Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
MARCH
23
PSALMS:
23, 53, 83, 113, 143
PROVERBS:
23
OLD
TESTAMENT:
1 KINGS 9:1 - 10:27
NEW
TESTAMENT:
ACTS 8:14 - 40
PSALMS:
23
A
psalm of David.
1
The
LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2
He
makes me lie down in green pastures,
he
leads me beside quiet waters,
3
he
restores my soul.
He
guides me in paths of righteousness
for
his name's sake.
4
Even
though I walk
through
the valley of the shadow of death, A
I
will fear no evil,
for
you are with me;
your
rod and your staff,
they
comfort me.
5
You
prepare a table before me
in
the presence of my enemies.
You
anoint my head with oil;
my
cup overflows.
6
Surely
goodness and love will follow me
all
the days of my life,
and
I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
1
PSALMS:
53
For
the director of music. According to mahalath.
A
A maskil
B
of David.
1
The
fool says in his heart,
"There
is no God."
They
are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there
is no one who does good.
2
God
looks down from heaven
on
the sons of men
to
see if there are any who understand,
any
who seek God.
3
Everyone
has turned away,
they
have together become corrupt;
there
is no one who does good,
not
even one.
4
Will
the evildoers never learn--
those
who devour my people as men eat bread
and
who do not call on God?
5
There
they were, overwhelmed with dread,
where
there was nothing to dread.
God
scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you
put them to shame, for God despised them.
6
Oh,
that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When
God restores the fortunes of his people,
let
Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! 2
PSALMS:
83
A
song. A psalm of Asaph.
1
O
God, do not keep silent;
be
not quiet, O God, be not still.
2
See
how your enemies are astir,
how
your foes rear their heads.
3
With
cunning they conspire against your people;
they
plot against those you cherish.
4
"Come,"
they say, "let us destroy them as a nation,
that
the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5
With
one mind they plot together;
they
form an alliance against you--
6
the
tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of
Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal,
A
Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia,
with the people of Tyre.
8
Even
Assyria has joined them
to
lend strength to the descendants of Lot.
Selah
9
Do
to them as you did to Midian,
as
you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10
who
perished at Endor
and
became like refuse on the ground.
11
Make
their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all
their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12
who
said, "Let us take possession
of
the pasturelands of God." 3
13
Make
them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like
chaff before the wind.
14
As
fire consumes the forest
or
a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15
so
pursue them with your tempest
and
terrify them with your storm.
16
Cover
their faces with shame
so
that men will seek your name, O LORD.
17
May
they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may
they perish in disgrace.
18
Let
them know that you, whose name is the LORD--
that
you alone are the Most High over all the earth. 4
PSALMS:
113
1
Praise
the LORD. A
Praise,
O servants of the LORD,
praise
the name of the LORD.
2
Let
the name of the LORD be praised,
both
now and forevermore.
3
From
the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the
name of the LORD is to be praised.
4
The
LORD is exalted over all the nations,
his
glory above the heavens.
5
Who
is like the LORD our God,
the
One who sits enthroned on high,
6
who
stoops down to look
on
the heavens and the earth?
7
He
raises the poor from the dust
and
lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8
he
seats them with princes,
with
the princes of their people.
9
He
settles the barren woman in her home
as
a happy mother of children.
Praise
the LORD. 5
PSALMS:
143
A
psalm of David.
1
O
LORD, hear my prayer,
listen
to my cry for mercy;
in
your faithfulness and righteousness
come
to my relief.
2
Do
not bring your servant into judgment,
for
no one living is righteous before you.
3
The
enemy pursues me,
he
crushes me to the ground;
he
makes me dwell in darkness
like
those long dead.
4
So
my spirit grows faint within me;
my
heart within me is dismayed.
5
I
remember the days of long ago;
I
meditate on all your works
and
consider what your hands have done.
6
I
spread out my hands to you;
my
soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah
7
Answer
me quickly, O LORD;
my
spirit fails.
Do
not hide your face from me
or
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8
Let
the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for
I have put my trust in you.
Show
me the way I should go,
for
to you I lift up my soul.
9
Rescue
me from my enemies, O LORD, 6
for
I hide myself in you.
10
Teach
me to do your will,
for
you are my God;
may
your good Spirit
lead
me on level ground.
11
For
your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life;
in
your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
12
In
your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy
all my foes,
for
I am your servant. 7
PROVERBS:
23
23
1
When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note
well what A
is before you,
2
and
put a knife to your throat
if
you are given to gluttony.
3
Do
not crave his delicacies,
for
that food is deceptive.
4
Do
not wear yourself out to get rich;
have
the wisdom to show restraint.
5
Cast
but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for
they will surely sprout wings
and
fly off to the sky like an eagle.
6
Do
not eat the food of a stingy man,
do
not crave his delicacies;
7
for
he is the kind of man
who
is always thinking about the cost. B
"Eat
and drink," he says to you,
but
his heart is not with you.
8
You
will vomit up the little you have eaten
and
will have wasted your compliments.
9
Do
not speak to a fool,
for
he will scorn the wisdom of your words.
10
Do
not move an ancient boundary stone
or
encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11
for
their Defender is strong;
he
will take up their case against you.
12
Apply
your heart to instruction
and
your ears to words of knowledge. 8
13
Do
not withhold discipline from a child;
if
you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
14
Punish
him with the rod
and
save his soul from death. C
15
My
son, if your heart is wise,
then
my heart will be glad;
16
my
inmost being will rejoice
when
your lips speak what is right.
17
Do
not let your heart envy sinners,
but
always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
18
There
is surely a future hope for you,
and
your hope will not be cut off.
19
Listen,
my son, and be wise,
and
keep your heart on the right path.
