Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 16

Asa Wars against Baasha

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, ^(C1)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^(F1)fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.² Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the king's house, and sent it to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,³ "A treaty must be made between ^(F1)you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me."⁴ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^(F1)conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all ^(C1)the ^(F2)storage cities of Naphtali.⁵ When Baasha heard about it, he stopped ^(F1)fortifying Ramah and put an end to his work.⁶ Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with it he ^(F1)fortified Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons the Prophet

⁷ At that time ^(C1)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "^(C2)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.⁸ "Were not ^(C1)the Ethiopians and the Lubim ^(C2)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(C3)because you relied on the LORD, He handed them over to you.⁹ "For ^(C1)the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those ^(C2)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars."¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in ^(F1)prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at the same time.

^11 (C1)Now, the acts of Asa from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^(C1)did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.¹³ So Asa ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign.¹⁴ They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^(C1)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers' art; and ^(C2)they made a very great fire for him.

Chapter 78

God's Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.

^1 (C1)Listen, my people, to my ^(F1)instruction;
^(C2)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

² I will ^(C1)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell ^(C2)riddles of old,

³ Which we have heard and known,
And ^(C1)our fathers have told us.

⁴ We will ^(C1)not conceal them from their children,
But we will ^(C2)tell the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His power and His ^(C3)wondrous works that He has done.

⁵ For He established a ^(C1)testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a ^(C2)law in Israel,
Which He ^(C3)commanded our fathers
That they were to ^(F1)(C4)teach them to their children,

^6 (C1)So that the generation to come would know, ^(C2)the children yet to be born,
That they would arise and ^(C3)tell them to their children,

⁷ So that they would put their confidence in God
And ^(C1)not forget the works of God,
But ^(C2)comply with His commandments,

⁸ And ^(C1)not be like their fathers,
A ^(C2)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that ^(C3)did not ^(F1)prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not ^(C4)faithful to God.

⁹ The sons of Ephraim ^(F1)were ^(C1)archers equipped with bows,
Yet ^(C2)they turned back on the day of battle.

¹⁰ They ^(C1)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to ^(C2)walk in His Law;

¹¹ They ^(C1)forgot His deeds
And His ^(F1)miracles that He had shown them.

^12 (C1)He performed wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the ^(C2)field of Zoan.

¹³ He ^(C1)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand ^(C2)up like a heap.

¹⁴ Then He led them with the cloud by ^(C1)day
And all the night with a ^(C2)light of fire.

¹⁵ He ^(C1)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.

¹⁶ He ^(C1)brought forth streams from the rock
And made waters run down like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To ^(C1)rebel against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸ And in their heart they ^(C1)put God to the test
By asking for ^(C2)food ^(F1)that suited their taste.

¹⁹ Then they spoke against God;
They said, "^(C1)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

²⁰ "Behold, He ^(C1)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He also provide bread?
Will He prepare ^(C2)meat for His people?"<

Chapter 12

³⁶ "While you have the Light, ^(C1)believe in the Light, so that you may become ^(C2)sons of Light." These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and ^(C3)hid Himself from them.³⁷ But though He had performed so many ^(F1)signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him.³⁸ This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: "^(C1)LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?"³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,⁴⁰ "^(C1)HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE ^(C2)HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND ^(F1)BE CONVERTED, AND SO I WILL NOT HEAL THEM."⁴¹ These things Isaiah said because ^(C1)he saw His glory, and ^(C2)he spoke about Him.⁴² Nevertheless ^(C1)many, even of ^(C2)the rulers, believed in Him, but ^(C3)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be ^(C4)excommunicated from the synagogue;^43 (C1)for they loved the ^(F1)approval of people rather than the ^(F1)approval of God.

⁴⁴ Now Jesus cried out and said, "^(C1)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me.⁴⁵ "And ^(C1)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.⁴⁶ "^(C1)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness.⁴⁷ "If anyone hears My ^(F1)teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for ^(C1)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.⁴⁸ "^(C1)The one who rejects Me and does not ^(F1)accept My ^(F2)teachings has one who judges him: ^(C2)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on ^(C3)the last day.⁴⁹ "^(C1)For I did not speak ^(F1)on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me ^(C2)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.⁵⁰ "And I know that ^(C1)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak ^(C2)just as the Father has told Me."