Bible Reading Plan

1 Kings 17

Chapter 17

Elijah Predicts Drought

¹ Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of ^(F1)(C1)the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "^(C2)As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, ^(C3)there shall certainly be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word."² Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,³ "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is ^(F1)east of the Jordan.⁴ "And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and ^(C1)I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there."⁵ So he went and did everything according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is ^(F1)east of the Jordan.⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.⁷ But it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,⁹ "Arise, go to ^(C1)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, ^(C2)I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you."¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ^(C1)he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a ^(F1)cup, so that I may drink."¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand."¹² But she said, "^(C1)As the LORD your God lives, ^(C2)I have no food, only a handful of flour in the ^(F1)bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering ^(F2)a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may ^(F3)eat it and ^(C3)die."¹³ However, Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said. Just make me a little bread loaf from ^(F1)it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.¹⁴ "For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'The ^(F1)bowl of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil become empty, until the day that the LORD provides rain on the face of the earth.'"¹⁵ So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.¹⁶ The ^(F1)bowl of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow's Son

¹⁷ Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his ^(F1)condition became very grave, until at the end ^(F2)he was no longer breathing.¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, "^(F1)(C1)Why is my business any of yours, you ^(C2)man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!"¹⁹ But he said to her, "Give me your son." Then he took him from her ^(F1)arms and carried him up to the upstairs room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.²⁰ And he called to the LORD and said, "LORD, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am ^(F1)staying, by causing her son to die?"^21 (C1)Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the LORD and said, "LORD, my God, please, let this boy's life return ^(F1)to him."²² And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, ^(C1)and the life of the boy returned ^(F1)to him and he revived.²³ Elijah then took the boy and brought him down from the upstairs room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, "See, your son is alive."²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, "^(C1)Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."

Amos 1

Chapter 1

Judgment on Neighbor Nations

¹ The words of Amos, who was among the ^(C1)sheepherders from ^(C2)Tekoa, which he saw in visions concerning Israel in the days of ^(C3)Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of ^(C4)Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the ^(C5)earthquake.

² And he said,
"The ^(C1)LORD roars from Zion,
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds' ^(C2)pasture grounds mourn,
And the ^(F1)(C3)summit of Carmel dries up."

³ This is what the LORD says:
"For ^(C1)three offenses of ^(C2)Damascus, and for four,
I will not ^(F1)revoke its punishment,
Because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.

⁴ "So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,
And it will consume the citadels of ^(C1)Ben-hadad.

⁵ "I will also ^(C1)break the gate bar of Damascus,
And eliminate every inhabitant from the ^(F1)Valley of Aven,
As well as him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;
So the people of Aram will be exiled to ^(C2)Kir,"
Says the LORD.

⁶ This is what the LORD says:
"For three offenses of ^(C1)Gaza, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they led into exile an entire population
To ^(C2)turn them over to Edom.

⁷ "So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza
And it will consume her citadels.

⁸ "I will also eliminate every inhabitant from ^(C1)Ashdod,
As well as him who holds the scepter, from ^(C2)Ashkelon;
And I will direct My ^(F1)power against Ekron,
And the remnant of the ^(C3)Philistines will perish,"
Says the Lord ^(F2)GOD.

⁹ This is what the LORD says:
"For three offenses of ^(C1)Tyre, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they turned an entire population over to Edom
And did not remember the covenant of ^(F1)(C2)brotherhood.

¹⁰ "So I will ^(C1)send fire on the wall of Tyre,
And it will consume her citadels."

¹¹ This is what the LORD says:
"For three offenses of ^(C1)Edom, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because he ^(C2)pursued his brother with the sword
And stifled his compassion;
His anger also ^(C3)tore continually,
And he maintained his fury forever.

¹² "So I will send fire upon ^(C1)Teman
And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah."

¹³ This is what the LORD says:
"For three offenses of the sons of ^(C1)Ammon, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they ^(C2)ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
In order to ^(C3)enlarge their borders.

¹⁴ "So I will kindle a fire on the wall of ^(C1)Rabbah,
And it will consume her citadels
Amid ^(F1)(C2)war cries on the day of battle,
And amid a ^(C3)storm on the day of tempest.

¹⁵ "Their ^(C1)king will go into exile,
He and his princes together," says the LORD.

1 Corinthians 4

Chapter 4

Servants of Christ

¹ This is the way any person is to regard us: as ^(C1)servants of Christ and ^(C2)stewards of ^(C3)the mysteries of God.² In this case, moreover, it is required ^(F1)of stewards that one be found trustworthy.³ But to me it is an insignificant matter that I would be examined by you, or by any human ^(F1)court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.⁴ For I ^(C1)am not aware of anything against myself; however I am not ^(C2)vindicated by this, but the one who examines me is the Lord.⁵ Therefore ^(C1)do not go on ^(F1)passing judgment before ^(F2)the time, but wait ^(C2)until the Lord comes, who will both ^(C3)bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of human hearts; and then ^(C4)praise will come to each person from God.

⁶ Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos on your account, so that in us you may learn not to exceed ^(C1)what is written, so that no one of you will ^(C2)become ^(F1)arrogant ^(C3)in behalf of one against the other.⁷ For who considers you as superior? ^(C1)What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸ You are ^(C1)already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you!⁹ For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men ^(C1)condemned to death, because we ^(C2)have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind.¹⁰ We are ^(C1)fools on account of Christ, but ^(C2)you are prudent in Christ! ^(C3)We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are without honor!¹¹ Up to this present hour we are both ^(C1)hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless;¹² and we labor, ^(C1)working with our own hands; when we are ^(C2)verbally abused, we bless; when we are ^(C3)persecuted, we endure it;¹³ when we are slandered, we ^(F1)reply as friends; we have ^(C1)become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

¹⁴ I do not write these things to ^(C1)shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved ^(C2)children.¹⁵ For if you were to have countless ^(C1)tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in ^(C2)Christ Jesus I ^(C3)became your father through the ^(C4)gospel.¹⁶ Therefore I urge you, be ^(C1)imitators of me.¹⁷ For this reason I ^(C1)have sent to you ^(C2)Timothy, who is my ^(C3)beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, ^(C4)just as I teach everywhere in every church.¹⁸ Now some have become ^(F1)(C1)arrogant, as though I were not ^(C2)coming to you.¹⁹ But I ^(C1)will come to you soon, ^(C2)if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the ^(F1)words of those who are ^(C3)arrogant, but their power.²⁰ For the kingdom of God is ^(C1)not in ^(F1)words, but in power.²¹ What do you desire? ^(C1)That I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?