Psalm 9 (MT: Including Psalm 10)

Translation: ESV

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

10 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,

    and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;

    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times;

    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;

    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8 He sits in ambush in the villages;

    in hiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;

he lurks that he may seize the poor;

    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,

    and fall by his might.

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32 (11) He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;

    forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked renounce God

    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,

    that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless commits himself;

    you have been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

    call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever;

    the nations perish from his land.

17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

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1 Kings 14

Translation: ESV

Prophecy Against Jeroboam

1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. 3 Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”

4 Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. 5 And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman. 6 But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, 9 but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, 10 therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, 15 the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”


17 Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.


The Death of Jeroboam
19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 20 And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.


Rehoboam Reigns in Judah
21 Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.

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23 For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,

24 and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.


25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Abijam his son reigned in his place.

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2 Samuel 22

Translation: ESV

David's Song of Deliverance

22 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

3     my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

    my stronghold and my refuge,

    my savior; you save me from violence.

4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

    and I am saved from my enemies.

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,

    the torrents of destruction assailed me;

6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;

    the snares of death confronted me.

7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;

    to my God I called.

From his temple he heard my voice,

    and my cry came to his ears.

8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;

    the foundations of the heavens trembled

    and quaked, because he was angry.

9 Smoke went up from his nostrils,

    and devouring fire from his mouth;

    glowing coals flamed forth from him.

10 He bowed the heavens and came down;

    thick darkness was under his feet.

11 He rode on a cherub and flew;

    he was seen on the wings of the wind.

12 He made darkness around him his canopy,

    thick clouds, a gathering of water.

13 Out of the brightness before him

    coals of fire flamed forth.

14 The Lord thundered from heaven,

    and the Most High uttered his voice.

15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;

    lightning, and routed them.

16 Then the channels of the sea were seen;

    the foundations of the world were laid bare,

at the rebuke of the Lord,

    at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 “He sent from on high, he took me;

    he drew me out of many waters.

18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,

    from those who hated me,

    for they were too mighty for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

    but the Lord was my support.

20 He brought me out into a broad place;

    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;

    according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord

    and have not wickedly departed from my God.

23 For all his rules were before me,

    and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

24 I was blameless before him,

    and I kept myself from guilt.

25 And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

    according to my cleanness in his sight.

26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

27 with the purified you deal purely,

    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

28 You save a humble people,

    but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

29 For you are my lamp, O Lord,

    and my God lightens my darkness.

30 For by you I can run against a troop,

    and by my God I can leap over a wall.

31 This God—his way is perfect;

    the word of the Lord proves true;

    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

32 “For who is God, but the Lord?

    And who is a rock, except our God?

33 This God is my strong refuge

    and has made my way blameless.

34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer

    and set me secure on the heights.

35 He trains my hands for war,

    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 You have given me the shield of your salvation,

    and your gentleness made me great.

37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

    and my feet did not slip;

38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,

    and did not turn back until they were consumed.

39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;

    they fell under my feet.

40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

    you made those who rise against me sink under me.

41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

42 They looked, but there was none to save;

    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;

    I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

44 “You delivered me from strife with my people;

    you kept me as the head of the nations;

    people whom I had not known served me.

45 Foreigners came cringing to me;

    as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

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46 Foreigners lost heart

    and came trembling out of their fortresses.

47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

    and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

48 the God who gave me vengeance

    and brought down peoples under me,

49 who brought me out from my enemies;

    you exalted me above those who rose against me;

    you delivered me from men of violence.

50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

    and sing praises to your name.

51 Great salvation he brings to his king,

    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

    to David and his offspring forever.”

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Exodus 32

Translation: ESV

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf.

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And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.”

6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

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2 John 1

Translation: ESV

Greeting

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1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth,

and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.

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2 John

Chapters

1

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Psalm 43 (MT: Psalm 44)

Translation: ESV

Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

44 O God, we have heard with our ears,

    our fathers have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

    in the days of old:

2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,

    but them you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

    but them you set free;

3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,

    nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm,

    and the light of your face,

    for you delighted in them.

4 You are my King, O God;

    ordain salvation for Jacob!

5 Through you we push down our foes;

    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.

6 For not in my bow do I trust,

    nor can my sword save me.

7 But you have saved us from our foes

    and have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted continually,

    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us

    and have not gone out with our armies.

10 You have made us turn back from the foe,

    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.

11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter

    and have scattered us among the nations.

12 You have sold your people for a trifle,

    demanding no high price for them.

13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,

    the derision and scorn of those around us.

14 You have made us a byword among the nations,

    a laughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my disgrace is before me,

    and shame has covered my face

16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,

    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us,

    though we have not forgotten you,

    and we have not been false to your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back,

    nor have our steps departed from your way;

19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals

    and covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God

    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 would not God discover this?

    For he knows the secrets of the heart.

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22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;

    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!

24 Why do you hide your face?

    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;

    our belly clings to the ground.

26 Rise up; come to our help!

    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

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