20
Do
not join those who drink too much wine
or
gorge themselves on meat,
21
for
drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and
drowsiness clothes them in rags.
22
Listen
to your father, who gave you life,
and
do not despise your mother when she is old.
23
Buy
the truth and do not sell it;
get
wisdom, discipline and understanding.
24
The
father of a righteous man has great joy;
he
who has a wise son delights in him.
25
May
your father and mother be glad;
may
she who gave you birth rejoice! 9
26
My
son, give me your heart
and
let your eyes keep to my ways,
27
for
a prostitute is a deep pit
and
a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28
Like
a bandit she lies in wait,
and
multiplies the unfaithful among men.
29
Who
has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who
has strife? Who has complaints?
Who
has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30
Those
who linger over wine,
who
go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31
Do
not gaze at wine when it is red,
when
it sparkles in the cup,
when
it goes down smoothly!
32
In
the end it bites like a snake
and
poisons like a viper.
33
Your
eyes will see strange sights
and
your mind imagine confusing things.
34
You
will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying
on top of the rigging. 10
OLD
TESTAMENT:
1 KINGS 9:1 - 10:27
9
1
When
Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal
palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2
the
LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at
Gibeon. 3
The
LORD said to him:
"I
have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have
consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name
there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
4
"As
for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness,
as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees
and laws, 5
I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised
David your father when I said, `You shall never fail to have a man on
the throne of Israel.'
6
"But
if you A
or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and
decrees I have given you B
and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7
then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will
reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then
become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.
8
And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be
appalled and will scoff and say, `Why has the LORD done such a thing
to this land and to this temple?' 9
People will answer, `Because they have forsaken the LORD their God,
who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods,
worshiping and serving them--that is why the LORD brought all this
disaster on them.'"
11
10
At
the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two
buildings--the temple of the LORD and the royal palace—11
King
Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because
Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he
wanted. 12
But
when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given
him, he was not pleased with them. 13
"What
kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he
asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul, C
a name they have to this day.
14
Now
Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents D
of gold.
15
Here
is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build
the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, E
the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16
(Pharaoh
king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire.
He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding
gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife. 17
And
Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,
18
Baalath,
and Tadmor F
in the desert, within his land, 19
as
well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for
his horses G--whatever
he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the
territory he ruled.
20
All
the people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and
Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites), 21
that
is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites
could 12
not exterminate H--these
Solomon conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day.
22
But
Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his
fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains,
and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23
They
were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon's projects—55 0
officials supervising the men who did the work.
24
After
Pharaoh's daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace
Solomon had built for her, he constructed the supporting terraces.
25
Three
times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship
offerings I
on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the
LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.
26
King
Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom,
on the shore of the Red Sea. J
27
And
Hiram sent his men--sailors who knew the sea--to serve in the fleet
with Solomon's men. 28
They
sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents K
of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon. 13
10
1
When
the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation
to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. 2
Arriving
at Jerusalem with a very great caravan--with camels carrying spices,
large quantities of gold, and precious stones--she came to Solomon
and talked with him about all that she had on her mind.
3
Solomon
answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to
explain to her.
4
When
the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he
had built, 5
the
food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending
servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he
made at A
the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.
6
She
said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about
your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7
But
I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes.
Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far
exceeded the report I heard. 8
How
happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually
stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9
Praise
be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on
the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel,
he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness."
10
And
she gave the king 120 talents B
of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again
were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to
King Solomon.
11
(Hiram's
ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great
cargoes of almugwoodC
and precious stones. 12
The
king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the 14
LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the
musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since
that day.)
13
King
Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for,
besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left
and returned with her retinue to her own country.
14
The
weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, D
15
not
including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the
Arabian kings and the governors of the land.
16
King
Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred
bekas E
of gold went into each shield. 17
He
also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three
minas F
of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest
of Lebanon.
18
Then
the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine
gold.
19
The
throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides
of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.
20
Twelve
lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing
like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.
21
All
King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in
the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made
of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's
days. 22
The
king had a fleet of trading ships G
at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every 15
three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes
and baboons.
23
King
Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of
the earth.
24
The
whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had
put in his heart. 25
Year
after year, everyone who came brought a gift--articles of silver and
gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
26
Solomon
accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and
twelve thousand horses, H
which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
27
The
king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as
plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28
Solomon's
horses were imported from Egypt I
and from Kue J--the
royal merchants purchased them from Kue. 29
They
imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels K
of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. L
They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the
Arameans. 16
NEW
TESTAMENT:
ACTS 8:14 - 40
14
When
the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of
God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15
When
they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy
Spirit, 16
because
the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply
been baptized into C
the name of the Lord Jesus. 17
Then
Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit.
18
When
Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles'
hands, he offered them money 19
and
said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay
my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20
Peter
answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought
you could buy the gift of God with money! 21
You
have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not
right before God. 22
Repent
of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you
for having such a thought in your heart. 23
For
I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
24
Then
Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you
have said may happen to me."
25
When
they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and
John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan
villages.
26
Now
an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go
south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to
Gaza."
27
So
he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian D
eunuch, an 17
important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of
the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28
and
on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah
the prophet. 29
The
Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30
Then
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the
prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip
asked.
31
"How
can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?"
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32
The
eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
"He
was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and
as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so
he did not open his mouth.
33
In
his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who
can speak of his descendants?
For
his life was taken from the earth."
E
34
The
eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet
talking about, himself or someone else?" 35
Then
Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the
good news about Jesus.
36
As
they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch
said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" F
38
And
he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both 18
Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized
him.
39
When
they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took
Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his
way rejoicing. 40
Philip,
however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel
in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. 19
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John 3:16-21 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." H
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