May 17

Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

MAY 17

PSALMS:   17, 47, 77, 107, 137

PROVERBS:  16

OLD TESTAMENT:  EZRA 3:1 - 4:23

NEW TESTAMENT:  1 CORINTHIANS 2:6 - 3:4

PSALMS:  17

A prayer of David.

¹ Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;

listen to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer--

it does not rise from deceitful lips.

² May my vindication come from you;

may your eyes see what is right.

³ Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,

though you test me, you will find nothing;

I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

⁴ As for the deeds of men--

by the word of your lips

I have kept myself

from the ways of the violent.

⁵ My steps have held to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;

give ear to me and hear my prayer.

⁷ Show the wonder of your great love,

you who save by your right hand

those who take refuge in you from their foes.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁹ from the wicked who assail me,

from my mortal enemies who surround me. ^[1]

¹⁰ They close up their callous hearts,

and their mouths speak with arrogance.

¹¹ They have tracked me down, they now surround me,

with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

¹² They are like a lion hungry for prey,

like a great lion crouching in cover.

¹³ Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;

rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

¹⁴ O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,

from men of this world whose reward is in this life.

You still the hunger of those you cherish;

their sons have plenty,

and they store up wealth for their children.

¹⁵ And I--in righteousness I will see your face;

when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing

your likeness. ^[2]

PSALMS:   47

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹ Clap your hands, all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.

² How awesome is the LORD Most High,

the great King over all the earth!

³ He subdued nations under us,

peoples under our feet.

⁴ He chose our inheritance for us,

the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.

Selah

⁵ God has ascended amid shouts of joy,

the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises.

⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;

sing to him a psalm ^A of praise.

⁸ God reigns over the nations;

God is seated on his holy throne.

⁹ The nobles of the nations assemble

as the people of the God of Abraham,

for the kings ^B of the earth belong to God;

he is greatly exalted. ^[3]

PSALMS:   77

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹ I cried out to God for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

² When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

at night I stretched out untiring hands

and my soul refused to be comforted.

³ I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;

I mused, and my spirit grew faint.

Selah

⁴ You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.

⁵ I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago;

⁶ I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart mused and my spirit inquired:

⁷ "Will the Lord reject forever?

Will he never show his favor again?

⁸ Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time?

⁹ Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Selah ^[4]

¹⁰ Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:

the years of the right hand of the Most High."

¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the LORD;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹² I will meditate on all your works

and consider all your mighty deeds.

¹³ Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is so great as our God?

¹⁴ You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the peoples.

¹⁵ With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

¹⁶ The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and writhed;

the very depths were convulsed.

¹⁷ The clouds poured down water,

the skies resounded with thunder;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

¹⁸ Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

your lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

¹⁹ Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰ You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron. ^[5]

PSALMS:   107

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of the LORD say this--

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

³ those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south. ^A

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no way to a city where they could settle.

⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,

and their lives ebbed away.

⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

⁷ He led them by a straight way

to a city where they could settle.

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men,

⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,

prisoners suffering in iron chains,

¹¹ for they had rebelled against the words of God

and despised the counsel of the Most High.

¹² So he subjected them to bitter labor;

they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom

and broke away their chains.

¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men,

¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze

and cuts through bars of iron. ^[6]

¹⁷ Some became fools through their rebellious ways

and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

¹⁸ They loathed all food

and drew near the gates of death.

¹⁹ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

²⁰ He sent forth his word and healed them;

he rescued them from the grave.

²¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings

and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³ Others went out on the sea in ships;

they were merchants on the mighty waters.

²⁴ They saw the works of the LORD,

his wonderful deeds in the deep.

²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest

that lifted high the waves.

²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

in their peril their courage melted away.

²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunken men;

they were at their wits' end.

²⁸ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.

²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

³¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people ^[7]

and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³ He turned rivers into a desert,

flowing springs into thirsty ground,

³⁴ and fruitful land into a salt waste,

because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

³⁵ He turned the desert into pools of water

and the parched ground into flowing springs;

³⁶ there he brought the hungry to live,

and they founded a city where they could settle.

³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards

that yielded a fruitful harvest;

³⁸ he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,

and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹ Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled

by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

⁴⁰ he who pours contempt on nobles

made them wander in a trackless waste.

