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]
[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
[17] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[18] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[19] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment