June 27, 2018

A gentle reminder by Gary Rose



I still remember the  hot, lazy summers in upstate New York and how much I enjoyed staying up late watching a full moon. The air was cool and there  was usually a  hoot owl's call filling the air. I enjoyed the serenity of it and the "alone time" when I could clear my head and really focus my thoughts; what a great memory! 

My good friend, Larry Shatzer,  sometimes has a way of  saying goodbye that ends with something like- "and I will keep the light on for you".  You know, this picture reminds me of that saying and the eighth Psalm, which says...


Psalm 8, World English Bible
1  Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,
who has set your glory above the heavens! (Emphasis added)
  2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,
because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
  3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
  4 what is man, that you think of him?  

What is the son of man, that you care for him?
(Emphasis added)
  5 For you have made him a little lower than God,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
  6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands.
You have put all things under his feet:
  7 All sheep and cattle,
yes, and the animals of the field,
  8 The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,
and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
  9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!    
(Emphasis added)


Yes, creation   reminds me of   God Almighty, the creator of  heaven and earth.   And it also reminds me of HIS eternal patience and loving-kindness. This, in turn reminds me of a passage from second Peter....


2 Peter, Chapter 3 (WEB)
7 But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.  
8 But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  
9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.   (Emphasis added)


And with these things one final thought---

There is hope for everyone, because God is patient!!!

Bible Reading June 27, 28 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading  June 27, 28
World English Bible

June 27
2 Samuel 22-24

2Sa 22:1 David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2Sa 22:2 and he said, Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine;
2Sa 22:3 God, my rock, in him I will take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge. My savior, you save me from violence.
2Sa 22:4 I will call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from my enemies.
2Sa 22:5 For the waves of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
2Sa 22:6 The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death caught me.
2Sa 22:7 In my distress I called on Yahweh. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry came into his ears.
2Sa 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
2Sa 22:9 Smoke went up out of his nostrils. Fire out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it.
2Sa 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.
2Sa 22:11 He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he was seen on the wings of the wind.
2Sa 22:12 He made darkness pavilions around himself: gathering of waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
2Sa 22:13 At the brightness before him, coals of fire were kindled.
2Sa 22:14 Yahweh thundered from heaven. The Most High uttered his voice.
2Sa 22:15 He sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and confused them.
2Sa 22:16 Then the channels of the sea appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of Yahweh, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
2Sa 22:17 He sent from on high and he took me. He drew me out of many waters.
2Sa 22:18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
2Sa 22:19 They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support.
2Sa 22:20 He also brought me out into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
2Sa 22:21 Yahweh rewarded me according to my righteousness. He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands.
2Sa 22:22 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
2Sa 22:23 For all his ordinances were before me. As for his statutes, I did not depart from them.
2Sa 22:24 I was also perfect toward him. I kept myself from my iniquity.
2Sa 22:25 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his eyesight.
2Sa 22:26 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man you will show yourself perfect.
2Sa 22:27 With the pure you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
2Sa 22:28 You will save the afflicted people, But your eyes are on the haughty, that you may bring them down.
2Sa 22:29 For you are my lamp, Yahweh. Yahweh will light up my darkness.
2Sa 22:30 For by you, I run against a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall.
2Sa 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect. The word of Yahweh is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
2Sa 22:32 For who is God, besides Yahweh? Who is a rock, besides our God?
2Sa 22:33 God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect.
2Sa 22:34 He makes his feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places.
2Sa 22:35 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of brass.
2Sa 22:36 You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your gentleness has made me great.
2Sa 22:37 You have enlarged my steps under me. My feet have not slipped.
2Sa 22:38 I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them. I didn't turn again until they were consumed.
2Sa 22:39 I have consumed them, and struck them through, so that they can't arise. Yes, they have fallen under my feet.
2Sa 22:40 For you have armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
2Sa 22:41 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.
2Sa 22:42 They looked, but there was none to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn't answer them.
2Sa 22:43 Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I crushed them as the mire of the streets, and spread them abroad.
2Sa 22:44 You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have kept me to be the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known will serve me.
2Sa 22:45 The foreigners will submit themselves to me. As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
2Sa 22:46 The foreigners will fade away, and will come trembling out of their close places.
2Sa 22:47 Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,
2Sa 22:48 even the God who executes vengeance for me, who brings down peoples under me,
2Sa 22:49 who brings me away from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man.
2Sa 22:50 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. Will sing praises to your name.
2Sa 22:51 He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his seed, forevermore.

2Sa 23:1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2Sa 23:2 The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me. His word was on my tongue.
2Sa 23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, one who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God,
2Sa 23:4 He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, When the tender grass springs out of the earth, Through clear shining after rain.
2Sa 23:5 Most certainly my house is not so with God, yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for it is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he doesn't make it grow.
2Sa 23:6 But all of the ungodly shall be as thorns to be thrust away, because they can't be taken with the hand,
2Sa 23:7 But the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear. They shall be utterly burned with fire in theirplace.
2Sa 23:8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb Basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite, against eight hundred slain at one time.
2Sa 23:9 After him was Eleazar the son of Dodai the son of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines who were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away.
2Sa 23:10 He arose, and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand froze to the sword; and Yahweh worked a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to take spoil.
2Sa 23:11 After him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. The Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.
2Sa 23:12 But he stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and killed the Philistines; and Yahweh worked a great victory.
2Sa 23:13 Three of the thirty chief men went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam; and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
2Sa 23:14 David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
2Sa 23:15 David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
2Sa 23:16 The three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Yahweh.
2Sa 23:17 He said, Be it far from me, Yahweh, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
2Sa 23:18 Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. He lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name among the three.
2Sa 23:19 Wasn't he most honorable of the three? therefore he was made their captain: however he didn't attain to the first three.
2Sa 23:20 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, he killed the two sons ofAriel of Moab: he went down also and killed a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.
2Sa 23:21 He killed an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.
2Sa 23:22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men.
2Sa 23:23 He was more honorable than the thirty, but he didn't attain to the first three. David set him over his guard.
2Sa 23:24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
2Sa 23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
2Sa 23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
2Sa 23:27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
2Sa 23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
2Sa 23:29 Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
2Sa 23:30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash.
2Sa 23:31 Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
2Sa 23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
2Sa 23:33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite,
2Sa 23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
2Sa 23:35 Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
2Sa 23:36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
2Sa 23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers to Joab the son of Zeruiah,
2Sa 23:38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
2Sa 23:39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

2Sa 24:1 Again the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.
2Sa 24:2 The king said to Joab the captain of the army, who was with him, Go now back and forth through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number you the people, that I may know the sum of the people.
2Sa 24:3 Joab said to the king, Now Yahweh your God add to the people, however many they may be, one hundred times; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
2Sa 24:4 Notwithstanding, the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the army. Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
2Sa 24:5 They passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and to Jazer:
2Sa 24:6 then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; and they came to Dan Jaan, and around to Sidon,
2Sa 24:7 and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beersheba.
2Sa 24:8 So when they had gone back and forth through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
2Sa 24:9 Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
2Sa 24:10 David's heart struck him after that he had numbered the people. David said to Yahweh, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done: but now, Yahweh, put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.
2Sa 24:11 When David rose up in the morning, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
2Sa 24:12 Go and speak to David, Thus says Yahweh, I offer you three things: choose one of them, that I may do it to you.
2Sa 24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now answer, and consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.
2Sa 24:14 David said to Gad, I am in distress. Let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.
2Sa 24:15 So Yahweh sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
2Sa 24:16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Yahweh relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay your hand. The angel of Yahweh was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
2Sa 24:17 David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel who struck the people, and said, Behold, I have sinned, and I have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me, and against my father's house.
2Sa 24:18 Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up, rear an altar to Yahweh in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
2Sa 24:19 David went up according to the saying of Gad, as Yahweh commanded.
2Sa 24:20 Araunah looked forth, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
2Sa 24:21 Araunah said, Why is my lord the king come to his servant? David said, To buy the threshing floor of you, to build an altar to Yahweh, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people.
2Sa 24:22 Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him: behold, the cattle for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood:
2Sa 24:23 all this, king, does Araunah give to the king. Araunah said to the king, Yahweh your God accept you.
2Sa 24:24 The king said to Araunah, No; but I will most certainly buy it of you at a price. Neither will I offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God which cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
2Sa 24:25 David built there an altar to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So Yahweh was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

June 28
1 Kings 1-3

1Ki 1:1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat.
1Ki 1:2 Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.
1Ki 1:3 So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
1Ki 1:4 The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king didn't know her intimately.
1Ki 1:5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
1Ki 1:6 His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? and he was also a very goodly man; and he was born after Absalom.
1Ki 1:7 He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
1Ki 1:8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
1Ki 1:9 Adonijah killed sheep and cattle and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants:
1Ki 1:10 but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he didn't call.
1Ki 1:11 Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Haven't you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord doesn't know it?
1Ki 1:12 Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and the life of your son Solomon.
1Ki 1:13 Go in to king David, and tell him, Didn't you, my lord, king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign?
1Ki 1:14 Behold, while you yet talk there with the king, I also will come in after you, and confirm your words.
1Ki 1:15 Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.
1Ki 1:16 Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance to the king. The king said, What would you like?
1Ki 1:17 She said to him, My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.
1Ki 1:18 Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, don't know it:
1Ki 1:19 and he has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn't called Solomon your servant.
1Ki 1:20 You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
1Ki 1:21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
1Ki 1:22 Behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
1Ki 1:23 They told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. When he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
1Ki 1:24 Nathan said, My lord, king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?
1Ki 1:25 For he is gone down this day, and has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and say, Long live king Adonijah.
1Ki 1:26 But he hasn't called me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.
1Ki 1:27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven't shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
1Ki 1:28 Then king David answered, Call to me Bathsheba. She came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
1Ki 1:29 The king swore, and said, As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
1Ki 1:30 most certainly as I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place; most certainly so will I do this day.
1Ki 1:31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.
1Ki 1:32 King David said, Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. They came before the king.
1Ki 1:33 The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
1Ki 1:34 and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow the trumpet, and say, Long live king Solomon.
1Ki 1:35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my place; and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.
1Ki 1:36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: Yahweh, the God of my lord the king, say so too.
1Ki 1:37 As Yahweh has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
1Ki 1:38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride on king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.
1Ki 1:39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said,Long live king Solomon.
1Ki 1:40 All the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with the sound of them.
1Ki 1:41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
1Ki 1:42 While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a worthy man, and bring good news.
1Ki 1:43 Jonathan answered Adonijah, Most certainly our lord king David has made Solomon king:
1Ki 1:44 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king's mule;
1Ki 1:45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; and they are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard.
1Ki 1:46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.
1Ki 1:47 Moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed.
1Ki 1:48 Also thus said the king, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it.
1Ki 1:49 All the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
1Ki 1:50 Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
1Ki 1:51 It was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for, behold, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.
1Ki 1:52 Solomon said, If he shall show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die.
1Ki 1:53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and did obeisance to king Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.

1Ki 2:1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
1Ki 2:2 I am going the way of all the earth: you be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;
1Ki 2:3 and keep the instruction of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself.
1Ki 2:4 That Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you, said he, a man on the throne of Israel.
1Ki 2:5 Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was about his waist, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
1Ki 2:6 Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don't let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
1Ki 2:7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
1Ki 2:8 Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword.
1Ki 2:9 Now therefore don't hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.
1Ki 2:10 David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
1Ki 2:11 The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty-three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
1Ki 2:12 Solomon sat on the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
1Ki 2:13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, Do you come peaceably? He said, Peaceably.
1Ki 2:14 He said moreover, I have something to tell you. She said, Say on.
1Ki 2:15 He said, You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: however the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's; for it was his from Yahweh.
1Ki 2:16 Now I ask one petition of you; don't deny me. She said to him, Say on.
1Ki 2:17 He said, "Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you 'no'), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife."
1Ki 2:18 Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for you to the king.
1Ki 2:19 Bathsheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.
1Ki 2:20 Then she said, I ask one small petition of you; don't deny me. The king said to her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny you.
1Ki 2:21 She said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.
1Ki 2:22 King Solomon answered his mother, Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
1Ki 2:23 Then king Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
1Ki 2:24 Now therefore as Yahweh lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.
1Ki 2:25 King Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died.
1Ki 2:26 To Abiathar the priest said the king, Go to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death: but I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord Yahweh before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.
1Ki 2:27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to Yahweh, that he might fulfill the word of Yahweh, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
1Ki 2:28 The news came to Joab; for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he didn't turn after Absalom. Joab fled to the Tent of Yahweh, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
1Ki 2:29 It was told king Solomon, Joab is fled to the Tent of Yahweh, and behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall on him.
1Ki 2:30 Benaiah came to the Tent of Yahweh, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. He said, No; but I will die here. Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
1Ki 2:31 The king said to him, Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him; that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father's house.
1Ki 2:32 Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn't know it, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.
1Ki 2:33 So shall their blood return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed forever: but to David, and to his seed, and to his house, and to his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Yahweh.
1Ki 2:34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell on him, and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
1Ki 2:35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the army; and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
1Ki 2:36 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and don't go forth from there any where.
1Ki 2:37 For on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be on your own head.
1Ki 2:38 Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
1Ki 2:39 It happened at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, Behold, your servants are in Gath.
1Ki 2:40 Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
1Ki 2:41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
1Ki 2:42 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Didn't I adjure you by Yahweh, and protest to you, saying, Know for certain, that on the day you go out, and walk abroad any where, you shall surely die? and you said to me, The saying that I have heard is good.
1Ki 2:43 Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh, and the commandment that I have instructed you with?
1Ki 2:44 The king said moreover to Shimei, You know all the wickedness which your heart is privy to, that you did to David my father: therefore Yahweh shall return your wickedness on your own head.
1Ki 2:45 But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Yahweh forever.
1Ki 2:46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

