the Fourth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 19 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
2 Chronicles 30
Chapter 30
Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover
1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel(a) and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh,(b) inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover(c) to the Lord , the God of Israel. 2 The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate(d) the Passover in the second month. 3 They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated(e) themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. 4 The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly. 5 They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan,(f) calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord , the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.
6 At the king's command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:
"People of Israel, return to the Lord , the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents(g) and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful(h) to the Lord , the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror,(i) as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked,(j) as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord . Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger(k) will turn away from you. 9 If you return(l) to the Lord , then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion(m) by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.(n) He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."
10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed(o) them. 11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled(p) themselves and went to Jerusalem.(q) 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity(r) of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord .
13 A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread(s) in the second month. 14 They removed the altars(t) in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.(u)
15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated(v) themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord . 16 Then they took up their regular positions(w) as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. 17 Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill(x) the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs[a] to the Lord . 18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,(y) yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord , who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord , the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." 20 And the Lord heard(z) Hezekiah and healed(aa) the people.(ab)
21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread(ac) for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with resounding instruments dedicated to the Lord .[b]
22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord . For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised[c] the Lord , the God of their ancestors.
23 The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate(ad) the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. 24 Hezekiah king of Judah provided(ae) a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves. 25 The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel(af), including the foreigners who had come from Israel and also those who resided in Judah. 26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon(ag) son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless(ah) the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.
Psalms 86
Chapter 86
Psalm 86
A prayer of David.
1 Hear me,
Lord
, and answer(a) me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.(b)
You are my God;
3 have mercy(c) on me, Lord,
for I call(d) to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust(e) in you.
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love(f) to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer,
Lord
;
listen to my cry(g) for mercy.
7 When I am in distress,(h) I call(i) to you,
because you answer(j) me.
8 Among the gods(k) there is none like you,(l) Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come(m) and worship(n) before you, Lord;
they will bring glory(o) to your name.
10 For you are great(p) and do marvelous deeds;(q)
you alone(r) are God.
11 Teach me your way,(s)
Lord
,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;(t)
give me an undivided(u) heart,
that I may fear(v) your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;(w)
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me(x) from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.(y)
14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.(z)
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious(aa) God,
slow to anger,(ab) abounding(ac) in love and faithfulness.(ad)
16 Turn to me(ae) and have mercy(af) on me;
show your strength(ag) in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.(ah)
17 Give me a sign(ai) of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you,
Lord
, have helped me and comforted me.
John 19:16-42
Chapter 19
16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.(v)
The Crucifixion of Jesus(w)
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross,(x) he went out to the place of the Skull(y) (which in Aramaic(z) is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others(aa)—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth ,(ab) the king of the jews .(ac) 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city,(ad) and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."(ae)
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it."
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled(af) that said,
"They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment."[a](ag)
So this is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross(ah) of Jesus stood his mother,(ai) his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.(aj) 26 When Jesus saw his mother(ak) there, and the disciple whom he loved(al) standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman,[b] here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus(am)
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished,(an) and so that Scripture would be fulfilled,(ao) Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar(ap) was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished."(aq) With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation,(ar) and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses(as) during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.(at) 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced(au) Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.(av) 35 The man who saw it(aw) has given testimony, and his testimony is true.(ax) He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled:(ay) "Not one of his bones will be broken,"[c](az) 37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."[d](ba)
The Burial of Jesus(bb)
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.(bc) With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus,(bd) the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[e] 40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.(be) This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.(bf) 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation(bg) and since the tomb was nearby,(bh) they laid Jesus there.
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