⁴¹ But he lifted the needy out of their affliction

and increased their families like flocks.

⁴² The upright see and rejoice,

but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³ Whoever is wise, let him heed these things

and consider the great love of the LORD. ^[8]

PSALMS:   137

¹ By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

² There on the poplars

we hung our harps,

³ for there our captors asked us for songs,

our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

⁴ How can we sing the songs of the LORD

while in a foreign land?

⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

may my right hand forget its skill.

⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem

my highest joy.

⁷ Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did

on the day Jerusalem fell.

"Tear it down," they cried,

"tear it down to its foundations!"

⁸ O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,

happy is he who repays you

for what you have done to us--

⁹ he who seizes your infants

and dashes them against the rocks. ^[9]

PROVERBS:  17

17 ¹ Better a dry crust with peace and quiet

than a house full of feasting, ^A with strife.

² A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son,

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

³ The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,

but the LORD tests the heart.

⁴ A wicked man listens to evil lips;

a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue.

⁵ He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;

whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

⁶ Children's children are a crown to the aged,

and parents are the pride of their children.

⁷ Arrogant ^B lips are unsuited to a fool--

how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

⁸ A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it;

wherever he turns, he succeeds.

⁹ He who covers over an offense promotes love,

but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

¹⁰ A rebuke impresses a man of discernment

more than a hundred lashes a fool.

¹¹ An evil man is bent only on rebellion;

a merciless official will be sent against him. ^[10]

¹² Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs

than a fool in his folly.

¹³ If a man pays back evil for good,

evil will never leave his house.

¹⁴ Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;

so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

¹⁵ Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent--

the LORD detests them both.

¹⁶ Of what use is money in the hand of a fool,

since he has no desire to get wisdom?

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸ A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge

and puts up security for his neighbor.

¹⁹ He who loves a quarrel loves sin;

he who builds a high gate invites destruction.

²⁰ A man of perverse heart does not prosper;

he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.

²¹ To have a fool for a son brings grief;

there is no joy for the father of a fool. ^[11]

²² A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³ A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret

to pervert the course of justice.

²⁴ A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,

but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son brings grief to his father

and bitterness to the one who bore him.

²⁶ It is not good to punish an innocent man,

or to flog officials for their integrity.

²⁷ A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,

and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

²⁸ Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,

and discerning if he holds his tongue. ^[12]

OLD TESTAMENT:  EZRA 3:1 - 4:23

3 ¹ When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. ² Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³ Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices. ⁴ Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵ After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the LORD. ⁶ On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.

⁷ Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸ In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work, appointing Levites twenty years of age and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD. ⁹ Jeshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah ^A) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers--all Levites--joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

¹⁰ When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ¹¹ With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

 

"He is good;

his love to Israel endures forever."

 

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹² But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away. ^[13]

4 ¹ When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, ² they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, "Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here."

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, "You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us."

⁴ Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. ^{A 5} They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶ At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, ^B they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷ And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language. ^CD

⁸ Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

⁹ Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates--the judges and officials over the men from Tripolis, Persia, ^E Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, ¹⁰ and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal ^F deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.

 

¹¹ (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)

 

To King Artaxerxes,

 

From your servants, the men of Trans-Euphrates:

 

¹² The king should know that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.

¹³ Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and the royal revenues will suffer. ¹⁴ Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are ^[14]sending this message to inform the king, ¹⁵ so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place of rebellion from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.

 

¹⁷ The king sent this reply:

 

To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:

 

Greetings.

¹⁸ The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. ¹⁹ I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. ²⁰ Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. ²¹ Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. ²² Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?

 

²³ As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop. ^[15]

NEW TESTAMENT:  1 CORINTHIANS 2:6 - 3:4

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

 

"No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love him" ^B--

¹⁰ but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. ^{C 14} The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

 

¹⁶ "For who has known the mind of the Lord

that he may instruct him?" ^D

 

But we have the mind of Christ.

3 ¹ Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? ⁴ For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? ^[16]

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^[1] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[2] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[3] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[4] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[5] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[6] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[7] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[8] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[9] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[10] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[11] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[12] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[13] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[14] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[15] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

^[16] Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 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