1Ki 3:1 Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Yahweh, and the wall of Jerusalem all around.
1Ki 3:2 Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Yahweh until those days.
1Ki 3:3 Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
1Ki 3:4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar.
1Ki 3:5 In Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give you.
1Ki 3:6 Solomon said, You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
1Ki 3:7 Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I don't know how to go out or come in.
1Ki 3:8 Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can't be numbered nor counted for multitude.
1Ki 3:9 Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people?
1Ki 3:10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
1Ki 3:11 God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;
1Ki 3:12 behold, I have done according to your word: behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like you.
1Ki 3:13 I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you, all your days.
1Ki 3:14 If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
1Ki 3:15 Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
1Ki 3:16 Then there came two women who were prostitutes, to the king, and stood before him.
1Ki 3:17 The one woman said, Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
1Ki 3:18 It happened the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
1Ki 3:19 This woman's child died in the night, because she lay on it.
1Ki 3:20 She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
1Ki 3:21 When I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.
1Ki 3:22 The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
1Ki 3:23 Then said the king, The one says, This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead: and the other says, No; but your son is the dead, and my son is the living.
1Ki 3:24 The king said, Get me a sword. They brought a sword before the king.
1Ki 3:25 The king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
1Ki 3:26 Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.
1Ki 3:27 Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is its mother.
1Ki 3:28 All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.

Jun. 26, 27
Acts 1

Act 1:1 The first book I wrote, Theophilus, concerned all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,
Act 1:2 until the day in which he was received up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
Act 1:3 To these he also showed himself alive after he suffered, by many proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking about God's Kingdom.
Act 1:4 Being assembled together with them, he commanded them, "Don't depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you heard from me.
Act 1:5 For John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Act 1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
Act 1:7 He said to them, "It isn't for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority.
Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."
Act 1:9 When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing,
Act 1:11 who also said, "You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky."
Act 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.
Act 1:13 When they had come in, they went up into the upper room, where they were staying; that is Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
Act 1:14 All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and supplication, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Act 1:15 In these days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty), and said,
Act 1:16 "Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus.
Act 1:17 For he was numbered with us, and received his portion in this ministry.
Act 1:18 Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out.
Act 1:19 It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in their language that field was called 'Akeldama,' that is, 'The field of blood.'
Act 1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his habitation be made desolate. Let no one dwell therein;' and, 'Let another take his office.'
Act 1:21 "Of the men therefore who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
Act 1:22 beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection."
Act 1:23 They put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Act 1:24 They prayed, and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen
Act 1:25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place."
Act 1:26 They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Jun. 28, 29
Acts 2

Act 2:1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
Act 2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
Act 2:5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.
Act 2:6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
Act 2:7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Behold, aren't all these who speak Galileans?
Act 2:8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?
Act 2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
Act 2:10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!"
Act 2:12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, "What does this mean?"
Act 2:13 Others, mocking, said, "They are filled with new wine."
Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, "You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
Act 2:15 For these aren't drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
Act 2:17 'It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
Act 2:18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
Act 2:19 I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
Act 2:20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
Act 2:21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
Act 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know,
Act 2:23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
Act 2:24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
Act 2:25 For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
Act 2:26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
Act 2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
Act 2:28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
Act 2:29 "Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
Act 2:31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay.
Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
Act 2:34 For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by my right hand,
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '
Act 2:36 "Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself."
Act 2:40 With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
Act 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
Act 2:42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
Act 2:43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
Act 2:44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common.
Act 2:45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
Act 2:46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.