Bible Reading
July 20
The World English Bible
July
20
1
Chronicles 22-23
1Ch
22:1 Then David said, This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is
the altar of burnt offering for Israel.
1Ch
22:2 David commanded to gather together the foreigners who were in
the land of Israel; and he set masons to cut worked stones to build
the house of God.
1Ch
22:3 David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of
the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without
weight;
1Ch
22:4 and cedar trees without number: for the Sidonians and they of
Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to David.
1Ch
22:5 David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house
that is to be built for Yahweh must be exceedingly magnificent, of
fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make
preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
1Ch
22:6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and commanded him to build
a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel.
1Ch
22:7 David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to
build a house to the name of Yahweh my God.
1Ch
22:8 But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, You have shed blood
abundantly, and have made great wars: you shall not build a house to
my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.
1Ch
22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest;
and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his
name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel
in his days:
1Ch
22:10 he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son,
and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his
kingdom over Israel for ever.
1Ch
22:11 Now, my son, Yahweh be with you; and prosper you, and build
the house of Yahweh your God, as he has spoken concerning you.
1Ch
22:12 May Yahweh give you discretion and understanding, and put you
in charge of Israel; that so you may keep the law of Yahweh your God.
1Ch
22:13 Then you shall prosper, if you observe to do the statutes and
the ordinances which Yahweh gave Moses concerning Israel. Be strong,
and of good courage. Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.
1Ch
22:14 Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of
Yahweh one hundred thousand talents of gold, and one million talents
of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in
abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and you may add to
them.
1Ch
22:15 There are also workmen with you in abundance, cutters and
workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of men who are skillful in
every kind of work:
1Ch
22:16 of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is
no number. Arise and be doing, and Yahweh be with you.
1Ch
22:17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon
his son, saying,
1Ch
22:18 Isn't Yahweh your God with you? Hasn't he given you rest on
every side? for he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my
hand; and the land is subdued before Yahweh, and before his people.
1Ch
22:19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Yahweh your
God; arise therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, to bring
the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and the holy vessels of God, into
the house that is to be built to the name of Yahweh.
1Ch
23:1 Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son
king over Israel.
1Ch
23:2 He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the
priests and the Levites.
1Ch
23:3 The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward: and
their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.
1Ch
23:4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the
house of Yahweh; and six thousand were officers and judges;
1Ch
23:5 and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised
Yahweh with the instruments which I made, said
David, for giving praise.
1Ch
23:6 David divided them into divisions according to the sons of
Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
1Ch
23:7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
1Ch
23:8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel,
three.
1Ch
23:9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three.
These were the heads of the fathers' houses
of Ladan.
1Ch
23:10 The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These
four were the sons of Shimei.
1Ch
23:11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and
Beriah didn't have many sons; therefore they became a fathers' house
in one reckoning.
1Ch
23:12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
1Ch
23:13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated,
that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons,
forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to
bless in his name, forever.
1Ch
23:14 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the
tribe of Levi.
1Ch
23:15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
1Ch
23:16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
1Ch
23:17 The sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had
no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
1Ch
23:18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.
1Ch
23:19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second,
Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
1Ch
23:20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.
1Ch
23:21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli:
Eleazar and Kish.
1Ch
23:22 Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their
brothers the sons of Kish took them to
wife.
1Ch
23:23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
1Ch
23:24 These were the sons of Levi after their fathers' houses, even
the heads of the fathers' houses of those who were counted
individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work
for the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and
upward.
1Ch
23:25 For David said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to
his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever:
1Ch
23:26 and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the
tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.
1Ch
23:27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered,
from twenty years old and upward.
1Ch
23:28 For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the
service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts, and in the chambers,
and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service
of the house of God;
1Ch
23:29 for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal
offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in
the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all manner of measure
and size;
1Ch
23:30 and to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh, and
likewise in the evening;
1Ch
23:31 and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the Sabbaths,
on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the
ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh;
1Ch
23:32 and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, and
the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their
brothers, for the service of the house of Yahweh.
