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Daily Bible Reading

October 15 - Old & New Testament
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Jump to: 2 Chronicles 33,34 • Acts 23:16-35

2 Chronicles 33,34

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Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah in Judah

¹ ^(C1)Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.² ^(C1)He did evil in the sight of the LORD according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.³ For ^(C1)he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; ^(C2)he also set up altars for the Baals and made ^(F1)Asherim, and he worshiped all the heavenly ^(F2)lights and served them.⁴ ^(C1)He built altars in the house of the LORD of which the LORD had said, "My name shall be ^(C2)in Jerusalem forever."⁵ He built altars for all the heavenly ^(F1)lights in ^(C1)the two courtyards of the house of the LORD.⁶ ^(C1)He also made his sons pass through the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery, and ^(C2)dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.⁷ Then he put ^(C1)the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, "^(C2)In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;⁸ and I will not remove the foot of Israel again from the land ^(C1)which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will take care to do everything that I have commanded them according to all the Law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses."⁹ So Manasseh encouraged Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Manasseh's Idolatry Rebuked

¹⁰ So the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but ^(C1)they paid no attention.¹¹ ^(C1)Therefore the LORD brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, ^(C2)bound him with bronze chains, and led him to Babylon.¹² When ^(C1)he was in distress, he appeased the LORD his God and ^(C2)humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.¹³ When he prayed to Him, ^(C1)He was moved by him and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh ^(C2)knew that the LORD alone is God.

¹⁴ Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of ^(C1)Gihon, in the valley, up to the entrance of the ^(C2)Fish Gate; and he encircled the ^(C3)Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.¹⁵ He also ^(C1)removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.¹⁶ He set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed ^(C1)peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.¹⁷ However, ^(C1)the people still sacrificed on the high places, although only to the LORD their God.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and ^(C1)his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(C2)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of ^(C3)Israel.¹⁹ His prayer also and ^(C1)how God was moved by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and ^(C2)the sites on which he built high places and erected the ^(F1)Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of ^(F2)Hozai.²⁰ So Manasseh ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And his son Amon became king in his place.

Amon Becomes King in Judah

²¹ ^(C1)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem.²² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father Manasseh ^(C1)had done, and Amon sacrificed to all ^(C2)the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them.²³ Furthermore, he did not humble himself before the LORD ^(C1)as his father Manasseh had ^(F1)done, but Amon multiplied his guilt.²⁴ Finally, ^(C1)his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house.²⁵ But the people of the land ^(F1)killed all the conspirators against King Amon, and the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

Josiah Succeeds Amon in Judah

¹ ^(C1)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem.² ^(C1)He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or the left.³ For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to ^(C1)seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^(C2)to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ^(F1)Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images.⁴ They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he chopped down ^(C1)the incense altars that were high above them; also he broke in pieces the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images, and ^(C2)ground them to powder, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.⁵ Then ^(C1)he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem.⁶ ^(C1)In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding spaces,⁷ he also tore down the altars and ^(C1)crushed the ^(F1)Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

⁸ ^(C1)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah ^(C2)an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the secretary, to repair the house of the LORD his God.⁹ They came to ^(C1)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the ^(F1)doorkeepers, had collected ^(F2)from ^(C2)Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.¹⁰ Then they handed it over to the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD ^(F1)used it to restore and repair the house.¹¹ They in turn gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses ^(C1)which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin.¹² ^(C1)The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and ^(C2)the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments.¹³ They were also in charge of ^(C1)the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; and some of the Levites were scribes, and officials, and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Discovers the Lost Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the LORD, ^(C1)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.¹⁵ Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.¹⁶ Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and ^(F1)reported further word to the king, saying, "Everything that was ^(F2)entrusted to your servants, they are doing.¹⁷ "They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the LORD, and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workmen."¹⁸ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest gave me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard ^(C1)the words of the Law, ^(C2)he tore his clothes.²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^(F1)Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,²¹ "Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for ^(C1)the wrath of the LORD which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book."

Huldah, the Prophetess, Speaks

²² So Hilkiah and those ^(F1)whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^(F2)Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this.²³ Then she said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'Tell the man who sent you to Me,²⁴ this is what the LORD says: "Behold, ^(C1)I am bringing ^(F1)evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all ^(C2)the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah.²⁵ "^(C1)Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods, so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched."'²⁶ "But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, this is what you shall say to him: 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: In regard to the words which you have heard,²⁷ "^(C1)Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you," declares the LORD.²⁸ "Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants."'" And they brought back word to the king.

²⁹ ^(C1)Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.³⁰ The king went up to the house of the LORD ^(F1)with ^(C1)all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their ^(F2)presence all the words of the Book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.

Josiah's Good Reign

³¹ Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book.³² Furthermore, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.³³ Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.

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Acts 23:16-35

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Chapter 23

¹⁶ But the son of Paul's sister heard about their ambush, ^(F1)and he came and entered ^(C1)the barracks and told Paul.¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions to himself and said, "Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him."¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the commander and ^(*)said, "Paul ^(C1)the prisoner called me over to him and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you."¹⁹ The commander took him by the hand, and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, "What is it that you have to report to me?"²⁰ And he said, "^(C1)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(C2)the ^(F1)Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.²¹ "So do not ^(F1)listen to them, for more than forty ^(F2)of them are ^(C1)in hiding to ambush him, and these men have ^(C2)put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you."²² Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, "Tell no one that you have notified me of these things."

Paul Moved to Caesarea

²³ And he called to him two of the centurions and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen."²⁴ They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.²⁵ And he wrote a letter with the following content:

²⁶ "Claudius Lysias, to the ^(C1)most excellent governor Felix: ^(C2)Greetings.

²⁷ When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, ^(C1)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, ^(C2)after learning that he was a Roman.²⁸ And ^(C1)wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I ^(C2)brought him down to their ^(F1)^(C3)Council;²⁹ and I found that he was being accused regarding ^(C1)questions in their Law, but ^(F1)was ^(C2)not charged with anything deserving death or ^(F2)imprisonment.

³⁰ When I was ^(C1)informed that there would be ^(C2)a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing ^(C3)his accusers to ^(F1)bring charges against him before you."

³¹ So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.³² But on the next day they let ^(C1)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to ^(C2)the barracks.³³ When these horsemen had come to ^(C1)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(C2)the governor, they also presented Paul to him.³⁴ Now when he had read it, he also asked from what ^(C1)province Paul was, and when he learned that ^(C2)he was from Cilicia,³⁵ he said, "I will give you a hearing when your ^(C1)accusers arrive as well," giving orders for ^(F1)Paul to be ^(C2)kept in Herod's ^(F2)Praetorium.