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Daily Readings for November 2
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2Chronicles 31
1.Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and broke down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. 2.Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of Yahweh. 3.He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of Yahweh. 4.Moreover he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of Yahweh. 5.As soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. 6.The children of Israel and Judah, who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of dedicated things which were consecrated to Yahweh their God, and laid them by heaps. 7.In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. 8.When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh, and his people Israel. 9.Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10.Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, "Since people began to bring the offerings into the house of Yahweh, we have eaten and had enough, and have left plenty: for Yahweh has blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store." 11.Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of Yahweh; and they prepared them. 12.They brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: and over them Conaniah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was second. 13.Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. 14.Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter at the east gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the offerings of Yahweh, and the most holy things. 15.Under him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their office of trust, to give to their brothers by divisions, as well to the great as to the small: 16.besides those who were reckoned by genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even everyone who entered into the house of Yahweh, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their offices according to their divisions; 17.and those who were reckoned by genealogy of the priests by their fathers' houses, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their offices by their divisions; 18.and those who were reckoned by genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their office of trust they sanctified themselves in holiness. 19.Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every city, there were men who were mentioned by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all who were reckoned by genealogy among the Levites. 20.Hezekiah did so throughout all Judah; and he worked that which was good and right and faithful before Yahweh his God. 21.In every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
Daniel 11
1."As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. 2.Now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he has grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. 3.A mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4.When he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the sky, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these. 5.The king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. 6.At the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and those who brought her, and he who became the father of her, and he who strengthened her in those times. 7.But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail. 8.Also their gods, with their molten images, [and] with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north. 9.He shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land. 10.His sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass through; and they shall return and war, even to his fortress. 11.The king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12.The multitude shall be lifted up, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13.The king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, [even of] years, with a great army and with much substance. 14.In those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among your people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall. 15.So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to stand. 16.But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction. 17.He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him. 18.After this shall he turn his face to the islands, and shall take many: but a prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; yes, moreover, he shall cause his reproach to turn on him. 19.Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. 20.Then shall stand up in his place one who shall cause a tax collector to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. 21.In his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22.The overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yes, also the prince of the covenant. 23.After the treaty made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people. 24.In time of security shall he come even on the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yes, he shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time. 25.He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise devices against him. 26.Yes, they who eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain. 27.As for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 28.Then shall he return into his land with great substance; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant; and he shall do [his pleasure], and return to his own land. 29.At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former. 30.For ships of Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do [his pleasure]: he shall even return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31.Forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual [burnt offering], and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32.Such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits]. 33.Those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, [many] days. 34.Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them with flatteries. 35.Some of those who are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed. 36.The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done. 37.Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all. 38.But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers didn't know shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39.He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: whoever acknowledges [him] he will increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price. 40.At the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through. 41.He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many [countries] shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42.He shall stretch forth his hand also on the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43.But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44.But news out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many. 45.He shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Acts 11
1.Now the apostles and the brothers45 who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2.When Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision contended with him, 3.saying, "You went in to uncircumcised men, and ate with them!"
4.But Peter began, and explained to them in order, saying, 5."I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me. 6.When I had looked intently at it, I considered, and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky. 7.I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter, kill and eat!' 8.But I said, 'Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.' 9.But a voice answered me the second time out of heaven, 'What God has cleansed, don't you call unclean.' 10.This was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11.Behold, immediately three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent from Caesarea to me. 12.The Spirit told me to go with them, without discriminating. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house. 13.He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying to him, 'Send to Joppa, and get Simon, whose surname is Peter, 14.who will speak to you words by which you will be saved, you and all your house.' 15.As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. 16.I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.' 17.If then God gave to them the same gift as us, when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?"
18.When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life!"
19.They therefore who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews only. 20.But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists,46 preaching the Lord Jesus. 21.The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 22.The report concerning them came to the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem. They sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch, 23.who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord. 24.For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added to the Lord.
25.Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26.When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. It happened, that for a whole year they were gathered together with the assembly, and taught many people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
27.Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28.One of them named Agabus stood up, and indicated by the Spirit that there should be a great famine all over the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius. 29.As any of the disciples had plenty, each determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea; 30.which they also did, sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 12
1.Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly. 2.He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 3.When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. 4.When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5.Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him. 6.The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.
7.And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up, saying, "Stand up quickly!" His chains fell off from his hands. 8.The angel said to him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." He did so. He said to him, "Put on your cloak, and follow me." 9.And he went out and followed him. He didn't know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. 10.When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
11.When Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting." 12.Thinking about that, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13.When Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. 14.When she recognized Peter's voice, she didn't open the gate for joy, but ran in, and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
15.They said to her, "You are crazy!" But she insisted that it was so. They said, "It is his angel." 16.But Peter continued knocking. When they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed. 17.But he, beckoning to them with his hand to be silent, declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, "Tell these things to James, and to the brothers." Then he departed, and went to another place.
18.Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19.When Herod had sought for him, and didn't find him, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death. He went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there. 20.Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus, the king's personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. 21.On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them. 22.The people shouted, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!" 23.Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn't give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24.But the word of God grew and multiplied. 25.Barnabas and Saul returned to47 Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their service, also taking with them John whose surname was Mark.