.
7 “The prince shall have land on either side of the portion set aside as a holy section and the property of the city, adjacent to the holy section and the property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border. 8 This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”
9 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your forceful seizure of property from My people,” says the Lord God.
10 “You shall have just balances and weights [on your scales and just measures], a just ephah [dry volume measure] and a just bath [liquid measure]. 11 The ephah and the bath [measures] shall be the same quantity, the bath containing one tenth of a homer and the ephah one tenth of a homer; their standard [measure] shall be according to the homer. 12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels [added together, a total of sixty] shall be your maneh (mina).
13 “This is the offering that you shall offer: a sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat; a sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley; 14 and the prescribed portion of oil, (namely, the bath of oil), a tenth part of a bath [of oil] from each kor (which is ten baths or a homer, for ten baths make a homer); 15 and [you shall offer] one sheep out of every flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a grain offering, for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings to make atonement for [those who brought] them,” says the Lord God. 16 “All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel. 17 It shall be the prince’s responsibility to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at the feasts, on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare and provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”
18 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary (from sin). 19 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner courtyard. 20 You shall do this on the seventh [day] of the month for everyone who goes astray [and sins through error or ignorance] and for him who is naive; so shall you make atonement for the temple (house).
21 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince shall provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. 23 And for the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day for the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 He shall provide as a grain offering [to be offered] with each bull an ephah [of grain], an ephah with each ram, and a hin of oil with each ephah [of grain]. 25 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month at the feast, he shall provide [offerings] like these for the seven days, as the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”
Psalms 99-101
1 The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble [with submissive wonder]!
He sits enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2
The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is exalted and magnified above all the peoples.
3
Let them [reverently] praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.
4
The strength of the King loves justice and righteous judgment;
You have established fairness;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).
5
Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.
6
Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They kept His testimonies
And the statutes that He gave them.
8
You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil practices.
9
Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill [Zion, the temple mount],
For the Lord our God is holy.
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2
Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.
3
Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4
Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.
5
For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.
1 I will sing of [steadfast] lovingkindness and justice;
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2
I will behave wisely and follow the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will walk in my house in integrity and with a blameless heart.
3
I will set no worthless or wicked thing before my eyes.
I hate the practice of those who fall away [from the right path];
It will not grasp hold of me.
4
A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not tolerate evil.
5
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will silence;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud (arrogant) heart I will not tolerate.
6
My eyes will be on the faithful (honorable) of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks blamelessly is the one who will minister to and serve me.
7
He who practices deceit will not dwell in my house;
He who tells lies and half-truths will not continue [to remain] in my presence.
8
Morning after morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land,
That I may cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do evil.
