Abijam Reigns in Judah

1 ^sNow in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not ^twholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. 4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a ^ulamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because ^vDavid did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, ^wexcept in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 Now there was ^xwar between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the ^yBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judah

9 ^zIn the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa ^adid what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the ^bmale cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 ^cHe also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa ^dcut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 But ^ethe high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. 15 And he ^fbrought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.

16 ^gAnd there was war between Asa and ^hBaasha king of Israel all their days. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa ⁱsent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a covenant¹ between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in ^jTirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and ^kMizpah. 23 ^lNow the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the ^mBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab Reigns in Israel

25 ⁿNadab the son of ^oJeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He ^pdid what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

27 Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. 28 So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. 29 And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had ^qdestroyed it, ^raccording to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 It was for the ^ssins of Jeroboam ^tthat he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the ^uBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 32 And there was ^vwar between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Reigns in Israel

33 In the third year of ^wAsa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He ^xdid what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

1 For I want you to know how great a ^kstruggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be ^lencouraged, being ^mknit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s ⁿmystery, which is Christ, 3 ^oin whom are hidden ^pall the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am ^qabsent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good ^rorder and the ^sfirmness of your faith in Christ.

Alive in Christ

6 Therefore, ^tas you ^ureceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so ^vwalk in him, 7 ^wrooted and ^xbuilt up in him and established in the faith, just as you were ^ytaught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one ^ztakes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human ^atradition, according to the ^belemental spirits¹ of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole ^cfullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and ^dyou have been filled in him, who is the ^ehead of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were ^fcircumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by ^gputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been ^hburied with him in ⁱbaptism, in which you were also ^jraised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, ^kwho raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were ^ldead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 ^mby ⁿcanceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the ^orulers and authorities² and put them to open shame, by ^ptriumphing over them in him.³

Let No One Disqualify You

16 Therefore ^qlet no one pass judgment on you in questions of ^rfood and drink, or ^swith regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a ^tshadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one ^udisqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,^{4 v}puffed up ^wwithout reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the ^xHead, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, ^ywhy, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 ^z“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 ^a(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to ^bhuman precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in ^cstopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The Lord Our God Is Holy

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for giving thanks.

I Will Walk with Integrity

A Psalm of David.

The Holy District

1 “When you ^vallot the land as an inheritance, you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, ^w25,000 cubits¹ long and 20,000² cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. 2 Of this a square plot of ^x500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it. 3 And from this measured district you shall measure off ^ya section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, in which shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 4 It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be ^zfor the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.³

6 “Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district you shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. ^aIt shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

The Portion for the Prince

7 “And to the ^bprince ^cshall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary 8 of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.

9 “Thus says the Lord God: ^dEnough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your ^eevictions of my people, declares the Lord God.

10 ^f“You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.⁴ 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, the bath containing one tenth of a homer,⁵ and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure. 12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs;⁶ twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.⁷

13 “This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley, 14 and as the fixed portion of oil, measured in baths, one tenth of a bath from each cor⁸ (the cor, like the homer, contains ten baths).⁹ 15 And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, ^gto make atonement for them, declares the Lord God. 16 All the people of the land shall be obliged to give this offering to the prince in Israel. 17 ^hIt shall be the prince’s duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

18 “Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and ⁱpurify the sanctuary. 19 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned ^jthrough error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.

21 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the ^kPassover, and ^lfor seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering. 23 And on the seven days of the festival he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24 And he shall provide as a grain offering ^man ephah for each bull, ⁿan ephah for each ram, and a hin¹⁰ of oil to each ephah. 25 ^oIn the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month and for the seven days of the feast, he shall make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and for the oil.