Jul.
20, 21
Acts
13
Act
13:1 Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some
prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius
of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Act
13:2 As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said,
"Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have
called them."
Act
13:3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on
them, they sent them away.
Act
13:4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to
Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
Act
13:5 When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in
the Jewish synagogues. They had also John as their attendant.
Act
13:6 When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a
certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar Jesus,
Act
13:7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of
understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to
hear the word of God.
Act
13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation)
withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.
Act
13:9 But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
fastened his eyes on him,
Act
13:10 and said, "Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of
the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to
pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act
13:11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be
blind, not seeing the sun for a season!" Immediately a mist and
darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by
the hand.
Act
13:12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being
astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Act
13:13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to
Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to
Jerusalem.
Act
13:14 But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia.
They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.
Act
13:15 After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of
the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any
word of exhortation for the people, speak."
Act
13:16 Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, "Men of
Israel, and you who fear God, listen.
Act
13:17 The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the
people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an
uplifted arm, he led them out of it.
Act
13:18 For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the
wilderness.
Act
13:19 When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he
gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred fifty
years.
Act
13:20 After these things he gave them judges until Samuel the
prophet.
Act
13:21 Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the
son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Act
13:22 When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king,
to whom he also testified, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a
man after my heart, who will do all my will.'
Act
13:23 From this man's seed, God has brought salvation to Israel
according to his promise,
Act
13:24 before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of
repentance to Israel.
Act
13:25 As John was fulfilling his course, he said, 'What do you
suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me the
sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'
Act
13:26 Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among
you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.
Act
13:27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because
they didn't know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read
every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
Act
13:28 Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate
to have him killed.
Act
13:29 When they had fulfilled all things that were written about
him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.
Act
13:30 But God raised him from the dead,
Act
13:31 and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him
from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.
Act
13:32 We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,
Act
13:33 that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that
he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, 'You
are my Son. Today I have become your father.'
Act
13:34 "Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no
more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: 'I will give you
the holy and sure blessings of David.'
Act
13:35 Therefore he says also in another psalm, 'You will not allow
your Holy One to see decay.'
Act
13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the
counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw
decay.
Act
13:37 But he whom God raised up saw no decay.
Act
13:38 Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man
is proclaimed to you remission of sins,
Act
13:39 and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things,
from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Act
13:40 Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the
prophets:
Act
13:41 'Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a
work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one
declares it to you.' "
Act
13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Act
13:43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the
devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them,
urged them to continue in the grace of God.
Act
13:44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together
to hear the word of God.
Act
13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with
jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and
blasphemed.
Act
13:46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, "It was
necessary that God's word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed
you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal
life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act
13:47 For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, 'I have set you as a
light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the
uttermost parts of the earth.' "
Act
13:48 As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the
word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
Act
13:49 The Lord's word was spread abroad throughout all the region.
Act
13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the
chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.
Act
13:51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and
came to Iconium.
Act
13:52 The disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit.
In
the wake of the horrifying rampage in Connecticut that left 20 children
and six adults shot to death, reactions from the anti-Christian media
and liberal politicians are exactly what you would expect: “We’ve got to
get rid of the guns!” Never mind the fact that murder goes back to the
beginning of the human race when Cain killed his brother—without a gun.
Guns have been around only a few hundred years; people have been killing
each other for thousands of years. You do the math. If there were no
guns—clubs, rocks, and sharpened sticks would do the job. Building a
bomb or setting the school on fire would accomplish the same or worse.
Shall we outlaw rocks, sticks, matches, and fertilizer?
If
you do not want to accept that God exists, you have to be able to
explain the existence of the Universe without Him creating it. If He is
not in the equation, then either the Universe created itself or is
eternal—there are no other options (Spencer, 1882). The popular theory
today, of course, is the Big Bang Theory, which posits that the Universe
created itself. Recall that in 2014, science magazines, journals, and
media hailed the discovery of gravitational waves that supposedly proved
Big Bang inflation (