Deuteronomy 2; Proverbs 3; 1 Chronicles 4; Ezekiel 32; 2 Corinthians 6

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Deuteronomy 2

The Wilderness Years

Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, eas the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. Then the Lord said to me, You have been traveling around this mountain country flong enough. Turn northward and command the people, You are about to pass through the territory of gyour brothers, the people of Esau, hwho live in Seir; and ithey will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because hI have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. jYou shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. kHe knows your going through this great wilderness. lThese forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing. So mwe went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from nthe Arabah road from oElath and pEzion-geber.

And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. And the Lord said to me, qDo not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given rAr to sthe people of Lot for a possession. 10 (tThe Emim formerly lived there, ua people great and many, and tall vas the Anakim. 11 Like the Anakim they are also counted as wRephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 xThe Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, yas Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.) 13 Now rise up and go over zthe brook Zered. So we went over zthe brook Zered. 14 And the time from our leaving aKadesh-barnea until we crossed bthe brook Zered was thirty-eight years, cuntil the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.

16 So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, ddo not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to ethe sons of Lot for a possession. 20 (It is also counted as a land of fRephaim. Rephaim formerly lived therebut the Ammonites call them Zamzummim 21 ga people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites,1 and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22 as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed hthe Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. 23 As for ithe Avvim, who lived in villages as far as jGaza, kthe Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) 24 Rise up, set out on your journey and lgo over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of mHeshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and ncontend with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to put othe dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.

The Defeat of King Sihon

26 So I sent messengers from the wilderness of pKedemoth to Sihon the king of mHeshbon, qwith words of peace, saying, 27 rLet me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 sYou shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, 29 tas the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us. 30 But uSihon the king of mHeshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God vhardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. 31 And the Lord said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land. 32 Then wSihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33 And xthe Lord our God gave him over to us, and ywe defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction2 every zcity, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 aFrom Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from bthe city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. cThe Lord our God gave all into our hands. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river dJabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us.


Proverbs 3

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

yMy son, do not forget my teaching,

zbut let your heart keep my commandments,

for alength of days and years of life

and bpeace they will add to you.

Let not csteadfast love and dfaithfulness forsake you;

ebind them around your neck;

fwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will gfind favor and hgood success1

in the sight of God and man.

iTrust in the Lord with all your heart,

and jdo not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways kacknowledge him,

and he lwill make straight your paths.

mBe not wise in your own eyes;

nfear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

It will be ohealing to your flesh2

and prefreshment3 to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with qthe firstfruits of all your produce;

10  then your rbarns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

11  sMy son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

12  for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

as ta father the son in whom he delights.

Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

13  uBlessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

14  vfor the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than wgold.

15  She is more precious than xjewels,

and ynothing you desire can compare with her.

16  zLong life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are ariches and honor.

17  Her bways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

18  She is ca tree of life to those who dlay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed.

19  eThe Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding ehe established the heavens;

20  by his knowledge fthe deeps broke open,

and gthe clouds drop down the dew.

21  My son, hdo not lose sight of these

keep sound wisdom and discretion,

22  and they will be ilife for your soul

and jadornment for your neck.

23  kThen you will walk on your way securely,

land your foot will not stumble.

24  mIf you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, nyour sleep will be sweet.

25  oDo not be afraid of sudden terror

or of pthe ruin4 of the wicked, when it comes,

26  for the Lord will be your confidence

and will qkeep your foot from being caught.

27  rDo not withhold good from those to whom it is due,5

when it is in your power to do it.

28  sDo not say to your neighbor, Go, and come again,

tomorrow I will give itwhen you have it with you.

29  tDo not plan evil against your neighbor,

who udwells trustingly beside you.

30  vDo not contend with a man for no reason,

when he has done you no harm.

31  wDo not envy xa man of violence

and do not choose any of his ways,

32  for ythe devious person is an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are zin his confidence.

33  aThe Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he bblesses the dwelling of the righteous.

34  Toward the cscorners he dis scornful,

ebut to the humble he gives favor.6

35  The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get7 disgrace.


1 Chronicles 4

Descendants of Judah

yThe sons of Judah: zPerez, Hezron, aCarmi, Hur, and Shobal. bReaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the cZorathites. These were the sons1 of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, and dPenuel fathered eGedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of fEphrathah, the father of Bethlehem. gAshhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. Jabez was hmore honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bore him in pain.2 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm3 so that it might not bring me pain! And God granted what he asked. 11 Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. 12 Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. 13 The sons of iKenaz: jOthniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.4 14 Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim,5 so-called because they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of kCaleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son6 of Elah: Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married;7 and she conceived and bore8 Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his Judahite wife bore lJered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. 19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. 20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21 The sons of mShelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem9 (now the records10 are ancient). 23 These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king’s service.

Descendants of Simeon

24 nThe sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, onor did all their clan multiply plike the men of Judah. 28 qThey lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 rBilhah, Ezem, sTolad, 30 sBethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, tHazar-susim, tBeth-biri, and tShaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. 32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, 33 along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as uBaal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record.

34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah 38 these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, vand their fathers’ houses increased greatly. 39 They journeyed to the entrance of wGedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, 40 where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, xquiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. 41 yThese, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, zand settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to aMount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated bthe remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.


Ezekiel 32

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

eIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: fSon of man, graise a lamentation over hPharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

You consider yourself ia lion of the nations,

but you are like ja dragon kin the seas;

lyou burst forth in your rivers,

trouble the waters with your feet,

and foul their rivers.

Thus says the Lord God:

mI will throw my net over you

with a host of nmany peoples,

and othey will haul you up in my dragnet.

And pI will cast you on the ground;

on the open field I will fling you,

and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,

and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.

I will strew your flesh qupon the mountains

and fill the valleys with your carcass.1

I will drench the land even to the mountains

with your flowing blood,

and the ravines will be full of you.

rWhen I blot you out, sI will cover the heavens

and make their stars dark;

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon shall not give its light.

All the bright lights of heaven

will I make dark over you,

and tput darkness on your land,

declares the Lord God.

I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. 10 uI will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when vI brandish my sword before them. wThey shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

11 For thus says the Lord God: xThe sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will cause yyour multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them zmost ruthless of nations.

aThey shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,

and all its multitude2 shall perish.

13  I will destroy all its beasts

from beside many waters;

band no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,

nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.

14  Then cI will make their waters clear,

and cause their rivers to run like oil,

declares the Lord God.

15  When I make the land of Egypt desolate,

and when the land dis desolate of all that fills it,

when I strike down all who dwell in it,

then ethey will know that I am the Lord.

16 fThis is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over gall her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.

17 hIn the twelfth year, in the twelfth month,3 on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 iSon of man, jwail over gthe multitude of Egypt, and ksend them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, lto the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

19  mWhom do you surpass in beauty?

Go down and nbe laid to rest with the uncircumcised.

20 They shall fall amid those owho are slain by the sword. Egypt4 is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and pall her multitudes. 21 The mighty chiefs qshall speak of them, rwith their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: They have come down, they lie still, sthe uncircumcised, oslain by the sword.

22 tAssyria is there, and all her company, uits graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are set in vthe uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, wwho spread terror xin the land of the living.

24 yElam is zthere, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them aslain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into bthe world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and cthey bear their shame bwith those who go down to the pit. 25 dThey have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, eher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.

26 fMeshech-Tubal is ethere, and all her multitude, eher graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 And gthey do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, you shall be broken hand lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

29 iEdom is jthere, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

30 The princes kof the north are there, all of them, and all the lSidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, mfor all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and nbear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

31 When Pharaoh sees them, he owill be comforted for pall his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God. 32 qFor I spread terror rin the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among sthe uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.


2 Corinthians 6

tWorking together with him, then, uwe appeal to you vnot to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

wIn a favorable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.

Behold, xnow is the yfavorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We zput no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but aas servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: bby great endurance, cin afflictions, dhardships, calamities, ebeatings, imprisonments, friots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; gby purity, hknowledge, patience, kindness, ithe Holy Spirit, jgenuine love; by ktruthful speech, and lthe power of God; with mthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, nthrough slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and oyet well known; pas dying, and behold, we live; qas punished, and yet not killed; 10 ras sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; sas poor, yet making many rich; tas having nothing, uyet possessing everything.

11 We have spoken freely to you,1 Corinthians; vour heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but wyou are restricted in your own affections. 13 xIn return (I speak yas to children) widen your hearts also.

The Temple of the Living God

14 zDo not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For awhat partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or bwhat fellowship has light with darkness? 15 cWhat accord has Christ with Belial?2 Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For dwe are the temple of the living God; as God said,

eI will make my dwelling among them and fwalk among them,

and gI will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17  Therefore hgo out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18  iand I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.