From 93dab0c8b5139eaf2b2b3a4f5b026d18e7d0f1bc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Joshua Ryder Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2025 17:53:05 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Updated image url --- NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_01.md | 50 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_02.md | 119 ++++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_03.md | 47 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_04.md | 49 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_05.md | 22 + NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_06.md | 41 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_07.md | 31 + NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_08.md | 35 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_09.md | 50 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_10.md | 57 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_11.md | 31 + NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_12.md | 44 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_13.md | 45 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_14.md | 109 ++++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_15.md | 80 +++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_16.md | 53 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_17.md | 104 ++++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_18.md | 58 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_19.md | 50 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_20.md | 66 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_21.md | 37 ++ NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_22.md 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b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..50b53906 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Elkanah and His Family + +# Chapter 1 +1. There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. +2. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. + +3. Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Heaven's Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the LORD at that time were the two sons of Eli--Hophni and Phinehas. +4. On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. +5. And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the LORD had given her no children. +6. So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the LORD had kept her from having children. +7. Year after year it was the same--Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat. + +8. "Why are you crying, Hannah?" Elkanah would ask. "Why aren't you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me--isn't that better than having ten sons?" +Hannah's Prayer for a Son + + +9. Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. +10. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. +11. And she made this vow: "O LORD of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut." + +12. As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her. +13. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. +14. "Must you come here drunk?" he demanded. "Throw away your wine!" + +15. "Oh no, sir!" she replied. "I haven't been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD. +16. Don't think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow." + +17. "In that case," Eli said, "go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him." + +18. "Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. + +Samuel's Birth and Dedication + + +19. The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the LORD once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the LORD remembered her plea, +20. and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I asked the LORD for him." + +21. The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and to keep his vow. +22. But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, "Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the LORD permanently." + +23. "Whatever you think is best," Elkanah agreed. "Stay here for now, and may the LORD help you keep your promise." So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. + +24. When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. +25. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. +26. "Sir, do you remember me?" Hannah asked. "I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. +27. I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. +28. Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life." And they worshiped the LORD there. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a53599c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,119 @@ +Hannah's Prayer of Praise + +# Chapter 2 +1. Then Hannah prayed: +"My heart rejoices in the LORD! + The LORD has made me strong. + +Now I have an answer for my enemies; + +I rejoice because you rescued me. + + +2. No one is holy like the LORD! + +There is no one besides you; + +there is no Rock like our God. + + +3. "Stop acting so proud and haughty! + +Don't speak with such arrogance! +For the LORD is a God who knows what you have done; + +he will judge your actions. + + +4. The bow of the mighty is now broken, + +and those who stumbled are now strong. + + +5. Those who were well fed are now starving, + +and those who were starving are now full. + +The childless woman now has seven children, + +and the woman with many children wastes away. + + +6. The LORD gives both death and life; + he brings some down to the grave but raises others up. + +7. The LORD makes some poor and others rich; + +he brings some down and lifts others up. + + +8. He lifts the poor from the dust + +and the needy from the garbage dump. + +He sets them among princes, + +placing them in seats of honor. +For all the earth is the LORD's, + +and he has set the world in order. + + +9. "He will protect his faithful ones, + +but the wicked will disappear in darkness. + +No one will succeed by strength alone. + + +10. Those who fight against the LORD will be shattered. + +He thunders against them from heaven; + the LORD judges throughout the earth. + +He gives power to his king; + he increases the strength of his anointed one." + +11. Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the LORD by assisting Eli the priest. + +Eli's Wicked Sons + + +12. Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the LORD +13. or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli's sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, +14. the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli's sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. +15. Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal's fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting. + +16. The man offering the sacrifice might reply, "Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first." Then the servant would demand, "No, give it to me now, or I'll take it by force." +17. So the sin of these young men was very serious in the LORD's sight, for they treated the LORD's offerings with contempt. + +18. But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the LORD. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. +19. Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. +20. Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May the LORD give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the LORD." +21. And the LORD blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD. + +22. Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. +23. Eli said to them, "I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? +24. You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the LORD's people are not good. +25. If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?" But Eli's sons wouldn't listen to their father, for the LORD was already planning to put them to death. + +26. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the LORD and with the people. + +A Warning for Eli's Family + + +27. One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the LORD: "I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. +28. I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. +29. So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me--for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel! + +30. "Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. +31. The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. +32. You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. +33. The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death. +34. And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day! + +35. "Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. +36. Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. 'Please,' they will say, 'give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.'" + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1436ed59 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +The LORD Speaks to Samuel + +# Chapter 3 +1. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. + +2. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. +3. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. +4. Suddenly the LORD called out, "Samuel!" +"Yes?" Samuel replied. "What is it?" + +5. He got up and ran to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" +"I didn't call you," Eli replied. "Go back to bed." So he did. + + +6. Then the LORD called out again, "Samuel!" +Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" +"I didn't call you, my son," Eli said. "Go back to bed." + + +7. Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. +8. So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" +Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. +9. So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, 'Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went back to bed. + +10. And the LORD came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" +And Samuel replied, "Speak, your servant is listening." + + +11. Then the LORD said to Samuel, "I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. +12. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. +13. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn't disciplined them. +14. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings."Samuel Speaks for the LORD + +15. Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him. +16. But Eli called out to him, "Samuel, my son." +"Here I am," Samuel replied. + + +17. "What did the LORD say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!" +18. So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn't hold anything back. "It is the LORD's will," Eli replied. "Let him do what he thinks best." + +19. As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. +20. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. +21. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ee41aaf4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +# Chapter 4 +1. +1. And Samuel's words went out to all the people of Israel. + +The Philistines Capture the Ark +At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek. + +2. The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men. +3. After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?" Then they said, "Let's bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies." + +4. So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Heaven's Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. +5. When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake! + +6. "What's going on?" the Philistines asked. "What's all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?" When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived, +7. they panicked. "The gods have come into their camp!" they cried. "This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! +8. +Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. +9. Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don't, we will become the Hebrews' slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!" + +10. So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. +11. The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed. + +The Death of Eli + + +12. A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. +13. Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town. + +14. "What is all the noise about?" Eli asked. + +The messenger rushed over to Eli, + +15. who was ninety-eight years old and blind. +16. He said to Eli, "I have just come from the battlefield--I was there this very day." +"What happened, my son?" Eli demanded. + + +17. "Israel has been defeated by the Philistines," the messenger replied. "The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured." + +18. When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel's judge for forty years. + +19. Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. +20. She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. "Don't be afraid," they said. "You have a baby boy!" But she did not answer or pay attention to them. + +21. She named the child Ichabod (which means "Where is the glory?"), for she said, "Israel's glory is gone." She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. +22. Then she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured." + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fc9c2ab8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +The Ark in Philistia + +# Chapter 5 +1. After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. +2. They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. +3. But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. +4. But the next morning the same thing happened--Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the LORD again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. +5. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold. + +6. Then the LORD's heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors. +7. When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, "We can't keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god." +8. So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, "What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?" +The rulers discussed it and replied, "Move it to the town of Gath." So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath. + +9. But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the LORD's heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic. + +10. So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, "They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!" +11. The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, "Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all." For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town. +12. Those who didn't die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..18a3bd8a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +The Philistines Return the Ark + +# Chapter 6 +1. The Ark of the LORD remained in Philistine territory seven months in all. +2. Then the Philistines called in their priests and diviners and asked them, "What should we do about the Ark of the LORD? Tell us how to return it to its own country." + +3. "Send the Ark of the God of Israel back with a gift," they were told. "Send a guilt offering so the plague will stop. Then, if you are healed, you will know it was his hand that caused the plague." + +4. "What sort of guilt offering should we send?" they asked. + +And they were told, "Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land. + +5. Make these things to show honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop afflicting you, your gods, and your land. +6. Don't be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go. + +7. "Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen. +8. Put the Ark of the LORD on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want. +9. If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the LORD who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don't, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance." + +10. So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen. +11. Then the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart. +12. And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. + +13. The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they were overjoyed! +14. The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the LORD as a burnt offering. +15. Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors from the cart and placed them on the large rock. Many sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered to the LORD that day by the people of Beth-shemesh. +16. The five Philistine rulers watched all this and then returned to Ekron that same day. + +17. The five gold tumors sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the LORD were gifts from the rulers of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. +18. The five gold rats represented the five Philistine towns and their surrounding villages, which were controlled by the five rulers. The large rock at Beth-shemesh, where they set the Ark of the LORD, still stands in the field of Joshua as a witness to what happened there. + +The Ark Moved to Kiriath-Jearim + + +19. But the LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the LORD. And the people mourned greatly because of what the LORD had done. +20. "Who is able to stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?" they cried out. "Where can we send the Ark from here?" + +21. So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them, "The Philistines have returned the Ark of the LORD. Come here and get it!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..240745d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +# Chapter 7 +1. So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the LORD. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. +2. The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time--twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them. + +Samuel Leads Israel to Victory + + +3. Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you want to return to the LORD with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the LORD and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines." +4. So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD. + +5. Then Samuel told them, "Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you." +6. So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.) + +7. When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. +8. "Don't stop pleading with the LORD our God to save us from the Philistines!" they begged Samuel. +9. So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the LORD to help Israel, and the LORD answered him. + +10. Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. +11. The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way. + +12. Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help"), for he said, "Up to this point the LORD has helped us!" + +13. So the Philistines were subdued and didn't invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel's lifetime, the LORD's powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. +14. The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days. + +15. Samuel continued as Israel's judge for the rest of his life. +16. Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. +17. Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the LORD at Ramah. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f0bd33ac --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +Israel Requests a King + +# Chapter 8 +1. As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. +2. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. +3. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. + +4. Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. +5. "Look," they told him, "you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have." + +6. Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance. +7. "Do everything they say to you," the LORD replied, "for they are rejecting me, not you. They don't want me to be their king any longer. +8. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. +9. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them." +Samuel Warns against a Kingdom + + +10. So Samuel passed on the LORD's warning to the people who were asking him for a king. +11. "This is how a king will reign over you," Samuel said. "The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. +12. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. +13. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. +14. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. +15. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. +16. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. +17. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. +18. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you." + +19. But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning. "Even so, we still want a king," they said. +20. "We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle." + +21. So Samuel repeated to the LORD what the people had said, +22. and the LORD replied, "Do as they say, and give them a king." Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e97cf3cc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Saul Meets Samuel + +# Chapter 9 +1. There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin. +2. His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel--head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land. + +3. One day Kish's donkeys strayed away, and he told Saul, "Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys." +4. So Saul took one of the servants and traveled through the hill country of Ephraim, the land of Shalishah, the Shaalim area, and the entire land of Benjamin, but they couldn't find the donkeys anywhere. + +5. Finally, they entered the region of Zuph, and Saul said to his servant, "Let's go home. By now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!" + +6. But the servant said, "I've just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let's go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go." + +7. "But we don't have anything to offer him," Saul replied. "Even our food is gone, and we don't have a thing to give him." + +8. "Well," the servant said, "I have one small silver piece. We can at least offer it to the man of God and see what happens!" +9. (In those days if people wanted a message from God, they would say, "Let's go and ask the seer," for prophets used to be called seers.) + +10. "All right," Saul agreed, "let's try it!" So they started into the town where the man of God lived. + +11. As they were climbing the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water. So Saul and his servant asked, "Is the seer here today?" + +12. "Yes," they replied. "Stay right on this road. He is at the town gates. He has just arrived to take part in a public sacrifice up at the place of worship. +13. Hurry and catch him before he goes up there to eat. The guests won't begin eating until he arrives to bless the food." + +14. So they entered the town, and as they passed through the gates, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the place of worship. + +15. Now the LORD had told Samuel the previous day, +16. " +About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the leader of my people, Israel. He will rescue them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on my people in mercy and have heard their cry." + +17. When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said, "That's the man I told you about! He will rule my people." + +18. Just then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and asked, "Can you please tell me where the seer's house is?" + +19. "I am the seer!" Samuel replied. "Go up to the place of worship ahead of me. We will eat there together, and in the morning I'll tell you what you want to know and send you on your way. +20. And don't worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel's hopes." + +21. Saul replied, "But I'm only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?" + +22. Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and placed them at the head of the table, honoring them above the thirty special guests. +23. Samuel then instructed the cook to bring Saul the finest cut of meat, the piece that had been set aside for the guest of honor. +24. So the cook brought in the meat and placed it before Saul. "Go ahead and eat it," Samuel said. "I was saving it for you even before I invited these others!" So Saul ate with Samuel that day. + +25. When they came down from the place of worship and returned to town, Samuel took Saul up to the roof of the house and prepared a bed for him there. +26. At daybreak the next morning, Samuel called to Saul, "Get up! It's time you were on your way." So Saul got ready, and he and Samuel left the house together. +27. When they reached the edge of town, Samuel told Saul to send his servant on ahead. After the servant was gone, Samuel said, "Stay here, for I have received a special message for you from God." + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d2bdbc95 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +Samuel Anoints Saul as King + +# Chapter 10 +1. Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head. He kissed Saul and said, "I am doing this because the LORD has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession. +2. When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel's tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, 'Have you seen my son?' + +3. "When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine. +4. They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept. + +5. "When you arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. +6. At that time the Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. +7. After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. +8. Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions." +Samuel's Signs Are Fulfilled + + +9. As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel's signs were fulfilled that day. +10. When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming toward them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy. +11. When those who knew Saul heard about it, they exclaimed, "What? Is even Saul a prophet? How did the son of Kish become a prophet?" + +12. And one of those standing there said, "Can anyone become a prophet, no matter who his father is?" So that is the origin of the saying "Is even Saul a prophet?" + +13. When Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the place of worship. +14. "Where have you been?" Saul's uncle asked him and his servant. + +"We were looking for the donkeys," Saul replied, "but we couldn't find them. So we went to Samuel to ask him where they were." + + +15. "Oh? And what did he say?" his uncle asked. + +16. "He told us that the donkeys had already been found," Saul replied. But Saul didn't tell his uncle what Samuel said about the kingdom. + +Saul Is Acclaimed King + + +17. Later Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the LORD at Mizpah. +18. And he said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. +19. But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, 'No, we want a king instead!' Now, therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by tribes and clans." + +20. So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the LORD, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. +21. Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! +22. So they asked the LORD, "Where is he?" +And the LORD replied, "He is hiding among the baggage." +23. So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else. + +24. Then Samuel said to all the people, "This is the man the LORD has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!" +And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!" + + +25. Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the LORD. Then Samuel sent the people home again. + +26. When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him. +27. But there were some scoundrels who complained, "How can this man save us?" And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them. +[Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn't allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn't a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.] + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4b1100a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Saul Defeats the Ammonites + +# Chapter 11 +1. +About a month later, King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the Israelite town of Jabesh-gilead. But all the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. "Make a treaty with us, and we will be your servants," they pleaded. + +2. "All right," Nahash said, "but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!" + +3. "Give us seven days to send messengers throughout Israel!" replied the elders of Jabesh. "If no one comes to save us, we will agree to your terms." + +4. When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears. +5. Saul had been plowing a field with his oxen, and when he returned to town, he asked, "What's the matter? Why is everyone crying?" So they told him about the message from Jabesh. + +6. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he became very angry. +7. He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them throughout Israel with this message: "This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle!" And the LORD made the people afraid of Saul's anger, and all of them came out together as one. +8. When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah. + +9. So Saul sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, "We will rescue you by noontime tomorrow!" There was great joy throughout the town when that message arrived! + +10. The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do to us whatever you wish." +11. But before dawn the next morning, Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments. He launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them the whole morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together. + +12. Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, "Now where are those men who said, 'Why should Saul rule over us?' Bring them here, and we will kill them!" + +13. But Saul replied, "No one will be executed today, for today the LORD has rescued Israel!" + +14. Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us all go to Gilgal to renew the kingdom." +15. So they all went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before the LORD they made Saul king. Then they offered peace offerings to the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites were filled with joy. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e69b77c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +Samuel's Farewell Address + +# Chapter 12 +1. Then Samuel addressed all Israel: "I have done as you asked and given you a king. +2. Your king is now your leader. I stand here before you--an old, gray-haired man--and my sons serve you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day. +3. Now testify against me in the presence of the LORD and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong." + +4. "No," they replied, "you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe." + +5. "The LORD and his anointed one are my witnesses today," Samuel declared, "that my hands are clean." +"Yes, he is a witness," they replied. + + +6. "It was the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron," Samuel continued. "He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt. +7. Now stand here quietly before the LORD as I remind you of all the great things the LORD has done for you and your ancestors. + +8. "When the Israelites were in Egypt and cried out to the LORD, he sent Moses and Aaron to rescue them from Egypt and to bring them into this land. +9. But the people soon forgot about the LORD their God, so he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor's army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of Moab, who fought against them. + +10. "Then they cried to the LORD again and confessed, 'We have sinned by turning away from the LORD and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.' +11. Then the LORD sent Gideon, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to save you, and you lived in safety. + +12. "But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the LORD your God was already your king. +13. All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the LORD has granted your request. + +14. "Now if you fear and worship the LORD and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the LORD's commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the LORD as your God. +15. But if you rebel against the LORD's commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors. + +16. "Now stand here and see the great thing the LORD is about to do. +17. You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the LORD to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the LORD for a king!" + +18. So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the LORD and of Samuel. +19. "Pray to the LORD your God for us, or we will die!" they all said to Samuel. "For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king." + +20. "Don't be afraid," Samuel reassured them. "You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the LORD with all your heart, and don't turn your back on him. +21. Don't go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you--they are totally useless! +22. The LORD will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the LORD to make you his very own people. + +23. "As for me, I will certainly not sin against the LORD by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. +24. But be sure to fear the LORD and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. +25. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away." + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cfab7b5e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +Continued War with Philistia + +# Chapter 13 +1. Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years. + +2. Saul selected 3,000 special troops from the army of Israel and sent the rest of the men home. He took 2,000 of the chosen men with him to Micmash and the hill country of Bethel. The other 1,000 went with Saul's son Jonathan to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. + +3. Soon after this, Jonathan attacked and defeated the garrison of Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly among the Philistines. So Saul blew the ram's horn throughout the land, saying, "Hebrews, hear this! Rise up in revolt!" +4. All Israel heard the news that Saul had destroyed the Philistine garrison at Geba and that the Philistines now hated the Israelites more than ever. So the entire Israelite army was summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. + +5. The Philistines mustered a mighty army of 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers, and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore! They camped at Micmash east of Beth-aven. +6. The men of Israel saw what a tight spot they were in; and because they were hard pressed by the enemy, they tried to hide in caves, thickets, rocks, holes, and cisterns. +7. Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead. + +Saul's Disobedience and Samuel's Rebuke +Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. + +8. Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn't come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. +9. So he demanded, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!" And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. + +10. Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, +11. but Samuel said, "What is this you have done?" +Saul replied, "I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn't arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. + +12. So I said, 'The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven't even asked for the LORD's help!' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came." + +13. "How foolish!" Samuel exclaimed. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. Had you kept it, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. +14. But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." +Israel's Military Disadvantage + + +15. Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way, but the rest of the troops went with Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. When Saul counted the men who were still with him, he found only 600 were left! +16. Saul and Jonathan and the troops with them were staying at Geba in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines set up their camp at Micmash. +17. Three raiding parties soon left the camp of the Philistines. One went north toward Ophrah in the land of Shual, +18. another went west to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the wilderness. + +19. There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn't allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews. +20. So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, picks, axes, or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith. +21. The charges were as follows: a quarter of an ounce of silver for sharpening a plowshare or a pick, and an eighth of an ounce for sharpening an ax or making the point of an ox goad. +22. So on the day of the battle none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan. + +23. The pass at Micmash had meanwhile been secured by a contingent of the Philistine army. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..15cf3838 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,109 @@ +Jonathan's Daring Plan + +# Chapter 14 +1. One day Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to where the Philistines have their outpost." But Jonathan did not tell his father what he was doing. + +2. Meanwhile, Saul and his 600 men were camped on the outskirts of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree at Migron. +3. Among Saul's men was Ahijah the priest, who was wearing the ephod, the priestly vest. Ahijah was the son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD who had served at Shiloh. + +No one realized that Jonathan had left the Israelite camp. + +4. To reach the Philistine outpost, Jonathan had to go down between two rocky cliffs that were called Bozez and Seneh. +5. The cliff on the north was in front of Micmash, and the one on the south was in front of Geba. +6. "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the LORD will help us, for nothing can hinder the LORD. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!" + +7. "Do what you think is best," the armor bearer replied. "I'm with you completely, whatever you decide." + +8. "All right, then," Jonathan told him. "We will cross over and let them see us. +9. If they say to us, 'Stay where you are or we'll kill you,' then we will stop and not go up to them. +10. But if they say, 'Come on up and fight,' then we will go up. That will be the LORD's sign that he will help us defeat them." + +11. When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, "Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!" +12. Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, "Come on up here, and we'll teach you a lesson!" +"Come on, climb right behind me," Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "for the LORD will help us defeat them!" + +13. So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them. +14. They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre. + +15. Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified. + +Israel Defeats the Philistines + + +16. Saul's lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin saw a strange sight--the vast army of Philistines began to melt away in every direction. +17. "Call the roll and find out who's missing," Saul ordered. And when they checked, they found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone. + +18. Then Saul shouted to Ahijah, "Bring the ephod here!" For at that time Ahijah was wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites. +19. But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, "Never mind; let's get going!" + +20. Then Saul and all his men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other. There was terrible confusion everywhere. +21. Even the Hebrews who had previously gone over to the Philistine army revolted and joined in with Saul, Jonathan, and the rest of the Israelites. +22. Likewise, the men of Israel who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim joined the chase when they saw the Philistines running away. +23. So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle continued to rage even beyond Beth-aven. + +Saul's Foolish Oath + + +24. Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, "Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening--before I have full revenge on my enemies." So no one ate anything all day, +25. even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest. +26. They didn't dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken. + +27. But Jonathan had not heard his father's command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed. +28. But one of the men saw him and said, "Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint." + +29. "My father has made trouble for us all!" Jonathan exclaimed. "A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey. +30. If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!" + +31. They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint. +32. That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood. +33. Someone reported to Saul, "Look, the men are sinning against the LORD by eating meat that still has blood in it." +"That is very wrong," Saul said. "Find a large stone and roll it over here. + +34. Then go out among the troops and tell them, 'Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.'" +So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there. + +35. Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first of the altars he built to the LORD. + +36. Then Saul said, "Let's chase the Philistines all night and plunder them until sunrise. Let's destroy every last one of them." +His men replied, "We'll do whatever you think is best." +But the priest said, "Let's ask God first." + + +37. So Saul asked God, "Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?" But God made no reply that day. + +38. Then Saul said to the leaders, "Something's wrong! I want all my army commanders to come here. We must find out what sin was committed today. +39. I vow by the name of the LORD who rescued Israel that the sinner will surely die, even if it is my own son Jonathan!" But no one would tell him what the trouble was. + +40. Then Saul said, "Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there." +And the people responded to Saul, "Whatever you think is best." + + +41. Then Saul prayed, "O LORD, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent." Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent. + +42. Then Saul said, "Now cast lots again and choose between me and Jonathan." And Jonathan was shown to be the guilty one. + +43. "Tell me what you have done," Saul demanded of Jonathan. + +"I tasted a little honey," Jonathan admitted. "It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?" + + +44. "Yes, Jonathan," Saul said, "you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this." + +45. But the people broke in and said to Saul, "Jonathan has won this great victory for Israel. Should he die? Far from it! As surely as the LORD lives, not one hair on his head will be touched, for God helped him do a great deed today." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death. + +46. Then Saul called back the army from chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines returned home. + +Saul's Military Successes + + +47. Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel's throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction--against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was victorious. +48. He performed great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them. + +49. Saul's sons included Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malkishua. He also had two daughters: Merab, who was older, and Michal. +50. Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of Saul's army was Abner, the son of Saul's uncle Ner. +51. Saul's father, Kish, and Abner's father, Ner, were both sons of Abiel. + +52. The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul's lifetime. So whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0cfbe0c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +Saul Defeats the Amalekites + +# Chapter 15 +1. One day Samuel said to Saul, "It was the LORD who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the LORD! +2. This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. +3. Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation--men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys." + +4. So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah. +5. Then Saul and his army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. +6. Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: "Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites packed up and left. + +7. Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. +8. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. +9. Saul and his men spared Agag's life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs--everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.The LORD Rejects Saul + +10. Then the LORD said to Samuel, +11. "I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command." Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the LORD all night. + +12. Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, "Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal." + +13. When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. "May the LORD bless you," he said. "I have carried out the LORD's command!" + +14. "Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?" Samuel demanded. + +15. "It's true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle," Saul admitted. "But they are going to sacrifice them to the LORD your God. We have destroyed everything else." + +16. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Listen to what the LORD told me last night!" +"What did he tell you?" Saul asked. + + +17. And Samuel told him, "Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed you king of Israel. +18. And the LORD sent you on a mission and told you, 'Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.' +19. Why haven't you obeyed the LORD? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the LORD's sight?" + +20. "But I did obey the LORD," Saul insisted. "I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. +21. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." + +22. But Samuel replied, +"What is more pleasing to the LORD: + +your burnt offerings and sacrifices + +or your obedience to his voice? +Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, + +and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. + + +23. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, + +and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. +So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, + +he has rejected you as king." +Saul Pleads for Forgiveness + + +24. Then Saul admitted to Samuel, "Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD's command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. +25. But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the LORD." + +26. But Samuel replied, "I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the LORD's command, he has rejected you as king of Israel." + +27. As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. +28. And Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else--one who is better than you. +29. And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!" + +30. Then Saul pleaded again, "I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the LORD your God." +31. So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD. + +Samuel Executes King Agag + + +32. Then Samuel said, "Bring King Agag to me." Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, "Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!" +33. But Samuel said, "As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless." And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal. + +34. Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. +35. Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the LORD was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..52448bf8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +Samuel Anoints David as King + +# Chapter 16 +1. Now the LORD said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king." + +2. But Samuel asked, "How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." +"Take a heifer with you," the LORD replied, "and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. +3. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me." + +4. So Samuel did as the LORD instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. "What's wrong?" they asked. "Do you come in peace?" + +5. "Yes," Samuel replied. "I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too. + +6. When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Surely this is the LORD's anointed!" + +7. But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." + +8. Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "This is not the one the LORD has chosen." +9. Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, "Neither is this the one the LORD has chosen." +10. In the same way all seven of Jesse's sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any of these." +11. Then Samuel asked, "Are these all the sons you have?" +"There is still the youngest," Jesse replied. "But he's out in the fields watching the sheep and goats." +"Send for him at once," Samuel said. "We will not sit down to eat until he arrives." + + +12. So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. +And the LORD said, "This is the one; anoint him." + +13. So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. + +David Serves in Saul's Court + + +14. Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. + +15. Some of Saul's servants said to him, "A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. +16. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again." + +17. "All right," Saul said. "Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here." + +18. One of the servants said to Saul, "One of Jesse's sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that--he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the LORD is with him." + +19. So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, "Send me your son David, the shepherd." +20. Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine. + +21. So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer. + +22. Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, "Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him." + +23. And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..27fc2e63 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +Goliath Challenges the Israelites + +# Chapter 17 +1. The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. +2. Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. +3. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. + +4. Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! +5. He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. +6. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. +7. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver's beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield. + +8. Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. "Why are you all coming out to fight?" he called. "I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! +9. If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! +10. I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!" +11. When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken. + +Jesse Sends David to Saul's Camp + + +12. Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. +13. Jesse's three oldest sons--Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea--had already joined Saul's army to fight the Philistines. +14. David was the youngest son. David's three oldest brothers stayed with Saul's army, +15. but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. + +16. For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army. + +17. One day Jesse said to David, "Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. +18. And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing." +19. David's brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. + +20. So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. +21. Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. +22. David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. +23. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. + +24. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. +25. "Have you seen the giant?" the men asked. "He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man's entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!" + +26. David asked the soldiers standing nearby, "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?" + +27. And these men gave David the same reply. They said, "Yes, that is the reward for killing him." + +28. But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. "What are you doing around here anyway?" he demanded. "What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!" + +29. "What have I done now?" David replied. "I was only asking a question!" +30. He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. +31. Then David's question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. + +David Kills Goliath + + +32. "Don't worry about this Philistine," David told Saul. "I'll go fight him!" + +33. "Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth." + +34. But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, +35. I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. +36. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! +37. The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!" +Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!" + +38. Then Saul gave David his own armor--a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. +39. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. + +"I can't go in these," he protested to Saul. "I'm not used to them." So David took them off again. + +40. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd's bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. + +41. Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, +42. sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. +43. "Am I a dog," he roared at David, "that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods. +44. "Come over here, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!" Goliath yelled. + +45. David replied to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies--the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. +46. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! +47. And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD's battle, and he will give you to us!" + +48. As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. +49. Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. + +50. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. +51. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. + +Israel Routs the Philistines +When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. + +52. Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. +53. Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. +54. (David took the Philistine's head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man's armor in his own tent.) + +55. As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, "Abner, whose son is this young man?" +"I really don't know," Abner declared. + + +56. "Well, find out who he is!" the king told him. + +57. As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand. +58. "Tell me about your father, young man," Saul said. + +And David replied, "His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem." + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..352224d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Saul Becomes Jealous of David + +# Chapter 18 +1. After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king's son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. +2. From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn't let him return home. +3. And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. +4. Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt. + +5. Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul's officers alike. + +6. When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. +7. This was their song: +"Saul has killed his thousands, + +and David his ten thousands!" + + +8. This made Saul very angry. "What's this?" he said. "They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they'll be making him their king!" +9. So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. + +10. The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, +11. and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice. + +12. Saul was then afraid of David, for the LORD was with David and had turned away from Saul. +13. Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle. + +14. David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the LORD was with him. +15. When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. +16. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle. + +David Marries Saul's Daughter + + +17. One day Saul said to David, "I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the LORD's battles." For Saul thought, "I'll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself." + +18. "Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king's son-in-law?" David exclaimed. "My father's family is nothing!" +19. So when the time came for Saul to give his daughter Merab in marriage to David, he gave her instead to Adriel, a man from Meholah. + +20. In the meantime, Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it. +21. "Here's another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!" Saul said to himself. But to David he said, "Today you have a second chance to become my son-in-law!" + +22. Then Saul told his men to say to David, "The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don't you accept the king's offer and become his son-in-law?" + +23. When Saul's men said these things to David, he replied, "How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?" + +24. When Saul's men reported this back to the king, +25. he told them, "Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want." But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight. + +26. David was delighted to accept the offer. Before the time limit expired, +27. he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. Then David fulfilled the king's requirement by presenting all their foreskins to him. So Saul gave his daughter Michal to David to be his wife. + +28. When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and how much his daughter Michal loved him, +29. Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David's enemy for the rest of his life. + +30. Every time the commanders of the Philistines attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul's officers. So David's name became very famous. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5f5dbab2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Saul Tries to Kill David + +# Chapter 19 +1. Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, +2. told him what his father was planning. "Tomorrow morning," he warned him, "you must find a hiding place out in the fields. +3. I'll ask my father to go out there with me, and I'll talk to him about you. Then I'll tell you everything I can find out." + +4. The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. "The king must not sin against his servant David," Jonathan said. "He's never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. +5. Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the LORD brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!" + +6. So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, "As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed." + +7. Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before. + +8. War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away. + +9. But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the LORD suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, +10. Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night. + +Michal Saves David's Life + + +11. Then Saul sent troops to watch David's house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't escape tonight, you will be dead by morning." +12. So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped. +13. Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat's hair at its head. + +14. When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn't get out of bed. + +15. But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, "Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!" +16. But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat's hair at its head. + +17. "Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?" Saul demanded of Michal. + +"I had to," Michal replied. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't help him." + + +18. So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. Then Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth. +19. When the report reached Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah, +20. he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men, and they also began to prophesy. +21. When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other troops, but they, too, prophesied! The same thing happened a third time. +22. Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. "Where are Samuel and David?" he demanded. + +"They are at Naioth in Ramah," someone told him. + + +23. But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth! +24. He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, "What? Is even Saul a prophet?" + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3c4b134e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +Jonathan +Helps David + +# Chapter 20 +1. David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. "What have I done?" he exclaimed. "What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?" + +2. "That's not true!" Jonathan protested. "You're not going to die. He always tells me everything he's going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn't hide something like this from me. It just isn't so!" + +3. Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, "Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, 'I won't tell Jonathan--why should I hurt him?' But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the LORD and by your own soul!" + +4. "Tell me what I can do to help you," Jonathan exclaimed. + +5. David replied, "Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I've always eaten with the king on this occasion, but tomorrow I'll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. +6. If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family sacrifice. +7. If he says, 'Fine!' you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, you will know he is determined to kill me. +8. Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend--for we made a solemn pact before the LORD--or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don't betray me to him!" + +9. "Never!" Jonathan exclaimed. "You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once." + +10. Then David asked, "How will I know whether or not your father is angry?" + +11. "Come out to the field with me," Jonathan replied. And they went out there together. +12. Then Jonathan told David, "I promise by the LORD, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know. +13. But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the LORD strike me and even kill me if I don't warn you so you can escape and live. May the LORD be with you as he used to be with my father. +14. And may you treat me with the faithful love of the LORD as long as I live. But if I die, +15. treat my family with this faithful love, even when the LORD destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth." + +16. So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, saying, "May the LORD destroy all your enemies!" +17. And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself. + +18. Then Jonathan said, "Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty. +19. The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile. +20. I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target. +21. Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, 'They're on this side,' then you will know, as surely as the LORD lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble. +22. But if I tell him, 'Go farther--the arrows are still ahead of you,' then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away. +23. And may the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them." + +24. So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat. +25. He sat at his usual place against the wall, with Jonathan sitting opposite him and Abner beside him. But David's place was empty. +26. Saul didn't say anything about it that day, for he said to himself, "Something must have made David ceremonially unclean." +27. But when David's place was empty again the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse been here for the meal either yesterday or today?" + +28. Jonathan replied, "David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem. +29. He said, 'Please let me go, for we are having a family sacrifice. My brother demanded that I be there. So please let me get away to see my brothers.' That's why he isn't here at the king's table." + +30. Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. "You stupid son of a whore!" he swore at him. "Do you think I don't know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? +31. As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you'll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!" + +32. "But why should he be put to death?" Jonathan asked his father. "What has he done?" +33. Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David. + +34. Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat on that second day of the festival, for he was crushed by his father's shameful behavior toward David. + +35. The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows. +36. "Start running," he told the boy, "so you can find the arrows as I shoot them." So the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. +37. When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, "The arrow is still ahead of you. +38. Hurry, hurry, don't wait." So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master. +39. He, of course, suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David understood the signal. +40. Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to town. + +41. As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David. + +42. At last Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the LORD's name. The LORD is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever." Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6ffb667a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +David Runs from Saul + +# Chapter 21 +1. David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. "Why are you alone?" he asked. "Why is no one with you?" + +2. "The king has sent me on a private matter," David said. "He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. +3. Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have." + +4. "We don't have any regular bread," the priest replied. "But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently." + +5. "Don't worry," David replied. "I never allow my men to be with women when we are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!" + +6. Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread--the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the LORD in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread. + +7. Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the LORD. + +8. David asked Ahimelech, "Do you have a spear or sword? The king's business was so urgent that I didn't even have time to grab a weapon!" + +9. "I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah," the priest replied. "It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here." +"There is nothing like it!" David replied. "Give it to me!" + + +10. So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. +11. But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. "Isn't this David, the king of the land?" they asked. "Isn't he the one the people honor with dances, singing, +'Saul has killed his thousands, + +and David his ten thousands'?" + + +12. David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. +13. So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. + +14. Finally, King Achish said to his men, "Must you bring me a madman? +15. We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?" + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9f5c9d9b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +David at the Cave of Adullam + +# Chapter 22 +1. So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. +2. Then others began coming--men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented--until David was the captain of about 400 men. + +3. Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, "Please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me." +4. So David's parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold. + +5. One day the prophet Gad told David, "Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah." So David went to the forest of Hereth. + +6. The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. At the time, the king was sitting beneath the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, holding his spear and surrounded by his officers. + +7. "Listen here, you men of Benjamin!" Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news. "Has that son of Jesse promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you all generals and captains in his army? +8. Is that why you have conspired against me? For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse. You're not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son--encouraging him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day!" + +9. Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul's men, spoke up. "When I was at Nob," he said, "I saw the son of Jesse talking to the priest, Ahimelech son of Ahitub. +10. Ahimelech consulted the LORD for him. Then he gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine." +The Slaughter of the Priests + + +11. King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. +12. When they arrived, Saul shouted at him, "Listen to me, you son of Ahitub!" +"What is it, my king?" Ahimelech asked. + + +13. "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me?" Saul demanded. "Why did you give him food and a sword? Why have you consulted God for him? Why have you encouraged him to kill me, as he is trying to do this very day?" + +14. "But sir," Ahimelech replied, "is anyone among all your servants as faithful as David, your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your household! +15. This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! May the king not accuse me and my family in this matter, for I knew nothing at all of any plot against you." + +16. "You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!" the king shouted. +17. And he ordered his bodyguards, "Kill these priests of the LORD, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn't tell me!" But Saul's men refused to kill the LORD's priests. + +18. Then the king said to Doeg, "You do it." So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. +19. Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests' families--men and women, children and babies--and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. + +20. Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David. +21. When he told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD, +22. David exclaimed, "I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father's family. +23. Stay here with me, and don't be afraid. I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both." + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_23.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_23.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..376bb798 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +David Protects the Town of Keilah + +# Chapter 23 +1. One day news came to David that the Philistines were at Keilah stealing grain from the threshing floors. +2. David asked the LORD, "Should I go and attack them?" +"Yes, go and save Keilah," the LORD told him. + +3. But David's men said, "We're afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don't want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!" + +4. So David asked the LORD again, and again the LORD replied, "Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines." + +5. So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. +6. Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he brought the ephod with him. + +7. Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. "Good!" he exclaimed. "We've got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!" +8. So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men. + +9. But David learned of Saul's plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the LORD what he should do. +10. Then David prayed, "O LORD, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. +11. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell me." +And the LORD said, "He will come." + +12. Again David asked, "Will the leaders of Keilah betray me and my men to Saul?" +And the LORD replied, "Yes, they will betray you." +David Hides in the Wilderness + + +13. So David and his men--about 600 of them now--left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn't go to Keilah after all. +14. David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn't let Saul find him. + +15. One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. +16. Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. +17. "Don't be afraid," Jonathan reassured him. "My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware." +18. So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the LORD. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh. + +19. But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. "We know where David is hiding," they said. "He is in the strongholds of Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is in the southern part of Jeshimon. +20. Come down whenever you're ready, O king, and we will catch him and hand him over to you!" + +21. "The LORD bless you," Saul said. "At last someone is concerned about me! +22. Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty. +23. Discover his hiding places, and come back when you are sure. Then I'll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I'll track him down, even if I have to search every hiding place in Judah!" +24. So the men of Ziph returned home ahead of Saul. + +Meanwhile, David and his men had moved into the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon. + +25. When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him in the wilderness. + +26. Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men, +27. an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. +28. So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape. +29. David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_24.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_24.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..04c71029 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +David Spares Saul's Life + +# Chapter 24 +1. After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. +2. So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. + +3. At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave! + +4. "Now's your opportunity!" David's men whispered to him. "Today the LORD is telling you, 'I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.'" So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul's robe. + +5. But then David's conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul's robe. +6. He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn't attack the LORD's anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him." +7. So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul. + +After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, + +8. David came out and shouted after him, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him. + +9. Then he shouted to Saul, "Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? +10. This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn't true. For the LORD placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, 'I will never harm the king--he is the LORD's anointed one.' +11. Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn't kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me. + +12. "May the LORD judge between us. Perhaps the LORD will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. +13. As that old proverb says, 'From evil people come evil deeds.' So you can be sure I will never harm you. +14. Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? +15. May the LORD therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!" + +16. When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, "Is that really you, my son David?" Then he began to cry. +17. And he said to David, "You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. +18. Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the LORD put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn't do it. +19. Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the LORD reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. +20. And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule. +21. Now swear to me by the LORD that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!" + +22. So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_25.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_25.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..18f40c8e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_25.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +The Death of Samuel + +# Chapter 25 +1. Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah. + +Nabal Angers David +Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. +2. There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. +3. This man's name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings. + +4. When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, +5. he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal: +6. "Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! +7. I am told that it is sheep-shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. +8. Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please share any provisions you might have on hand with us and with your friend David." +9. David's young men gave this message to Nabal in David's name, and they waited for a reply. + +10. "Who is this fellow David?" Nabal sneered to the young men. "Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. +11. Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I've slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?" + +12. So David's young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. +13. "Get your swords!" was David's reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment. + +14. Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants went to Abigail and told her, "David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them. +15. These men have been very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. +16. In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. +17. You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He's so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!" + +18. Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys +19. and said to her servants, "Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly." But she didn't tell her husband Nabal what she was doing. + +20. As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. +21. David had just been saying, "A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. +22. May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!" +Abigail Intercedes for Nabal + + +23. When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. +24. She fell at his feet and said, "I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. +25. I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don't pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent. + +26. "Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. +27. And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. +28. Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The LORD will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the LORD's battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life. + +29. "Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! +30. When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, +31. don't let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won't have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the LORD has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!" + +32. David replied to Abigail, "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! +33. Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands. +34. For I swear by the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal's men would still be alive tomorrow morning." +35. Then David accepted her present and told her, "Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband." + +36. When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal was throwing a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn't tell him anything about her meeting with David until dawn the next day. +37. In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. +38. +About ten days later, the LORD struck him, and he died. + +David Marries Abigail + + +39. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Praise the LORD, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin." Then David sent messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife. + +40. When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, "David has sent us to take you back to marry him." + +41. She bowed low to the ground and responded, "I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!" +42. Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David's messengers. And so she became his wife. +43. David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. +44. Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_26.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_26.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a711a713 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_26.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +David Spares Saul Again + +# Chapter 26 +1. Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, "David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon." + +2. So Saul took 3,000 of Israel's elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. +3. Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. When David learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness, +4. he sent out spies to verify the report of Saul's arrival. + +5. David slipped over to Saul's camp one night to look around. Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors. +6. "Who will volunteer to go in there with me?" David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother. + +"I'll go with you," Abishai replied. + +7. So David and Abishai went right into Saul's camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him. + +8. "God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!" Abishai whispered to David. "Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won't need to strike twice!" + +9. "No!" David said. "Don't kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the LORD's anointed one? +10. Surely the LORD will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. +11. The LORD forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let's get out of here!" + +12. So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul's head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the LORD had put Saul's men into a deep sleep. + +13. David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance. +14. Then he shouted down to the soldiers and to Abner son of Ner, "Wake up, Abner!" +"Who is it?" Abner demanded. + + +15. "Well, Abner, you're a great man, aren't you?" David taunted. "Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven't you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? +16. This isn't good at all! I swear by the LORD that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the LORD's anointed! Look around! Where are the king's spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?" + +17. Saul recognized David's voice and called out, "Is that you, my son David?" +And David replied, "Yes, my lord the king. + +18. Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? +19. But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the LORD. For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the LORD's people, and they have said, 'Go, worship pagan gods.' +20. Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the LORD? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?" + +21. Then Saul confessed, "I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong." + +22. "Here is your spear, O king," David replied. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. +23. The LORD gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the LORD placed you in my power, for you are the LORD's anointed one. +24. Now may the LORD value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles." + +25. And Saul said to David, "Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed." Then David went away, and Saul returned home. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_27.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_27.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..bc2766ca --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_27.md @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +David among the Philistines + +# Chapter 27 +1. But David kept thinking to himself, "Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe." + +2. So David took his 600 men and went over and joined Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath. +3. David and his men and their families settled there with Achish at Gath. David brought his two wives along with him--Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow from Carmel. +4. Word soon reached Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped hunting for him. + +5. One day David said to Achish, "If it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city." + +6. So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag (which still belongs to the kings of Judah to this day), +7. and they lived there among the Philistines for a year and four months. + +8. David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites--people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times. +9. David did not leave one person alive in the villages he attacked. He took the sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning home to see King Achish. + +10. "Where did you make your raid today?" Achish would ask. + +And David would reply, "Against the south of Judah, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites." + + +11. No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been. This happened again and again while he was living among the Philistines. +12. Achish believed David and thought to himself, "By now the people of Israel must hate him bitterly. Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_28.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_28.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..dc1a5c00 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_28.md @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +Saul Consults a Medium + +# Chapter 28 +1. +About that time the Philistines mustered their armies for another war with Israel. King Achish told David, "You and your men will be expected to join me in battle." + +2. "Very well!" David agreed. "Now you will see for yourself what we can do." +Then Achish told David, "I will make you my personal bodyguard for life." + + +3. Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned from the land of Israel all mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. + +4. The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul gathered all the army of Israel and camped at Gilboa. +5. When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. +6. He asked the LORD what he should do, but the LORD refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. +7. Saul then said to his advisers, "Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do." +His advisers replied, "There is a medium at Endor." + + +8. So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman's home at night, accompanied by two of his men. + +"I have to talk to a man who has died," he said. "Will you call up his spirit for me?" + + +9. "Are you trying to get me killed?" the woman demanded. "You know that Saul has outlawed all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead. Why are you setting a trap for me?" + +10. But Saul took an oath in the name of the LORD and promised, "As surely as the LORD lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this." + +11. Finally, the woman said, "Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?" +"Call up Samuel," Saul replied. + + +12. When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, "You've deceived me! You are Saul!" + +13. "Don't be afraid!" the king told her. "What do you see?" +"I see a god coming up out of the earth," she said. + +14. "What does he look like?" Saul asked. + +"He is an old man wrapped in a robe," she replied. Saul realized it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him. + + +15. "Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?" Samuel asked Saul. + +"Because I am in deep trouble," Saul replied. "The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won't reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do." + + +16. But Samuel replied, "Why ask me, since the LORD has left you and has become your enemy? +17. The LORD has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. +18. The LORD has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. +19. What's more, the LORD will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The LORD will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat." + +20. Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel's words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. + +21. When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, "Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. +22. Now do what I say, and let me give you a little something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back." + +23. But Saul refused to eat anything. Then his advisers joined the woman in urging him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch. + +24. The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread. +25. She brought the meal to Saul and his advisers, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_29.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_29.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2ea41c28 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_29.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +The Philistines Reject David + +# Chapter 29 +1. The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel. +2. As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in groups of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish. +3. But the Philistine commanders demanded, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" +And Achish told them, "This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He's been with me for years, and I've never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today." + + +4. But the Philistine commanders were angry. "Send him back to the town you've given him!" they demanded. "He can't go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by handing our heads over to him? +5. Isn't this the same David about whom the women of Israel sing in their dances, +'Saul has killed his thousands, + +and David his ten thousands'?" + + +6. So Achish finally summoned David and said to him, "I swear by the LORD that you have been a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with me into battle, for I've never found a single flaw in you from the day you arrived until today. But the other Philistine rulers won't hear of it. +7. Please don't upset them, but go back quietly." + +8. "What have I done to deserve this treatment?" David demanded. "What have you ever found in your servant, that I can't go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?" + +9. But Achish insisted, "As far as I'm concerned, you're as perfect as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders are afraid to have you with them in the battle. +10. Now get up early in the morning, and leave with your men as soon as it gets light." + +11. So David and his men headed back into the land of the Philistines, while the Philistine army went on to Jezreel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_30.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_30.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0e022b5a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_30.md @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +David Destroys the Amalekites + +# Chapter 30 +1. Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. +2. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. + +3. When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, +4. they wept until they could weep no more. +5. David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. +6. David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God. + +7. Then he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring me the ephod!" So Abiathar brought it. +8. Then David asked the LORD, "Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?" +And the LORD told him, "Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!" + +9. So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. +10. But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men. + +11. Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. +12. They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned. + +13. "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" David asked him. +"I am an Egyptian--the slave of an Amalekite," he replied. "My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. +14. We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag." + +15. "Will you lead me to this band of raiders?" David asked. + +The young man replied, "If you take an oath in God's name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them." + + +16. So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. +17. David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. +18. David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. +19. Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. +20. He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. "This plunder belongs to David!" they said. + +21. Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully. +22. But some evil troublemakers among David's men said, "They didn't go with us, so they can't have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone." + +23. But David said, "No, my brothers! Don't be selfish with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. +24. Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike--those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment." +25. From then on David made this a decree and regulation for Israel, and it is still followed today. + +26. When he arrived at Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends. "Here is a present for you, taken from the LORD's enemies," he said. + +27. The gifts were sent to the people of the following towns David had visited: Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, +28. Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, +29. Racal, the towns of the Jerahmeelites, the towns of the Kenites, +30. Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, +31. Hebron, and all the other places David and his men had visited. + + + diff --git a/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_31.md b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_31.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..348378a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/09_1 Samuel/Chapter_31.md @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +The Death of Saul + +# Chapter 31 +1. Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. +2. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons--Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. +3. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. + +4. Saul groaned to his armor bearer, "Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me." +But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. + +5. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. +6. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day. + +7. When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. + +8. The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. +9. So they cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul's death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. +10. They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. + +11. But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, +12. all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. +13. Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6465ea73 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,112 @@ +David Learns of Saul's Death + +# Chapter 1 +1. After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. +2. On the third day a man arrived from Saul's army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect. + +3. "Where have you come from?" David asked. + +"I escaped from the Israelite camp," the man replied. + + +4. "What happened?" David demanded. "Tell me how the battle went." +The man replied, "Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead." + + +5. "How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?" David demanded of the young man. + +6. The man answered, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him. +7. When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. 'How can I help?' I asked him. + +8. "He responded, 'Who are you?' +"'I am an Amalekite,' I told him. + + +9. "Then he begged me, 'Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.' + +10. "So I killed him," the Amalekite told David, "for I knew he couldn't live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord." + +11. David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. +12. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the LORD's army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day. + +13. Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, "Where are you from?" +And he replied, "I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land." + + +14. "Why were you not afraid to kill the LORD's anointed one?" David asked. + +15. Then David said to one of his men, "Kill him!" So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him. +16. "You have condemned yourself," David said, "for you yourself confessed that you killed the LORD's anointed one." +David's Song for Saul and Jonathan + + +17. Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, +18. and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar. + +19. Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills! + +Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! + + +20. Don't announce the news in Gath, + +don't proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, +or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice + +and the pagans will laugh in triumph. + + +21. O mountains of Gilboa, + +let there be no dew or rain upon you, + nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain. + +For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled; + +the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil. + + +22. The bow of Jonathan was powerful, + +and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. + +They shed the blood of their enemies + +and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes. + + +23. How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! + +They were together in life and in death. + +They were swifter than eagles, + +stronger than lions. + + +24. O women of Israel, weep for Saul, +for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing, + +in garments decorated with gold. + + +25. Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! + +Jonathan lies dead on the hills. + + +26. How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! + +Oh, how much I loved you! +And your love for me was deep, + +deeper than the love of women! + + +27. +Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! + +Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0551e42a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +David Anointed King of Judah + +# Chapter 2 +1. After this, David asked the LORD, "Should I move back to one of the towns of Judah?" +"Yes," the LORD replied. + +Then David asked, "Which town should I go to?" +"To Hebron," the LORD answered. + +2. David's two wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. So David and his wives +3. and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled in the villages near Hebron. +4. Then the men of Judah came to David and anointed him king over the people of Judah. + +When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul, + +5. he sent them this message: "May the LORD bless you for being so loyal to your master Saul and giving him a decent burial. +6. May the LORD be loyal to you in return and reward you with his unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done. +7. Now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king." +Ishbosheth Proclaimed King of Israel + + +8. But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul's son Ishbosheth. +9. There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel. + +10. Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the people of Judah remained loyal to David. +11. David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years. + +War between Israel and Judah + + +12. One day Abner led Ishbosheth's troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon. +13. +About the same time, Joab son of Zeruiah led David's troops out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. The two groups sat down there, facing each other from opposite sides of the pool. + +14. Then Abner suggested to Joab, "Let's have a few of our warriors fight hand to hand here in front of us." +"All right," Joab agreed. + +15. So twelve men were chosen to fight from each side--twelve men of Benjamin representing Ishbosheth son of Saul, and twelve representing David. +16. Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other's side so that all of them died. So this place at Gibeon has been known ever since as the Field of Swords. + +17. A fierce battle followed that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the forces of David. + +The Death of Asahel + + +18. Joab, Abishai, and Asahel--the three sons of Zeruiah--were among David's forces that day. Asahel could run like a gazelle, +19. and he began chasing Abner. He pursued him relentlessly, not stopping for anything. +20. When Abner looked back and saw him coming, he called out, "Is that you, Asahel?" +"Yes, it is," he replied. + + +21. "Go fight someone else!" Abner warned. "Take on one of the younger men, and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel kept right on chasing Abner. + +22. Again Abner shouted to him, "Get away from here! I don't want to kill you. How could I ever face your brother Joab again?" + +23. But Asahel refused to turn back, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there. + +24. When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at the hill of Ammah near Giah, along the road to the wilderness of Gibeon. +25. Abner's troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill to take a stand. + +26. Abner shouted down to Joab, "Must we always be killing each other? Don't you realize that bitterness is the only result? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?" + +27. Then Joab said, "God only knows what would have happened if you hadn't spoken, for we would have chased you all night if necessary." +28. So Joab blew the ram's horn, and his men stopped chasing the troops of Israel. + +29. All that night Abner and his men retreated through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, traveling all through the morning, and didn't stop until they arrived at Mahanaim. + +30. Meanwhile, Joab and his men also returned home. When Joab counted his casualties, he discovered that only 19 men were missing in addition to Asahel. +31. But 360 of Abner's men had been killed, all from the tribe of Benjamin. +32. Joab and his men took Asahel's body to Bethlehem and buried him there in his father's tomb. Then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..958aed5f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,96 @@ +# Chapter 3 +1. That was the beginning of a long war between those who were loyal to Saul and those loyal to David. As time passed David became stronger and stronger, while Saul's dynasty became weaker and weaker. + +David's Sons Born in Hebron + + +2. These are the sons who were born to David in Hebron: +The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel. + + +3. The second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. + +The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. + + +4. The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. + +The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. + + +5. The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah, David's wife. + +These sons were all born to David in Hebron. + +Abner Joins Forces with David + + +6. As the war between the house of Saul and the house of David went on, Abner became a powerful leader among those loyal to Saul. +7. One day Ishbosheth, Saul's son, accused Abner of sleeping with one of his father's concubines, a woman named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah. + +8. Abner was furious. "Am I some Judean dog to be kicked around like this?" he shouted. "After all I have done for your father, Saul, and his family and friends by not handing you over to David, is this my reward--that you find fault with me about this woman? +9. May God strike me and even kill me if I don't do everything I can to help David get what the LORD has promised him! +10. I'm going to take Saul's kingdom and give it to David. I will establish the throne of David over Israel as well as Judah, all the way from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south." +11. Ishbosheth didn't dare say another word because he was afraid of what Abner might do. + +12. Then Abner sent messengers to David, saying, "Doesn't the entire land belong to you? Make a solemn pact with me, and I will help turn over all of Israel to you." + +13. "All right," David replied, "but I will not negotiate with you unless you bring back my wife Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come." + +14. David then sent this message to Ishbosheth, Saul's son: "Give me back my wife Michal, for I bought her with the lives of 100 Philistines." + +15. So Ishbosheth took Michal away from her husband, Palti son of Laish. +16. Palti followed along behind her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, "Go back home!" So Palti returned. + +17. Meanwhile, Abner had consulted with the elders of Israel. "For some time now," he told them, "you have wanted to make David your king. +18. Now is the time! For the LORD has said, 'I have chosen David to save my people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and from all their other enemies.'" +19. Abner also spoke with the men of Benjamin. Then he went to Hebron to tell David that all the people of Israel and Benjamin had agreed to support him. + +20. When Abner and twenty of his men came to Hebron, David entertained them with a great feast. +21. Then Abner said to David, "Let me go and call an assembly of all Israel to support my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you to make you their king, and you will rule over everything your heart desires." So David sent Abner safely on his way. + +Joab Murders Abner + + +22. But just after David had sent Abner away in safety, Joab and some of David's troops returned from a raid, bringing much plunder with them. +23. When Joab arrived, he was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in safety. + +24. Joab rushed to the king and demanded, "What have you done? What do you mean by letting Abner get away? +25. You know perfectly well that he came to spy on you and find out everything you're doing!" + +26. Joab then left David and sent messengers to catch up with Abner, asking him to return. They found him at the well of Sirah and brought him back, though David knew nothing about it. +27. When Abner arrived back at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gateway as if to speak with him privately. But then he stabbed Abner in the stomach and killed him in revenge for killing his brother Asahel. + +28. When David heard about it, he declared, "I vow by the LORD that I and my kingdom are forever innocent of this crime against Abner son of Ner. +29. Joab and his family are the guilty ones. May the family of Joab be cursed in every generation with a man who has open sores or leprosy or who walks on crutches or dies by the sword or begs for food!" + +30. So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because Abner had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon. + +David Mourns Abner's Death + + +31. Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on burlap. Mourn for Abner." And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave. +32. They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside. +33. Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner: +"Should Abner have died as fools die? + + +34. Your hands were not bound; + +your feet were not chained. + +No, you were murdered-- + +the victim of a wicked plot." +All the people wept again for Abner. + +35. David had refused to eat anything on the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, "May God strike me and even kill me if I eat anything before sundown." + +36. This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them! +37. So everyone in Judah and all Israel understood that David was not responsible for Abner's murder. + +38. Then King David said to his officials, "Don't you realize that a great commander has fallen today in Israel? +39. And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah--Joab and Abishai--are too strong for me to control. So may the LORD repay these evil men for their evil deeds." + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0d7a3bda --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +The Murder of Ishbosheth + +# Chapter 4 +1. When Ishbosheth, Saul's son, heard about Abner's death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear. +2. Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth's raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin's territory +3. because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners. + +4. (Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child's nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.) + +5. One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth's house around noon as he was taking his midday rest. +6. The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her. +7. They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley through the night. +8. When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth's head to David. "Look!" they exclaimed to the king. "Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the LORD has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!" + +9. But David said to Recab and Baanah, "The LORD, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness. +10. Someone once told me, 'Saul is dead,' thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That's the reward I gave him for his news! +11. How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn't I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?" + +12. So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb in Hebron. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..00d35925 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +David Becomes King of All Israel + +# Chapter 5 +1. Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, "We are your own flesh and blood. +2. In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the LORD told you, 'You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel's leader.'" + +3. So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the LORD with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel. + +4. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. +5. He had reigned over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months, and from Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years. + +David Captures Jerusalem + + +6. David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, "You'll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!" For the Jebusites thought they were safe. +7. But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David. + +8. On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, "I hate those 'lame' and 'blind' Jebusites. Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel." That is the origin of the saying, "The blind and the lame may not enter the house." + +9. So David made the fortress his home, and he called it the City of David. He extended the city, starting at the supporting terraces and working inward. +10. And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD God of Heaven's Armies was with him. + +11. Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built David a palace. +12. And David realized that the LORD had confirmed him as king over Israel and had blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. + +13. After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives, and they had more sons and daughters. +14. These are the names of David's sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, +15. Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, +16. Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. + +David Conquers the Philistines + + +17. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he went into the stronghold. +18. The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim. +19. So David asked the LORD, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" +The LORD replied to David, "Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you." + +20. So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. "The LORD did it!" David exclaimed. "He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!" So he named that place Baal-perazim (which means "the Lord who bursts through"). +21. The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David and his men confiscated them. + +22. But after a while the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim. +23. And again David asked the LORD what to do. "Do not attack them straight on," the LORD replied. "Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees. +24. When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the LORD is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army." +25. So David did what the LORD commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d219668c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +Moving the Ark to Jerusalem + +# Chapter 6 +1. Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. +2. He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. +3. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab's house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab's sons, were guiding the cart +4. that carried the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. +5. David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments--lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. + +6. But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. +7. Then the LORD's anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God. + +8. David was angry because the LORD's anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means "to burst out against Uzzah"), as it is still called today. + +9. David was now afraid of the LORD, and he asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark of the LORD back into my care?" +10. So David decided not to move the Ark of the LORD into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. +11. The Ark of the LORD remained there in Obed-edom's house for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his entire household. + +12. Then King David was told, "The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's household and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. +13. After the men who were carrying the Ark of the LORD had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. +14. And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. +15. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams' horns. + +Michal's Contempt for David + + +16. But as the Ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she was filled with contempt for him. + +17. They brought the Ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. +18. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies. +19. Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes. + +20. When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, "How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!" + +21. David retorted to Michal, "I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the LORD, so I celebrate before the LORD. +22. Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!" +23. So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6f5142ea --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +The LORD's Covenant Promise to David + +# Chapter 7 +1. When King David was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, +2. the king summoned Nathan the prophet. "Look," David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!" + +3. Nathan replied to the king, "Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." + +4. But that same night the LORD said to Nathan, + +5. "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? +6. I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. +7. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel's tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, "Why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar house?"' + +8. "Now go and say to my servant David, 'This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. +9. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! +10. And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won't oppress them as they've done in the past, +11. starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. +"'Furthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you--a dynasty of kings! +12. For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. +13. He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. +14. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. +15. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. +16. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.'" + +17. So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the LORD had said in this vision. + +David's Prayer of Thanks + + +18. Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, +"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? +19. And now, Sovereign LORD, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign LORD? + +20. "What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign LORD. +21. Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant. + +22. "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! +23. What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that stood in their way. +24. You made Israel your very own people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. + +25. "And now, O LORD God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. +26. And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, 'The LORD of Heaven's Armies is God over Israel!' And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever. + +27. "O LORD of Heaven's Armies, God of Israel, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer to you because you have revealed all this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you--a dynasty of kings!' +28. For you are God, O Sovereign LORD. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant. +29. And now, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you have spoken, and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign LORD, it is an eternal blessing!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d4f81725 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +David's Military Victories + +# Chapter 8 +1. After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest town. +2. David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David's subjects and paid him tribute money. + +3. David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River. +4. David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots. + +5. When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. +6. Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David's subjects and paid him tribute money. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went. + +7. David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer's officers to Jerusalem, +8. along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer's towns of Tebah and Berothai. + +9. When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of Hadadezer, +10. he sent his son Joram to congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies and were often at war. Joram presented David with many gifts of silver, gold, and bronze. + +11. King David dedicated all these gifts to the LORD, as he did with the silver and gold from the other nations he had defeated-- +12. from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek--and from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah. + +13. So David became even more famous when he returned from destroying 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. +14. He placed army garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David's subjects. In fact, the LORD made David victorious wherever he went. + +15. So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people. +16. Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. +17. Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah was the court secretary. +18. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king's bodyguard. And David's sons served as priestly leaders. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..69eab039 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +David's Kindness to Mephibosheth + +# Chapter 9 +1. One day David asked, "Is anyone in Saul's family still alive--anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" +2. He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul's servants. "Are you Ziba?" the king asked. + +"Yes sir, I am," Ziba replied. + + +3. The king then asked him, "Is anyone still alive from Saul's family? If so, I want to show God's kindness to them." +Ziba replied, "Yes, one of Jonathan's sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet." + + +4. "Where is he?" the king asked. + +"In Lo-debar," Ziba told him, "at the home of Makir son of Ammiel." + + +5. So David sent for him and brought him from Makir's home. +6. His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, "Greetings, Mephibosheth." +Mephibosheth replied, "I am your servant." + + +7. "Don't be afraid!" David said. "I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king's table!" + +8. Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, "Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?" + +9. Then the king summoned Saul's servant Ziba and said, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. +10. You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master's household. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will eat here at my table." (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) + +11. Ziba replied, "Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded." And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David's table, like one of the king's own sons. + +12. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba's household were Mephibosheth's servants. +13. And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king's table. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d8400e9f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +David Defeats the Ammonites + +# Chapter 10 +1. Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. +2. David said, "I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me." So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father's death. + +But when David's ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, + +3. the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, "Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!" +4. So Hanun seized David's ambassadors and shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. + +5. When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men, "Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back." For they felt deep shame because of their appearance. + +6. When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, they sent and hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from the lands of Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 from the land of Tob. +7. When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them. +8. The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields. + +9. When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel's elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. +10. He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. +11. "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me," Joab told his brother. "And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. +12. Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD's will be done." + +13. When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. +14. And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem. + +15. The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped, +16. they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer's forces. + +17. When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves in battle formation and fought against David. +18. But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David's forces killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army. +19. When all the kings allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..162e4cba --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +David and Bathsheba + +# Chapter 11 +1. In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. + +2. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. +3. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." +4. Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. +5. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, "I'm pregnant." + +6. Then David sent word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent him to David. +7. When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. +8. Then he told Uriah, "Go on home and relax." David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. +9. But Uriah didn't go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard. + +10. When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, "What's the matter? Why didn't you go home last night after being away for so long?" + +11. Uriah replied, "The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master's men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing." + +12. "Well, stay here today," David told him, "and tomorrow you may return to the army." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. +13. Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard. + +David Arranges for Uriah's Death + + +14. So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. +15. The letter instructed Joab, "Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." +16. So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting. +17. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. + +18. Then Joab sent a battle report to David. +19. He told his messenger, "Report all the news of the battle to the king. +20. But he might get angry and ask, 'Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn't they know there would be shooting from the walls? +21. Wasn't Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?' Then tell him, 'Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.'" + +22. So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. +23. "The enemy came out against us in the open fields," he said. "And as we chased them back to the city gate, +24. the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king's men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite." + +25. "Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged," David said. "The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!" + +26. When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. +27. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was displeased with what David had done. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9f050fa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +Nathan Rebukes David + +# Chapter 12 +1. So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: "There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. +2. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. +3. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. +4. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest." + +5. David was furious. "As surely as the LORD lives," he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! +6. He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity." + +7. Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man! The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. +8. I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. +9. Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. +10. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah's wife to be your own. + +11. "This is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. +12. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel." +David Confesses His Guilt + + +13. Then David confessed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." +Nathan replied, "Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin. +14. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD by doing this, your child will die." + +15. After Nathan returned to his home, the LORD sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah's wife. +16. David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. +17. The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. + +18. Then on the seventh day the child died. David's advisers were afraid to tell him. "He wouldn't listen to reason while the child was ill," they said. "What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?" + +19. When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. "Is the child dead?" he asked. + +"Yes," they replied, "he is dead." + + +20. Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the LORD. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate. + +21. His advisers were amazed. "We don't understand you," they told him. "While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again." + +22. David replied, "I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, 'Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.' +23. But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me." + +24. Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child +25. and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means "beloved of the LORD"), as the LORD had commanded. + +David Captures Rabbah + + +26. Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications. +27. Joab sent messengers to tell David, "I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. +28. Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory." + +29. So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. +30. David removed the crown from the king's head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds. David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. +31. He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns. That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c2ca6a49 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +The Rape of Tamar + +# Chapter 13 +1. Now David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. +2. Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her. + +3. But Amnon had a very crafty friend--his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David's brother Shimea. +4. One day Jonadab said to Amnon, "What's the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?" +So Amnon told him, "I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." + + +5. "Well," Jonadab said, "I'll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you'll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands." + +6. So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands." +7. So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon's house to prepare some food for him. + +8. When Tamar arrived at Amnon's house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him. +9. But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. "Everyone get out of here," Amnon told his servants. So they all left. + +10. Then he said to Tamar, "Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here." So Tamar took his favorite dish to him. +11. But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, "Come to bed with me, my darling sister." + +12. "No, my brother!" she cried. "Don't be foolish! Don't do this to me! Such wicked things aren't done in Israel. +13. Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me." + +14. But Amnon wouldn't listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her. +15. Then suddenly Amnon's love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. "Get out of here!" he snarled at her. + +16. "No, no!" Tamar cried. "Sending me away now is worse than what you've already done to me." +But Amnon wouldn't listen to her. + +17. He shouted for his servant and demanded, "Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!" + +18. So the servant put her out and locked the door behind her. She was wearing a long, beautiful robe, as was the custom in those days for the king's virgin daughters. +19. But now Tamar tore her robe and put ashes on her head. And then, with her face in her hands, she went away crying. + +20. Her brother Absalom saw her and asked, "Is it true that Amnon has been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet for now, since he's your brother. Don't you worry about it." So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in her brother Absalom's house. + +21. When King David heard what had happened, he was very angry. +22. And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister. + +Absalom's Revenge on Amnon + + +23. Two years later, when Absalom's sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king's sons to come to a feast. +24. He went to the king and said, "My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?" + +25. The king replied, "No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you." Absalom pressed him, but the king would not come, though he gave Absalom his blessing. + +26. "Well, then," Absalom said, "if you can't come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?" +"Why Amnon?" the king asked. + +27. But Absalom kept on pressing the king until he finally agreed to let all his sons attend, including Amnon. So Absalom prepared a feast fit for a king. + +28. Absalom told his men, "Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don't be afraid. I'm the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!" +29. So at Absalom's signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled. + +30. As they were on the way back to Jerusalem, this report reached David: "Absalom has killed all the king's sons; not one is left alive!" +31. The king got up, tore his robe, and threw himself on the ground. His advisers also tore their clothes in horror and sorrow. + +32. But just then Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimea, arrived and said, "No, don't believe that all the king's sons have been killed! It was only Amnon! Absalom has been plotting this ever since Amnon raped his sister Tamar. +33. No, my lord the king, your sons aren't all dead! It was only Amnon." +34. Meanwhile Absalom escaped. +Then the watchman on the Jerusalem wall saw a great crowd coming down the hill on the road from the west. He ran to tell the king, "I see a crowd of people coming from the Horonaim road along the side of the hill." + +35. "Look!" Jonadab told the king. "There they are now! The king's sons are coming, just as I said." + +36. They soon arrived, weeping and sobbing, and the king and all his servants wept bitterly with them. +37. And David mourned many days for his son Amnon. + +Absalom fled to his grandfather, Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. + +38. He stayed there in Geshur for three years. +39. And King David, now reconciled to Amnon's death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..91640588 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +Joab Arranges for Absalom's Return + +# Chapter 14 +1. Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom. +2. So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, "Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don't put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. +3. Then go to the king and tell him the story I am about to tell you." Then Joab told her what to say. + +4. When the woman from Tekoa approached the king, she bowed with her face to the ground in deep respect and cried out, "O king! +Help me!" + +5. "What's the trouble?" the king asked. + +"Alas, I am a widow!" she replied. "My husband is dead. + +6. My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed. +7. Now the rest of the family is demanding, 'Let us have your son. We will execute him for murdering his brother. He doesn't deserve to inherit his family's property.' They want to extinguish the only coal I have left, and my husband's name and family will disappear from the face of the earth." + +8. "Leave it to me," the king told her. "Go home, and I'll see to it that no one touches him." + +9. "Oh, thank you, my lord the king," the woman from Tekoa replied. "If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father's house, and let the king and his throne be innocent." + +10. "If anyone objects," the king said, "bring him to me. I can assure you he will never harm you again!" + +11. Then she said, "Please swear to me by the LORD your God that you won't let anyone take vengeance against my son. I want no more bloodshed." +"As surely as the LORD lives," he replied, "not a hair on your son's head will be disturbed!" + +12. "Please allow me to ask one more thing of my lord the king," she said. + +"Go ahead and speak," he responded. + + +13. She replied, "Why don't you do as much for the people of God as you have promised to do for me? You have convicted yourself in making this decision, because you have refused to bring home your own banished son. +14. All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him. + +15. "I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, 'Perhaps the king will listen to me +16. and rescue us from those who would cut us off from the inheritance God has given us. +17. Yes, my lord the king will give us peace of mind again.' I know that you are like an angel of God in discerning good from evil. May the LORD your God be with you." + +18. "I must know one thing," the king replied, "and tell me the truth." +"Yes, my lord the king," she responded. + + +19. "Did Joab put you up to this?" +And the woman replied, "My lord the king, how can I deny it? Nobody can hide anything from you. Yes, Joab sent me and told me what to say. + +20. He did it to place the matter before you in a different light. But you are as wise as an angel of God, and you understand everything that happens among us!" + +21. So the king sent for Joab and told him, "All right, go and bring back the young man Absalom." + +22. Joab bowed with his face to the ground in deep respect and said, "At last I know that I have gained your approval, my lord the king, for you have granted me this request!" + +23. Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. +24. But the king gave this order: "Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence." So Absalom did not see the king. + +Absalom Reconciled to David + + +25. Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot. +26. He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds! +27. He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter's name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful. + +28. Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king. +29. Then Absalom sent for Joab to ask him to intercede for him, but Joab refused to come. Absalom sent for him a second time, but again Joab refused to come. +30. So Absalom said to his servants, "Go and set fire to Joab's barley field, the field next to mine." So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded. + +31. Then Joab came to Absalom at his house and demanded, "Why did your servants set my field on fire?" + +32. And Absalom replied, "Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn't intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me." + +33. So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king, and the king kissed him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..16350392 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +Absalom's Rebellion + +# Chapter 15 +1. After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. +2. He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. +3. Then Absalom would say, "You've really got a strong case here! It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear it. +4. I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!" + +5. When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn't let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. +6. Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. + +7. After four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and fulfill a vow I made to him. +8. For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the LORD in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem." + +9. "All right," the king told him. "Go and fulfill your vow." +So Absalom went to Hebron. + +10. But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. "As soon as you hear the ram's horn," his message read, "you are to say, 'Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.'" +11. He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. +12. While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David's counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum. + +David Escapes from Jerusalem + + +13. A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, "All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!" + +14. "Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!" David urged his men. "Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster." + +15. "We are with you," his advisers replied. "Do what you think is best." + +16. So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. +17. The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house +18. to let all the king's men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king's bodyguard. + +19. Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from Gath, "Why are you coming with us? Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. +20. You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don't even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness." + +21. But Ittai said to the king, "I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens--whether it means life or death." + +22. David replied, "All right, come with us." So Ittai and all his men and their families went along. + +23. Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness. + +24. Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until everyone had passed out of the city. + +25. Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. "If the LORD sees fit," David said, "he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. +26. But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him." + +27. The king also told Zadok the priest, "Look, here is my plan. You and Abiathar should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. +28. I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan River and wait there for a report from you." +29. So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there. + +30. David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill. +31. When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, "O LORD, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!" + +32. When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning. +33. But David told him, "If you go with me, you will only be a burden. +34. Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, 'I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father's adviser in the past.' Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel's advice. +35. Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king's palace, +36. and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on." + +37. So David's friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..471304fa --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +David and Ziba + +# Chapter 16 +1. When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine. + +2. "What are these for?" the king asked Ziba. + +Ziba replied, "The donkeys are for the king's people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness." + + +3. "And where is Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson?" the king asked him. + +"He stayed in Jerusalem," Ziba replied. "He said, 'Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.'" + + +4. "In that case," the king told Ziba, "I give you everything Mephibosheth owns." +"I bow before you," Ziba replied. "May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king." +Shimei Curses David + + +5. As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul's family. +6. He threw stones at the king and the king's officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. +7. "Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!" he shouted at David. +8. "The LORD is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul's clan. You stole his throne, and now the LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!" + +9. "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?" Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. "Let me go over and cut off his head!" + +10. "No!" the king said. "Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?" + +11. Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn't this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it. +12. And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today." +13. So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David. + +14. The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River. + +Ahithophel Advises Absalom + + +15. Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. +16. When David's friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. "Long live the king!" he exclaimed. "Long live the king!" + +17. "Is this the way you treat your friend David?" Absalom asked him. "Why aren't you with him?" + +18. "I'm here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the LORD and by all the men of Israel," Hushai replied. +19. "And anyway, why shouldn't I serve you? Just as I was your father's adviser, now I will be your adviser!" + +20. Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, "What should I do next?" + +21. Ahithophel told him, "Go and sleep with your father's concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you." +22. So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father's concubines. + +23. Absalom followed Ahithophel's advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..adf29975 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +# Chapter 17 +1. Now Ahithophel urged Absalom, "Let me choose 12,000 men to start out after David tonight. +2. I will catch up with him while he is weary and discouraged. He and his troops will panic, and everyone will run away. Then I will kill only the king, +3. and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride returns to her husband. After all, it is only one man's life that you seek. Then you will be at peace with all the people." +4. This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel. + +Hushai Counters Ahithophel's Advice + + +5. But then Absalom said, "Bring in Hushai the Arkite. Let's see what he thinks about this." +6. When Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had said. Then he asked, "What is your opinion? Should we follow Ahithophel's advice? If not, what do you suggest?" + +7. "Well," Hushai replied to Absalom, "this time Ahithophel has made a mistake. +8. You know your father and his men; they are mighty warriors. Right now they are as enraged as a mother bear who has been robbed of her cubs. And remember that your father is an experienced man of war. He won't be spending the night among the troops. +9. He has probably already hidden in some pit or cave. And when he comes out and attacks and a few of your men fall, there will be panic among your troops, and the word will spread that Absalom's men are being slaughtered. +10. Then even the bravest soldiers, though they have the heart of a lion, will be paralyzed with fear. For all Israel knows what a mighty warrior your father is and how courageous his men are. + +11. "I recommend that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south. That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And I advise that you personally lead the troops. +12. When we find David, we'll fall on him like dew that falls on the ground. Then neither he nor any of his men will be left alive. +13. And if David were to escape into some town, you will have all Israel there at your command. Then we can take ropes and drag the walls of the town into the nearest valley until every stone is torn down." + +14. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "Hushai's advice is better than Ahithophel's." For the LORD had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom! +Hushai Warns David to Escape + + +15. Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had said to Absalom and the elders of Israel and what he himself had advised instead. +16. "Quick!" he told them. "Find David and urge him not to stay at the shallows of the Jordan River tonight. He must go across at once into the wilderness beyond. Otherwise he will die and his entire army with him." + +17. Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been staying at En-rogel so as not to be seen entering and leaving the city. Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message they were to take to King David. +18. But a boy spotted them at En-rogel, and he told Absalom about it. So they quickly escaped to Bahurim, where a man hid them down inside a well in his courtyard. +19. The man's wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there. + +20. When Absalom's men arrived, they asked her, "Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" +The woman replied, "They were here, but they crossed over the brook." Absalom's men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem. + + +21. Then the two men crawled out of the well and hurried on to King David. "Quick!" they told him, "cross the Jordan tonight!" And they told him how Ahithophel had advised that he be captured and killed. +22. So David and all the people with him went across the Jordan River during the night, and they were all on the other bank before dawn. + +23. When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. He died there and was buried in the family tomb. + +24. David soon arrived at Mahanaim. By now, Absalom had mobilized the entire army of Israel and was leading his troops across the Jordan River. +25. Absalom had appointed Amasa as commander of his army, replacing Joab, who had been commander under David. (Amasa was Joab's cousin. His father was Jether, an Ishmaelite. His mother, Abigail daughter of Nahash, was the sister of Joab's mother, Zeruiah.) +26. Absalom and the Israelite army set up camp in the land of Gilead. + +27. When David arrived at Mahanaim, he was warmly greeted by Shobi son of Nahash, who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and by Makir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and by Barzillai of Gilead from Rogelim. +28. They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, +29. honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, "You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness." + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..95bbeb67 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@ +Absalom's Defeat and Death + +# Chapter 18 +1. David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them. +2. He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, "I am going out with you." + +3. But his men objected strongly. "You must not go," they urged. "If we have to turn and run--and even if half of us die--it will make no difference to Absalom's troops; they will be looking only for you. You are worth 10,000 of us, and it is better that you stay here in the town and send help if we need it." + +4. "If you think that's the best plan, I'll do it," the king answered. So he stood alongside the gate of the town as all the troops marched out in groups of hundreds and of thousands. + +5. And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: "For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom." And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders. + +6. So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, +7. and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David's men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives. +8. The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword. + +9. During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David's men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. +10. One of David's men saw what had happened and told Joab, "I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree." + +11. "What?" Joab demanded. "You saw him there and didn't kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero's belt!" + +12. "I would not kill the king's son for even a thousand pieces of silver," the man replied to Joab. "We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, 'For my sake, please spare young Absalom.' +13. And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son--and the king would certainly find out who did it--you yourself would be the first to abandon me." + +14. "Enough of this nonsense," Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom's heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. +15. Ten of Joab's young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him. + +16. Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. +17. They threw Absalom's body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes. + +18. During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to carry on my name." He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom's Monument to this day. + +David Mourns Absalom's Death + + +19. Then Zadok's son Ahimaaz said, "Let me run to the king with the good news that the LORD has rescued him from his enemies." + +20. "No," Joab told him, "it wouldn't be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger another time, but not today." + +21. Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, "Go tell the king what you have seen." The man bowed and ran off. + +22. But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, "Whatever happens, please let me go, too." +"Why should you go, my son?" Joab replied. "There will be no reward for your news." + + +23. "Yes, but let me go anyway," he begged. + +Joab finally said, "All right, go ahead." So Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian. + + +24. While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them. +25. He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, "If he is alone, he has news." +As the messenger came closer, + +26. the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, "Here comes another one!" +The king replied, "He also will have news." + + +27. "The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok," the watchman said. + +"He is a good man and comes with good news," the king replied. + + +28. Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, "Everything is all right!" He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Praise to the LORD your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king." + +29. "What about young Absalom?" the king demanded. "Is he all right?" +Ahimaaz replied, "When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn't know what was happening." + + +30. "Wait here," the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside. + +31. Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, "I have good news for my lord the king. Today the LORD has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you." + +32. "What about young Absalom?" the king demanded. "Is he all right?" +And the Ethiopian replied, "May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!" + + +33. The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son." + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c943163a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +Joab Rebukes the King + +# Chapter 19 +1. Word soon reached Joab that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom. +2. As all the people heard of the king's deep grief for his son, the joy of that day's victory was turned into deep sadness. +3. They crept back into the town that day as though they were ashamed and had deserted in battle. +4. The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!" + +5. Then Joab went to the king's room and said to him, "We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves. +6. You seem to love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be pleased. +7. Now go out there and congratulate your troops, for I swear by the LORD that if you don't go out, not a single one of them will remain here tonight. Then you will be worse off than ever before." + +8. So the king went out and took his seat at the town gate, and as the news spread throughout the town that he was there, everyone went to him. + +Meanwhile, the Israelites who had supported Absalom fled to their homes. + +9. And throughout all the tribes of Israel there was much discussion and argument going on. The people were saying, "The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but Absalom chased him out of the country. +10. Now Absalom, whom we anointed to rule over us, is dead. Why not ask David to come back and be our king again?" + +11. Then King David sent Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to say to the elders of Judah, "Why are you the last ones to welcome back the king into his palace? For I have heard that all Israel is ready. +12. You are my relatives, my own tribe, my own flesh and blood! So why are you the last ones to welcome back the king?" +13. And David told them to tell Amasa, "Since you are my own flesh and blood, like Joab, may God strike me and even kill me if I do not appoint you as commander of my army in his place." + +14. Then Amasa convinced all the men of Judah, and they responded unanimously. They sent word to the king, "Return to us, and bring back all who are with you." +David's Return to Jerusalem + + +15. So the king started back to Jerusalem. And when he arrived at the Jordan River, the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the river. +16. Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin, hurried across with the men of Judah to welcome King David. +17. A thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba's fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan to meet the king. +18. They crossed the shallows of the Jordan to bring the king's household across the river, helping him in every way they could. + +David's Mercy to Shimei +As the king was about to cross the river, Shimei fell down before him. + +19. "My lord the king, please forgive me," he pleaded. "Forget the terrible thing your servant did when you left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. +20. I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king." + +21. Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, "Shimei should die, for he cursed the LORD's anointed king!" + +22. "Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah!" David exclaimed. "Why have you become my adversary today? This is not a day for execution, for today I am once again the king of Israel!" +23. Then, turning to Shimei, David vowed, "Your life will be spared." +David's Kindness to Mephibosheth + + +24. Now Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem. +25. "Why didn't you come with me, Mephibosheth?" the king asked him. + +26. Mephibosheth replied, "My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, 'Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.' For as you know I am crippled. +27. Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. +28. All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?" + +29. "You've said enough," David replied. "I've decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you." + +30. "Give him all of it," Mephibosheth said. "I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!" +David's Kindness to Barzillai + + +31. Barzillai of Gilead had come down from Rogelim to escort the king across the Jordan. +32. He was very old--eighty years of age--and very wealthy. He was the one who had provided food for the king during his stay in Mahanaim. +33. "Come across with me and live in Jerusalem," the king said to Barzillai. "I will take care of you there." + +34. "No," he replied, "I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem. +35. I am eighty years old today, and I can no longer enjoy anything. Food and wine are no longer tasty, and I cannot hear the singers as they sing. I would only be a burden to my lord the king. +36. Just to go across the Jordan River with the king is all the honor I need! +37. Then let me return again to die in my own town, where my father and mother are buried. But here is your servant, my son Kimham. Let him go with my lord the king and receive whatever you want to give him." + +38. "Good," the king agreed. "Kimham will go with me, and I will help him in any way you would like. And I will do for you anything you want." +39. So all the people crossed the Jordan with the king. After David had blessed Barzillai and kissed him, Barzillai returned to his own home. + +40. The king then crossed over to Gilgal, taking Kimham with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king on his way. + +An Argument over the King + + +41. But all the men of Israel complained to the king, "The men of Judah stole the king and didn't give us the honor of helping take you, your household, and all your men across the Jordan." + +42. The men of Judah replied, "The king is one of our own kinsmen. Why should this make you angry? We haven't eaten any of the king's food or received any special favors!" + +43. "But there are ten tribes in Israel," the others replied. "So we have ten times as much right to the king as you do. What right do you have to treat us with such contempt? Weren't we the first to speak of bringing him back to be our king again?" The argument continued back and forth, and the men of Judah spoke even more harshly than the men of Israel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0012a821 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +The Revolt of Sheba + +# Chapter 20 +1. There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram's horn and began to chant: +"Down with the dynasty of David! + +We have no interest in the son of Jesse. + +Come on, you men of Israel, + +back to your homes!" + + +2. So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem. + +3. When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died. + +4. Then the king told Amasa, "Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time." +5. So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given. + +6. Then David said to Abishai, "Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can't reach him." + +7. So Abishai and Joab, together with the king's bodyguard and all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. +8. As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath. + +9. "How are you, my cousin?" Joab said and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. +10. Amasa didn't notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba. + +11. One of Joab's young men shouted to Amasa's troops, "If you are for Joab and David, come and follow Joab." +12. But Amasa lay in his blood in the middle of the road, and Joab's man saw that everyone was stopping to stare at him. So he pulled him off the road into a field and threw a cloak over him. +13. With Amasa's body out of the way, everyone went on with Joab to capture Sheba son of Bicri. + +14. Meanwhile, Sheba traveled through all the tribes of Israel and eventually came to the town of Abel-beth-maacah. All the members of his own clan, the Bicrites, assembled for battle and followed him into the town. +15. When Joab's forces arrived, they attacked Abel-beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the town's fortifications and began battering down the wall. +16. But a wise woman in the town called out to Joab, "Listen to me, Joab. Come over here so I can talk to you." +17. As he approached, the woman asked, "Are you Joab?" +"I am," he replied. + +So she said, "Listen carefully to your servant." +"I'm listening," he said. + + +18. Then she continued, "There used to be a saying, 'If you want to settle an argument, ask advice at the town of Abel.' +19. I am one who is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you are destroying an important town in Israel. Why do you want to devour what belongs to the LORD?" + +20. And Joab replied, "Believe me, I don't want to devour or destroy your town! +21. That's not my purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who has revolted against King David. If you hand over this one man to me, I will leave the town in peace." +"All right," the woman replied, "we will throw his head over the wall to you." + +22. Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off Sheba's head and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram's horn and called his troops back from the attack. They all returned to their homes, and Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. + +23. Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king's bodyguard. +24. Adoniram was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. +25. Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. +26. And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David's personal priest. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4e6bf913 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +David Avenges the Gibeonites + +# Chapter 21 +1. There was a famine during David's reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the LORD about it. And the LORD said, "The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites." + +2. So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out. +3. David asked them, "What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the LORD's people again?" + +4. "Well, money can't settle this matter between us and the family of Saul," the Gibeonites replied. "Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel." +"What can I do then?" David asked. "Just tell me and I will do it for you." + + +5. Then they replied, "It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel. +6. So let seven of Saul's sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the LORD at Gibeon, on the mountain of the LORD." +"All right," the king said, "I will do it." + +7. The king spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who was Saul's grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the LORD. +8. But he gave them Saul's two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah. +9. The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the LORD. So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest. + +10. Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night. +11. When David learned what Rizpah, Saul's concubine, had done, +12. he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, the people of Jabesh-gilead stole their bodies from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them.) +13. So David obtained the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed. + +14. Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land. + +Battles against Philistine Giants + + +15. Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel. And when David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted. +16. Ishbi-benob was a descendant of the giants; his bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds, and he was armed with a new sword. He had cornered David and was about to kill him. +17. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David's men declared, "You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?" + +18. After this, there was another battle against the Philistines at Gob. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, another descendant of the giants. + +19. During another battle at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of his spear was as thick as a weaver's beam! + +20. In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants. +21. But when he defied and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shimea. + +22. These four Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ef396777 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,263 @@ +David's Song of Praise + +# Chapter 22 +1. David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. +2. He sang: +"The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; + +3. my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. + +He is my shield, the power that saves me, + +and my place of safety. + +He is my refuge, my savior, + +the one who saves me from violence. + + +4. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, + +and he saved me from my enemies. + + +5. "The waves of death overwhelmed me; + +floods of destruction swept over me. + + +6. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; + +death laid a trap in my path. + + +7. But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; + +yes, I cried to my God for help. + +He heard me from his sanctuary; + +my cry reached his ears. + + +8. "Then the earth quaked and trembled. + +The foundations of the heavens shook; + +they quaked because of his anger. + + +9. Smoke poured from his nostrils; + +fierce flames leaped from his mouth. + +Glowing coals blazed forth from him. + + +10. He opened the heavens and came down; + +dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. + + +11. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, + soaring on the wings of the wind. + +12. He shrouded himself in darkness, + +veiling his approach with dense rain clouds. + + +13. A great brightness shone around him, + and burning coals blazed forth. + +14. The LORD thundered from heaven; + +the voice of the Most High resounded. + + +15. He shot arrows and scattered his enemies; + +his lightning flashed, and they were confused. + + +16. Then at the command of the LORD, + +at the blast of his breath, +the bottom of the sea could be seen, + +and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. + + +17. "He reached down from heaven and rescued me; + +he drew me out of deep waters. + + +18. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, + +from those who hated me and were too strong for me. + + +19. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, + but the LORD supported me. + +20. He led me to a place of safety; + +he rescued me because he delights in me. + + +21. The LORD rewarded me for doing right; + +he restored me because of my innocence. + + +22. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; + +I have not turned from my God to follow evil. + + +23. I have followed all his regulations; + +I have never abandoned his decrees. + + +24. I am blameless before God; + +I have kept myself from sin. + + +25. The LORD rewarded me for doing right. + +He has seen my innocence. + + +26. "To the faithful you show yourself faithful; + +to those with integrity you show integrity. + + +27. To the pure you show yourself pure, + +but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. + + +28. You rescue the humble, + +but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them. + + +29. O LORD, you are my lamp. + The LORD lights up my darkness. + +30. In your strength I can crush an army; + +with my God I can scale any wall. + + +31. "God's way is perfect. + All the LORD's promises prove true. + +He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. + + +32. For who is God except the LORD? + +Who but our God is a solid rock? + + +33. God is my strong fortress, + +and he makes my way perfect. + + +34. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, + +enabling me to stand on mountain heights. + + +35. He trains my hands for battle; + +he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. + + +36. You have given me your shield of victory; + your help has made me great. + +37. You have made a wide path for my feet + +to keep them from slipping. + + +38. "I chased my enemies and destroyed them; + +I did not stop until they were conquered. + + +39. I consumed them; + +I struck them down so they did not get up; + +they fell beneath my feet. + + +40. You have armed me with strength for the battle; + +you have subdued my enemies under my feet. + + +41. You placed my foot on their necks. + +I have destroyed all who hated me. + + +42. They looked for help, but no one came to their rescue. + They even cried to the LORD, but he refused to answer. + +43. I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth; + I trampled them in the gutter like dirt. + +44. "You gave me victory over my accusers. + +You preserved me as the ruler over nations; + +people I don't even know now serve me. + + +45. Foreign nations cringe before me; + +as soon as they hear of me, they submit. + + +46. They all lose their courage + and come trembling from their strongholds. + +47. "The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock! + +May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted! + + +48. He is the God who pays back those who harm me; + +he brings down the nations under me + + +49. and delivers me from my enemies. + +You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; + +you save me from violent opponents. + + +50. For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations; + +I will sing praises to your name. + + +51. You give great victories to your king; + +you show unfailing love to your anointed, + +to David and all his descendants forever." + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_23.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_23.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..457d68a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,141 @@ +David's Last Words + +# Chapter 23 +1. These are the last words of David: +"David, the son of Jesse, speaks-- + +David, the man who was raised up so high, +David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, + David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. + +2. "The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me; + +his words are upon my tongue. + + +3. The God of Israel spoke. + +The Rock of Israel said to me: +'The one who rules righteously, + +who rules in the fear of God, + + +4. is like the light of morning at sunrise, + +like a morning without clouds, +like the gleaming of the sun + +on new grass after rain.' + + +5. "Is it not my family God has chosen? + +Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. + +His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail. + +He will ensure my safety and success. + + +6. But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away, + +for they tear the hand that touches them. + + +7. One must use iron tools to chop them down; + +they will be totally consumed by fire." +David's Mightiest Warriors + + +8. These are the names of David's mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three--the three mightiest warriors among David's men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle. + +9. Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. +10. He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the LORD gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder! + +11. Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, +12. but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory. + +13. Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty--an elite group among David's fighting men) went down to meet him there. +14. David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. + +15. David remarked longingly to his men, "Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem." +16. So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD. +17. "The LORD forbid that I should drink this!" he exclaimed. "This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me." So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three. + +David's Thirty Mighty Men + + +18. Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three. +19. Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three. + +20. There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. +21. Once, armed only with a club, he killed an imposing Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it. +22. Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors. +23. He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard. + +24. Other members of the Thirty included: +Asahel, Joab's brother; +Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem; + + +25. Shammah from Harod; +Elika from Harod; + + +26. Helez from Pelon; +Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa; + + +27. Abiezer from Anathoth; +Sibbecai from Hushah; + +28. Zalmon from Ahoah; +Maharai from Netophah; + + +29. Heled son of Baanah from Netophah; +Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin); + +30. Benaiah from Pirathon; +Hurai from Nahale-gaash; + +31. Abi-albon from Arabah; +Azmaveth from Bahurim; + + +32. Eliahba from Shaalbon; +the sons of Jashen; +Jonathan + +33. son of Shagee from Harar; +Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar; + + +34. Eliphelet son of Ahasbai from Maacah; +Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh; + + +35. Hezro from Carmel; +Paarai from Arba; + + +36. Igal son of Nathan from Zobah; +Bani from Gad; + + +37. Zelek from Ammon; +Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah; + + +38. Ira from Jattir; +Gareb from Jattir; + + +39. Uriah the Hittite. + +There were thirty-seven in all. + + + diff --git a/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_24.md b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_24.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..dabb62d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/10_2 Samuel/Chapter_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +David Takes a Census + +# Chapter 24 +1. Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. "Go and count the people of Israel and Judah," the LORD told him. + +2. So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, "Take a census of all the tribes of Israel--from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south--so I may know how many people there are." + +3. But Joab replied to the king, "May the LORD your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?" + +4. But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel. +5. First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer, +6. then to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. +7. Then they came to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went south to Judah as far as Beersheba. + +8. Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem. +9. Joab reported the number of people to the king. There were 800,000 capable warriors in Israel who could handle a sword, and 500,000 in Judah. + +Judgment for David's Sin + + +10. But after he had taken the census, David's conscience began to bother him. And he said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, LORD, for doing this foolish thing." + +11. The next morning the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, who was David's seer. This was the message: +12. "Go and say to David, 'This is what the LORD says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.'" + +13. So Gad came to David and asked him, "Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me." + +14. "I'm in a desperate situation!" David replied to Gad. "But let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands." + +15. So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. +16. But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented and said to the death angel, "Stop! That is enough!" At that moment the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. + +17. When David saw the angel, he said to the LORD, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep--what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family." +David Builds an Altar + + +18. That day Gad came to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." + +19. So David went up to do what the LORD had commanded him. +20. When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. +21. "Why have you come, my lord the king?" Araunah asked. +David replied, "I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there, so that he will stop the plague." + +22. "Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish," Araunah said to David. "Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. +23. I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the LORD your God accept your sacrifice." + +24. But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the LORD my God that have cost me nothing." So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. + +25. David built an altar there to the LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b0bdce86 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,88 @@ +David in His Old Age + +# Chapter 1 +1. King David was now very old, and no matter how many blankets covered him, he could not keep warm. +2. So his advisers told him, "Let us find a young virgin to wait on you and look after you, my lord. She will lie in your arms and keep you warm." + +3. So they searched throughout the land of Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag from Shunem and brought her to the king. +4. The girl was very beautiful, and she looked after the king and took care of him. But the king had no sexual relations with her. + +Adonijah Claims the Throne + + +5. +About that time David's son Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, began boasting, "I will make myself king." So he provided himself with chariots and charioteers and recruited fifty men to run in front of him. +6. Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, "Why are you doing that?" Adonijah had been born next after Absalom, and he was very handsome. + +7. Adonijah took Joab son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest into his confidence, and they agreed to help him become king. +8. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David's personal bodyguard refused to support Adonijah. + +9. Adonijah went to the Stone of Zoheleth near the spring of En-rogel, where he sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened calves. He invited all his brothers--the other sons of King David--and all the royal officials of Judah. +10. But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the king's bodyguard or his brother Solomon. + +11. Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and asked her, "Haven't you heard that Haggith's son, Adonijah, has made himself king, and our lord David doesn't even know about it? +12. If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my advice. +13. Go at once to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, didn't you make a vow and say to me, "Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' +14. And while you are still talking with him, I will come and confirm everything you have said." + +15. So Bathsheba went into the king's bedroom. (He was very old now, and Abishag was taking care of him.) +16. Bathsheba bowed down before the king. + +"What can I do for you?" he asked her. + + +17. She replied, "My lord, you made a vow before the LORD your God when you said to me, 'Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne.' +18. But instead, Adonijah has made himself king, and my lord the king does not even know about it. +19. He has sacrificed many cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and he has invited all the king's sons to attend the celebration. He also invited Abiathar the priest and Joab, the commander of the army. But he did not invite your servant Solomon. +20. And now, my lord the king, all Israel is waiting for you to announce who will become king after you. +21. If you do not act, my son Solomon and I will be treated as criminals as soon as my lord the king has died." + +22. While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. +23. The king's officials told him, "Nathan the prophet is here to see you." +Nathan went in and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. + +24. Nathan asked, "My lord the king, have you decided that Adonijah will be the next king and that he will sit on your throne? +25. Today he has sacrificed many cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and he has invited all the king's sons to attend the celebration. He also invited the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. They are feasting and drinking with him and shouting, 'Long live King Adonijah!' +26. But he did not invite me or Zadok the priest or Benaiah or your servant Solomon. +27. Has my lord the king really done this without letting any of his officials know who should be the next king?" +David Makes Solomon King + + +28. King David responded, "Call Bathsheba!" So she came back in and stood before the king. +29. And the king repeated his vow: "As surely as the LORD lives, who has rescued me from every danger, +30. your son Solomon will be the next king and will sit on my throne this very day, just as I vowed to you before the LORD, the God of Israel." + +31. Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground before the king and exclaimed, "May my lord King David live forever!" + +32. Then King David ordered, "Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they came into the king's presence, +33. the king said to them, "Take Solomon and my officials down to Gihon Spring. Solomon is to ride on my own mule. +34. There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. Blow the ram's horn and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' +35. Then escort him back here, and he will sit on my throne. He will succeed me as king, for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah." + +36. "Amen!" Benaiah son of Jehoiada replied. "May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, decree that it happen. +37. And may the LORD be with Solomon as he has been with you, my lord the king, and may he make Solomon's reign even greater than yours!" + +38. So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the king's bodyguard took Solomon down to Gihon Spring, with Solomon riding on King David's own mule. +39. There Zadok the priest took the flask of olive oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon with the oil. Then they sounded the ram's horn and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!" +40. And all the people followed Solomon into Jerusalem, playing flutes and shouting for joy. The celebration was so joyous and noisy that the earth shook with the sound. + +41. Adonijah and his guests heard the celebrating and shouting just as they were finishing their banquet. When Joab heard the sound of the ram's horn, he asked, "What's going on? Why is the city in such an uproar?" + +42. And while he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. "Come in," Adonijah said to him, "for you are a good man. You must have good news." + +43. "Not at all!" Jonathan replied. "Our lord King David has just declared Solomon king! +44. The king sent him down to Gihon Spring with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, protected by the king's bodyguard. They had him ride on the king's own mule, +45. and Zadok and Nathan have anointed him at Gihon Spring as the new king. They have just returned, and the whole city is celebrating and rejoicing. That's what all the noise is about. +46. What's more, Solomon is now sitting on the royal throne as king. +47. And all the royal officials have gone to King David and congratulated him, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's fame even greater than your own, and may Solomon's reign be even greater than yours!' Then the king bowed his head in worship as he lay in his bed, +48. and he said, 'Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who today has chosen a successor to sit on my throne while I am still alive to see it.'" + +49. Then all of Adonijah's guests jumped up in panic from the banquet table and quickly scattered. +50. Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he rushed to the sacred tent and grabbed on to the horns of the altar. +51. Word soon reached Solomon that Adonijah had seized the horns of the altar in fear, and that he was pleading, "Let King Solomon swear today that he will not kill me!" + +52. Solomon replied, "If he proves himself to be loyal, not a hair on his head will be touched. But if he makes trouble, he will die." +53. So King Solomon summoned Adonijah, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and bowed respectfully before King Solomon, who dismissed him, saying, "Go on home." + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6307bd5b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,93 @@ +David's Final Instructions to Solomon + +# Chapter 2 +1. As the time of King David's death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: + +2. "I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. +3. Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. +4. If you do this, then the LORD will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, 'If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.' + +5. "And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood. +6. Do with him what you think best, but don't let him grow old and go to his grave in peace. + +7. "Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them permanent guests at your table, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom. + +8. "And remember Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the LORD that I would not kill him. +9. But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him." + +10. Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. +11. David had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. +12. Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. + +Solomon Establishes His Rule + + +13. One day Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, came to see Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. "Have you come with peaceful intentions?" she asked him. + +"Yes," he said, "I come in peace. + +14. In fact, I have a favor to ask of you." +"What is it?" she asked. + + +15. He replied, "As you know, the kingdom was rightfully mine; all Israel wanted me to be the next king. But the tables were turned, and the kingdom went to my brother instead; for that is the way the LORD wanted it. +16. So now I have just one favor to ask of you. Please don't turn me down." +"What is it?" she asked. + + +17. He replied, "Speak to King Solomon on my behalf, for I know he will do anything you request. Ask him to let me marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem." + +18. "All right," Bathsheba replied. "I will speak to the king for you." + +19. So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah's behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, the king ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand. + +20. "I have one small request to make of you," she said. "I hope you won't turn me down." +"What is it, my mother?" he asked. "You know I won't refuse you." + + +21. "Then let your brother Adonijah marry Abishag, the girl from Shunem," she replied. + +22. "How can you possibly ask me to give Abishag to Adonijah?" King Solomon demanded. "You might as well ask me to give him the kingdom! You know that he is my older brother, and that he has Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah on his side." + +23. Then King Solomon made a vow before the LORD: "May God strike me and even kill me if Adonijah has not sealed his fate with this request. +24. The LORD has confirmed me and placed me on the throne of my father, David; he has established my dynasty as he promised. So as surely as the LORD lives, Adonijah will die this very day!" +25. So King Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him, and Adonijah was put to death. + +26. Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, "Go back to your home in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not kill you now, because you carried the Ark of the Sovereign LORD for David my father and you shared all his hardships." +27. So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the LORD, thereby fulfilling the prophecy the LORD had given at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli. + +28. Joab had not joined Absalom's earlier rebellion, but he had joined Adonijah's rebellion. So when Joab heard about Adonijah's death, he ran to the sacred tent of the LORD and grabbed on to the horns of the altar. +29. When this was reported to King Solomon, he sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him. + +30. Benaiah went to the sacred tent of the LORD and said to Joab, "The king orders you to come out!" +But Joab answered, "No, I will die here." +So Benaiah returned to the king and told him what Joab had said. + + +31. "Do as he said," the king replied. "Kill him there beside the altar and bury him. This will remove the guilt of Joab's senseless murders from me and from my father's family. +32. The LORD will repay him for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father knew nothing about the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and of Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. +33. May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the LORD grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne." + +34. So Benaiah son of Jehoiada returned to the sacred tent and killed Joab, and he was buried at his home in the wilderness. +35. Then the king appointed Benaiah to command the army in place of Joab, and he installed Zadok the priest to take the place of Abiathar. + +36. The king then sent for Shimei and told him, "Build a house here in Jerusalem and live there. But don't step outside the city to go anywhere else. +37. On the day you so much as cross the Kidron Valley, you will surely die; and your blood will be on your own head." + +38. Shimei replied, "Your sentence is fair; I will do whatever my lord the king commands." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. + +39. But three years later two of Shimei's slaves ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When Shimei learned where they were, +40. he saddled his donkey and went to Gath to search for them. When he found them, he brought them back to Jerusalem. + +41. Solomon heard that Shimei had left Jerusalem and had gone to Gath and returned. +42. So the king sent for Shimei and demanded, "Didn't I make you swear by the LORD and warn you not to go anywhere else or you would surely die? And you replied, 'The sentence is fair; I will do as you say.' +43. Then why haven't you kept your oath to the LORD and obeyed my command?" + +44. The king also said to Shimei, "You certainly remember all the wicked things you did to my father, David. May the LORD now bring that evil on your own head. +45. But may I, King Solomon, receive the LORD's blessings, and may one of David's descendants always sit on this throne in the presence of the LORD." +46. Then, at the king's command, Benaiah son of Jehoiada took Shimei outside and killed him. + +So the kingdom was now firmly in Solomon's grip. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..586637f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +Solomon Asks for Wisdom + +# Chapter 3 +1. Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the LORD and the wall around the city. +2. At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built. + +3. Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. +4. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. +5. That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" + +6. Solomon replied, "You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. + +7. "Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn't know his way around. +8. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! +9. Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?" + +10. The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. +11. So God replied, "Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies-- +12. I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! +13. And I will also give you what you did not ask for--riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! +14. And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life." + +15. Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord's Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet. + +Solomon Judges Wisely + + +16. Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. +17. "Please, my lord," one of them began, "this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. +18. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. + +19. "But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. +20. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. +21. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't my son at all." + +22. Then the other woman interrupted, "It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine." +"No," the first woman said, "the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours." And so they argued back and forth before the king. + + +23. Then the king said, "Let's get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. +24. All right, bring me a sword." So a sword was brought to the king. + +25. Then he said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!" + +26. Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, "Oh no, my lord! Give her the child--please do not kill him!" +But the other woman said, "All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!" + + +27. Then the king said, "Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!" + +28. When all Israel heard the king's decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..059159a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@ +Solomon's Officials and Governors + +# Chapter 4 +1. King Solomon now ruled over all Israel, +2. and these were his high officials: +Azariah son of Zadok was the priest. + + +3. Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries. + +Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. + + +4. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army. + +Zadok and Abiathar were priests. + + +5. Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors. + +Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king. + + +6. Ahishar was manager of the palace property. + +Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor. + + +7. Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king's household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. +8. These are the names of the twelve governors: +Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim. + + +9. Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan. + +10. Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher. + +11. Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor. (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon's daughters.) + +12. Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam. + +13. Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates. + +14. Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim. + +15. Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon's daughters.) + +16. Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth. + +17. Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar. + +18. Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin. + +19. Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan. +There was also one governor over the land of Judah. + +Solomon's Prosperity and Wisdom + + +20. The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. +21. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime. + +22. The daily food requirements for Solomon's palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal; +23. also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry. + +24. Solomon's dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. +25. During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden. + +26. Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses. + +27. The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. +28. They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables. + +29. God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. +30. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. +31. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol--Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. +32. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. +33. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. +34. And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..42b44825 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +Preparations for Building the Temple + +# Chapter 5 +1. King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David's son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him. + +2. Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram: + +3. "You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the LORD gave him victory over all his enemies. +4. But now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. +5. So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the LORD told him, 'Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.' + +6. "Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!" + +7. When Hiram received Solomon's message, he was very pleased and said, "Praise the LORD today for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel." +8. Then he sent this reply to Solomon: +"I have received your message, and I will supply all the cedar and cypress timber you need. + +9. My servants will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and make them into rafts and float them along the coast to whatever place you choose. Then we will break the rafts apart so you can carry the logs away. You can pay me by supplying me with food for my household." + +10. So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired. +11. In return, Solomon sent him an annual payment of 100,000 bushels of wheat for his household and 110,000 gallons of pure olive oil. +12. So the LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace. + +13. Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. +14. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force. +15. Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country, +16. and 3,600 foremen to supervise the work. +17. At the king's command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple. +18. Men from the city of Gebal helped Solomon's and Hiram's builders prepare the timber and stone for the Temple. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6c867999 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +Solomon Builds the Temple + +# Chapter 6 +1. It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the LORD. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt. + +2. The Temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. +3. The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet from the front of the Temple. +4. Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple. + +5. He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building. +6. The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 1/2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 1/2 feet wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves. + +7. The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site. + +8. The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the Temple. There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight of stairs between the second and third floors. +9. After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks. +10. As already stated, he built a complex of rooms along the sides of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex was 7 1/2 feet high. + +11. Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon: +12. "Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. +13. I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel." +The Temple's Interior + + +14. So Solomon finished building the Temple. +15. The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors. +16. He partitioned off an inner sanctuary--the Most Holy Place--at the far end of the Temple. It was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. +17. The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet long. +18. Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers. + +19. He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the LORD's Covenant would be placed. +20. This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar. +21. Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple's interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place. +22. So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place. + +23. He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. +24. The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 1/2 feet long. +25. The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; +26. each was 15 feet tall. +27. He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. +28. He overlaid the two cherubim with gold. + +29. He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. +30. He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold. + +31. For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts. +32. These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold. + +33. Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. +34. There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. +35. These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers--all overlaid evenly with gold. + +36. The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone. + +37. The foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign. +38. The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul, during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9e0f1977 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@ +Solomon Builds His Palace + +# Chapter 7 +1. Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction. + +2. One of Solomon's buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. +3. The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms, arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. +4. On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. +5. All the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other. + +6. Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars. + +7. Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. +8. Solomon's living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. + +9. From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. +10. Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet long. +11. The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. +12. The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the LORD's Temple with its entry room. + +Furnishings for the Temple + + +13. King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram to come from Tyre. +14. He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon. + +15. Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference. +16. For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7 1/2 feet tall. +17. Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. +18. He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars. +19. The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet tall. +20. The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. +21. Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz. +22. The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished. + +23. Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference. +24. It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin. + +25. The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. +26. The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons of water. + +27. Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet tall. +28. They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. +29. Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. +30. Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths. +31. The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1 1/2 feet above the cart's top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 1/4 feet across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. +32. Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 1/4 feet in diameter +33. and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze. + +34. There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. +35. Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide. The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. +36. Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. +37. All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold. + +38. Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons of water. +39. He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. +40. He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. +So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the LORD: + +41. the two pillars; +the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; +the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals; + + +42. the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars); + +43. the ten water carts holding the ten basins; + +44. the Sea and the twelve oxen under it; + +45. the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls. +Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the LORD, just as King Solomon had directed. +46. The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. +47. Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured. + +48. Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the LORD: +the gold altar; +the gold table for the Bread of the Presence; + + +49. the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place; +the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs--all of gold; + +50. the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners--all of solid gold; +the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold. + + +51. So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the LORD. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated--the silver, the gold, and the various articles--and he stored them in the treasuries of the LORD's Temple. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..757e414d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@ +The Ark Brought to the Temple + +# Chapter 8 +1. Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes--the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. +2. So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim. + +3. When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. +4. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the LORD along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. +5. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! + +6. Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD's Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple--the Most Holy Place--and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. +7. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. +8. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. +9. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt. + +10. When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. +11. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of the LORD.Solomon Praises the LORD + +12. Then Solomon prayed, "O LORD, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. +13. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!" + +14. Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: +15. "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, +16. 'From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.'" + +17. Then Solomon said, "My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. +18. But the LORD told him, 'You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, +19. but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.' + +20. "And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father's place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. +21. And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the LORD made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt." +Solomon's Prayer of Dedication + + +22. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, +23. and he prayed, +"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. +24. You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today. + +25. "And now, O LORD, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, 'If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow me as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.' +26. Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father. + +27. "But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! +28. Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. +29. May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, 'My name will be there.' May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. +30. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. + +31. "If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar in this Temple, +32. then hear from heaven and judge between your servants--the accuser and the accused. Punish the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence. + +33. "If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, +34. then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors. + +35. "If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, +36. then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession. + +37. "If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people's enemies are in the land besieging their towns--whatever disaster or disease there is-- +38. and if your people Israel pray about their troubles, raising their hands toward this Temple, +39. then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. +40. Then they will fear you as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. + +41. "In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, +42. for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, +43. then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name. + +44. "If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to the LORD by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, +45. then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause. + +46. "If they sin against you--and who has never sinned?--you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. +47. But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, 'We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.' +48. If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors--toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name-- +49. then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. +50. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, +51. for they are your people--your special possession--whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt. + +52. "May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. May you hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you. +53. For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign LORD, you told your servant Moses that you had set Israel apart from all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession." +The Dedication of the Temple + + +54. When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the LORD, he stood up in front of the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. +55. He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel: + +56. "Praise the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. +57. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. +58. May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. +59. And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the LORD be before him constantly, day and night, so that the LORD our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day's needs. +60. Then people all over the earth will know that the LORD alone is God and there is no other. +61. And may you be completely faithful to the LORD our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today." + +62. Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the LORD. +63. Solomon offered to the LORD a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the LORD. + +64. That same day the king consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the LORD's Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar in the LORD's presence was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings. + +65. Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters in the presence of the LORD our God. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. The celebration went on for fourteen days in all--seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters. +66. After the festival was over, Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the LORD had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c2266237 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +The LORD's Response to Solomon + +# Chapter 9 +1. So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. +2. Then the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. +3. The LORD said to him, +"I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy--this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. + +4. "As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, +5. then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: 'One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.' + +6. "But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, +7. then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. +8. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, 'Why did the LORD do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?' + +9. "And the answer will be, 'Because his people abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the LORD has brought all these disasters on them.'" +Solomon's Agreement with Hiram + + +10. It took Solomon twenty years to build the LORD's Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, +11. he gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre. (Hiram had previously provided all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that Solomon had requested.) +12. But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, he was not at all pleased with them. +13. "What kind of towns are these, my brother?" he asked. So Hiram called that area Cabul (which means "worthless"), as it is still known today. +14. Nevertheless, Hiram paid Solomon 9,000 pounds of gold. + +Solomon's Many Achievements + + +15. This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD's Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. +16. (Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. +17. So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon, +18. Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness within his land. +19. He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm. + +20. There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. +21. These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not completely destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them as slaves, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. +22. But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers and captains in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. +23. Solomon appointed 550 of them to supervise the people working on his various projects. + +24. Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh's daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. Then he constructed the supporting terraces. + +25. Three times each year Solomon presented burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD. He also burned incense to the LORD. And so he finished the work of building the Temple. + +26. King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea. +27. Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon's men. +28. They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons of gold. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3f7436be --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +Visit of the Queen of Sheba + +# Chapter 10 +1. When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. +2. She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. +3. Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. +4. When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, +5. she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD. + +6. She exclaimed to the king, "Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! +7. I didn't believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. +8. How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! +9. Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness." + +10. Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. + +11. (In addition, Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood and precious jewels. +12. The king used the sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before or since has there been such a supply of sandalwood.) + +13. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all the customary gifts he had so generously given. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land. + +Solomon's Wealth and Splendor + + +14. Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. +15. This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land. + +16. King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than fifteen pounds. +17. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing nearly four pounds. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. + +18. Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. +19. The throne had six steps and a rounded back. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. +20. There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it! + +21. All of King Solomon's drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon's day! + +22. The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish that sailed with Hiram's fleet. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. + +23. So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. +24. People from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. +25. Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. + +26. Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem. +27. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. +28. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king's traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price. +29. At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver, and horses for 150 pieces of silver. They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f7522f24 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +Solomon's Many Wives + +# Chapter 11 +1. Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh's daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. +2. The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, "You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods." Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. +3. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD. + +4. In Solomon's old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been. +5. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. +6. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD's sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done. + +7. On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. +8. Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. + +9. The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. +10. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD's command. +11. So now the LORD said to him, "Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. +12. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. +13. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city." +Solomon's Adversaries + + +14. Then the LORD raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom's royal family, to be Solomon's adversary. +15. Years before, David had defeated Edom. Joab, his army commander, had stayed to bury some of the Israelite soldiers who had died in battle. While there, they killed every male in Edom. +16. Joab and the army of Israel had stayed there for six months, killing them. + +17. But Hadad and a few of his father's royal officials escaped and headed for Egypt. (Hadad was just a boy at the time.) +18. They set out from Midian and went to Paran, where others joined them. Then they traveled to Egypt and went to Pharaoh, who gave them a home, food, and some land. +19. Pharaoh grew very fond of Hadad, and he gave him his wife's sister in marriage--the sister of Queen Tahpenes. +20. She bore him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh's palace among Pharaoh's own sons. + +21. When the news reached Hadad in Egypt that David and his commander Joab were both dead, he said to Pharaoh, "Let me return to my own country." + +22. "Why?" Pharaoh asked him. "What do you lack here that makes you want to go home?" +"Nothing," he replied. "But even so, please let me return home." + + +23. God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada as Solomon's adversary. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah, +24. and had become the leader of a gang of rebels. After David conquered Hadadezer, Rezon and his men fled to Damascus, where he became king. +25. Rezon was Israel's bitter adversary for the rest of Solomon's reign, and he made trouble, just as Hadad did. Rezon hated Israel intensely and continued to reign in Aram. + +Jeroboam Rebels against Solomon + + +26. Another rebel leader was Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's own officials. He came from the town of Zeredah in Ephraim, and his mother was Zeruah, a widow. + +27. This is the story behind his rebellion. Solomon was rebuilding the supporting terraces and repairing the walls of the city of his father, David. +28. Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph. + +29. One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone in a field, +30. and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. +31. Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you! +32. But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. +33. For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did. + +34. "'But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees, I will keep Solomon as leader for the rest of his life. +35. But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you. +36. His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign, shining like a lamp in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name. +37. And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. +38. If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. +39. Because of Solomon's sin I will punish the descendants of David--though not forever.'" + +40. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died. + +Summary of Solomon's Reign + + +41. The rest of the events in Solomon's reign, including all his deeds and his wisdom, are recorded in The Book of the Acts of Solomon. +42. Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. +43. When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..79a4ece9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +The Northern Tribes Revolt + +# Chapter 12 +1. Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. +2. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. +3. The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. +4. "Your father was a hard master," they said. "Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects." + +5. Rehoboam replied, "Give me three days to think this over. Then come back for my answer." So the people went away. + +6. Then King Rehoboam discussed the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. "What is your advice?" he asked. "How should I answer these people?" + +7. The older counselors replied, "If you are willing to be a servant to these people today and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects." + +8. But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. +9. "What is your advice?" he asked them. "How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?" + +10. The young men replied, "This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist! +11. Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!'" + +12. Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam's decision, just as the king had ordered. +13. But Rehoboam spoke harshly to the people, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors +14. and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, "My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!" + +15. So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of the LORD, for it fulfilled the LORD's message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. + +16. When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded, +"Down with the dynasty of David! + +We have no interest in the son of Jesse. + +Back to your homes, O Israel! + +Look out for your own house, O David!" +So the people of Israel returned home. + +17. But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah. + +18. King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. +19. And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David. + +20. When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam's return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David. + +Shemaiah's Prophecy + + +21. When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin--180,000 select troops--to fight against the men of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. + +22. But God said to Shemaiah, the man of God, +23. "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, +24. 'This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!'" So they obeyed the message of the LORD and went home, as the LORD had commanded. + +Jeroboam Makes Gold Calves + + +25. Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel. + +26. Jeroboam thought to himself, "Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. +27. When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the LORD, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead." + +28. So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!" + +29. He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan--at either end of his kingdom. +30. But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there. + +31. Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people--those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. +32. And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. +33. So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to the altar to burn incense. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..816626da --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +A Prophet Denounces Jeroboam + +# Chapter 13 +1. At the LORD's command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. +2. Then at the LORD's command, he shouted, "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you." +3. That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, "The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground." + +4. When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, "Seize that man!" But instantly the king's hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn't pull it back. +5. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD. + +6. The king cried out to the man of God, "Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!" So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and he could move it again. + +7. Then the king said to the man of God, "Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift." + +8. But the man of God said to the king, "Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. +9. For the LORD gave me this command: 'You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.'" +10. So he left Bethel and went home another way. + +11. As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. +12. The old prophet asked them, "Which way did he go?" So they showed their father which road the man of God had taken. +13. "Quick, saddle the donkey," the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it. + +14. Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" +"Yes, I am," he replied. + + +15. Then he said to the man of God, "Come home with me and eat some food." + +16. "No, I cannot," he replied. "I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. +17. For the LORD gave me this command: 'You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.'" + +18. But the old prophet answered, "I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the LORD: 'Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.'" But the old man was lying to him. +19. So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet's home. + +20. Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the LORD came to the old prophet. +21. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: You have defied the word of the LORD and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. +22. You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors." + +23. After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, +24. and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. +25. People who passed by saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived. + +26. When the prophet heard the report, he said, "It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD's command. The LORD has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him." + +27. Then the prophet said to his sons, "Saddle a donkey for me." So they saddled a donkey, +28. and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. +29. So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the town to mourn over him and bury him. +30. He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, "Oh, my brother!" + +31. Afterward the prophet said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. +32. For the message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true." + +33. But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines. +34. This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam's dynasty from the face of the earth. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3b7097a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Ahijah's Prophecy against Jeroboam + +# Chapter 14 +1. At that time Jeroboam's son Abijah became very sick. +2. So Jeroboam told his wife, "Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as my wife. Then go to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh--the man who told me I would become king. +3. Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and ask him what will happen to the boy." + +4. So Jeroboam's wife went to Ahijah's home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. +5. But the LORD had told Ahijah, "Jeroboam's wife will come here, pretending to be someone else. She will ask you about her son, for he is very sick. Give her the answer I give you." + +6. So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?" Then he told her, "I have bad news for you. +7. Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel. +8. I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. +9. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, +10. I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone. +11. The members of Jeroboam's family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures. I, the LORD, have spoken.'" + +12. Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam's wife, "Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. +13. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the LORD, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam. + +14. "In addition, the LORD will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now! +15. Then the LORD will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave their ancestors and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the LORD with the Asherah poles they have set up for worship. +16. He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made Israel sin along with him." + +17. So Jeroboam's wife returned to Tirzah, and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home. +18. And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, as the LORD had promised through the prophet Ahijah. + +19. The rest of the events in Jeroboam's reign, including all his wars and how he ruled, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +20. Jeroboam reigned in Israel twenty-two years. When Jeroboam died, his son Nadab became the next king. + +Rehoboam Rules in Judah + + +21. Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. + +22. During Rehoboam's reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, provoking his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors. +23. For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. +24. There were even male and female shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. + +25. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. +26. He ransacked the treasuries of the LORD's Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. +27. King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. +28. Whenever the king went to the Temple of the LORD, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom. + +29. The rest of the events in Rehoboam's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +30. There was constant war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. +31. When Rehoboam died, he was buried among his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. Then his son Abijam became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..78a872bd --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +Abijam Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 15 +1. Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel. +2. He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. + +3. He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the LORD his God, as his ancestor David had been. +4. But for David's sake, the LORD his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem. +5. For David had done what was pleasing in the LORD's sight and had obeyed the LORD's commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite. + +6. There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam throughout Abijam's reign. +7. The rest of the events in Abijam's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. There was constant war between Abijam and Jeroboam. +8. When Abijam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. + +Asa Rules in Judah + + +9. Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel. +10. He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. + +11. Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, as his ancestor David had done. +12. He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. +13. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. +14. Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa's heart remained completely faithful to the LORD throughout his life. +15. He brought into the Temple of the LORD the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated. + +16. There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. +17. King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa's territory in Judah. + +18. Asa responded by removing all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message: + +19. "Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone." + +20. Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, and all the land of Naphtali. +21. As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. +22. Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah. + +23. The rest of the events in Asa's reign--the extent of his power, everything he did, and the names of the cities he built--are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased. +24. When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. + +Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became the next king. + +Nadab Rules in Israel + + +25. Nadab son of Jeroboam began to rule over Israel in the second year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Israel two years. +26. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. + +27. Then Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab and assassinated him while he and the Israelite army were laying siege to the Philistine town of Gibbethon. +28. Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah, and he became the next king of Israel. + +29. He immediately slaughtered all the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the LORD had promised concerning Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. +30. This was done because Jeroboam had provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit. + +31. The rest of the events in Nadab's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +Baasha Rules in Israel + + +32. There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. +33. Baasha son of Ahijah began to rule over all Israel in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Baasha reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years. +34. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d868347e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +# Chapter 16 +1. This message from the LORD was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani: +2. "I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of my people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked my anger by causing my people Israel to sin. +3. So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat. +4. The members of Baasha's family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures." + +5. The rest of the events in Baasha's reign and the extent of his power are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +6. When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah. Then his son Elah became the next king. + +7. The message from the LORD against Baasha and his family came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It was delivered because Baasha had done what was evil in the LORD's sight (just as the family of Jeroboam had done), and also because Baasha had destroyed the family of Jeroboam. The LORD's anger was provoked by Baasha's sins. + +Elah Rules in Israel + + +8. Elah son of Baasha began to rule over Israel in the twenty-sixth year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in the city of Tirzah for two years. + +9. Then Zimri, who commanded half of the royal chariots, made plans to kill him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk at the home of Arza, the supervisor of the palace. +10. Zimri walked in and struck him down and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Then Zimri became the next king. + +11. Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, leaving him not even a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends. +12. So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the LORD had promised through the prophet Jehu. +13. This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols. + +14. The rest of the events in Elah's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +Zimri Rules in Israel + + +15. Zimri began to rule over Israel in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa's reign in Judah, but his reign in Tirzah lasted only seven days. The army of Israel was then attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon. +16. When they heard that Zimri had committed treason and had assassinated the king, that very day they chose Omri, commander of the army, as the new king of Israel. +17. So Omri led the entire army of Israel up from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel's capital. +18. When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames. +19. For he, too, had done what was evil in the LORD's sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. + +20. The rest of the events in Zimri's reign and his conspiracy are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +Omri Rules in Israel + + +21. But now the people of Israel were split into two factions. Half the people tried to make Tibni son of Ginath their king, while the other half supported Omri. +22. But Omri's supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became the next king. + +23. Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-first year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned twelve years in all, six of them in Tirzah. +24. Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver. He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer. + +25. But Omri did what was evil in the LORD's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. +26. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. The people provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols. + +27. The rest of the events in Omri's reign, the extent of his power, and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +28. When Omri died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Ahab became the next king. + +Ahab Rules in Israel + + +29. Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. +30. But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the LORD's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. +31. And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. +32. First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. +33. Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him. + +34. It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abiram. And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son, Segub. This all happened according to the message from the LORD concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7245528d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +Elijah Fed by Ravens + +# Chapter 17 +1. Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, "As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives--the God I serve--there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!" + +2. Then the LORD said to Elijah, +3. "Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. +4. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food." + +5. So Elijah did as the LORD told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. +6. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. +7. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. + +The Widow at Zarephath + + +8. Then the LORD said to Elijah, +9. "Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you." + +10. So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, "Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?" +11. As she was going to get it, he called to her, "Bring me a bite of bread, too." + +12. But she said, "I swear by the LORD your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die." + +13. But Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you've said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what's left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. +14. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!" + +15. So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. +16. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. + +17. Some time later the woman's son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. +18. Then she said to Elijah, "O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?" + +19. But Elijah replied, "Give me your son." And he took the child's body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. +20. Then Elijah cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?" + +21. And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, please let this child's life return to him." +22. The LORD heard Elijah's prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! +23. Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "Look!" he said. "Your son is alive!" + +24. Then the woman told Elijah, "Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you." + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..257a1bf9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,88 @@ +The Contest on Mount Carmel + +# Chapter 18 +1. Later on, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, "Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!" +2. So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. + +Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. + +3. So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the LORD. +4. Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.) +5. Ahab said to Obadiah, "We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules." +6. So they divided the land between them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. + +7. As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?" he asked. + +8. "Yes, it is," Elijah replied. "Now go and tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'" + +9. "Oh, sir," Obadiah protested, "what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? +10. For I swear by the LORD your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he was told, 'Elijah isn't here,' King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim. +11. And now you say, 'Go and tell your master, "Elijah is here."' +12. But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the LORD all my life. +13. Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the LORD's prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. +14. And now you say, 'Go and tell your master, "Elijah is here."' Sir, if I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me." + +15. But Elijah said, "I swear by the LORD Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day." + +16. So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah. +17. When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, "So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?" + +18. "I have made no trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the LORD and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. +19. Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel." + +20. So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. +21. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent. + +22. Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. +23. Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. +24. Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!" And all the people agreed. + +25. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood." + +26. So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. + +27. +About noontime Elijah began mocking them. "You'll have to shout louder," he scoffed, "for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!" + +28. So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. +29. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. + +30. Then Elijah called to the people, "Come over here!" They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. +31. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, +32. and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. +33. He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. + +Then he said, "Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood." + + +34. After they had done this, he said, "Do the same thing again!" And when they were finished, he said, "Now do it a third time!" So they did as he said, +35. and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench. + +36. At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. +37. O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself." + +38. Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! +39. And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, "The LORD--he is God! Yes, the LORD is God!" + +40. Then Elijah commanded, "Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don't let a single one escape!" So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there. + +Elijah Prays for Rain + + +41. Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!" + +42. So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. + +43. Then he said to his servant, "Go and look out toward the sea." +The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, "I didn't see anything." +Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. + +44. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, "I saw a little cloud about the size of a man's hand rising from the sea." +Then Elijah shouted, "Hurry to Ahab and tell him, 'Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don't hurry, the rain will stop you!'" + + +45. And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. +46. Then the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..65394e8a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +Elijah Flees to Sinai + +# Chapter 19 +1. When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. +2. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: "May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them." + +3. Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. +4. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died." + +5. Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" +6. He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. + +7. Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, "Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you." + +8. So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. +9. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.The LORD Speaks to Elijah +But the LORD said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" + +10. Elijah replied, "I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." + +11. "Go out and stand before me on the mountain," the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. +12. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. +13. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. + +And a voice said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" + + +14. He replied again, "I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." + +15. Then the LORD told him, "Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. +16. Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. +17. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! +18. Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!" +The Call of Elisha + + +19. So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. +20. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, "First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!" +Elijah replied, "Go on back, but think about what I have done to you." + + +21. So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6fe96617 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@ +Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria + +# Chapter 20 +1. +About that time King Ben-hadad of Aram mobilized his army, supported by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel, and launched attacks against it. +2. Ben-hadad sent messengers into the city to relay this message to King Ahab of Israel: "This is what Ben-hadad says: +3. 'Your silver and gold are mine, and so are your wives and the best of your children!'" + +4. "All right, my lord the king," Israel's king replied. "All that I have is yours!" + +5. Soon Ben-hadad's messengers returned again and said, "This is what Ben-hadad says: 'I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives, and children. +6. But about this time tomorrow I will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take away everything you consider valuable!'" + +7. Then Ahab summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, "Look how this man is stirring up trouble! I already agreed with his demand that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold." + +8. "Don't give in to any more demands," all the elders and the people advised. + +9. So Ahab told the messengers from Ben-hadad, "Say this to my lord the king: 'I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but I cannot accept this last demand of yours.'" So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with that response. + +10. Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: "May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers." + +11. The king of Israel sent back this answer: "A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won." + +12. Ahab's reply reached Ben-hadad and the other kings as they were drinking in their tents. "Prepare to attack!" Ben-hadad commanded his officers. So they prepared to attack the city. + +Ahab's Victory over Ben-Hadad + + +13. Then a certain prophet came to see King Ahab of Israel and told him, "This is what the LORD says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the LORD." + +14. Ahab asked, "How will he do it?" +And the prophet replied, "This is what the LORD says: The troops of the provincial commanders will do it." +"Should we attack first?" Ahab asked. + +"Yes," the prophet answered. + + +15. So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders. Then he called out the rest of the army of Israel, some 7,000 men. +16. +About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still in their tents drinking themselves into a stupor, +17. the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city as the first contingent. + +As they approached, Ben-hadad's scouts reported to him, "Some troops are coming from Samaria." + + +18. "Take them alive," Ben-hadad commanded, "whether they have come for peace or for war." + +19. But Ahab's provincial commanders and the entire army had now come out to fight. +20. Each Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent, and suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled. The Israelites chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped on horses. +21. However, the king of Israel destroyed the other horses and chariots and slaughtered the Arameans. + +22. Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, "Get ready for another attack. Begin making plans now, for the king of Aram will come back next spring." +Ben-Hadad's Second Attack + + +23. After their defeat, Ben-hadad's officers said to him, "The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains. +24. Only this time replace the kings with field commanders! +25. Recruit another army like the one you lost. Give us the same number of horses, chariots, and men, and we will fight against them on the plains. There's no doubt that we will beat them." So King Ben-hadad did as they suggested. + +26. The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at Aphek. +27. Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and marched out for battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside! + +28. Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, "This is what the LORD says: The Arameans have said, 'The LORD is a god of the hills and not of the plains.' So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD." + +29. The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. +30. The rest fled into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the town and hid in a secret room. + +31. Ben-hadad's officers said to him, "Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. So let's humble ourselves by wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our heads, and surrender to the king of Israel. Then perhaps he will let you live." + +32. So they put on burlap and ropes, and they went to the king of Israel and begged, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please let me live!'" +The king of Israel responded, "Is he still alive? He is my brother!" + + +33. The men took this as a good sign and quickly picked up on his words. "Yes," they said, "your brother Ben-hadad!" +"Go and get him," the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot. + + +34. Ben-hadad told him, "I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." +Then Ahab said, "I will release you under these conditions." So they made a new treaty, and Ben-hadad was set free. + +A Prophet Condemns Ahab + + +35. Meanwhile, the LORD instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, "Hit me!" But the man refused to hit the prophet. +36. Then the prophet told him, "Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me." And when he had gone, a lion did attack and kill him. + +37. Then the prophet turned to another man and said, "Hit me!" So he struck the prophet and wounded him. + +38. The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king. +39. As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, "Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, 'Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds of silver!' +40. But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!" +"Well, it's your own fault," the king replied. "You have brought the judgment on yourself." + + +41. Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. +42. The prophet said to him, "This is what the LORD says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed, now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people." +43. So the king of Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen. + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..799f429d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +Naboth's Vineyard + +# Chapter 21 +1. Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. +2. One day Ahab said to Naboth, "Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it." + +3. But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors." + +4. So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth's answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat! + +5. "What's the matter?" his wife Jezebel asked him. "What's made you so upset that you're not eating?" + +6. "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!" Ahab told her. + +7. "Are you the king of Israel or not?" Jezebel demanded. "Get up and eat something, and don't worry about it. I'll get you Naboth's vineyard!" + +8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. +9. In her letters she commanded: "Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. +10. And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death." + +11. So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. +12. They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. +13. Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, "He cursed God and the king." So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death. +14. The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, "Naboth has been stoned to death." + +15. When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, "You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn't sell you? Well, you can have it now! He's dead!" +16. So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it. + +17. But the LORD said to Elijah, +18. "Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself. +19. Give him this message: 'This is what the LORD says: Wasn't it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!'" + +20. "So, my enemy, you have found me!" Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. +"Yes," Elijah answered, "I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the LORD's sight. +21. So now the LORD says, 'I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel! +22. I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.' + +23. "And regarding Jezebel, the LORD says, 'Dogs will eat Jezebel's body at the plot of land in Jezreel.' + +24. "The members of Ahab's family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures." + +25. (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the LORD's sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel. +26. His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done--the people whom the LORD had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.) + +27. But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning. + +28. Then another message from the LORD came to Elijah: +29. "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty." + + + diff --git a/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e8692786 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/11_1 Kings/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,114 @@ +Jehoshaphat and Ahab + +# Chapter 22 +1. For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. +2. Then during the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel. +3. During the visit, the king of Israel said to his officials, "Do you realize that the town of Ramoth-gilead belongs to us? And yet we've done nothing to recapture it from the king of Aram!" + +4. Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, "Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?" +Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses." + +5. Then Jehoshaphat added, "But first let's find out what the LORD says." + +6. So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, "Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?" +They all replied, "Yes, go right ahead! The Lord will give the king victory." + + +7. But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not also a prophet of the LORD here? We should ask him the same question." + +8. The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, "There is one more man who could consult the LORD for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah." +Jehoshaphat replied, "That's not the way a king should talk! Let's hear what he has to say." + + +9. So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Quick! Bring Micaiah son of Imlah." +Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab + + +10. King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab's prophets were prophesying there in front of them. +11. One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, "This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!" + +12. All the other prophets agreed. "Yes," they said, "go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious, for the LORD will give the king victory!" + +13. Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, "Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success." + +14. But Micaiah replied, "As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what the LORD tells me to say." + +15. When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold back?" +Micaiah replied sarcastically, "Yes, go up and be victorious, for the LORD will give the king victory!" + +16. But the king replied sharply, "How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth to me when you speak for the LORD?" + +17. Then Micaiah told him, "In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, 'Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.'" + +18. "Didn't I tell you?" the king of Israel exclaimed to Jehoshaphat. "He never prophesies anything but trouble for me." + +19. Then Micaiah continued, "Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. +20. And the LORD said, 'Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?' +"There were many suggestions, + +21. and finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, 'I can do it!' + +22. "'How will you do this?' the LORD asked. + +"And the spirit replied, 'I will go out and inspire all of Ahab's prophets to speak lies.' +"'You will succeed,' said the LORD. 'Go ahead and do it.' + +23. "So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the LORD has pronounced your doom." + +24. Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. "Since when did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?" he demanded. + +25. And Micaiah replied, "You will find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret room!" + +26. "Arrest him!" the king of Israel ordered. "Take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. +27. Give them this order from the king: 'Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!'" + +28. But Micaiah replied, "If you return safely, it will mean that the LORD has not spoken through me!" Then he added to those standing around, "Everyone mark my words!" +The Death of Ahab + + +29. So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. +30. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. + +31. Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two chariot commanders: "Attack only the king of Israel. Don't bother with anyone else!" +32. So when the Aramean chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. "There is the king of Israel!" they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat called out, +33. the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him. + +34. An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. "Turn the horses and get me out of here!" Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. "I'm badly wounded!" + +35. The battle raged all that day, and the king remained propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as evening arrived he died. +36. Just as the sun was setting, the cry ran through his troops: "We're done for! Run for your lives!" + +37. So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. +38. Then his chariot was washed beside the pool of Samaria, and dogs came and licked his blood at the place where the prostitutes bathed, just as the LORD had promised. + +39. The rest of the events in Ahab's reign and everything he did, including the story of the ivory palace and the towns he built, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +40. So Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became the next king. + +Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah + + +41. Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab's reign in Israel. +42. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. + +43. Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight. During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. +44. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. + +45. The rest of the events in Jehoshaphat's reign, the extent of his power, and the wars he waged are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +46. He banished from the land the rest of the male and female shrine prostitutes, who still continued their practices from the days of his father, Asa. + +47. (There was no king in Edom at that time, only a deputy.) + +48. Jehoshaphat also built a fleet of trading ships to sail to Ophir for gold. But the ships never set sail, for they met with disaster in their home port of Ezion-geber. +49. At one time Ahaziah son of Ahab had proposed to Jehoshaphat, "Let my men sail with your men in the ships." But Jehoshaphat refused the request. + +50. When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king. + +Ahaziah Rules in Israel + + +51. Ahaziah son of Ahab began to rule over Israel in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years. +52. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the example of his father and mother and the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel to sin. +53. He served Baal and worshiped him, provoking the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, just as his father had done. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..82c1d67e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +Elijah Confronts King Ahaziah + +# Chapter 1 +1. After King Ahab's death, the land of Moab rebelled against Israel. + +2. One day Israel's new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover. + +3. But the angel of the LORD told Elijah, who was from Tishbe, "Go and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is there no God in Israel? Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will recover? +4. Now, therefore, this is what the LORD says: You will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.'" So Elijah went to deliver the message. + +5. When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you returned so soon?" + +6. They replied, "A man came up to us and told us to go back to the king and give him this message. 'This is what the LORD says: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.'" + +7. "What sort of man was he?" the king demanded. "What did he look like?" + +8. They replied, "He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist." +"Elijah from Tishbe!" the king exclaimed. + + +9. Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, "Man of God, the king has commanded you to come down with us." + +10. But Elijah replied to the captain, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all. + +11. So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, the king demands that you come down at once." + +12. Elijah replied, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!" And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them all. + +13. Once more the king sent a third captain with fifty men. But this time the captain went up the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, "O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants. +14. See how the fire from heaven came down and destroyed the first two groups. But now please spare my life!" + +15. Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him, and don't be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. + +16. And Elijah said to the king, "This is what the LORD says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die." + +17. So Ahaziah died, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. Since Ahaziah did not have a son to succeed him, his brother Joram became the next king. This took place in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. + +18. The rest of the events in Ahaziah's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a3f191a5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Elijah Taken into Heaven + +# Chapter 2 +1. When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. +2. And Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to Bethel." +But Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!" So they went down together to Bethel. + +3. The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, "Did you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" +"Of course I know," Elisha answered. "But be quiet about it." + + +4. Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to Jericho." +But Elisha replied again, "As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you." So they went on together to Jericho. + +5. Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, "Did you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" +"Of course I know," Elisha answered. "But be quiet about it." + + +6. Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, for the LORD has told me to go to the Jordan River." +But again Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you." So they went on together. + +7. Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River. +8. Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground! + +9. When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away." +And Elisha replied, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor." + + +10. "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah replied. "If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won't." + +11. As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. +12. Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!" And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. + +13. Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River. +14. He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and cried out, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" Then the river divided, and Elisha went across. + +15. When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, "Elijah's spirit rests upon Elisha!" And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. +16. "Sir," they said, "just say the word and fifty of our strongest men will search the wilderness for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has left him on some mountain or in some valley." +"No," Elisha said, "don't send them." + +17. But they kept urging him until they shamed him into agreeing, and he finally said, "All right, send them." So fifty men searched for three days but did not find Elijah. +18. Elisha was still at Jericho when they returned. "Didn't I tell you not to go?" he asked. + +Elisha's First Miracles + + +19. One day the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha. "We have a problem, my lord," they told him. "This town is located in pleasant surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land is unproductive." + +20. Elisha said, "Bring me a new bowl with salt in it." So they brought it to him. +21. Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, "This is what the LORD says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility." +22. And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said. + +23. Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. "Go away, baldy!" they chanted. "Go away, baldy!" +24. Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. +25. From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and finally returned to Samaria. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7472055f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +War between Israel and Moab + +# Chapter 3 +1. Ahab's son Joram began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years. +2. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but not to the same extent as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up. +3. Nevertheless, he continued in the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed and led the people of Israel to commit. + +4. King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. +5. But after Ahab's death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. +6. So King Joram promptly mustered the army of Israel and marched from Samaria. +7. On the way, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me in battle against him?" +And Jehoshaphat replied, "Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses." + +8. Then Jehoshaphat asked, "What route will we take?" +"We will attack from the wilderness of Edom," Joram replied. + + +9. The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their animals. + +10. "What should we do?" the king of Israel cried out. "The LORD has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us." + +11. But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD with us? If there is, we can ask the LORD what to do through him." +One of King Joram's officers replied, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah's personal assistant." + +12. Jehoshaphat said, "Yes, the LORD speaks through him." So the king of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom went to consult with Elisha. + +13. "Why are you coming to me?" Elisha asked the king of Israel. "Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!" +But King Joram of Israel said, "No! For it was the LORD who called us three kings here--only to be defeated by the king of Moab!" + +14. Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I wouldn't even bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. +15. Now bring me someone who can play the harp." +While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha, +16. and he said, "This is what the LORD says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! +17. You will see neither wind nor rain, says the LORD, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals. +18. But this is only a simple thing for the LORD, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab! +19. You will conquer the best of their towns, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones." + +20. The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere. + +21. Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who was old enough to strap on a sword, and they stationed themselves along their border. +22. But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it appear red to the Moabites--like blood. +23. "It's blood!" the Moabites exclaimed. "The three armies must have attacked and killed each other! Let's go, men of Moab, and collect the plunder!" + +24. But when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked them until they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went. +25. They destroyed the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth and its stone walls were left, but men with slings surrounded and attacked it. + +26. When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed. +27. Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4a9c21a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,102 @@ +Elisha +Helps a Poor Widow + +# Chapter 4 +1. One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, "My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the LORD. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves." + +2. "What can I do to help you?" Elisha asked. "Tell me, what do you have in the house?" +"Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied. + + +3. And Elisha said, "Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. +4. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled." + +5. So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. +6. Soon every container was full to the brim! +"Bring me another jar," she said to one of her sons. + +"There aren't any more!" he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. + + +7. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over." +Elisha and the Woman from Shunem + + +8. One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat. + +9. She said to her husband, "I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. +10. Let's build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by." + +11. One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest. +12. He said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her." When she appeared, +13. Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" +"No," she replied, "my family takes good care of me." + + +14. Later Elisha asked Gehazi, "What can we do for her?" +Gehazi replied, "She doesn't have a son, and her husband is an old man." + + +15. "Call her back again," Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, +16. "Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!" +"No, my lord!" she cried. "O man of God, don't deceive me and get my hopes up like that." + + +17. But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said. + +18. One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters. +19. Suddenly he cried out, "My head hurts! My head hurts!" +His father said to one of the servants, "Carry him home to his mother." + + +20. So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died. +21. She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. +22. She sent a message to her husband: "Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back." + +23. "Why go today?" he asked. "It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath." +But she said, "It will be all right." + + +24. So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, "Hurry! Don't slow down unless I tell you to." + +25. As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, "Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. +26. Run out to meet her and ask her, 'Is everything all right with you, your husband, and your child?'" +"Yes," the woman told Gehazi, "everything is fine." + + +27. But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the LORD has not told me what it is." + +28. Then she said, "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn't I say, 'Don't deceive me and get my hopes up'?" + +29. Then Elisha said to Gehazi, "Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don't talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child's face." + +30. But the boy's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I won't go home unless you go with me." So Elisha returned with her. + +31. Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child's face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, "The child is still dead." + +32. When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet's bed. +33. He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. +34. Then he lay down on the child's body, placing his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on the child's eyes, and his hands on the child's hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child's body began to grow warm again! +35. Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! + +36. Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. "Call the child's mother!" he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, "Here, take your son!" +37. She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs. + +Miracles during a Famine + + +38. Elisha now returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, "Put a large pot on the fire, and make some stew for the rest of the group." + +39. One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. +40. Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, "Man of God, there's poison in this stew!" So they would not eat it. + +41. Elisha said, "Bring me some flour." Then he threw it into the pot and said, "Now it's all right; go ahead and eat." And then it did not harm them. + +42. One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, "Give it to the people so they can eat." + +43. "What?" his servant exclaimed. "Feed a hundred people with only this?" +But Elisha repeated, "Give it to the people so they can eat, for this is what the LORD says: Everyone will eat, and there will even be some left over!" +44. And when they gave it to the people, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the LORD had promised. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5f8160d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +The Healing of Naaman + +# Chapter 5 +1. The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the LORD had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. + +2. At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman's wife as a maid. +3. One day the girl said to her mistress, "I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy." + +4. So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. +5. "Go and visit the prophet," the king of Aram told him. "I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel." So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. +6. The letter to the king of Israel said: "With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy." + +7. When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, "Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he's just trying to pick a fight with me." + +8. But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: "Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel." + +9. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha's house. +10. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: "Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy." + +11. But Naaman became angry and stalked away. "I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!" he said. "I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! +12. Aren't the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed?" So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. + +13. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'Go and wash and be cured!'" +14. So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! + +15. Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant." + +16. But Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts." And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused. + +17. Then Naaman said, "All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD. +18. However, may the LORD pardon me in this one thing: When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the LORD pardon me when I bow, too." + +19. "Go in peace," Elisha said. So Naaman started home again. + +The Greed of Gehazi + + +20. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, "My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the LORD lives, I will chase after him and get something from him." +21. So Gehazi set off after Naaman. + +When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him. "Is everything all right?" Naaman asked. + + +22. "Yes," Gehazi said, "but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them." + +23. "By all means, take twice as much silver," Naaman insisted. He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the money in two bags, and sent two of his servants to carry the gifts for Gehazi. +24. But when they arrived at the citadel, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back. Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house. + +25. When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" +"I haven't been anywhere," he replied. + + +26. But Elisha asked him, "Don't you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male and female servants? +27. Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever." When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e1770945 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +The Floating Ax Head + +# Chapter 6 +1. One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, "As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small. +2. Let's go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet." +"All right," he told them, "go ahead." + + +3. "Please come with us," someone suggested. + +"I will," he said. + +4. So he went with them. + +When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees. + +5. But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. "Oh, sir!" he cried. "It was a borrowed ax!" + +6. "Where did it fall?" the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. +7. "Grab it," Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it. + +Elisha Traps the Arameans + + +8. When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, "We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place." + +9. But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, "Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there." +10. So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there. + +11. The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, "Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?" + +12. "It's not us, my lord the king," one of the officers replied. "Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!" + +13. "Go and find out where he is," the king commanded, "so I can send troops to seize him." +And the report came back: "Elisha is at Dothan." + +14. So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city. + +15. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. "Oh, sir, what will we do now?" the young man cried to Elisha. + +16. "Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!" +17. Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. + +18. As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, please make them blind." So the LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. + +19. Then Elisha went out and told them, "You have come the wrong way! This isn't the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to the city of Samaria. + +20. As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, now open their eyes and let them see." So the LORD opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria. + +21. When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, "My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?" + +22. "Of course not!" Elisha replied. "Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master." + +23. So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel. + +Ben-Hadad Besieges Samaria + + +24. Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. +25. As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove's dung sold for five pieces of silver. + +26. One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, "Please help me, my lord the king!" + +27. He answered, "If the LORD doesn't help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you." +28. But then the king asked, "What is the matter?" +She replied, "This woman said to me: 'Come on, let's eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.' + +29. So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, 'Kill your son so we can eat him,' but she has hidden her son." + +30. When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin. +31. "May God strike me and even kill me if I don't separate Elisha's head from his shoulders this very day," the king vowed. + +32. Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "A murderer has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master's steps following him." + +33. While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, "All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3f45db09 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +# Chapter 7 +1. Elisha replied, "Listen to this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, six quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver." + +2. The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" +But Elisha replied, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of it!" +Outcasts Visit the Enemy Camp + + +3. Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates. "Why should we sit here waiting to die?" they asked each other. +4. "We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway." + +5. So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! +6. For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. "The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!" they cried to one another. +7. So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives. + +8. When the men with leprosy arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. +9. Finally, they said to each other, "This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren't sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let's go back and tell the people at the palace." + +10. So they went back to the city and told the gatekeepers what had happened. "We went out to the Aramean camp," they said, "and no one was there! The horses and donkeys were tethered and the tents were all in order, but there wasn't a single person around!" +11. Then the gatekeepers shouted the news to the people in the palace. + +Israel Plunders the Camp + + +12. The king got out of bed in the middle of the night and told his officers, "I know what has happened. The Arameans know we are starving, so they have left their camp and have hidden in the fields. They are expecting us to leave the city, and then they will take us alive and capture the city." + +13. One of his officers replied, "We had better send out scouts to check into this. Let them take five of the remaining horses. If something happens to them, it will be no worse than if they stay here and die with the rest of us." + +14. So two chariots with horses were prepared, and the king sent scouts to see what had happened to the Aramean army. +15. They went all the way to the Jordan River, following a trail of clothing and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away in their mad rush to escape. The scouts returned and told the king about it. +16. Then the people of Samaria rushed out and plundered the Aramean camp. So it was true that six quarts of choice flour were sold that day for one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain were sold for one piece of silver, just as the LORD had promised. +17. The king appointed his officer to control the traffic at the gate, but he was knocked down and trampled to death as the people rushed out. + +So everything happened exactly as the man of God had predicted when the king came to his house. + +18. The man of God had said to the king, "By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, six quarts of choice flour will cost one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain will cost one piece of silver." + +19. The king's officer had replied, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" And the man of God had said, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of it!" +20. And so it was, for the people trampled him to death at the gate! + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..92cb0994 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +The Woman from Shunem Returns Home + +# Chapter 8 +1. Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years." +2. So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years. + +3. After the famine ended she returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land. +4. As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, "Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done." +5. And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land. +"Look, my lord the king!" Gehazi exclaimed. "Here is the woman now, and this is her son--the very one Elisha brought back to life!" + +6. "Is this true?" the king asked her. And she told him the story. So he directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence. + +Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad + + +7. Elisha went to Damascus, the capital of Aram, where King Ben-hadad lay sick. When someone told the king that the man of God had come, +8. the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift to the man of God. Then tell him to ask the LORD, 'Will I recover from this illness?'" + +9. So Hazael loaded down forty camels with the finest products of Damascus as a gift for Elisha. He went to him and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?'" + +10. And Elisha replied, "Go and tell him, 'You will surely recover.' But actually the LORD has shown me that he will surely die!" +11. Elisha stared at Hazael with a fixed gaze until Hazael became uneasy. Then the man of God started weeping. + +12. "What's the matter, my lord?" Hazael asked him. + +Elisha replied, "I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!" + + +13. Hazael responded, "How could a nobody like me ever accomplish such great things?" +Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you are going to be the king of Aram." + +14. When Hazael left Elisha and went back, the king asked him, "What did Elisha tell you?" +And Hazael replied, "He told me that you will surely recover." + + +15. But the next day Hazael took a blanket, soaked it in water, and held it over the king's face until he died. Then Hazael became the next king of Aram. + +Jehoram Rules in Judah + + +16. Jehoram son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah began to rule over Judah in the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel. +17. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. +18. But Jehoram followed the example of the kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab, for he had married one of Ahab's daughters. So Jehoram did what was evil in the LORD's sight. +19. But the LORD did not want to destroy Judah, for he had promised his servant David that his descendants would continue to rule, shining like a lamp forever. + +20. During Jehoram's reign, the Edomites revolted against Judah and crowned their own king. +21. So Jehoram went with all his chariots to attack the town of Zair. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he went out at night and attacked them under cover of darkness. But Jehoram's army deserted him and fled to their homes. +22. So Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time. + +23. The rest of the events in Jehoram's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +24. When Jehoram died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Ahaziah became the next king. + +Ahaziah Rules in Judah + + +25. Ahaziah son of Jehoram began to rule over Judah in the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel. + +26. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. +27. Ahaziah followed the evil example of King Ahab's family. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as Ahab's family had done, for he was related by marriage to the family of Ahab. + +28. Ahaziah joined Joram son of Ahab in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. When the Arameans wounded King Joram in the battle, +29. he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramoth. Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziah of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..361db427 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +Jehu Anointed King of Israel + +# Chapter 9 +1. Meanwhile, Elisha the prophet had summoned a member of the group of prophets. "Get ready to travel," he told him, "and take this flask of olive oil with you. Go to Ramoth-gilead, +2. and find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Call him into a private room away from his friends, +3. and pour the oil over his head. Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: I anoint you to be the king over Israel.' Then open the door and run for your life!" + +4. So the young prophet did as he was told and went to Ramoth-gilead. +5. When he arrived there, he found Jehu sitting around with the other army officers. "I have a message for you, Commander," he said. + +"For which one of us?" Jehu asked. + +"For you, Commander," he replied. + + +6. So Jehu left the others and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the oil over Jehu's head and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over the LORD's people, Israel. +7. You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the LORD's servants who were killed by Jezebel. +8. The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out. I will destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. +9. I will destroy the family of Ahab as I destroyed the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and of Baasha son of Ahijah. +10. Dogs will eat Ahab's wife Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezreel, and no one will bury her." Then the young prophet opened the door and ran. + +11. Jehu went back to his fellow officers, and one of them asked him, "What did that madman want? Is everything all right?" +"You know how a man like that babbles on," Jehu replied. + + +12. "You're hiding something," they said. "Tell us." +So Jehu told them, "He said to me, 'This is what the LORD says: I have anointed you to be king over Israel.'" + +13. Then they quickly spread out their cloaks on the bare steps and blew the ram's horn, shouting, "Jehu is king!" +Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah + + +14. So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, led a conspiracy against King Joram. (Now Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-gilead, defending Israel against the forces of King Hazael of Aram. +15. But King Joram was wounded in the fighting and returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.) So Jehu told the men with him, "If you want me to be king, don't let anyone leave town and go to Jezreel to report what we have done." + +16. Then Jehu got into a chariot and rode to Jezreel to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. King Ahaziah of Judah was there, too, for he had gone to visit him. +17. The watchman on the tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching, so he shouted to Joram, "I see a company of troops coming!" +"Send out a rider to ask if they are coming in peace," King Joram ordered. + + +18. So a horseman went out to meet Jehu and said, "The king wants to know if you are coming in peace." +Jehu replied, "What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!" +The watchman called out to the king, "The messenger has met them, but he's not returning." + + +19. So the king sent out a second horseman. He rode up to them and said, "The king wants to know if you come in peace." +Again Jehu answered, "What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!" + + +20. The watchman exclaimed, "The messenger has met them, but he isn't returning either! It must be Jehu son of Nimshi, for he's driving like a madman." + +21. "Quick! Get my chariot ready!" King Joram commanded. + +Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out in their chariots to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. + +22. King Joram demanded, "Do you come in peace, Jehu?" +Jehu replied, "How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?" + + +23. Then King Joram turned the horses around and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, "Treason, Ahaziah!" +24. But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot. + +25. Jehu said to Bidkar, his officer, "Throw him into the plot of land that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Do you remember when you and I were riding along behind his father, Ahab? The LORD pronounced this message against him: +26. 'I solemnly swear that I will repay him here on this plot of land, says the LORD, for the murder of Naboth and his sons that I saw yesterday.' So throw him out on Naboth's property, just as the LORD said." + +27. When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, "Shoot him, too!" So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot at the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but he died there. +28. His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem, where they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. +29. Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab. + +The Death of Jezebel + + +30. When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. +31. When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, "Have you come in peace, you murderer? You're just like Zimri, who murdered his master!" + +32. Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, "Who is on my side?" And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. +33. "Throw her down!" Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses' hooves. + +34. Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said, "Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king." +35. But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her feet, and her hands. + +36. When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, "This fulfills the message from the LORD, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: 'At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel's body. +37. Her remains will be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her.'" + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..25d5c054 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +Jehu Kills Ahab's Family + +# Chapter 10 +1. Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city, and to the guardians of King Ahab's sons. He said, +2. "The king's sons are with you, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons. As soon as you receive this letter, +3. select the best qualified of your master's sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for Ahab's dynasty." + +4. But they were paralyzed with fear and said, "We've seen that two kings couldn't stand against this man! What can we do?" + +5. So the palace and city administrators, together with the elders and the guardians of the king's sons, sent this message to Jehu: "We are your servants and will do anything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do whatever you think is best." + +6. Jehu responded with a second letter: "If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master's sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow." Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood. +7. When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king's sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel. + +8. A messenger went to Jehu and said, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." +So Jehu ordered, "Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and leave them there until morning." + + +9. In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. "You are not to blame," he told them. "I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? +10. You can be sure that the message of the LORD that was spoken concerning Ahab's family will not fail. The LORD declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen." +11. Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab's relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without a single survivor. + +12. Then Jehu set out for Samaria. Along the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, +13. he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. "Who are you?" he asked them. + +And they replied, "We are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to visit the sons of King Ahab and the sons of the queen mother." + + +14. "Take them alive!" Jehu shouted to his men. And they captured all forty-two of them and killed them at the well of Beth-eked. None of them escaped. + +15. When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab, who was coming to meet him. After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, "Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?" +"Yes, I am," Jehonadab replied. + +"If you are," Jehu said, "then give me your hand." So Jehonadab put out his hand, and Jehu helped him into the chariot. + +16. Then Jehu said, "Now come with me, and see how devoted I am to the LORD." So Jehonadab rode along with him. + +17. When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed everyone who was left there from Ahab's family, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. + +Jehu Kills the Priests of Baal + + +18. Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, "Ahab's worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way I will worship him! +19. Therefore, summon all the prophets and worshipers of Baal, and call together all his priests. See to it that every one of them comes, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who fails to come will be put to death." But Jehu's cunning plan was to destroy all the worshipers of Baal. + +20. Then Jehu ordered, "Prepare a solemn assembly to worship Baal!" So they did. +21. He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal. They all came--not a single one remained behind--and they filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other. +22. And Jehu instructed the keeper of the wardrobe, "Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes." So robes were given to them. + +23. Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, "Make sure no one who worships the LORD is here--only those who worship Baal." +24. So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and had warned them, "If you let anyone escape, you will pay for it with your own life." + +25. As soon as Jehu had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, he commanded his guards and officers, "Go in and kill all of them. Don't let a single one escape!" So they killed them all with their swords, and the guards and officers dragged their bodies outside. Then Jehu's men went into the innermost fortress of the temple of Baal. +26. They dragged out the sacred pillar used in the worship of Baal and burned it. +27. They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day. + +28. In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. +29. He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin. + +30. Nonetheless the LORD said to Jehu, "You have done well in following my instructions to destroy the family of Ahab. Therefore, your descendants will be kings of Israel down to the fourth generation." +31. But Jehu did not obey the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. + +The Death of Jehu + + +32. At about that time the LORD began to cut down the size of Israel's territory. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country +33. east of the Jordan River, including all of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. He conquered the area from the town of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge to as far north as Gilead and Bashan. + +34. The rest of the events in Jehu's reign--everything he did and all his achievements--are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +35. When Jehu died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoahaz became the next king. +36. In all, Jehu reigned over Israel from Samaria for twenty-eight years. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a69fd8f6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 11 +1. When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal family. +2. But Ahaziah's sister Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah's infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king's children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom, and they hid him from Athaliah, so the child was not murdered. +3. Joash remained hidden in the Temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land. + +Revolt against Athaliah + + +4. In the seventh year of Athaliah's reign, Jehoiada the priest summoned the commanders, the Carite mercenaries, and the palace guards to come to the Temple of the LORD. He made a solemn pact with them and made them swear an oath of loyalty there in the LORD's Temple; then he showed them the king's son. + +5. Jehoiada told them, "This is what you must do. A third of you who are on duty on the Sabbath are to guard the royal palace itself. +6. Another third of you are to stand guard at the Sur Gate. And the final third must stand guard behind the palace guard. These three groups will all guard the palace. +7. The other two units who are off duty on the Sabbath must stand guard for the king at the LORD's Temple. +8. Form a bodyguard around the king and keep your weapons in hand. Kill anyone who tries to break through. Stay with the king wherever he goes." + +9. So the commanders did everything as Jehoiada the priest ordered. The commanders took charge of the men reporting for duty that Sabbath, as well as those who were going off duty. They brought them all to Jehoiada the priest, +10. and he supplied them with the spears and small shields that had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple of the LORD. +11. The palace guards stationed themselves around the king, with their weapons ready. They formed a line from the south side of the Temple around to the north side and all around the altar. + +12. Then Jehoiada brought out Joash, the king's son, placed the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God's laws. They anointed him and proclaimed him king, and everyone clapped their hands and shouted, "Long live the king!" +The Death of Athaliah + + +13. When Athaliah heard the noise made by the palace guards and the people, she hurried to the LORD's Temple to see what was happening. +14. When she arrived, she saw the newly crowned king standing in his place of authority by the pillar, as was the custom at times of coronation. The commanders and trumpeters were surrounding him, and people from all over the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. When Athaliah saw all this, she tore her clothes in despair and shouted, "Treason! Treason!" + +15. Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders who were in charge of the troops, "Take her to the soldiers in front of the Temple, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her." For the priest had said, "She must not be killed in the Temple of the LORD." +16. So they seized her and led her out to the gate where horses enter the palace grounds, and she was killed there. + +Jehoiada's Religious Reforms + + +17. Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people that they would be the LORD's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. +18. And all the people of the land went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars and smashed the idols to pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. +Jehoiada the priest stationed guards at the Temple of the LORD. +19. Then the commanders, the Carite mercenaries, the palace guards, and all the people of the land escorted the king from the Temple of the LORD. They went through the gate of the guards and into the palace, and the king took his seat on the royal throne. +20. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was peaceful because Athaliah had been killed at the king's palace. + +21. Joash was seven years old when he became king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4781b416 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +Joash Repairs the Temple + +# Chapter 12 +1. Joash began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu's reign in Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. +2. All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. +3. Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. + +4. One day King Joash said to the priests, "Collect all the money brought as a sacred offering to the LORD's Temple, whether it is a regular assessment, a payment of vows, or a voluntary gift. +5. Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple." + +6. But by the twenty-third year of Joash's reign, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. +7. So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, "Why haven't you repaired the Temple? Don't use any more money for your own needs. From now on, it must all be spent on Temple repairs." +8. So the priests agreed not to accept any more money from the people, and they also agreed to let others take responsibility for repairing the Temple. + +9. Then Jehoiada the priest bored a hole in the lid of a large chest and set it on the right-hand side of the altar at the entrance of the Temple of the LORD. The priests guarding the entrance put all of the people's contributions into the chest. +10. Whenever the chest became full, the court secretary and the high priest counted the money that had been brought to the LORD's Temple and put it into bags. +11. Then they gave the money to the construction supervisors, who used it to pay the people working on the LORD's Temple--the carpenters, the builders, +12. the masons, and the stonecutters. They also used the money to buy the timber and the finished stone needed for repairing the LORD's Temple, and they paid any other expenses related to the Temple's restoration. + +13. The money brought to the Temple was not used for making silver bowls, lamp snuffers, basins, trumpets, or other articles of gold or silver for the Temple of the LORD. +14. It was paid to the workmen, who used it for the Temple repairs. +15. No accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors, because they were honest and trustworthy men. +16. However, the money that was contributed for guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the LORD's Temple. It was given to the priests for their own use. + +The End of Joash's Reign + + +17. +About this time King Hazael of Aram went to war against Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. +18. King Joash collected all the sacred objects that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the previous kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with what he himself had dedicated. He sent them all to Hazael, along with all the gold in the treasuries of the LORD's Temple and the royal palace. So Hazael called off his attack on Jerusalem. + +19. The rest of the events in Joash's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. + +20. Joash's officers plotted against him and assassinated him at Beth-millo on the road to Silla. +21. The assassins were Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer--both trusted advisers. Joash was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Amaziah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..75caeb56 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +Jehoahaz Rules in Israel + +# Chapter 13 +1. Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. +2. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. +3. So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly. + +4. Then Jehoahaz prayed for the LORD's help, and the LORD heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. +5. So the LORD provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days. + +6. But they continued to sin, following the evil example of Jeroboam. They also allowed the Asherah pole in Samaria to remain standing. +7. Finally, Jehoahaz's army was reduced to 50 charioteers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had killed the others, trampling them like dust under his feet. + +8. The rest of the events in Jehoahaz's reign--everything he did and the extent of his power--are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +9. When Jehoahaz died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoash became the next king. + +Jehoash Rules in Israel + + +10. Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to rule over Israel in the thirty-seventh year of King Joash's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria sixteen years. +11. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. + +12. The rest of the events in Jehoash's reign and everything he did, including the extent of his power and his war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +13. When Jehoash died, he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then his son Jeroboam II became the next king. + +Elisha's Final Prophecy + + +14. When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. "My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!" he cried. + +15. Elisha told him, "Get a bow and some arrows." And the king did as he was told. +16. Elisha told him, "Put your hand on the bow," and Elisha laid his own hands on the king's hands. + +17. Then he commanded, "Open that eastern window," and he opened it. Then he said, "Shoot!" So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, "This is the LORD's arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek." + +18. Then he said, "Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground." So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. +19. But the man of God was angry with him. "You should have struck the ground five or six times!" he exclaimed. "Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times." + +20. Then Elisha died and was buried. + +Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. + +21. Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha's bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet! + +22. King Hazael of Aram had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. +23. But the LORD was gracious and merciful to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. He pitied them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day he still has not completely destroyed them or banished them from his presence. + +24. King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad became the next king. +25. Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns that had been taken from Jehoash's father, Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad on three occasions, and he recovered the Israelite towns. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..381d0c8e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +Amaziah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 14 +1. Amaziah son of Joash began to rule over Judah in the second year of the reign of King Jehoash of Israel. +2. Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. +3. Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, but not like his ancestor David. Instead, he followed the example of his father, Joash. +4. Amaziah did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. + +5. When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father. +6. However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: "Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes." + +7. Amaziah also killed 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He also conquered Sela and changed its name to Joktheel, as it is called to this day. + +8. One day Amaziah sent messengers with this challenge to Israel's king Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu: "Come and meet me in battle!" + +9. But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story: "Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree: 'Give your daughter in marriage to my son.' But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it! + +10. "You have indeed defeated Edom, and you are proud of it. But be content with your victory and stay at home! Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?" + +11. But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Jehoash of Israel mobilized his army against King Amaziah of Judah. The two armies drew up their battle lines at Beth-shemesh in Judah. +12. Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home. +13. King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah's king, Amaziah son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he marched to Jerusalem, where he demolished 600 feet of Jerusalem's wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. +14. He carried off all the gold and silver and all the articles from the Temple of the LORD. He also seized the treasures from the royal palace, along with hostages, and then returned to Samaria. + +15. The rest of the events in Jehoash's reign and everything he did, including the extent of his power and his war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +16. When Jehoash died, he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. And his son Jeroboam II became the next king. + +17. King Amaziah of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel. +18. The rest of the events in Amaziah's reign are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. + +19. There was a conspiracy against Amaziah's life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But his enemies sent assassins after him, and they killed him there. +20. They brought his body back to Jerusalem on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. + +21. All the people of Judah had crowned Amaziah's sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as king in place of his father, Amaziah. +22. After his father's death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah. + +Jeroboam II Rules in Israel + + +23. Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, began to rule over Israel in the fifteenth year of King Amaziah's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria forty-one years. +24. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. +25. Jeroboam II recovered the territories of Israel between Lebo-hamath and the Dead Sea, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had promised through Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher. + +26. For the LORD saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel, and that there was no one in Israel, slave or free, to help them. +27. And because the LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel completely, he used Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, to save them. + +28. The rest of the events in the reign of Jeroboam II and everything he did--including the extent of his power, his wars, and how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah--are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +29. When Jeroboam II died, he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then his son Zechariah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..addf49d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +Uzziah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 15 +1. Uzziah son of Amaziah began to rule over Judah in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel. +2. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. + +3. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. +4. But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. +5. The LORD struck the king with leprosy, which lasted until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house. The king's son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land. + +6. The rest of the events in Uzziah's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +7. When Uzziah died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And his son Jotham became the next king. + +Zechariah Rules in Israel + + +8. Zechariah son of Jeroboam II began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Uzziah's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria six months. +9. Zechariah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, as his ancestors had done. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. +10. Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, assassinated him in public, and became the next king. + +11. The rest of the events in Zechariah's reign are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +12. So the LORD's message to Jehu came true: "Your descendants will be kings of Israel down to the fourth generation." +Shallum Rules in Israel + + +13. Shallum son of Jabesh began to rule over Israel in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah's reign in Judah. Shallum reigned in Samaria only one month. +14. Then Menahem son of Gadi went to Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated him, and he became the next king. + +15. The rest of the events in Shallum's reign, including his conspiracy, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +Menahem Rules in Israel + + +16. At that time Menahem destroyed the town of Tappuah and all the surrounding countryside as far as Tirzah, because its citizens refused to surrender the town. He killed the entire population and ripped open the pregnant women. + +17. Menahem son of Gadi began to rule over Israel in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria ten years. +18. But Menahem did what was evil in the LORD's sight. During his entire reign, he refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. + +19. Then King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria invaded the land. But Menahem paid him thirty-seven tons of silver to gain his support in tightening his grip on royal power. +20. Menahem extorted the money from the rich of Israel, demanding that each of them pay fifty pieces of silver to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned from attacking Israel and did not stay in the land. + +21. The rest of the events in Menahem's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. +22. When Menahem died, his son Pekahiah became the next king. + +Pekahiah Rules in Israel + + +23. Pekahiah son of Menahem began to rule over Israel in the fiftieth year of King Uzziah's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years. +24. But Pekahiah did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. + +25. Then Pekah son of Remaliah, the commander of Pekahiah's army, conspired against him. With fifty men from Gilead, Pekah assassinated the king, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the palace at Samaria. And Pekah reigned in his place. + +26. The rest of the events in Pekahiah's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +Pekah Rules in Israel + + +27. Pekah son of Remaliah began to rule over Israel in the fifty-second year of King Uzziah's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty years. +28. But Pekah did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. + +29. During Pekah's reign, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked Israel again, and he captured the towns of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He also conquered the regions of Gilead, Galilee, and all of Naphtali, and he took the people to Assyria as captives. +30. Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah and assassinated him. He began to rule over Israel in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah. + +31. The rest of the events in Pekah's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. + +Jotham Rules in Judah + + +32. Jotham son of Uzziah began to rule over Judah in the second year of King Pekah's reign in Israel. +33. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. + +34. Jotham did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done. +35. But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple of the LORD. + +36. The rest of the events in Jotham's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +37. In those days the LORD began to send King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel to attack Judah. +38. When Jotham died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And his son Ahaz became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e3c78ad9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +Ahaz Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 16 +1. Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah's reign in Israel. +2. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD his God, as his ancestor David had done. +3. Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. +4. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree. + +5. Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. +6. At that time the king of Edom recovered the town of Elath for Edom. He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites to live there, as they do to this day. + +7. King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: "I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel." +8. Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the LORD and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. +9. So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin. + +10. King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. +11. Uriah followed the king's instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. +12. When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. +13. He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar. + +14. Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the LORD's Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. +15. He told Uriah the priest, "Use the new altar for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king's burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only." +16. Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him. + +17. Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. +18. In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day, as well as the king's outer entrance to the Temple of the LORD. + +19. The rest of the events in Ahaz's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +20. When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..322a524d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +Hoshea Rules in Israel + +# Chapter 17 +1. Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years. +2. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him. + +3. King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria. +4. But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt to help him shake free of Assyria's power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison. + +Samaria Falls to Assyria + + +5. Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. +6. Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea's reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. + +7. This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. +8. They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced. +9. The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. +10. They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree. +11. They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the LORD's anger. +12. Yes, they worshiped idols, despite the LORD's specific and repeated warnings. + +13. Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: "Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees--the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets." + +14. But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God. +15. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them. + +16. They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. +17. They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD's anger. + +18. Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land. +19. But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the LORD their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced. +20. The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence. + +21. For when the LORD tore Israel away from the kingdom of David, they chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin. +22. And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins +23. until the LORD finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day. + +Foreigners Settle in Israel + + +24. The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. +25. But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. + +26. So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: "The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly." + +27. The king of Assyria then commanded, "Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land." +28. So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD. + +29. But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built. +30. Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima. +31. The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech. + +32. These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship. +33. And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came. +34. And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel. + +35. For the LORD had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: "Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. +36. But worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him. +37. Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. +38. Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. +39. You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies." + +40. But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices. +41. So while these new residents worshiped the LORD, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..aba30d02 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +Hezekiah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 18 +1. Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea's reign in Israel. +2. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. +3. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. +4. He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan. + +5. Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. +6. He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses. +7. So the LORD was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute. +8. He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its territory, from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city. + +9. During the fourth year of Hezekiah's reign, which was the seventh year of King Hoshea's reign in Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked the city of Samaria and began a siege against it. +10. Three years later, during the sixth year of King Hezekiah's reign and the ninth year of King Hoshea's reign in Israel, Samaria fell. +11. At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. +12. For they refused to listen to the LORD their God and obey him. Instead, they violated his covenant--all the laws that Moses the LORD's servant had commanded them to obey. + +Assyria Invades Judah + + +13. In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. +14. King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. I will pay whatever tribute money you demand if you will only withdraw." The king of Assyria then demanded a settlement of more than eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold. +15. To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple of the LORD and in the palace treasury. +16. Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of the LORD's Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king. + +17. Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of staff from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed. +18. They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian. + +Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem + + +19. Then the Assyrian king's chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: +"This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? + +20. Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? +21. On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable! + +22. "But perhaps you will say to me, 'We are trusting in the LORD our God!' But isn't he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn't Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem? + +23. "I'll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them! +24. With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master's troops, even with the help of Egypt's chariots and charioteers? +25. What's more, do you think we have invaded your land without the LORD's direction? The LORD himself told us, 'Attack this land and destroy it!'" + +26. Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, "Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don't speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear." + +27. But Sennacherib's chief of staff replied, "Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine." + +28. Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, "Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! +29. This is what the king says: Don't let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power. +30. Don't let him fool you into trusting in the LORD by saying, 'The LORD will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!' + +31. "Don't listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me--open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. +32. Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one--a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive groves and honey. Choose life instead of death! +"Don't listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, 'The LORD will rescue us!' +33. Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? +34. What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? +35. What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem from me?" + +36. But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, "Do not answer him." + +37. Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0a1012cf --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,177 @@ +Hezekiah Seeks the LORD's +Help + +# Chapter 19 +1. When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the LORD. +2. And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. +3. They told him, "This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. +4. But perhaps the LORD your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff, sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!" + +5. After King Hezekiah's officials delivered the king's message to Isaiah, +6. the prophet replied, "Say to your master, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king's messengers. +7. Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.'" + +8. Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah. + +9. Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message: + +10. "This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don't let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. +11. You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? +12. Have the gods of other nations rescued them--such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! +13. What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?" + +14. After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the LORD's Temple and spread it out before the LORD. +15. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the LORD: "O LORD, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. +16. Bend down, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God. + +17. "It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. +18. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all--only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. +19. Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O LORD, are God." +Isaiah Predicts Judah's Deliverance + + +20. Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria. +21. And the LORD has spoken this word against him: +"The virgin daughter of Zion + +despises you and laughs at you. + +The daughter of Jerusalem + +shakes her head in derision as you flee. + + +22. "Whom have you been defying and ridiculing? + +Against whom did you raise your voice? +At whom did you look with such haughty eyes? + +It was the Holy One of Israel! + + +23. By your messengers you have defied the Lord. + +You have said, 'With my many chariots +I have conquered the highest mountains-- + +yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon. + +I have cut down its tallest cedars + +and its finest cypress trees. + +I have reached its farthest corners + +and explored its deepest forests. + + +24. I have dug wells in many foreign lands + +and refreshed myself with their water. + +With the sole of my foot + +I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!' + + +25. "But have you not heard? + +I decided this long ago. + +Long ago I planned it, + +and now I am making it happen. + +I planned for you to crush fortified cities + +into heaps of rubble. + + +26. That is why their people have so little power + +and are so frightened and confused. + +They are as weak as grass, + +as easily trampled as tender green shoots. + +They are like grass sprouting on a housetop, + +scorched before it can grow lush and tall. + + +27. "But I know you well-- + +where you stay +and when you come and go. + +I know the way you have raged against me. + + +28. And because of your raging against me + +and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself, +I will put my hook in your nose + +and my bit in your mouth. + +I will make you return + +by the same road on which you came." + + +29. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Here is the proof that what I say is true: +"This year you will eat only what grows up by itself, + +and next year you will eat what springs up from that. + +But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them; + +you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit. + + +30. And you who are left in Judah, + +who have escaped the ravages of the siege, +will put roots down in your own soil + +and will grow up and flourish. + + +31. For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem, + +a group of survivors from Mount Zion. +The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven's Armies + +will make this happen! + + +32. "And this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: +"His armies will not enter Jerusalem. + +They will not even shoot an arrow at it. + +They will not march outside its gates with their shields + +nor build banks of earth against its walls. + + +33. The king will return to his own country + +by the same road on which he came. + +He will not enter this city, + says the LORD. + +34. For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David, + +I will defend this city and protect it." + + +35. That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. +36. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there. + +37. One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e82231be --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery + +# Chapter 20 +1. +About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: "This is what the LORD says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness." + +2. When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, +3. "Remember, O LORD, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you." Then he broke down and wept bitterly. + +4. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the LORD: +5. "Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the LORD. +6. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.'" + +7. Then Isaiah said, "Make an ointment from figs." So Hezekiah's servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered! + +8. Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, "What sign will the LORD give to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the Temple of the LORD three days from now?" + +9. Isaiah replied, "This is the sign from the LORD to prove that he will do as he promised. Would you like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten steps or backward ten steps?" + +10. "The shadow always moves forward," Hezekiah replied, "so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead." +11. So Isaiah the prophet asked the LORD to do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz! +Envoys from Babylon + + +12. Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick. +13. Hezekiah received the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses--the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. + +14. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did those men want? Where were they from?" +Hezekiah replied, "They came from the distant land of Babylon." + + +15. "What did they see in your palace?" Isaiah asked. +"They saw everything," Hezekiah replied. "I showed them everything I own--all my royal treasuries." + +16. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to this message from the LORD: +17. The time is coming when everything in your palace--all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now--will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. +18. Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon's king." + +19. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "This message you have given me from the LORD is good." For the king was thinking, "At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime." + +20. The rest of the events in Hezekiah's reign, including the extent of his power and how he built a pool and dug a tunnel to bring water into the city, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +21. Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..115c387c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +Manasseh Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 21 +1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. +2. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. +3. He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. + +4. He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, "My name will remain in Jerusalem forever." +5. He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD's Temple. +6. Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger. + +7. Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the LORD had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem--the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. +8. If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands--all the laws my servant Moses gave them--I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors." +9. But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land. + +10. Then the LORD said through his servants the prophets: +11. "King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols. +12. So this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror. +13. I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measure I used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. +14. Then I will reject even the remnant of my own people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies. +15. For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt." + +16. Manasseh also murdered many innocent people until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he caused the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in the LORD's sight. + +17. The rest of the events in Manasseh's reign and everything he did, including the sins he committed, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +18. When Manasseh died, he was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon became the next king. + +Amon Rules in Judah + + +19. Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. +20. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. +21. He followed the example of his father, worshiping the same idols his father had worshiped. +22. He abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors, and he refused to follow the LORD's ways. + +23. Then Amon's own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. +24. But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king. + +25. The rest of the events in Amon's reign and what he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +26. He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Josiah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..06dcee3d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +Josiah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 22 +1. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. +2. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. + +3. In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, the court secretary, to the Temple of the LORD. He told him, +4. "Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at the LORD's Temple. +5. Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the LORD's Temple. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the Temple. +6. They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the Temple. +7. But don't require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they receive, for they are honest and trustworthy men." +Hilkiah Discovers God's Law + + +8. Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the LORD's Temple!" Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it. + +9. Shaphan went to the king and reported, "Your officials have turned over the money collected at the Temple of the LORD to the workers and supervisors at the Temple." +10. Shaphan also told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll." So Shaphan read it to the king. + +11. When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. +12. Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king's personal adviser: +13. "Go to the Temple and speak to the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the LORD's great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do." + +14. So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe. + +15. She said to them, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you, +16. 'This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true. +17. For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will burn against this place, and it will not be quenched.' + +18. "But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the LORD and tell him: 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard: +19. You were sorry and humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I said against this city and its people--that this land would be cursed and become desolate. You tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the LORD. +20. So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city.'" +So they took her message back to the king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_23.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_23.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..991e9bb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +Josiah's Religious Reforms + +# Chapter 23 +1. Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. +2. And the king went up to the Temple of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets--all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the LORD's Temple. +3. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the LORD's presence. He pledged to obey the LORD by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. + +4. Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the LORD's Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel. +5. He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens. +6. The king removed the Asherah pole from the LORD's Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the people. +7. He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole. + +8. Josiah brought to Jerusalem all the priests who were living in other towns of Judah. He also defiled the pagan shrines, where they had offered sacrifices--all the way from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city. +9. The priests who had served at the pagan shrines were not allowed to serve at the LORD's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests. + +10. Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire as an offering to Molech. +11. He removed from the entrance of the LORD's Temple the horse statues that the former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch, an officer of the court. The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun. + +12. Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the LORD's Temple. He smashed them to bits and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley. +13. The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites. +14. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them. + +15. The king also tore down the altar at Bethel--the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole. +16. Then Josiah turned around and noticed several tombs in the side of the hill. He ordered that the bones be brought out, and he burned them on the altar at Bethel to desecrate it. (This happened just as the LORD had promised through the man of God when Jeroboam stood beside the altar at the festival.) +Then Josiah turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of God who had predicted these things. +17. "What is that monument over there?" Josiah asked. + +And the people of the town told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted the very things that you have just done to the altar at Bethel!" + + +18. Josiah replied, "Leave it alone. Don't disturb his bones." So they did not burn his bones or those of the old prophet from Samaria. + +19. Then Josiah demolished all the buildings at the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria, just as he had done at Bethel. They had been built by the various kings of Israel and had made the LORD very angry. +20. He executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem. + +Josiah Celebrates Passover + + +21. King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: "You must celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant." +22. There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. +23. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign, this Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem. + +24. Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols, and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the LORD's Temple. +25. Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. + +26. Even so, the LORD was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him. +27. For the LORD said, "I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored." + +28. The rest of the events in Josiah's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. + +29. While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah and his army marched out to fight him, but King Neco killed him when they met at Megiddo. +30. Josiah's officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land anointed Josiah's son Jehoahaz and made him the next king. + +Jehoahaz Rules in Judah + + +31. Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. +32. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his ancestors had done. + +33. Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him from ruling in Jerusalem. He also demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold as tribute. + +Jehoiakim Rules in Judah + + +34. Pharaoh Neco then installed Eliakim, another of Josiah's sons, to reign in place of his father, and he changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner, where he died. + +35. In order to get the silver and gold demanded as tribute by Pharaoh Neco, Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people of Judah, requiring them to pay in proportion to their wealth. + +36. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. +37. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his ancestors had done. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_24.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_24.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..13dbc9fc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +# Chapter 24 +1. During Jehoiakim's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled. +2. Then the LORD sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the LORD had promised through his prophets. +3. These disasters happened to Judah because of the LORD's command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, +4. who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The LORD would not forgive this. + +5. The rest of the events in Jehoiakim's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. +6. When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king. + +7. The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt--from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River. + +Jehoiachin Rules in Judah + + +8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. +9. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his father had done. + +10. During Jehoiachin's reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. +11. Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege. +12. Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians. + +In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. + +13. As the LORD had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the LORD's Temple and the royal palace. He stripped away all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple. +14. King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans--10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land. + +15. Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem's elite. +16. He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war. +17. Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah's name to Zedekiah. + +Zedekiah Rules in Judah + + +18. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. +19. But Zedekiah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. +20. These things happened because of the LORD's anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. + +The Fall of Jerusalem +Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. + + + diff --git a/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_25.md b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_25.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..359bcfc1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/12_2 Kings/Chapter_25.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +# Chapter 25 +1. So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. +2. Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign. + +3. By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. +4. Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, the soldiers waited for nightfall and escaped through the gate between the two walls behind the king's garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley. + +5. But the Babylonian troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. +6. They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. +7. They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. + +The Temple Destroyed + + +8. On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. +9. He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. +10. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. +11. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. +12. But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields. + +13. The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD's Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. +14. They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. +15. The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver. + +16. The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the LORD's Temple in the days of Solomon. +17. Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1/2 feet high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around. + +18. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers. +19. And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king's personal advisers; the army commander's chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens. +20. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah. +21. And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land. + +Gedaliah Governs in Judah + + +22. Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah. +23. When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men. + +24. Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. "Don't be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you," he promised. + +25. But in midautumn of that year, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. + +26. Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them. + +Hope for Israel's Royal Line + + +27. In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year. +28. He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon. +29. He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king's presence for the rest of his life. +30. So the king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..bb1834f6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,136 @@ +From Adam to Noah's Sons + +# Chapter 1 +1. The descendants of Adam were Seth, Enosh, +2. Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, +3. Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, +4. and Noah. +The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. + +Descendants of Japheth + + +5. The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. + +6. The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. + +7. The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. + +Descendants of Ham + + +8. The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. + +9. The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. +10. Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth. + +11. Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, +12. Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines came. + +13. Canaan's oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites, +14. Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, +15. Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, +16. Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. + +Descendants of Shem + + +17. The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. +The descendants of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. + +18. Arphaxad was the father of Shelah. + +Shelah was the father of Eber. + + +19. Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means "division"), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother's name was Joktan. + +20. Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, +21. Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, +22. Obal, Abimael, Sheba, +23. Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan. + +24. So this is the family line descended from Shem: Arphaxad, Shelah, +25. Eber, Peleg, Reu, +26. Serug, Nahor, Terah, +27. and Abram, later known as Abraham. + +Descendants of Abraham + + +28. The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. +29. These are their genealogical records: +The sons of Ishmael were Nebaioth (the oldest), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, + +30. Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, +31. Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael. + +32. The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. + +The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan. + + +33. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. + +All these were descendants of Abraham through his concubine Keturah. + +Descendants of Isaac + + +34. Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. + +Descendants of Esau + + +35. The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. + +36. The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, and Amalek, who was born to Timna. + +37. The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. + +Original Peoples of Edom + + +38. The descendants of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. + +39. The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan's sister was named Timna. + +40. The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. + +The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. + + +41. The son of Anah was Dishon. +The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. + +42. The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. +The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. + +Rulers of Edom + + +43. These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: +Bela son of Beor, who ruled from his city of Dinhabah. + + +44. When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king in his place. + +45. When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king in his place. + +46. When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who destroyed the Midianite army in the land of Moab. + +47. When Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became king in his place. + +48. When Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became king in his place. + +49. When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became king in his place. + +50. When Baal-hanan died, Hadad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. +51. Then Hadad died. +The clan leaders of Edom were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, +52. Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, +53. Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, +54. Magdiel, and Iram. These are the clan leaders of Edom. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0e18610c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,147 @@ +Descendants of Israel + +# Chapter 2 +1. The sons of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, +2. Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. + +Descendants of Judah + + +3. Judah had three sons from Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the LORD saw that the oldest son, Er, was a wicked man, so he killed him. +4. Later Judah had twin sons from Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law. Their names were Perez and Zerah. So Judah had five sons in all. + +5. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. + +6. The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda--five in all. + +7. The son of Carmi (a descendant of Zimri) was Achan, who brought disaster on Israel by taking plunder that had been set apart for the LORD. + +8. The son of Ethan was Azariah. + +From Judah's Grandson Hezron to David + + +9. The sons of Hezron were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb. + +10. Ram was the father of Amminadab. + +Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of Judah. + + +11. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. + +Salmon was the father of Boaz. + + +12. Boaz was the father of Obed. + +Obed was the father of Jesse. + + +13. Jesse's first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, +14. his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, +15. his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David. + +16. Their sisters were named Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah had three sons named Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. +17. Abigail married a man named Jether, an Ishmaelite, and they had a son named Amasa. + +Other Descendants of Hezron + + +18. Hezron's son Caleb had sons from his wife Azubah and from Jerioth. Her sons were named Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. +19. After Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrathah, and they had a son named Hur. +20. Hur was the father of Uri. Uri was the father of Bezalel. + +21. When Hezron was sixty years old, he married Gilead's sister, the daughter of Makir. They had a son named Segub. +22. Segub was the father of Jair, who ruled twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead. +23. (But Geshur and Aram captured the Towns of Jair and also took Kenath and its sixty surrounding villages.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead. + +24. Soon after Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah, his wife Abijah gave birth to a son named Ashhur (the father of Tekoa). + +Descendants of Hezron's Son Jerahmeel + + +25. The sons of Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, were Ram (the firstborn), Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. +26. Jerahmeel had a second wife named Atarah. She was the mother of Onam. + +27. The sons of Ram, the oldest son of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. + +28. The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. + +The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. + + +29. The sons of Abishur and his wife Abihail were Ahban and Molid. + +30. The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children, +31. but Appaim had a son named Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. Sheshan had a descendant named Ahlai. + +32. The sons of Jada, Shammai's brother, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children, +33. but Jonathan had two sons named Peleth and Zaza. + +These were all descendants of Jerahmeel. + + +34. Sheshan had no sons, though he did have daughters. He also had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. +35. Sheshan gave one of his daughters to be the wife of Jarha, and they had a son named Attai. + +36. Attai was the father of Nathan. + +Nathan was the father of Zabad. + + +37. Zabad was the father of Ephlal. + +Ephlal was the father of Obed. + + +38. Obed was the father of Jehu. + +Jehu was the father of Azariah. + + +39. Azariah was the father of Helez. + +Helez was the father of Eleasah. + + +40. Eleasah was the father of Sismai. + +Sismai was the father of Shallum. + + +41. Shallum was the father of Jekamiah. + +Jekamiah was the father of Elishama. + +Descendants of Hezron's Son Caleb + + +42. The descendants of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, included Mesha (the firstborn), who became the father of Ziph. Caleb's descendants also included the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron. + +43. The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. +44. Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. +45. The son of Shammai was Maon. Maon was the father of Beth-zur. + +46. Caleb's concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez. + +47. The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. + +48. Another of Caleb's concubines, Maacah, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah. +49. She also gave birth to Shaaph (the father of Madmannah) and Sheva (the father of Macbenah and Gibea). Caleb also had a daughter named Acsah. + +50. These were all descendants of Caleb. + +Descendants of Caleb's Son Hur +The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Caleb's wife Ephrathah, were Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim), + +51. Salma (the founder of Bethlehem), and Hareph (the founder of Beth-gader). + +52. The descendants of Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim) were Haroeh, half the Manahathites, +53. and the families of Kiriath-jearim--the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites, from whom came the people of Zorah and Eshtaol. + +54. The descendants of Salma were the people of Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, the other half of the Manahathites, the Zorites, +55. and the families of scribes living at Jabez--the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. All these were Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the family of Recab. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3f82a53f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +Descendants of David + +# Chapter 3 +1. These are the sons of David who were born in Hebron: +The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel. + +The second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel. + + +2. The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. + +The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. + + +3. The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. + +The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah, David's wife. + + +4. These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven and a half years. + +Then David reigned another thirty-three years in Jerusalem. + +5. The sons born to David in Jerusalem included Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. Their mother was Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel. +6. David also had nine other sons: Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, +7. Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, +8. Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. + +9. These were the sons of David, not including his sons born to his concubines. Their sister was named Tamar. + +Descendants of Solomon + + +10. The descendants of Solomon were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, +11. Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, +12. Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, +13. Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, +14. Amon, and Josiah. + +15. The sons of Josiah were Johanan (the oldest), Jehoiakim (the second), Zedekiah (the third), and Jehoahaz (the fourth). + +16. The successors of Jehoiakim were his son Jehoiachin and his brother Zedekiah. + +Descendants of Jehoiachin + + +17. The sons of Jehoiachin, who was taken prisoner by the Babylonians, were Shealtiel, +18. Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. + +19. The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei. + +The sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah. (Their sister was Shelomith.) + +20. His five other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed. + +21. The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. Jeshaiah's son was Rephaiah. Rephaiah's son was Arnan. Arnan's son was Obadiah. Obadiah's son was Shecaniah. + +22. The descendants of Shecaniah were Shemaiah and his sons, Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat--six in all. + +23. The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam--three in all. + +24. The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani--seven in all. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b5ea93cd --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,79 @@ +Other Descendants of Judah + +# Chapter 4 +1. The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. + +2. Shobal's son Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites. + +3. The descendants of Etam were Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, their sister Hazzelelponi, +4. Penuel (the father of Gedor), and Ezer (the father of Hushah). These were the descendants of Hur (the firstborn of Ephrathah), the ancestor of Bethlehem. + +5. Ashhur (the father of Tekoa) had two wives, named Helah and Naarah. +6. Naarah gave birth to Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. +7. Helah gave birth to Zereth, Izhar, Ethnan, +8. and Koz, who became the ancestor of Anub, Zobebah, and all the families of Aharhel son of Harum. + +9. There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. +10. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!" And God granted him his request. + +11. Kelub (the brother of Shuhah) was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. +12. Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir-nahash. These were the descendants of Recah. + +13. The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel's sons were Hathath and Meonothai. +14. Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of the Valley of Craftsmen, so called because they were craftsmen. + +15. The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz. + +16. The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. + +17. The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. One of Mered's wives became the mother of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa). +18. He married a woman from Judah, who became the mother of Jered (the father of Gedor), Heber (the father of Soco), and Jekuthiel (the father of Zanoah). Mered also married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh, and she bore him children. + +19. Hodiah's wife was the sister of Naham. One of her sons was the father of Keilah the Garmite, and another was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite. + +20. The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. + +The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. + +Descendants of Judah's Son Shelah + + +21. Shelah was one of Judah's sons. The descendants of Shelah were Er (the father of Lecah); Laadah (the father of Mareshah); the families of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; +22. Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-lehem. These names all come from ancient records. +23. They were the pottery makers who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They lived there and worked for the king. + +Descendants of Simeon + + +24. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zohar, and Shaul. + +25. The descendants of Shaul were Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma. + +26. The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei. + +27. Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had large families. So Simeon's tribe never grew as large as the tribe of Judah. + +28. They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, +29. Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, +30. Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, +31. Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These towns were under their control until the time of King David. +32. Their descendants also lived in Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan--five towns +33. and their surrounding villages as far away as Baalath. This was their territory, and these names are listed in their genealogical records. + +34. Other descendants of Simeon included Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, +35. Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, +36. Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, +37. and Ziza son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah. + +38. These were the names of some of the leaders of Simeon's wealthy clans. Their families grew, +39. and they traveled to the region of Gerar, in the east part of the valley, seeking pastureland for their flocks. +40. They found lush pastures there, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful. + +Some of Ham's descendants had been living in that region. + +41. But during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, these leaders of Simeon invaded the region and completely destroyed the homes of the descendants of Ham and of the Meunites. No trace of them remains today. They killed everyone who lived there and took the land for themselves, because they wanted its good pastureland for their flocks. +42. Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel--all sons of Ishi. +43. They destroyed the few Amalekites who had survived, and they have lived there ever since. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..bee1147e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +Descendants of Reuben + +# Chapter 5 +1. The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father's concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son. +2. The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph. + +3. The sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. + +4. The descendants of Joel were Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei, +5. Micah, Reaiah, Baal, +6. and Beerah. Beerah was the leader of the Reubenites when they were taken into captivity by King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. + +7. Beerah's relatives are listed in their genealogical records by their clans: Jeiel (the leader), Zechariah, +8. and Bela son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel. + +The Reubenites lived in the area that stretches from Aroer to Nebo and Baal-meon. + +9. And since they had so many livestock in the land of Gilead, they spread east toward the edge of the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River. + +10. During the reign of Saul, the Reubenites defeated the Hagrites in battle. Then they moved into the Hagrite settlements all along the eastern edge of Gilead. + +Descendants of Gad + + +11. Next to the Reubenites, the descendants of Gad lived in the land of Bashan as far east as Salecah. +12. Joel was the leader in the land of Bashan, and Shapham was second-in-command, followed by Janai and Shaphat. + +13. Their relatives, the leaders of seven other clans, were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. +14. These were all descendants of Abihail son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. +15. Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the leader of their clans. + +16. The Gadites lived in the land of Gilead, in Bashan and its villages, and throughout all the pasturelands of Sharon. +17. All of these were listed in the genealogical records during the days of King Jotham of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel. + +The Tribes East of the Jordan + + +18. There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows. +19. They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites. +20. They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him. So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated. +21. The plunder taken from the Hagrites included 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and goats, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 captives. +22. Many of the Hagrites were killed in the battle because God was fighting against them. The people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh lived in their land until they were taken into exile. + +23. The half-tribe of Manasseh was very large and spread through the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. +24. These were the leaders of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. These men had a great reputation as mighty warriors and leaders of their clans. + +25. But these tribes were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They worshiped the gods of the nations that God had destroyed. +26. So the God of Israel caused King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser) to invade the land and take away the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as captives. The Assyrians exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River, where they remain to this day. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f52869fd --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,172 @@ +The Priestly Line + +# Chapter 6 +1. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. + +2. The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. + +3. The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. + +The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. + + +4. Eleazar was the father of Phinehas. + +Phinehas was the father of Abishua. + + +5. Abishua was the father of Bukki. + +Bukki was the father of Uzzi. + + +6. Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah. + +Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth. + + +7. Meraioth was the father of Amariah. + +Amariah was the father of Ahitub. + + +8. Ahitub was the father of Zadok. + +Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz. + + +9. Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah. + +Azariah was the father of Johanan. + + +10. Johanan was the father of Azariah, the high priest at the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem. + +11. Azariah was the father of Amariah. + +Amariah was the father of Ahitub. + + +12. Ahitub was the father of Zadok. + +Zadok was the father of Shallum. + + +13. Shallum was the father of Hilkiah. + +Hilkiah was the father of Azariah. + + +14. Azariah was the father of Seraiah. + +Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak, + +15. who went into exile when the LORD sent the people of Judah and Jerusalem into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. + +The Levite Clans + + +16. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. + +17. The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei. + +18. The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. + +19. The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. + +The following were the Levite clans, listed according to their ancestral descent: + + +20. The descendants of Gershon included Libni, Jahath, Zimmah, +21. Joah, Iddo, Zerah, and Jeatherai. + +22. The descendants of Kohath included Amminadab, Korah, Assir, +23. Elkanah, Abiasaph, Assir, +24. Tahath, Uriel, Uzziah, and Shaul. + +25. The descendants of Elkanah included Amasai, Ahimoth, +26. Elkanah, Zophai, Nahath, +27. Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah, and Samuel. + +28. The sons of Samuel were Joel (the older) and Abijah (the second). + +29. The descendants of Merari included Mahli, Libni, Shimei, Uzzah, +30. Shimea, Haggiah, and Asaiah. + +The Temple Musicians + + +31. David assigned the following men to lead the music at the house of the LORD after the Ark was placed there. +32. They ministered with music at the Tabernacle until Solomon built the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. They carried out their work, following all the regulations handed down to them. +33. These are the men who served, along with their sons: +Heman the musician was from the clan of Kohath. His genealogy was traced back through Joel, Samuel, + +34. Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, +35. Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai, +36. Elkanah, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah, +37. Tahath, Assir, Abiasaph, Korah, +38. Izhar, Kohath, Levi, and Israel. + +39. Heman's first assistant was Asaph from the clan of Gershon. Asaph's genealogy was traced back through Berekiah, Shimea, +40. Michael, Baaseiah, Malkijah, +41. Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah, +42. Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei, +43. Jahath, Gershon, and Levi. + +44. Heman's second assistant was Ethan from the clan of Merari. Ethan's genealogy was traced back through Kishi, Abdi, Malluch, +45. Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah, +46. Amzi, Bani, Shemer, +47. Mahli, Mushi, Merari, and Levi. + +48. Their fellow Levites were appointed to various other tasks in the Tabernacle, the house of God. + +Aaron's Descendants + + +49. Only Aaron and his descendants served as priests. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense, and they performed all the other duties related to the Most Holy Place. They made atonement for Israel by doing everything that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded them. + +50. The descendants of Aaron were Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, +51. Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah, +52. Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub, +53. Zadok, and Ahimaaz. + +Territory for the Levites + + +54. This is a record of the towns and territory assigned by means of sacred lots to the descendants of Aaron, who were from the clan of Kohath. +55. This territory included Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands in Judah, +56. but the fields and outlying areas belonging to the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. +57. So the descendants of Aaron were given the following towns, each with its pasturelands: Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, +58. Holon, Debir, +59. Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh. +60. And from the territory of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, each with its pasturelands. So thirteen towns were given to the descendants of Aaron. +61. The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten towns from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh by means of sacred lots. + +62. The descendants of Gershon received by sacred lots thirteen towns from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and from the Bashan area of Manasseh, east of the Jordan. + +63. The descendants of Merari received by sacred lots twelve towns from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. + +64. So the people of Israel assigned all these towns and pasturelands to the Levites. +65. The towns in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, mentioned above, were assigned to them by means of sacred lots. + +66. The descendants of Kohath were given the following towns from the territory of Ephraim, each with its pasturelands: +67. Shechem (a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim), Gezer, +68. Jokmeam, Beth-horon, +69. Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. +70. The remaining descendants of Kohath were assigned the towns of Aner and Bileam from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands. + +71. The descendants of Gershon received the towns of Golan (in Bashan) and Ashtaroth from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands. +72. From the territory of Issachar, they were given Kedesh, Daberath, +73. Ramoth, and Anem, each with its pasturelands. +74. From the territory of Asher, they received Mashal, Abdon, +75. Hukok, and Rehob, each with its pasturelands. +76. From the territory of Naphtali, they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, each with its pasturelands. + +77. The remaining descendants of Merari received the towns of Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmon, and Tabor from the territory of Zebulun, each with its pasturelands. +78. From the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, they received Bezer (a desert town), Jahaz, +79. Kedemoth, and Mephaath, each with its pasturelands. +80. And from the territory of Gad, they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, +81. Heshbon, and Jazer, each with its pasturelands. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b18f2741 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ +Descendants of Issachar + +# Chapter 7 +1. The four sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. + +2. The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. At the time of King David, the total number of mighty warriors listed in the records of these clans was 22,600. + +3. The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. These five became the leaders of clans. +4. All of them had many wives and many sons, so the total number of men available for military service among their descendants was 36,000. + +5. The total number of mighty warriors from all the clans of the tribe of Issachar was 87,000. All of them were listed in their genealogical records. + +Descendants of Benjamin + + +6. Three of Benjamin's sons were Bela, Beker, and Jediael. + +7. The five sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors from these clans was 22,034, as listed in their genealogical records. + +8. The sons of Beker were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. +9. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors and leaders from these clans was 20,200, as listed in their genealogical records. + +10. The son of Jediael was Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. +11. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. From these clans the total number of mighty warriors ready for war was 17,200. + +12. The sons of Ir were Shuppim and Huppim. Hushim was the son of Aher. + +Descendants of Naphtali + + +13. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. They were all descendants of Jacob's concubine Bilhah. + +Descendants of Manasseh + + +14. The descendants of Manasseh through his Aramean concubine included Asriel. She also bore Makir, the father of Gilead. +15. Makir found wives for Huppim and Shuppim. Makir had a sister named Maacah. One of his descendants was Zelophehad, who had only daughters. + +16. Makir's wife, Maacah, gave birth to a son whom she named Peresh. His brother's name was Sheresh. The sons of Peresh were Ulam and Rakem. +17. The son of Ulam was Bedan. All these were considered Gileadites, descendants of Makir son of Manasseh. + +18. Makir's sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. + +19. The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. + +Descendants of Ephraim + + +20. The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, +21. Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. These two were killed trying to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath. +22. Their father, Ephraim, mourned for them a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. +23. Afterward Ephraim slept with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah because of the tragedy his family had suffered. +24. He had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. + +25. The descendants of Ephraim included Rephah, Resheph, Telah, Tahan, +26. Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, +27. Nun, and Joshua. + +28. The descendants of Ephraim lived in the territory that included Bethel and its surrounding towns to the south, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its surrounding villages to the north as far as Ayyah and its towns. +29. Along the border of Manasseh were the towns of Beth-shan, Taanach, Megiddo, Dor, and their surrounding villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns. + +Descendants of Asher + + +30. The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. They had a sister named Serah. + +31. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel (the father of Birzaith). + +32. The sons of Heber were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. They had a sister named Shua. + +33. The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. + +34. The sons of Shomer were Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram. + +35. The sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. + +36. The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, +37. Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. + +38. The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. + +39. The sons of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. + +40. Each of these descendants of Asher was the head of an ancestral clan. They were all select men--mighty warriors and outstanding leaders. The total number of men available for military service was 26,000, as listed in their genealogical records. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d69aba57 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,88 @@ +Descendants of Benjamin + +# Chapter 8 +1. Benjamin's first son was Bela, the second was Ashbel, the third was Aharah, +2. the fourth was Nohah, and the fifth was Rapha. + +3. The sons of Bela were Addar, Gera, Abihud, +4. Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, +5. Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. + +6. The sons of Ehud, leaders of the clans living at Geba, were exiled to Manahath. +7. Ehud's sons were Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. Gera, who led them into exile, was the father of Uzza and Ahihud. + +8. After Shaharaim divorced his wives Hushim and Baara, he had children in the land of Moab. +9. His wife Hodesh gave birth to Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, +10. Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These sons all became the leaders of clans. + +11. Shaharaim's wife Hushim had already given birth to Abitub and Elpaal. +12. The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built the towns of Ono and Lod and their nearby villages), +13. Beriah, and Shema. They were the leaders of the clans living in Aijalon, and they drove out the inhabitants of Gath. + +14. Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, +15. Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, +16. Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. + +17. Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, +18. Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. + +19. Jakim, Zicri, Zabdi, +20. Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, +21. Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. + +22. Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, +23. Abdon, Zicri, Hanan, +24. Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, +25. Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. + +26. Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, +27. Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zicri were the sons of Jeroham. + +28. These were the leaders of the ancestral clans; they were listed in their genealogical records, and they all lived in Jerusalem. + +The Family of Saul + + +29. Jeiel (the father of Gibeon) lived in the town of Gibeon. His wife's name was Maacah, +30. and his oldest son was named Abdon. Jeiel's other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, +31. Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, +32. and Mikloth, who was the father of Shimeam. All these families lived near each other in Jerusalem. + +33. Ner was the father of Kish. + +Kish was the father of Saul. + +Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malkishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal. + + +34. Jonathan was the father of Merib-baal. + +Merib-baal was the father of Micah. + + +35. Micah was the father of Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. + +36. Ahaz was the father of Jadah. + +Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. + +Zimri was the father of Moza. + + +37. Moza was the father of Binea. +Binea was the father of Rephaiah. + +Rephaiah was the father of Eleasah. + +Eleasah was the father of Azel. + + +38. Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel. + +39. Azel's brother Eshek had three sons: the first was Ulam, the second was Jeush, and the third was Eliphelet. +40. Ulam's sons were all mighty warriors and expert archers. They had many sons and grandsons--150 in all. + +All these were descendants of Benjamin. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..496ab5cc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@ +# Chapter 9 +1. So all Israel was listed in the genealogical records in The Book of the Kings of Israel. + +The Returning Exiles +The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the LORD. +2. The first of the exiles to return to their property in their former towns were priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites. +3. Some of the people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh came and settled in Jerusalem. + +4. One family that returned was that of Uthai son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, a descendant of Perez son of Judah. + +5. Others returned from the Shilonite clan, including Asaiah (the oldest) and his sons. + +6. From the Zerahite clan, Jeuel returned with his relatives. + +In all, 690 families from the tribe of Judah returned. + + +7. From the tribe of Benjamin came Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah; +8. Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi, son of Micri; and Meshullam son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah. + +9. These men were all leaders of clans, and they were listed in their genealogical records. In all, 956 families from the tribe of Benjamin returned. + +The Returning Priests + + +10. Among the priests who returned were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin, +11. Azariah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub. Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. + +12. Other returning priests were Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malkijah, and Maasai son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer. + +13. In all, 1,760 priests returned. They were heads of clans and very able men. They were responsible for ministering at the house of God. + +The Returning Levites + + +14. The Levites who returned were Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, a descendant of Merari; +15. Bakbakkar; Heresh; Galal; Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zicri, son of Asaph; +16. Obadiah son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun; and Berekiah son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the area of Netophah. + +17. The gatekeepers who returned were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was the chief gatekeeper. +18. Prior to this time, they were responsible for the King's Gate on the east side. These men served as gatekeepers for the camps of the Levites. +19. Shallum was the son of Kore, a descendant of Abiasaph, from the clan of Korah. He and his relatives, the Korahites, were responsible for guarding the entrance to the sanctuary, just as their ancestors had guarded the Tabernacle in the camp of the LORD. + +20. Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers in earlier times, and the LORD had been with him. +21. And later Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Tabernacle. + +22. In all, there were 212 gatekeepers in those days, and they were listed according to the genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed their ancestors because they were reliable men. +23. These gatekeepers and their descendants, by their divisions, were responsible for guarding the entrance to the house of the LORD when that house was a tent. +24. The gatekeepers were stationed on all four sides--east, west, north, and south. +25. Their relatives in the villages came regularly to share their duties for seven-day periods. + +26. The four chief gatekeepers, all Levites, were trusted officials, for they were responsible for the rooms and treasuries at the house of God. +27. They would spend the night around the house of God, since it was their duty to guard it and to open the gates every morning. + +28. Some of the gatekeepers were assigned to care for the various articles used in worship. They checked them in and out to avoid any loss. +29. Others were responsible for the furnishings, the items in the sanctuary, and the supplies, such as choice flour, wine, olive oil, frankincense, and spices. +30. But it was the priests who blended the spices. +31. Mattithiah, a Levite and the oldest son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with baking the bread used in the offerings. +32. And some members of the clan of Kohath were in charge of preparing the bread to be set on the table each Sabbath day. + +33. The musicians, all prominent Levites, lived at the Temple. They were exempt from other responsibilities since they were on duty at all hours. +34. All these men lived in Jerusalem. They were the heads of Levite families and were listed as prominent leaders in their genealogical records. + +King Saul's Family Tree + + +35. Jeiel (the father of Gibeon) lived in the town of Gibeon. His wife's name was Maacah, +36. and his oldest son was named Abdon. Jeiel's other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, +37. Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. +38. Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. All these families lived near each other in Jerusalem. + +39. Ner was the father of Kish. + +Kish was the father of Saul. + +Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malkishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal. + + +40. Jonathan was the father of Merib-baal. + +Merib-baal was the father of Micah. + + +41. The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. + +42. Ahaz was the father of Jadah. + +Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. + +Zimri was the father of Moza. + + +43. Moza was the father of Binea. + +Binea's son was Rephaiah. + +Rephaiah's son was Eleasah. + +Eleasah's son was Azel. + + +44. Azel had six sons, whose names were Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ddb17a77 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +The Death of King Saul + +# Chapter 10 +1. Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. +2. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons--Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. +3. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him. + +4. Saul groaned to his armor bearer, "Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to taunt and torture me." +But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. + +5. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died. +6. So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end. + +7. When all the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that their army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. + +8. The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa. +9. So they stripped off Saul's armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul's death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. +10. They placed his armor in the temple of their gods, and they fastened his head to the temple of Dagon. + +11. But when everyone in Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, +12. all their mighty warriors brought the bodies of Saul and his sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones beneath the great tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. + +13. So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD. He failed to obey the LORD's command, and he even consulted a medium +14. instead of asking the LORD for guidance. So the LORD killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a6d237d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,135 @@ +David Becomes King of All Israel + +# Chapter 11 +1. Then all Israel gathered before David at Hebron and told him, "We are your own flesh and blood. +2. In the past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the LORD your God told you, 'You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be the leader of my people Israel.'" + +3. So there at Hebron, David made a covenant before the LORD with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel, just as the LORD had promised through Samuel. + +David Captures Jerusalem + + +4. Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (or Jebus, as it used to be called), where the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were living. +5. The people of Jebus taunted David, saying, "You'll never get in here!" But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David. + +6. David had said to his troops, "Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!" And Joab, the son of David's sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David's armies. + +7. David made the fortress his home, and that is why it is called the City of David. +8. He extended the city from the supporting terraces to the surrounding area, while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem. +9. And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD of Heaven's Armies was with him. + +David's Mightiest Warriors + + +10. These are the leaders of David's mighty warriors. Together with all Israel, they decided to make David their king, just as the LORD had promised concerning Israel. + +11. Here is the record of David's mightiest warriors: The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three--the mightiest warriors among David's men. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. + +12. Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. +13. He was with David when the Philistines gathered for battle at Pas-dammim and attacked the Israelites in a field full of barley. The Israelite army fled, +14. but Eleazar and David held their ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the LORD saved them by giving them a great victory. + +15. Once when David was at the rock near the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty--an elite group among David's fighting men) went down to meet him there. +16. David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. + +17. David remarked longingly to his men, "Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem." +18. So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD. +19. "God forbid that I should drink this!" he exclaimed. "This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me." So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three. + +David's Thirty Mighty Men + + +20. Abishai, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three. +21. Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three. + +22. There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. +23. Once, armed only with a club, he killed an Egyptian warrior who was 7 1/2 feet tall and who was armed with a spear as thick as a weaver's beam. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it. +24. Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the three mightiest warriors. +25. He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard. + +26. David's mighty warriors also included: +Asahel, Joab's brother; +Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem; + + +27. Shammah from Harod; +Helez from Pelon; + + +28. Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa; +Abiezer from Anathoth; + + +29. Sibbecai from Hushah; +Zalmon from Ahoah; + +30. Maharai from Netophah; +Heled son of Baanah from Netophah; + + +31. Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah (in the land of Benjamin); +Benaiah from Pirathon; + + +32. Hurai from near Nahale-gaash; +Abi-albon from Arabah; + +33. Azmaveth from Bahurim; +Eliahba from Shaalbon; + + +34. the sons of Jashen from Gizon; +Jonathan son of Shagee from Harar; + + +35. Ahiam son of Sharar from Harar; +Eliphal son of Ur; + + +36. Hepher from Mekerah; +Ahijah from Pelon; + + +37. Hezro from Carmel; +Paarai son of Ezbai; + +38. Joel, the brother of Nathan; +Mibhar son of Hagri; + + +39. Zelek from Ammon; +Naharai from Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah; + + +40. Ira from Jattir; +Gareb from Jattir; + + +41. Uriah the Hittite; +Zabad son of Ahlai; + + +42. Adina son of Shiza, the Reubenite leader who had thirty men with him; + +43. Hanan son of Maacah; +Joshaphat from Mithna; + + +44. Uzzia from Ashtaroth; +Shama and Jeiel, the sons of Hotham, from Aroer; + + +45. Jediael son of Shimri; +Joha, his brother, from Tiz; + + +46. Eliel from Mahavah; +Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam; +Ithmah from Moab; + + +47. Eliel and Obed; +Jaasiel from Zobah. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..04da0094 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,108 @@ +Warriors Join David's Army + +# Chapter 12 +1. The following men joined David at Ziklag while he was hiding from Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who fought beside David in battle. +2. All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. They were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. +3. Their leader was Ahiezer son of Shemaah from Gibeah; his brother Joash was second-in-command. These were the other warriors: +Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; +Beracah; +Jehu from Anathoth; + + +4. Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a famous warrior and leader among the Thirty; +Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah; + +5. Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph; + +6. Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, who were Korahites; + +7. Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham from Gedor. + +8. Some brave and experienced warriors from the tribe of Gad also defected to David while he was at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were expert with both shield and spear, as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the mountains. + +9. Ezer was their leader. + +Obadiah was second. + +Eliab was third. + + +10. Mishmannah was fourth. + +Jeremiah was fifth. + + +11. Attai was sixth. + +Eliel was seventh. + + +12. Johanan was eighth. + +Elzabad was ninth. + + +13. Jeremiah was tenth. + +Macbannai was eleventh. + + +14. These warriors from Gad were army commanders. The weakest among them could take on a hundred regular troops, and the strongest could take on a thousand! +15. These were the men who crossed the Jordan River during its seasonal flooding at the beginning of the year and drove out all the people living in the lowlands on both the east and west banks. + +16. Others from Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. +17. David went out to meet them and said, "If you have come in peace to help me, we are friends. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when I am innocent, then may the God of our ancestors see it and punish you." + +18. Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said, +"We are yours, David! + +We are on your side, son of Jesse. + +Peace and prosperity be with you, + +and success to all who help you, + +for your God is the one who helps you." +So David let them join him, and he made them officers over his troops. + + +19. Some men from Manasseh defected from the Israelite army and joined David when he set out with the Philistines to fight against Saul. But as it turned out, the Philistine rulers refused to let David and his men go with them. After much discussion, they sent them back, for they said, "It will cost us our heads if David switches loyalties to Saul and turns against us." + +20. Here is a list of the men from Manasseh who defected to David as he was returning to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each commanded 1,000 troops from the tribe of Manasseh. +21. They helped David chase down bands of raiders, for they were all brave and able warriors who became commanders in his army. +22. Day after day more men joined David until he had a great army, like the army of God. + +23. These are the numbers of armed warriors who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the LORD had promised. + +24. From the tribe of Judah, there were 6,800 warriors armed with shields and spears. + +25. From the tribe of Simeon, there were 7,100 brave warriors. + +26. From the tribe of Levi, there were 4,600 warriors. +27. This included Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, who had 3,700 under his command. +28. This also included Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 members of his family who were all officers. + +29. From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul's relatives, there were 3,000 warriors. Most of the men from Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul until this time. + +30. From the tribe of Ephraim, there were 20,800 brave warriors, each highly respected in his own clan. + +31. From the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, 18,000 men were designated by name to help David become king. + +32. From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take. + +33. From the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 skilled warriors. They were fully armed and prepared for battle and completely loyal to David. + +34. From the tribe of Naphtali, there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 warriors armed with shields and spears. + +35. From the tribe of Dan, there were 28,600 warriors, all prepared for battle. + +36. From the tribe of Asher, there were 40,000 trained warriors, all prepared for battle. + +37. From the east side of the Jordan River--where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh lived--there were 120,000 troops armed with every kind of weapon. + +38. All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king over all Israel. In fact, everyone in Israel agreed that David should be their king. +39. They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made by their relatives for their arrival. +40. And people from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, clusters of raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep, and goats were brought to the celebration. There was great joy throughout the land of Israel. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3b172adf --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +David Attempts to Move the Ark + +# Chapter 13 +1. David consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army. +2. Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: "If you approve and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. +3. It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul." + +4. The whole assembly agreed to this, for the people could see it was the right thing to do. +5. So David summoned all Israel, from the Shihor Brook of Egypt in the south all the way to the town of Lebo-hamath in the north, to join in bringing the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. +6. Then David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (also called Kiriath-jearim) to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD who is enthroned between the cherubim. +7. They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab's house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. +8. David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments--lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. + +9. But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark. +10. Then the LORD's anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God. + +11. David was angry because the LORD's anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means "to burst out against Uzzah"), as it is still called today. + +12. David was now afraid of God, and he asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark of God back into my care?" +13. So David did not move the Ark into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. +14. The Ark of God remained there in Obed-edom's house for three months, and the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and everything he owned. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6e3395e8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +David's Palace and Family + +# Chapter 14 +1. Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber, and stonemasons and carpenters to build him a palace. +2. And David realized that the LORD had confirmed him as king over Israel and had greatly blessed his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. + +3. Then David married more wives in Jerusalem, and they had more sons and daughters. +4. These are the names of David's sons who were born in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, +5. Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, +6. Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, +7. Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. + +David Conquers the Philistines + + +8. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he marched out to meet them. +9. The Philistines arrived and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim. +10. So David asked God, "Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" +The LORD replied, "Yes, go ahead. I will hand them over to you." + +11. So David and his troops went up to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. "God did it!" David exclaimed. "He used me to burst through my enemies like a raging flood!" So they named that place Baal-perazim (which means "the Lord who bursts through"). +12. The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, so David gave orders to burn them. + +13. But after a while the Philistines returned and raided the valley again. +14. And once again David asked God what to do. "Do not attack them straight on," God replied. "Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees. +15. When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, go out and attack! That will be the signal that God is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army." +16. So David did what God commanded, and they struck down the Philistine army all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. + +17. So David's fame spread everywhere, and the LORD caused all the nations to fear David. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4c7d486e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +Preparing to Move the Ark + +# Chapter 15 +1. David now built several buildings for himself in the City of David. He also prepared a place for the Ark of God and set up a special tent for it. +2. Then he commanded, "No one except the Levites may carry the Ark of God. The LORD has chosen them to carry the Ark of the LORD and to serve him forever." + +3. Then David summoned all Israel to Jerusalem to bring the Ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. +4. This is the number of the descendants of Aaron (the priests) and the Levites who were called together: + +5. From the clan of Kohath, 120, with Uriel as their leader. + +6. From the clan of Merari, 220, with Asaiah as their leader. + +7. From the clan of Gershon, 130, with Joel as their leader. + +8. From the descendants of Elizaphan, 200, with Shemaiah as their leader. + +9. From the descendants of Hebron, 80, with Eliel as their leader. + +10. From the descendants of Uzziel, 112, with Amminadab as their leader. + +11. Then David summoned the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and these Levite leaders: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. +12. He said to them, "You are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. +13. Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the LORD our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly." +14. So the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to bring the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to Jerusalem. +15. Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the LORD had instructed Moses. + +16. David also ordered the Levite leaders to appoint a choir of Levites who were singers and musicians to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and cymbals. +17. So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel along with his fellow Levites: Asaph son of Berekiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah from the clan of Merari. +18. The following men were chosen as their assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers--Obed-edom and Jeiel. + +19. The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound the bronze cymbals. +20. Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were chosen to play the harps. +21. Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were chosen to play the lyres. +22. Kenaniah, the head Levite, was chosen as the choir leader because of his skill. + +23. Berekiah and Elkanah were chosen to guard the Ark. +24. Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer--all of whom were priests--were chosen to blow the trumpets as they marched in front of the Ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were chosen to guard the Ark. + +Moving the Ark to Jerusalem + + +25. Then David and the elders of Israel and the generals of the army went to the house of Obed-edom to bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant up to Jerusalem with a great celebration. +26. And because God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the LORD's Covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. + +27. David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the Ark, and also the singers, and Kenaniah the choir leader. David was also wearing a priestly garment. +28. So all Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD's Covenant with shouts of joy, the blowing of rams' horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on harps and lyres. + +29. But as the Ark of the LORD's Covenant entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David skipping about and laughing with joy, she was filled with contempt for him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..20c64495 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,169 @@ +# Chapter 16 +1. They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. +2. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the LORD. +3. Then he gave to every man and woman in all Israel a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. + +4. David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD--to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. +5. Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals. Second to him was Zechariah, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played the harps and lyres. +6. The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God's Covenant. + +David's Song of Praise + + +7. On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the LORD: + +8. Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. + +Let the whole world know what he has done. + + +9. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. + +Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. + + +10. Exult in his holy name; + rejoice, you who worship the LORD. + +11. Search for the LORD and for his strength; + +continually seek him. + + +12. Remember the wonders he has performed, + +his miracles, and the rulings he has given, + + +13. you children of his servant Israel, + +you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. + + +14. He is the LORD our God. + +His justice is seen throughout the land. + + +15. Remember his covenant forever-- + +the commitment he made to a thousand generations. + + +16. This is the covenant he made with Abraham + +and the oath he swore to Isaac. + + +17. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, + +and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: + + +18. "I will give you the land of Canaan + +as your special possession." + + +19. He said this when you were few in number, + +a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. + + +20. They wandered from nation to nation, + +from one kingdom to another. + + +21. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. + +He warned kings on their behalf: + + +22. "Do not touch my chosen people, + +and do not hurt my prophets." + + +23. Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! + +Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. + + +24. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. + +Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. + + +25. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! + +He is to be feared above all gods. + + +26. The gods of other nations are mere idols, + but the LORD made the heavens! + +27. Honor and majesty surround him; + +strength and joy fill his dwelling. + + +28. O nations of the world, recognize the LORD, + recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong. + +29. Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! + +Bring your offering and come into his presence. +Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. + +30. Let all the earth tremble before him. + +The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. + + +31. Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! + Tell all the nations, "The LORD reigns!" + +32. Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! + +Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! + + +33. Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, + +for he is coming to judge the earth. + + +34. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +35. Cry out, "Save us, O God of our salvation! + +Gather and rescue us from among the nations, +so we can thank your holy name + +and rejoice and praise you." + + +36. Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, + +who lives from everlasting to everlasting! +And all the people shouted "Amen!" and praised the LORD. + +Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon + + +37. David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to serve regularly before the Ark of the LORD's Covenant, doing whatever needed to be done each day. +38. This group included Obed-edom (son of Jeduthun), Hosah, and sixty-eight other Levites as gatekeepers. + +39. Meanwhile, David stationed Zadok the priest and his fellow priests at the Tabernacle of the LORD at the place of worship in Gibeon, where they continued to minister before the LORD. +40. They sacrificed the regular burnt offerings to the LORD each morning and evening on the altar set aside for that purpose, obeying everything written in the Law of the LORD, as he had commanded Israel. +41. David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and the others chosen by name to give thanks to the LORD, for "his faithful love endures forever." +42. They used their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments to accompany their songs of praise to God. And the sons of Jeduthun were appointed as gatekeepers. + +43. Then all the people returned to their homes, and David turned and went home to bless his own family. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f511e80f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +The LORD's Covenant Promise to David + +# Chapter 17 +1. When David was settled in his palace, he summoned Nathan the prophet. "Look," David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the LORD's Covenant is out there under a tent!" + +2. Nathan replied to David, "Do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you." + +3. But that same night God said to Nathan, + +4. "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. +5. I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another in a Tabernacle. +6. Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel's leaders, the shepherds of my people. I have never asked them, "Why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar house?"' + +7. "Now go and say to my servant David, 'This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. +8. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! +9. And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won't oppress them as they've done in the past, +10. starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will defeat all your enemies. +"'Furthermore, I declare that the LORD will build a house for you--a dynasty of kings! +11. For when you die and join your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. +12. He is the one who will build a house--a temple--for me. And I will secure his throne forever. +13. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my favor from him as I took it from the one who ruled before you. +14. I will confirm him as king over my house and my kingdom for all time, and his throne will be secure forever.'" + +15. So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the LORD had said in this vision. + +David's Prayer of Thanks + + +16. Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, +"Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? +17. And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O LORD God! + +18. "What more can I say to you about the way you have honored me? You know what your servant is really like. +19. For the sake of your servant, O LORD, and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known. + +20. "O LORD, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! +21. What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations that stood in their way. +22. You chose Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. + +23. "And now, O LORD, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. May it be a promise that will last forever. +24. And may your name be established and honored forever so that everyone will say, 'The LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, is Israel's God!' And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever. + +25. "O my God, I have been bold enough to pray to you because you have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him--a dynasty of kings! +26. For you are God, O LORD. And you have promised these good things to your servant. +27. And now, it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, so that it will continue forever before you. For when you grant a blessing, O LORD, it is an eternal blessing!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..27f2e636 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +David's Military Victories + +# Chapter 18 +1. After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath and its surrounding towns. +2. David also conquered the land of Moab, and the Moabites who were spared became David's subjects and paid him tribute money. + +3. David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, as far as Hamath, when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River. +4. David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots. + +5. When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. +6. Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David's subjects and paid him tribute money. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went. + +7. David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer's officers to Jerusalem, +8. along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer's towns of Tebah and Cun. Later Solomon melted the bronze and molded it into the great bronze basin called the Sea, the pillars, and the various bronze articles used at the Temple. + +9. When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, +10. he sent his son Joram to congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies and were often at war. Joram presented David with many gifts of gold, silver, and bronze. + +11. King David dedicated all these gifts to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations--from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. + +12. Abishai son of Zeruiah destroyed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. +13. He placed army garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's subjects. In fact, the LORD made David victorious wherever he went. + +14. So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people. +15. Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. +16. Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah was the court secretary. +17. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king's bodyguard. And David's sons served as the king's chief assistants. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a16e4ba5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +David Defeats the Ammonites + +# Chapter 19 +1. Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. +2. David said, "I am going to show loyalty to Hanun because his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me." So David sent messengers to express sympathy to Hanun about his father's death. + +But when David's ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, + +3. the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, "Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the land so they can come in and conquer it!" +4. So Hanun seized David's ambassadors and shaved them, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. + +5. When David heard what had happened to the men, he sent messengers to tell them, "Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back." For they felt deep shame because of their appearance. + +6. When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 75,000 pounds of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah. +7. They also hired 32,000 chariots and secured the support of the king of Maacah and his army. These forces camped at Medeba, where they were joined by the Ammonite troops that Hanun had recruited from his own towns. +8. When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them. +9. The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city, while the other kings positioned themselves to fight in the open fields. + +10. When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel's elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. +11. He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. +12. "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me," Joab told his brother. "And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. +13. Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD's will be done." + +14. When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. +15. And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they also ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem. + +16. The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel, so they sent messengers and summoned additional Aramean troops from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops were under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer's forces. + +17. When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and positioned his troops in battle formation. Then David engaged the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. +18. But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David's forces killed 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army. +19. When Hadadezer's allies saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to David and became his subjects. After that, the Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a93d84d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +David Captures Rabbah + +# Chapter 20 +1. In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, Joab led the Israelite army in successful attacks against the land of the Ammonites. In the process he laid siege to the city of Rabbah, attacking and destroying it. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. + +2. Then David went to Rabbah and removed the crown from the king's head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and he found that it weighed seventy-five pounds. David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. +3. He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes. That is how David dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. + +Battles against Philistine Giants + + +4. After this, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, a descendant of the giants, and so the Philistines were subdued. + +5. During another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of Lahmi's spear was as thick as a weaver's beam! + +6. In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants. +7. But when he defied and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shimea. + +8. These Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2505ff74 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +David Takes a Census + +# Chapter 21 +1. Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. +2. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, "Take a census of all the people of Israel--from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north--and bring me a report so I may know how many there are." + +3. But Joab replied, "May the LORD increase the number of his people a hundred times over! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this? Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?" + +4. But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem +5. and reported the number of people to David. There were 1,100,000 warriors in all Israel who could handle a sword, and 470,000 in Judah. +6. But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do. + +Judgment for David's Sin + + +7. God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it. +8. Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing." + +9. Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer. This was the message: +10. "Go and say to David, 'This is what the LORD says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.'" + +11. So Gad came to David and said, "These are the choices the LORD has given you. +12. You may choose three years of famine, three months of destruction by the sword of your enemies, or three days of severe plague as the angel of the LORD brings devastation throughout the land of Israel. Decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me." + +13. "I'm in a desperate situation!" David replied to Gad. "But let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into human hands." + +14. So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 people died as a result. +15. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel was preparing to destroy it, the LORD relented and said to the death angel, "Stop! That is enough!" At that moment the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. + +16. David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground. +17. And David said to God, "I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep--what have they done? O LORD my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people." +David Builds an Altar + + +18. Then the angel of the LORD told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. +19. So David went up to do what the LORD had commanded him through Gad. +20. Araunah, who was busy threshing wheat at the time, turned and saw the angel there. His four sons, who were with him, ran away and hid. +21. When Araunah saw David approaching, he left his threshing floor and bowed before David with his face to the ground. + +22. David said to Araunah, "Let me buy this threshing floor from you at its full price. Then I will build an altar to the LORD there, so that he will stop the plague." + +23. "Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish," Araunah said to David. "I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you." + +24. But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the LORD. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!" +25. So David gave Araunah 600 pieces of gold in payment for the threshing floor. + +26. David built an altar there to the LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And when David prayed, the LORD answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offering on the altar. +27. Then the LORD spoke to the angel, who put the sword back into its sheath. + +28. When David saw that the LORD had answered his prayer, he offered sacrifices there at Araunah's threshing floor. +29. At that time the Tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of burnt offering that Moses had made in the wilderness were located at the place of worship in Gibeon. +30. But David was not able to go there to inquire of God, because he was terrified by the drawn sword of the angel of the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..84e49354 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +# Chapter 22 +1. Then David said, "This will be the location for the Temple of the LORD God and the place of the altar for Israel's burnt offerings!" +Preparations for the Temple + + +2. So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God. +3. David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and he gave more bronze than could be weighed. +4. He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David. + +5. David said, "My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the LORD must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now." So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death. + +6. Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the LORD, the God of Israel. +7. "My son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God," David told him. +8. "But the LORD said to me, 'You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name. +9. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. +10. He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' + +11. "Now, my son, may the LORD be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the LORD your God. +12. And may the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the LORD your God as you rule over Israel. +13. For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the LORD gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart! + +14. "I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the LORD--nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver, and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more. +15. You have a large number of skilled stonemasons and carpenters and craftsmen of every kind. +16. You have expert goldsmiths and silversmiths and workers of bronze and iron. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you!" + +17. Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon in this project. +18. "The LORD your God is with you," he declared. "He has given you peace with the surrounding nations. He has handed them over to me, and they are now subject to the LORD and his people. +19. Now seek the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the LORD God so that you can bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the LORD's name." + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_23.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_23.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ca1b6b5b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +Duties of the Levites + +# Chapter 23 +1. When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel. +2. David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. +3. All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000. +4. Then David said, "From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the LORD. Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges. +5. Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made." +6. Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi--Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. + +The Gershonites + + +7. The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. +8. Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. +9. These were the leaders of the family of Libni. + +Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. + +10. Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. +11. Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons. + +The Kohathites + + +12. Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. + +13. The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the LORD's presence, to serve the LORD, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. + +14. As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi. +15. The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. +16. The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader. +17. Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants. + +18. The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader. + +19. The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth). + +20. The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second). + +The Merarites + + +21. The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. + +The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. + +22. Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. + +23. Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. + +24. These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the LORD. +25. For David said, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem. +26. Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place." +27. In accordance with David's final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service. + +28. The work of the Levites was to assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the house of the LORD. They also took care of the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in many other ways in the house of God. +29. They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures. +30. And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him. +31. They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the LORD on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the LORD's presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given. + +32. And so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_24.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_24.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3209a316 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,120 @@ +Duties of the Priests + +# Chapter 24 +1. This is how Aaron's descendants, the priests, were divided into groups for service. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. +2. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons. So only Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry on as priests. + +3. With the help of Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and of Ahimelech, who was a descendant of Ithamar, David divided Aaron's descendants into groups according to their various duties. +4. Eleazar's descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar's into eight, for there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar. + +5. All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. +6. Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, acted as secretary and wrote down the names and assignments in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar took turns casting lots. + +7. The first lot fell to Jehoiarib. + +The second lot fell to Jedaiah. + + +8. The third lot fell to Harim. + +The fourth lot fell to Seorim. + + +9. The fifth lot fell to Malkijah. + +The sixth lot fell to Mijamin. + + +10. The seventh lot fell to Hakkoz. + +The eighth lot fell to Abijah. + + +11. The ninth lot fell to Jeshua. + +The tenth lot fell to Shecaniah. + + +12. The eleventh lot fell to Eliashib. + +The twelfth lot fell to Jakim. + + +13. The thirteenth lot fell to Huppah. + +The fourteenth lot fell to Jeshebeab. + + +14. The fifteenth lot fell to Bilgah. + +The sixteenth lot fell to Immer. + + +15. The seventeenth lot fell to Hezir. + +The eighteenth lot fell to Happizzez. + + +16. The nineteenth lot fell to Pethahiah. + +The twentieth lot fell to Jehezkel. + + +17. The twenty-first lot fell to Jakin. + +The twenty-second lot fell to Gamul. + + +18. The twenty-third lot fell to Delaiah. + +The twenty-fourth lot fell to Maaziah. + + +19. Each group carried out its appointed duties in the house of the LORD according to the procedures established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the LORD, the God of Israel. + +Family Leaders among the Levites + + +20. These were the other family leaders descended from Levi: +From the descendants of Amram, the leader was Shebuel. + +From the descendants of Shebuel, the leader was Jehdeiah. + + +21. From the descendants of Rehabiah, the leader was Isshiah. + +22. From the descendants of Izhar, the leader was Shelomith. + +From the descendants of Shelomith, the leader was Jahath. + + +23. From the descendants of Hebron, Jeriah was the leader, Amariah was second, Jahaziel was third, and Jekameam was fourth. + +24. From the descendants of Uzziel, the leader was Micah. + +From the descendants of Micah, the leader was Shamir, + +25. along with Isshiah, the brother of Micah. + +From the descendants of Isshiah, the leader was Zechariah. + + +26. From the descendants of Merari, the leaders were Mahli and Mushi. + +From the descendants of Jaaziah, the leader was Beno. + + +27. From the descendants of Merari through Jaaziah, the leaders were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. + +28. From the descendants of Mahli, the leader was Eleazar, though he had no sons. + +29. From the descendants of Kish, the leader was Jerahmeel. + +30. From the descendants of Mushi, the leaders were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. + +These were the descendants of Levi in their various families. + +31. Like the descendants of Aaron, they were assigned to their duties by means of sacred lots, without regard to age or rank. Lots were drawn in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the family leaders of the priests and the Levites. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_25.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_25.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2907811a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_25.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +Duties of the Musicians + +# Chapter 25 +1. David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God's messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. Here is a list of their names and their work: + +2. From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed God's messages by the king's orders. + +3. From the sons of Jeduthun, there were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God's messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the LORD. + +4. From the sons of Heman, there were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. +5. All these were the sons of Heman, the king's seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters. + +6. All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the LORD. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. +7. They and their families were all trained in making music before the LORD, and each of them--288 in all--was an accomplished musician. +8. The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student. + +9. The first lot fell to Joseph of the Asaph clan and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +The second lot fell to Gedaliah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + + +10. The third lot fell to Zaccur and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +11. The fourth lot fell to Zeri and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +12. The fifth lot fell to Nethaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +13. The sixth lot fell to Bukkiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +14. The seventh lot fell to Asarelah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +15. The eighth lot fell to Jeshaiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +16. The ninth lot fell to Mattaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +17. The tenth lot fell to Shimei and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +18. The eleventh lot fell to Uzziel and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +19. The twelfth lot fell to Hashabiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +20. The thirteenth lot fell to Shubael and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +21. The fourteenth lot fell to Mattithiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +22. The fifteenth lot fell to Jerimoth and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +23. The sixteenth lot fell to Hananiah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +24. The seventeenth lot fell to Joshbekashah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +25. The eighteenth lot fell to Hanani and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +26. The nineteenth lot fell to Mallothi and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +27. The twentieth lot fell to Eliathah and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +28. The twenty-first lot fell to Hothir and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +29. The twenty-second lot fell to Giddalti and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +30. The twenty-third lot fell to Mahazioth and twelve of his sons and relatives. + +31. The twenty-fourth lot fell to Romamti-ezer and twelve of his sons and relatives. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_26.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_26.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4e7b59ec --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_26.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +Duties of the Gatekeepers + +# Chapter 26 +1. These are the divisions of the gatekeepers: +From the Korahites, there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Abiasaph. +2. The sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah (the oldest), Jediael (the second), Zebadiah (the third), Jathniel (the fourth), +3. Elam (the fifth), Jehohanan (the sixth), and Eliehoenai (the seventh). + +4. The sons of Obed-edom, also gatekeepers, were Shemaiah (the oldest), Jehozabad (the second), Joah (the third), Sacar (the fourth), Nethanel (the fifth), +5. Ammiel (the sixth), Issachar (the seventh), and Peullethai (the eighth). God had richly blessed Obed-edom. + +6. Obed-edom's son Shemaiah had sons with great ability who earned positions of great authority in the clan. +7. Their names were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. Their relatives, Elihu and Semakiah, were also very capable men. + +8. All of these descendants of Obed-edom, including their sons and grandsons--sixty-two of them in all--were very capable men, well qualified for their work. + +9. Meshelemiah's eighteen sons and relatives were also very capable men. + +10. Hosah, of the Merari clan, appointed Shimri as the leader among his sons, though he was not the oldest. +11. His other sons included Hilkiah (the second), Tebaliah (the third), and Zechariah (the fourth). Hosah's sons and relatives, who served as gatekeepers, numbered thirteen in all. + +12. These divisions of the gatekeepers were named for their family leaders, and like the other Levites, they served at the house of the LORD. +13. They were assigned by families for guard duty at the various gates, without regard to age or training, for it was all decided by means of sacred lots. + +14. The responsibility for the east gate went to Meshelemiah and his group. The north gate was assigned to his son Zechariah, a man of unusual wisdom. +15. The south gate went to Obed-edom, and his sons were put in charge of the storehouse. +16. Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate and the gateway leading up to the Temple. Guard duties were divided evenly. +17. Six Levites were assigned each day to the east gate, four to the north gate, four to the south gate, and two pairs at the storehouse. +18. Six were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the gateway leading up to the Temple, and two to the courtyard. + +19. These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the clans of Korah and Merari. + +Treasurers and Other Officials + + +20. Other Levites, led by Ahijah, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the gifts dedicated to the LORD. +21. From the family of Libni in the clan of Gershon, Jehiel was the leader. +22. The sons of Jehiel, Zetham and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the LORD. + +23. These are the leaders that descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel: + +24. From the clan of Amram, Shebuel was a descendant of Gershom son of Moses. He was the chief officer of the treasuries. +25. His relatives through Eliezer were Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zicri, and Shelomoth. + +26. Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of the treasuries containing the gifts that King David, the family leaders, and the generals and captains and other officers of the army had dedicated to the LORD. +27. These men dedicated some of the plunder they had gained in battle to maintain the house of the LORD. +28. Shelomoth and his relatives also cared for the gifts dedicated to the LORD by Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah. All the other dedicated gifts were in their care, too. + +29. From the clan of Izhar came Kenaniah. He and his sons were given administrative responsibilities over Israel as officials and judges. + +30. From the clan of Hebron came Hashabiah. He and his relatives--1,700 capable men--were put in charge of the Israelite lands west of the Jordan River. They were responsible for all matters related to the things of the LORD and the service of the king in that area. + +31. Also from the clan of Hebron came Jeriah, who was the leader of the Hebronites according to the genealogical records. (In the fortieth year of David's reign, a search was made in the records, and capable men from the clan of Hebron were found at Jazer in the land of Gilead.) +32. There were 2,700 capable men among the relatives of Jeriah. King David sent them to the east side of the Jordan River and put them in charge of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were responsible for all matters related to God and to the king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_27.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_27.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..631e8856 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_27.md @@ -0,0 +1,85 @@ +Military Commanders and Divisions + +# Chapter 27 +1. This is the list of Israelite generals and captains, and their officers, who served the king by supervising the army divisions that were on duty each month of the year. Each division served for one month and had 24,000 troops. + +2. Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was commander of the first division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the first month. +3. He was a descendant of Perez and was in charge of all the army officers for the first month. + +4. Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah, was commander of the second division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the second month. Mikloth was his chief officer. + +5. Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest was commander of the third division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the third month. +6. This was the Benaiah who commanded David's elite military group known as the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was his chief officer. + +7. Asahel, the brother of Joab, was commander of the fourth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fourth month. Asahel was succeeded by his son Zebadiah. + +8. Shammah the Izrahite was commander of the fifth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fifth month. + +9. Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa was commander of the sixth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the sixth month. + +10. Helez, a descendant of Ephraim from Pelon, was commander of the seventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the seventh month. + +11. Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was commander of the eighth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eighth month. + +12. Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of +Benjamin was commander of the ninth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the ninth month. + +13. Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was commander of the tenth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the tenth month. + +14. Benaiah from Pirathon in Ephraim was commander of the eleventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eleventh month. + +15. Heled, a descendant of Othniel from Netophah, was commander of the twelfth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the twelfth month. + + +Leaders of the +Tribes + + +16. The following were the tribes of Israel and their leaders: +These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. + + +23. When David took his census, he did not count those who were younger than twenty years of age, because the LORD had promised to make the Israelites as numerous as the stars in heaven. +24. Joab son of Zeruiah began the census but never finished it because the anger of God fell on Israel. The total number was never recorded in King David's official records. + +Officials of David's Kingdom + + +25. Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the palace treasuries. + +Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the regional treasuries throughout the towns, villages, and fortresses of Israel. + + +26. Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the king's lands. + +27. Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the king's vineyards. + +Zabdi from Shepham was responsible for the grapes and the supplies of wine. + + +28. Baal-hanan from Geder was in charge of the king's olive groves and sycamore-fig trees in the foothills of Judah. + +Joash was responsible for the supplies of olive oil. + + +29. Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Sharon Plain. + +Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys. + + +30. Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels. + +Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys. + + +31. Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the king's flocks of sheep and goats. + +All these officials were overseers of King David's property. + + +32. Jonathan, David's uncle, was a wise counselor to the king, a man of great insight, and a scribe. Jehiel the Hacmonite was responsible for teaching the king's sons. +33. Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king's friend. +34. Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king's army. + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_28.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_28.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1f58d477 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_28.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +David's Instructions to Solomon + +# Chapter 28 +1. David summoned all the officials of Israel to Jerusalem--the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the army divisions, the other generals and captains, the overseers of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the other brave warriors in the kingdom. +2. David rose to his feet and said: "My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a Temple where the Ark of the LORD's Covenant, God's footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it, +3. but God said to me, 'You must not build a Temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.' + +4. "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, has chosen me from among all my father's family to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen the tribe of Judah to rule, and from among the families of Judah he chose my father's family. And from among my father's sons the LORD was pleased to make me king over all Israel. +5. And from among my sons--for the LORD has given me many--he chose Solomon to succeed me on the throne of Israel and to rule over the LORD's kingdom. +6. He said to me, 'Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father. +7. And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.' + +8. "So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel--the LORD's assembly--I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the LORD your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance. + +9. "And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. +10. So take this seriously. The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work." + +11. Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary--which was the place of atonement. +12. David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind for the courtyards of the LORD's Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the LORD. +13. The king also gave Solomon the instructions concerning the work of the various divisions of priests and Levites in the Temple of the LORD. And he gave specifications for the items in the Temple that were to be used for worship. + +14. David gave instructions regarding how much gold and silver should be used to make the items needed for service. +15. He told Solomon the amount of gold needed for the gold lampstands and lamps, and the amount of silver for the silver lampstands and lamps, depending on how each would be used. +16. He designated the amount of gold for the table on which the Bread of the Presence would be placed and the amount of silver for other tables. + +17. David also designated the amount of gold for the solid gold meat hooks used to handle the sacrificial meat and for the basins, pitchers, and dishes, as well as the amount of silver for every dish. +18. He designated the amount of refined gold for the altar of incense. Finally, he gave him a plan for the LORD's "chariot"--the gold cherubim whose wings were stretched out over the Ark of the LORD's Covenant. +19. "Every part of this plan," David told Solomon, "was given to me in writing from the hand of the LORD." + +20. Then David continued, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly. +21. The various divisions of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple of God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the officials and the entire nation are at your command." + + + diff --git a/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_29.md b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_29.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..424ce7a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/13_1 Chronicles/Chapter_29.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +Gifts for Building the Temple + +# Chapter 29 +1. Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, "My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals--it is for the LORD God himself! +2. Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble. + +3. "And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. +4. I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings +5. and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the LORD today?" + +6. Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king's administrative officers all gave willingly. +7. For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold, 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. +8. They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the LORD under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. +9. The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD, and King David was filled with joy. + +David's Prayer of Praise + + +10. Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly: +"O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! +11. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. +12. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. + +13. "O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! +14. But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! +15. We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace. + +16. "O LORD our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! +17. I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously. + +18. "O LORD, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. +19. Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations." + +20. Then David said to the whole assembly, "Give praise to the LORD your God!" And the entire assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the LORD and the king. + +Solomon Named as King + + +21. The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the LORD. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel. +22. They feasted and drank in the LORD's presence with great joy that day. +And again they crowned David's son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the LORD as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest. +23. So Solomon took the throne of the LORD in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him. +24. All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon. +25. And the LORD exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him. + +Summary of David's Reign + + +26. So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. +27. He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. +28. He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place. + +29. All the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel the Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer. +30. These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b866ff61 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +Solomon Asks for Wisdom + +# Chapter 1 +1. Solomon son of David took firm control of his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him very powerful. + +2. Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel--the generals and captains of the army, the judges, and all the political and clan leaders. +3. Then he led the entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for God's Tabernacle was located there. (This was the Tabernacle that Moses, the LORD's servant, had made in the wilderness.) + +4. David had already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the tent he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. +5. But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was there at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the LORD. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the LORD. +6. There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the LORD's presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it. + +7. That night God appeared to Solomon and said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" + +8. Solomon replied to God, "You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place. +9. O LORD God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! +10. Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?" + +11. God said to Solomon, "Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people-- +12. I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!" + +13. Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the Tabernacle at the place of worship in Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel. + +14. Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him in Jerusalem. +15. The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. +16. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king's traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price. +17. At that time chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600 pieces of silver, and horses for 150 pieces of silver. They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..43c13377 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +Preparations for Building the Temple + +# Chapter 2 +1. Solomon decided to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD, and also a royal palace for himself. +2. He enlisted a force of 70,000 laborers, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen. + +3. Solomon also sent this message to King Hiram at Tyre: +"Send me cedar logs as you did for my father, David, when he was building his palace. + +4. I am about to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God. It will be a place set apart to burn fragrant incense before him, to display the special sacrificial bread, and to sacrifice burnt offerings each morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, at new moon celebrations, and at the other appointed festivals of the LORD our God. He has commanded Israel to do these things forever. + +5. "This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods. +6. But who can really build him a worthy home? Not even the highest heavens can contain him! So who am I to consider building a Temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices to him? + +7. "So send me a master craftsman who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as with purple, scarlet, and blue cloth. He must be a skilled engraver who can work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem who were selected by my father, David. + +8. "Also send me cedar, cypress, and red sandalwood logs from Lebanon, for I know that your men are without equal at cutting timber in Lebanon. I will send my men to help them. +9. An immense amount of timber will be needed, for the Temple I am going to build will be very large and magnificent. +10. In payment for your woodcutters, I will send 100,000 bushels of crushed wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil." + +11. King Hiram sent this letter of reply to Solomon: +"It is because the LORD loves his people that he has made you their king! +12. Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son, gifted with skill and understanding, who will build a Temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself. + +13. "I am sending you a master craftsman named Huram-abi, who is extremely talented. +14. His mother is from the tribe of Dan in Israel, and his father is from Tyre. He is skillful at making things from gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and he also works with stone and wood. He can work with purple, blue, and scarlet cloth and fine linen. He is also an engraver and can follow any design given to him. He will work with your craftsmen and those appointed by my lord David, your father. + +15. "Send along the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine that my lord has mentioned. +16. We will cut whatever timber you need from the Lebanon mountains and will float the logs in rafts down the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Joppa. From there you can transport the logs up to Jerusalem." + +17. Solomon took a census of all foreigners in the land of Israel, like the census his father had taken, and he counted 153,600. +18. He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 as quarry workers in the hill country, and 3,600 as foremen. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..447bc574 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +Solomon Builds the Temple + +# Chapter 3 +1. So Solomon began to build the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the site that David had selected. +2. The construction began in midspring, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign. + +3. These are the dimensions Solomon used for the foundation of the Temple of God (using the old standard of measurement). It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. +4. The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet wide, running across the entire width of the Temple, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. + +5. He paneled the main room of the Temple with cypress wood, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with carvings of palm trees and chains. +6. He decorated the walls of the Temple with beautiful jewels and with gold from the land of Parvaim. +7. He overlaid the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors throughout the Temple with gold, and he carved figures of cherubim on the walls. + +8. He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide, corresponding to the width of the Temple, and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with 23 tons of fine gold. +9. The gold nails that were used weighed 20 ounces each. He also overlaid the walls of the upper rooms with gold. + +10. He made two figures shaped like cherubim, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place. +11. The total wingspan of the two cherubim standing side by side was 30 feet. One wing of the first figure was 7 1/2 feet long, and it touched the Temple wall. The other wing, also 7 1/2 feet long, touched one of the wings of the second figure. +12. In the same way, the second figure had one wing 7 1/2 feet long that touched the opposite wall. The other wing, also 7 1/2 feet long, touched the wing of the first figure. +13. So the wingspan of the two cherubim side by side was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced out toward the main room of the Temple. + +14. Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place he hung a curtain made of fine linen, decorated with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and embroidered with figures of cherubim. + +15. For the front of the Temple, he made two pillars that were 27 feet tall, each topped by a capital extending upward another 7 1/2 feet. +16. He made a network of interwoven chains and used them to decorate the tops of the pillars. He also made 100 decorative pomegranates and attached them to the chains. +17. Then he set up the two pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one to the south of the entrance and the other to the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2ce2b36c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +Furnishings for the Temple + +# Chapter 4 +1. Solomon also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. +2. Then he cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference. +3. It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin. + +4. The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. +5. The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons of water. + +6. He also made ten smaller basins for washing the utensils for the burnt offerings. He set five on the south side and five on the north. But the priests washed themselves in the Sea. + +7. He then cast ten gold lampstands according to the specifications that had been given, and he put them in the Temple. Five were placed against the south wall, and five were placed against the north wall. + +8. He also built ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five along the south wall and five along the north wall. Then he molded 100 gold basins. + +9. He then built a courtyard for the priests, and also the large outer courtyard. He made doors for the courtyard entrances and overlaid them with bronze. +10. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. + +11. Huram-abi also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. + +So at last Huram-abi completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of God: + + +12. the two pillars; +the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; +the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals; + + +13. the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars); + +14. the water carts holding the basins; + +15. the Sea and the twelve oxen under it; + +16. the ash buckets, the shovels, the meat hooks, and all the related articles. +Huram-abi made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the LORD, just as King Solomon had directed. +17. The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. +18. Solomon used such great quantities of bronze that its weight could not be determined. + +19. Solomon also made all the furnishings for the Temple of God: +the gold altar; +the tables for the Bread of the Presence; + + +20. the lampstands and their lamps of solid gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy Place as prescribed; + +21. the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs--all of the purest gold; + +22. the lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners--all of solid gold; +the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, overlaid with gold. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9367cd82 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +# Chapter 5 +1. So Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the LORD. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated--the silver, the gold, and the various articles--and he stored them in the treasuries of the Temple of God. + +The Ark Brought to the Temple + + +2. Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes--the leaders of the ancestral families of Israel. They were to bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. +3. So all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn. + +4. When all the elders of Israel arrived, the Levites picked up the Ark. +5. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. +6. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! + +7. Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD's Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple--the Most Holy Place--and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. +8. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. +9. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. +10. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left Egypt. + +11. Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. +12. And the Levites who were musicians--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers--were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. +13. The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the LORD with these words: +"He is good! + +His faithful love endures forever!" +At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. +14. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of God. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9fed5fce --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +Solomon Praises the LORD + +# Chapter 6 +1. Then Solomon prayed, "O LORD, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. +2. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!" + +3. Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: +4. "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, +5. 'From the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. Nor have I chosen a king to lead my people Israel. +6. But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place for my name to be honored, and I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.'" + +7. Then Solomon said, "My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. +8. But the LORD told him, 'You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, +9. but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.' + +10. "And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father's place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. +11. There I have placed the Ark, which contains the covenant that the LORD made with the people of Israel." +Solomon's Prayer of Dedication + + +12. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. +13. Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 7 1/2 feet long, 7 1/2 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet high and had placed it at the center of the Temple's outer courtyard. He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven. +14. He prayed, +"O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. +15. You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today. + +16. "And now, O LORD, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, 'If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow my Law as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.' +17. Now, O LORD, God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David. + +18. "But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! +19. Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you. +20. May you watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name. May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. +21. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. + +22. "If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar at this Temple, +23. then hear from heaven and judge between your servants--the accuser and the accused. Pay back the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence. + +24. "If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn back and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, +25. then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave to them and to their ancestors. + +26. "If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, +27. then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession. + +28. "If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people's enemies are in the land besieging their towns--whatever disaster or disease there is-- +29. and if your people Israel pray about their troubles or sorrow, raising their hands toward this Temple, +30. then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. +31. Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. + +32. "In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands when they hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, +33. then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name. + +34. "If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to you by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, +35. then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause. + +36. "If they sin against you--and who has never sinned?--you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far away or near. +37. But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, 'We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.' +38. If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their captivity and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors--toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name-- +39. then hear their prayers and their petitions from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. + +40. "O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place. + +41. "And now arise, O LORD God, and enter your resting place, + +along with the Ark, the symbol of your power. +May your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation; + +may your loyal servants rejoice in your goodness. + + +42. O LORD God, do not reject the king you have anointed. + +Remember your unfailing love for your servant David." + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5213edbb --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +The Dedication of the Temple + +# Chapter 7 +1. When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. +2. The priests could not enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. +3. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying, +"He is good! + +His faithful love endures forever!" + + +4. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the LORD. +5. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God. +6. The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, " +His faithful love endures forever!" They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the LORD. Across from the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood. + +7. Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the LORD's Temple. He offered burnt offerings and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat. + +8. For the next seven days Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. +9. On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days. +10. Then at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and glad because the LORD had been so good to David and to Solomon and to his people Israel.The LORD's Response to Solomon + +11. So Solomon finished the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. +12. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, +"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. + +13. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. +14. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. +15. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. +16. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy--a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. + +17. "As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, +18. then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, 'One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.' + +19. "But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, +20. then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. +21. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, 'Why did the LORD do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?' + +22. "And the answer will be, 'Because his people abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.'" + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7e734bbb --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Solomon's Many Achievements + +# Chapter 8 +1. It took Solomon twenty years to build the LORD's Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, +2. Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram had given him, and he settled Israelites in them. + +3. Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. +4. He rebuilt Tadmor in the wilderness and built towns in the region of Hamath as supply centers. +5. He fortified the towns of Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, rebuilding their walls and installing barred gates. +6. He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm. + +7. There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. +8. These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. +9. But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. +10. King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people. + +11. Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh's daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, "My wife must not live in King David's palace, for the Ark of the LORD has been there, and it is holy ground." + +12. Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple. +13. He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals--the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters--as Moses had commanded. + +14. In assigning the priests to their duties, Solomon followed the regulations of his father, David. He also assigned the Levites to lead the people in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of David, the man of God. +15. Solomon did not deviate in any way from David's commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries. + +16. So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the LORD was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion. + +17. Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath, ports along the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. +18. Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships sailed to Ophir with Solomon's men and brought back to Solomon almost seventeen tons of gold. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4b585134 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +Visit of the Queen of Sheba + +# Chapter 9 +1. When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. +2. Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. +3. When the queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, +4. she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers and their robes, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD. + +5. She exclaimed to the king, "Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! +6. I didn't believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told. +7. How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! +8. Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule for him. Because God loves Israel and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king over them so you can rule with justice and righteousness." + +9. Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. + +10. (In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwood and precious jewels. +11. The king used the sandalwood to make steps for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.) + +12. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for--gifts of greater value than the gifts she had given him. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land. + +Solomon's Wealth and Splendor + + +13. Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. +14. This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon. + +15. King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds. +16. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1/2 pounds. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. + +17. Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. +18. The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. +19. There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it! + +20. All of King Solomon's drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon's day! + +21. The king had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish manned by the sailors sent by Hiram. Once every three years the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. + +22. So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. +23. Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. +24. Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. + +25. Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and he had 12,000 horses. He stationed some of them in the chariot cities, and some near him in Jerusalem. +26. He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. +27. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grow in the foothills of Judah. +28. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and many other countries. + +Summary of Solomon's Reign + + +29. The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and also in The Visions of Iddo the Seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat. +30. Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. +31. When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..39adeda3 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +The Northern Tribes Revolt + +# Chapter 10 +1. Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had gathered to make him king. +2. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. +3. The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and all Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. +4. "Your father was a hard master," they said. "Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects." + +5. Rehoboam replied, "Come back in three days for my answer." So the people went away. + +6. Then King Rehoboam discussed the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. "What is your advice?" he asked. "How should I answer these people?" + +7. The older counselors replied, "If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects." + +8. But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. +9. "What is your advice?" he asked them. "How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?" + +10. The young men replied, "This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist! +11. Yes, my father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!'" + +12. Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam's decision, just as the king had ordered. +13. But Rehoboam spoke harshly to them, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors +14. and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, "My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I'm going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!" + +15. So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of God, for it fulfilled the LORD's message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. + +16. When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded, +"Down with the dynasty of David! + +We have no interest in the son of Jesse. + +Back to your homes, O Israel! + +Look out for your own house, O David!" +So all the people of Israel returned home. + +17. But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah. + +18. King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. +19. And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f76bd514 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +Shemaiah's Prophecy + +# Chapter 11 +1. When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and Benjamin--180,000 select troops--to fight against Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. + +2. But the LORD said to Shemaiah, the man of God, +3. "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin: +4. 'This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!'" So they obeyed the message of the LORD and did not fight against Jeroboam. + +Rehoboam Fortifies Judah + + +5. Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified various towns for the defense of Judah. +6. He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, +7. Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, +8. Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, +9. Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, +10. Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These became the fortified towns of Judah and Benjamin. +11. Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them, and he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. +12. He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control. + +13. But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam. +14. The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the LORD as priests. +15. Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made. +16. From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors. +17. This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon, for during those years they faithfully followed in the footsteps of David and Solomon. + +Rehoboam's Family + + +18. Rehoboam married his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of David's son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab son of Jesse. +19. Mahalath had three sons--Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. + +20. Later Rehoboam married another cousin, Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. Maacah gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. +21. Rehoboam loved Maacah more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and they gave birth to twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. + +22. Rehoboam appointed Maacah's son Abijah as leader among the princes, making it clear that he would be the next king. +23. Rehoboam also wisely gave responsibilities to his other sons and stationed some of them in the fortified towns throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin. He provided them with generous provisions, and he found many wives for them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1461c10b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Egypt Invades Judah + +# Chapter 12 +1. But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the LORD, and all Israel followed him in this sin. +2. Because they were unfaithful to the LORD, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign. +3. He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. +4. Shishak conquered Judah's fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem. + +5. The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah's leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, "This is what the LORD says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak." + +6. Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is right in doing this to us!" + +7. When the LORD saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: "Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. +8. But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers." + +9. So King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the treasuries of the LORD's Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. +10. King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. +11. Whenever the king went to the Temple of the LORD, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom. +12. Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD's anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. There were still some good things in the land of Judah. + +Summary of Rehoboam's Reign + + +13. King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, a woman from Ammon. +14. But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the LORD with all his heart. + +15. The rest of the events of Rehoboam's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Shemaiah the Prophet and The Record of Iddo the Seer, which are part of the genealogical record. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. +16. When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ad05ba5a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +Abijah's War with Jeroboam + +# Chapter 13 +1. Abijah began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel. +2. He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. + +Then war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. + +3. Judah, led by King Abijah, fielded 400,000 select warriors, while Jeroboam mustered 800,000 select troops from Israel. + +4. When the army of Judah arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim and shouted to Jeroboam and all Israel: "Listen to me! +5. Don't you realize that the LORD, the God of Israel, made a lasting covenant with David, giving him and his descendants the throne of Israel forever? +6. Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a mere servant of David's son Solomon, rebelled against his master. +7. Then a whole gang of scoundrels joined him, defying Solomon's son Rehoboam when he was young and inexperienced and could not stand up to them. + +8. "Do you really think you can stand against the kingdom of the LORD that is led by the descendants of David? You may have a vast army, and you have those gold calves that Jeroboam made as your gods. +9. But you have chased away the priests of the LORD (the descendants of Aaron) and the Levites, and you have appointed your own priests, just like the pagan nations. You let anyone become a priest these days! Whoever comes to be dedicated with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of these so-called gods of yours! + +10. "But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Only the descendants of Aaron serve the LORD as priests, and the Levites alone may help them in their work. +11. They present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD every morning and evening. They place the Bread of the Presence on the holy table, and they light the gold lampstand every evening. We are following the instructions of the LORD our God, but you have abandoned him. +12. So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!" + +13. Meanwhile, Jeroboam had secretly sent part of his army around behind the men of Judah to ambush them. +14. When Judah realized that they were being attacked from the front and the rear, they cried out to the LORD for help. Then the priests blew the trumpets, +15. and the men of Judah began to shout. At the sound of their battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel and routed them before Abijah and the army of Judah. + +16. The Israelite army fled from Judah, and God handed them over to Judah in defeat. +17. Abijah and his army inflicted heavy losses on them; 500,000 of Israel's select troops were killed that day. +18. So Judah defeated Israel on that occasion because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their ancestors. +19. Abijah and his army pursued Jeroboam's troops and captured some of his towns, including Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their surrounding villages. + +20. So Jeroboam of Israel never regained his power during Abijah's lifetime, and finally the LORD struck him down and he died. +21. Meanwhile, Abijah of Judah grew more and more powerful. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. + +22. The rest of the events of Abijah's reign, including his words and deeds, are recorded in The Commentary of Iddo the Prophet. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..21199b03 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +Early Years of Asa's Reign + +# Chapter 14 +1. When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. +2. Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God. +3. He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. +4. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. +5. Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah's towns. So Asa's kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. +6. During those peaceful years, he was able to build up the fortified towns throughout Judah. No one tried to make war against him at this time, for the LORD was giving him rest from his enemies. + +7. Asa told the people of Judah, "Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God, and he has given us peace on every side." So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion. + +8. King Asa had an army of 300,000 warriors from the tribe of Judah, armed with large shields and spears. He also had an army of 280,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin, armed with small shields and bows. Both armies were composed of well-trained fighting men. + +9. Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, +10. so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah. +11. Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, "O LORD, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! +Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!" + +12. So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. +13. Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the LORD and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder. + +14. While they were at Gerar, they attacked all the towns in that area, and terror from the LORD came upon the people there. As a result, a vast amount of plunder was taken from these towns, too. +15. They also attacked the camps of herdsmen and captured many sheep, goats, and camels before finally returning to Jerusalem. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..eeeae45c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Asa's Religious Reforms + +# Chapter 15 +1. Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, +2. and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. "Listen to me, Asa!" he shouted. "Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. +3. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. +4. But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him. + +5. "During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land. +6. Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem. +7. But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded." + +8. When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, which stood in front of the entry room of the LORD's Temple. + +9. Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa's reign when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. +10. The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring, during the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. + +11. On that day they sacrificed to the LORD 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle. +12. Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. +13. They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death--whether young or old, man or woman. +14. They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the LORD with trumpets blaring and rams' horns sounding. +15. All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side. + +16. King Asa even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. +17. Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa's heart remained completely faithful throughout his life. +18. He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated. + +19. So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ca00b181 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +Final Years of Asa's Reign + +# Chapter 16 +1. In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa's territory in Judah. + +2. Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message: + +3. "Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone." + +4. Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all the store cities in Naphtali. +5. As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and stopped all work on it. +6. Then King Asa called out all the men of Judah to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the towns of Geba and Mizpah. + +7. At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, "Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the LORD your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. +8. Don't you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the LORD, and he handed them over to you. +9. The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war." + +10. Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people. + +Summary of Asa's Reign + + +11. The rest of the events of Asa's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. +12. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the LORD's help but turned only to his physicians. +13. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign. +14. He was buried in the tomb he had carved out for himself in the City of David. He was laid on a bed perfumed with sweet spices and fragrant ointments, and the people built a huge funeral fire in his honor. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..48af8120 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 17 +1. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became the next king. He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel. +2. He stationed troops in all the fortified towns of Judah, and he assigned additional garrisons to the land of Judah and to the towns of Ephraim that his father, Asa, had captured. + +3. The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early years and did not worship the images of Baal. +4. He sought his father's God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel. +5. So the LORD established Jehoshaphat's control over the kingdom of Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he became very wealthy and highly esteemed. +6. He was deeply committed to the ways of the LORD. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah. + +7. In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. These officials included Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. +8. He sent Levites along with them, including Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. He also sent out the priests Elishama and Jehoram. +9. They took copies of the Book of the Law of the LORD and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people. + +10. Then the fear of the LORD fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat. +11. Some of the Philistines brought him gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats. + +12. So Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful and built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah. +13. He stored numerous supplies in Judah's towns and stationed an army of seasoned troops at Jerusalem. +14. His army was enrolled according to ancestral clans. + +From Judah there were 300,000 troops organized in units of 1,000, under the command of Adnah. + +15. Next in command was Jehohanan, who commanded 280,000 troops. +16. Next was Amasiah son of Zicri, who volunteered for the LORD's service, with 200,000 troops under his command. + +17. From Benjamin there were 200,000 troops equipped with bows and shields. They were under the command of Eliada, a veteran soldier. +18. Next in command was Jehozabad, who commanded 180,000 armed men. + +19. These were the troops stationed in Jerusalem to serve the king, besides those Jehoshaphat stationed in the fortified towns throughout Judah. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ff99bc9b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@ +Jehoshaphat and Ahab + +# Chapter 18 +1. Jehoshaphat enjoyed great riches and high esteem, and he made an alliance with Ahab of Israel by having his son marry Ahab's daughter. +2. A few years later he went to Samaria to visit Ahab, who prepared a great banquet for him and his officials. They butchered great numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle for the feast. Then Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to join forces with him to recover Ramoth-gilead. + +3. "Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?" King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah. + +Jehoshaphat replied, "Why, of course! You and I are as one, and my troops are your troops. We will certainly join you in battle." + +4. Then Jehoshaphat added, "But first let's find out what the LORD says." + +5. So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, 400 of them, and asked them, "Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?" +They all replied, "Yes, go right ahead! God will give the king victory." + + +6. But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not also a prophet of the LORD here? We should ask him the same question." + +7. The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, "There is one more man who could consult the LORD for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah." +Jehoshaphat replied, "That's not the way a king should talk! Let's hear what he has to say." + + +8. So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Quick! Bring Micaiah son of Imlah." +Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab + + +9. King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab's prophets were prophesying there in front of them. +10. One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, "This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!" + +11. All the other prophets agreed. "Yes," they said, "go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious, for the LORD will give the king victory!" + +12. Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, "Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success." + +13. But Micaiah replied, "As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what my God says." + +14. When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?" +Micaiah replied sarcastically, "Yes, go up and be victorious, for you will have victory over them!" + + +15. But the king replied sharply, "How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth to me when you speak for the LORD?" + +16. Then Micaiah told him, "In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, 'Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.'" + +17. "Didn't I tell you?" the king of Israel exclaimed to Jehoshaphat. "He never prophesies anything but trouble for me." + +18. Then Micaiah continued, "Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. +19. And the LORD said, 'Who can entice King Ahab of Israel to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?' +"There were many suggestions, + +20. and finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, 'I can do it!' +"'How will you do this?' the LORD asked. + +21. "And the spirit replied, 'I will go out and inspire all of Ahab's prophets to speak lies.' +"'You will succeed,' said the LORD. 'Go ahead and do it.' + +22. "So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has pronounced your doom." + +23. Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. "Since when did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?" he demanded. + +24. And Micaiah replied, "You will find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret room!" + +25. "Arrest him!" the king of Israel ordered. "Take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. +26. Give them this order from the king: 'Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!'" + +27. But Micaiah replied, "If you return safely, it will mean that the LORD has not spoken through me!" Then he added to those standing around, "Everyone mark my words!" +The Death of Ahab + + +28. So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. +29. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. + +30. Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his chariot commanders: "Attack only the king of Israel! Don't bother with anyone else." +31. So when the Aramean chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. "There is the king of Israel!" they shouted. But Jehoshaphat called out, and the LORD saved him. God helped him by turning the attackers away from him. +32. As soon as the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, they stopped chasing him. + +33. An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. "Turn the horses and get me out of here!" Ahab groaned to the driver of the chariot. "I'm badly wounded!" + +34. The battle raged all that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans. In the evening, just as the sun was setting, he died. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..221c83f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges + +# Chapter 19 +1. When King Jehoshaphat of Judah arrived safely home in Jerusalem, +2. Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. "Why should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?" he asked the king. "Because of what you have done, the LORD is very angry with you. +3. Even so, there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles throughout the land, and you have committed yourself to seeking God." + +4. Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he went out among the people, traveling from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, encouraging the people to return to the LORD, the God of their ancestors. +5. He appointed judges throughout the nation in all the fortified towns, +6. and he said to them, "Always think carefully before pronouncing judgment. Remember that you do not judge to please people but to please the LORD. He will be with you when you render the verdict in each case. +7. Fear the LORD and judge with integrity, for the LORD our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes." + +8. In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests and clan leaders in Israel to serve as judges for cases involving the LORD's regulations and for civil disputes. +9. These were his instructions to them: "You must always act in the fear of the LORD, with faithfulness and an undivided heart. +10. Whenever a case comes to you from fellow citizens in an outlying town, whether a murder case or some other violation of God's laws, commands, decrees, or regulations, you must warn them not to sin against the LORD, so that he will not be angry with you and them. Do this and you will not be guilty. + +11. "Amariah the high priest will have final say in all cases involving the LORD. Zebadiah son of Ishmael, a leader from the tribe of Judah, will have final say in all civil cases. The Levites will assist you in making sure that justice is served. Take courage as you fulfill your duties, and may the LORD be with those who do what is right." + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6c0e52ab --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +War with Surrounding Nations + +# Chapter 20 +1. After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. +2. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar." (This was another name for En-gedi.) + +3. Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. +4. So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD's help. + +5. Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD. +6. He prayed, "O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! +7. O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? +8. Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. +9. They said, 'Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.' + +10. "And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. +11. Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. +12. O our God, won't you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help." + +13. As all the men of Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, wives, and children, +14. the Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph. + +15. He said, "Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's. +16. Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. +17. But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!" + +18. Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the LORD. +19. Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout. + +20. Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, "Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed." + +21. After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: +"Give thanks to the LORD; + +his faithful love endures forever!" + + +22. At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. +23. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. +24. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. + +25. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables--more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! +26. On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the LORD there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today. + +27. Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the LORD had given them victory over their enemies. +28. They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the LORD. + +29. When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the LORD himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. +30. So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. + +Summary of Jehoshaphat's Reign + + +31. So Jehoshaphat ruled over the land of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. + +32. Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the ways of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight. +33. During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors. + +34. The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Jehu Son of Hanani, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Israel. + +35. Some time later King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who was very wicked. +36. Together they built a fleet of trading ships at the port of Ezion-geber. +37. Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, "Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy your work." So the ships met with disaster and never put out to sea. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..389ef4dc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Jehoram Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 21 +1. When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king. + +2. Jehoram's brothers--the other sons of Jehoshaphat--were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. +3. Their father had given each of them valuable gifts of silver, gold, and costly items, and also some of Judah's fortified towns. However, he designated Jehoram as the next king because he was the oldest. +4. But when Jehoram had become solidly established as king, he killed all his brothers and some of the other leaders of Judah. + +5. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. +6. But Jehoram followed the example of the kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab, for he had married one of Ahab's daughters. So Jehoram did what was evil in the LORD's sight. +7. But the LORD did not want to destroy David's dynasty, for he had made a covenant with David and promised that his descendants would continue to rule, shining like a lamp forever. + +8. During Jehoram's reign, the Edomites revolted against Judah and crowned their own king. +9. So Jehoram went out with his full army and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he went out at night and attacked them under cover of darkness. +10. Even so, Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time. All this happened because Jehoram had abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors. +11. He had built pagan shrines in the hill country of Judah and had led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to give themselves to pagan gods and to go astray. + +12. Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram this letter: +"This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: You have not followed the good example of your father, Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King Asa of Judah. +13. Instead, you have been as evil as the kings of Israel. You have led the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship idols, just as King Ahab did in Israel. And you have even killed your own brothers, men who were better than you. +14. So now the LORD is about to strike you, your people, your children, your wives, and all that is yours with a heavy blow. +15. You yourself will suffer with a severe intestinal disease that will get worse each day until your bowels come out." + +16. Then the LORD stirred up the Philistines and the Arabs, who lived near the Ethiopians, to attack Jehoram. +17. They marched against Judah, broke down its defenses, and carried away everything of value in the royal palace, including the king's sons and his wives. Only his youngest son, Ahaziah, was spared. + +18. After all this, the LORD struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease. +19. The disease grew worse and worse, and at the end of two years it caused his bowels to come out, and he died in agony. His people did not build a great funeral fire to honor him as they had done for his ancestors. + +20. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. No one was sorry when he died. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..da80950d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +Ahaziah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 22 +1. Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, their next king, since the marauding bands who came with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of Judah. + +2. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri. +3. Ahaziah also followed the evil example of King Ahab's family, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. +4. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as Ahab's family had done. They even became his advisers after the death of his father, and they led him to ruin. + +5. Following their evil advice, Ahaziah joined Joram, the son of King Ahab of Israel, in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. When the Arameans wounded Joram in the battle, +6. he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramoth. Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziah of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him. + +7. But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah's downfall. While he was there, Ahaziah went out with Joram to meet Jehu grandson of Nimshi, whom the LORD had appointed to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. + +8. While Jehu was executing judgment against the family of Ahab, he happened to meet some of Judah's officials and Ahaziah's relatives who were traveling with Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them all. +9. Then Jehu's men searched for Ahaziah, and they found him hiding in the city of Samaria. They brought him to Jehu, who killed him. Ahaziah was given a decent burial because the people said, "He was the grandson of Jehoshaphat--a man who sought the LORD with all his heart." But none of the surviving members of Ahaziah's family was capable of ruling the kingdom. + +Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah + + +10. When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of Judah's royal family. +11. But Ahaziah's sister Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah's infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among the rest of the king's children, who were about to be killed. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. In this way, Jehosheba, wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, hid the child so that Athaliah could not murder him. +12. Joash remained hidden in the Temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled over the land. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_23.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_23.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a3a226f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +Revolt against Athaliah + +# Chapter 23 +1. In the seventh year of Athaliah's reign, Jehoiada the priest decided to act. He summoned his courage and made a pact with five army commanders: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. +2. These men traveled secretly throughout Judah and summoned the Levites and clan leaders in all the towns to come to Jerusalem. +3. They all gathered at the Temple of God, where they made a solemn pact with Joash, the young king. +Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the king's son! The time has come for him to reign! The LORD has promised that a descendant of David will be our king. +4. This is what you must do. When you priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, a third of you will serve as gatekeepers. +5. Another third will go over to the royal palace, and the final third will be at the Foundation Gate. Everyone else should stay in the courtyards of the LORD's Temple. +6. Remember, only the priests and Levites on duty may enter the Temple of the LORD, for they are set apart as holy. The rest of the people must obey the LORD's instructions and stay outside. +7. You Levites, form a bodyguard around the king and keep your weapons in hand. Kill anyone who tries to enter the Temple. Stay with the king wherever he goes." + +8. So the Levites and all the people of Judah did everything as Jehoiada the priest ordered. The commanders took charge of the men reporting for duty that Sabbath, as well as those who were going off duty. Jehoiada the priest did not let anyone go home after their shift ended. +9. Then Jehoiada supplied the commanders with the spears and the large and small shields that had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple of God. +10. He stationed all the people around the king, with their weapons ready. They formed a line from the south side of the Temple around to the north side and all around the altar. + +11. Then Jehoiada and his sons brought out Joash, the king's son, placed the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God's laws. They anointed him and proclaimed him king, and everyone shouted, "Long live the king!" +The Death of Athaliah + + +12. When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and the shouts of praise to the king, she hurried to the LORD's Temple to see what was happening. +13. When she arrived, she saw the newly crowned king standing in his place of authority by the pillar at the Temple entrance. The commanders and trumpeters were surrounding him, and people from all over the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Singers with musical instruments were leading the people in a great celebration. When Athaliah saw all this, she tore her clothes in despair and shouted, "Treason! Treason!" + +14. Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders who were in charge of the troops, "Take her to the soldiers in front of the Temple, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her." For the priest had said, "She must not be killed in the Temple of the LORD." +15. So they seized her and led her out to the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, and they killed her there. + +Jehoiada's Religious Reforms + + +16. Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the people that they would be the LORD's people. +17. And all the people went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars and smashed the idols, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. + +18. Jehoiada now put the priests and Levites in charge of the Temple of the LORD, following all the directions given by David. He also commanded them to present burnt offerings to the LORD, as prescribed by the Law of Moses, and to sing and rejoice as David had instructed. +19. He also stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the LORD's Temple to keep out those who for any reason were ceremonially unclean. + +20. Then the commanders, nobles, rulers, and all the people of the land escorted the king from the Temple of the LORD. They went through the upper gate and into the palace, and they seated the king on the royal throne. +21. So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was peaceful because Athaliah had been killed. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_24.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_24.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..42e5f52e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +Joash Repairs the Temple + +# Chapter 24 +1. Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. +2. Joash did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. +3. Jehoiada chose two wives for Joash, and he had sons and daughters. + +4. At one point Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple of the LORD. +5. He summoned the priests and Levites and gave them these instructions: "Go to all the towns of Judah and collect the required annual offerings, so that we can repair the Temple of your God. Do not delay!" But the Levites did not act immediately. + +6. So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and asked him, "Why haven't you demanded that the Levites go out and collect the Temple taxes from the towns of Judah and from Jerusalem? Moses, the servant of the LORD, levied this tax on the community of Israel in order to maintain the Tabernacle of the Covenant." + +7. Over the years the followers of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God, and they had used all the dedicated things from the Temple of the LORD to worship the images of Baal. + +8. So now the king ordered a chest to be made and set outside the gate leading to the Temple of the LORD. +9. Then a proclamation was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem, telling the people to bring to the LORD the tax that Moses, the servant of God, had required of the Israelites in the wilderness. +10. This pleased all the leaders and the people, and they gladly brought their money and filled the chest with it. + +11. Whenever the chest became full, the Levites would carry it to the king's officials. Then the court secretary and an officer of the high priest would come and empty the chest and take it back to the Temple again. This went on day after day, and a large amount of money was collected. +12. The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the construction supervisors, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the Temple of the LORD. They also hired metalworkers, who made articles of iron and bronze for the LORD's Temple. + +13. The men in charge of the renovation worked hard and made steady progress. They restored the Temple of God according to its original design and strengthened it. +14. When all the repairs were finished, they brought the remaining money to the king and Jehoiada. It was used to make various articles for the Temple of the LORD--articles for worship services and for burnt offerings, including ladles and other articles made of gold and silver. And the burnt offerings were sacrificed continually in the Temple of the LORD during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. + +15. Jehoiada lived to a very old age, finally dying at 130. +16. He was buried among the kings in the City of David, because he had done so much good in Israel for God and his Temple. + +Jehoiada's Reforms Reversed + + +17. But after Jehoiada's death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. +18. They decided to abandon the Temple of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. +19. Yet the LORD sent prophets to bring them back to him. The prophets warned them, but still the people would not listen. + +20. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, "This is what God says: Why do you disobey the LORD's commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the LORD, and now he has abandoned you!" + +21. Then the leaders plotted to kill Zechariah, and King Joash ordered that they stone him to death in the courtyard of the LORD's Temple. +22. That was how King Joash repaid Jehoiada for his loyalty--by killing his son. Zechariah's last words as he died were, "May the LORD see what they are doing and avenge my death!" +The End of Joash's Reign + + +23. In the spring of the year the Aramean army marched against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the nation. Then they sent all the plunder back to their king in Damascus. +24. Although the Arameans attacked with only a small army, the LORD helped them conquer the much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash. + +25. The Arameans withdrew, leaving Joash severely wounded. But his own officials plotted to kill him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest. They assassinated him as he lay in bed. Then he was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery. +26. The assassins were Jozacar, the son of an Ammonite woman named Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of a Moabite woman named Shomer. + +27. The account of the sons of Joash, the prophecies about him, and the record of his restoration of the Temple of God are written in The Commentary on the Book of the Kings. His son Amaziah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_25.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_25.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fe74a288 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_25.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +Amaziah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 25 +1. Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. +2. Amaziah did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, but not wholeheartedly. + +3. When Amaziah was well established as king, he executed the officials who had assassinated his father. +4. However, he did not kill the children of the assassins, for he obeyed the command of the LORD as written by Moses in the Book of the Law: "Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes." + +5. Then Amaziah organized the army, assigning generals and captains for all Judah and Benjamin. He took a census and found that he had an army of 300,000 select troops, twenty years old and older, all trained in the use of spear and shield. +6. He also paid about 7,500 pounds of silver to hire 100,000 experienced fighting men from Israel. + +7. But a man of God came to him and said, "Your Majesty, do not hire troops from Israel, for the LORD is not with Israel. He will not help those people of Ephraim! +8. If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up." + +9. Amaziah asked the man of God, "But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?" +The man of God replied, "The LORD is able to give you much more than this!" +10. So Amaziah discharged the hired troops and sent them back to Ephraim. This made them very angry with Judah, and they returned home in a great rage. + +11. Then Amaziah summoned his courage and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where they killed 10,000 Edomite troops from Seir. +12. They captured another 10,000 and took them to the top of a cliff and threw them off, dashing them to pieces on the rocks below. + +13. Meanwhile, the hired troops that Amaziah had sent home raided several of the towns of Judah between Samaria and Beth-horon. They killed 3,000 people and carried off great quantities of plunder. + +14. When King Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought with him idols taken from the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down in front of them, and offered sacrifices to them! +15. This made the LORD very angry, and he sent a prophet to ask, "Why do you turn to gods who could not even save their own people from you?" + +16. But the king interrupted him and said, "Since when have I made you the king's counselor? Be quiet now before I have you killed!" +So the prophet stopped with this warning: "I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel." + + +17. After consulting with his advisers, King Amaziah of Judah sent this challenge to Israel's king Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu: "Come and meet me in battle!" + +18. But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story: "Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree: 'Give your daughter in marriage to my son.' But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it! + +19. "You are saying, 'I have defeated Edom,' and you are very proud of it. But my advice is to stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?" + +20. But Amaziah refused to listen, for God was determined to destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom. +21. So King Jehoash of Israel mobilized his army against King Amaziah of Judah. The two armies drew up their battle lines at Beth-shemesh in Judah. +22. Judah was routed by the army of Israel, and its army scattered and fled for home. +23. King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah's king, Amaziah son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then he brought him to Jerusalem, where he demolished 600 feet of Jerusalem's wall, from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. +24. He carried off all the gold and silver and all the articles from the Temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-edom. He also seized the treasures of the royal palace, along with hostages, and then returned to Samaria. + +25. King Amaziah of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel. +26. The rest of the events in Amaziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. + +27. After Amaziah turned away from the LORD, there was a conspiracy against his life in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But his enemies sent assassins after him, and they killed him there. +28. They brought his body back on a horse, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_26.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_26.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..90d0a0d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_26.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +Uzziah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 26 +1. All the people of Judah had crowned Amaziah's sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as king in place of his father. +2. After his father's death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah. + +3. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. +4. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. +5. Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the LORD, God gave him success. + +6. Uzziah declared war on the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built new towns in the Ashdod area and in other parts of Philistia. +7. God helped him in his wars against the Philistines, his battles with the Arabs of Gur, and his wars with the Meunites. +8. The Meunites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he had become very powerful. + +9. Uzziah built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the angle in the wall. +10. He also constructed forts in the wilderness and dug many water cisterns, because he kept great herds of livestock in the foothills of Judah and on the plains. He was also a man who loved the soil. He had many workers who cared for his farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys. + +11. Uzziah had an army of well-trained warriors, ready to march into battle, unit by unit. This army had been mustered and organized by Jeiel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Maaseiah. They were under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's officials. +12. These regiments of mighty warriors were commanded by 2,600 clan leaders. +13. The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. They were prepared to assist the king against any enemy. + +14. Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones. +15. And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the LORD gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful. + +Uzziah's Sin and Punishment + + +16. But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the LORD his God by entering the sanctuary of the LORD's Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar. +17. Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the LORD, all brave men. +18. They confronted King Uzziah and said, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The LORD God will not honor you for this!" + +19. Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the LORD's Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead. +20. When Azariah the high priest and all the other priests saw the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king himself was eager to get out because the LORD had struck him. +21. So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the LORD. His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land. + +22. The rest of the events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. +23. When Uzziah died, he was buried with his ancestors; his grave was in a nearby burial field belonging to the kings, for the people said, "He had leprosy." And his son Jotham became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_27.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_27.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a82ade9b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_27.md @@ -0,0 +1,19 @@ +Jotham Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 27 +1. Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. + +2. Jotham did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done, except that Jotham did not sin by entering the Temple of the LORD. But the people continued in their corrupt ways. + +3. Jotham rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple of the LORD. He also did extensive rebuilding on the wall at the hill of Ophel. +4. He built towns in the hill country of Judah and constructed fortresses and towers in the wooded areas. +5. Jotham went to war against the Ammonites and conquered them. Over the next three years he received from them an annual tribute of 7,500 pounds of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley. + +6. King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God. + +7. The rest of the events of Jotham's reign, including all his wars and other activities, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. +8. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. +9. When Jotham died, he was buried in the City of David. And his son Ahaz became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_28.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_28.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..84eb7547 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_28.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +Ahaz Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 28 +1. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, as his ancestor David had done. +2. Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal. +3. He offered sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. +4. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree. + +5. Because of all this, the LORD his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. +6. In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel's king, killed 120,000 of Judah's troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors. +7. Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king's son; Azrikam, the king's palace commander; and Elkanah, the king's second-in-command. +8. The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria. + +9. But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there in Samaria when the army of Israel returned home. He went out to meet them and said, "The LORD, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah and let you defeat them. But you have gone too far, killing them without mercy, and all heaven is disturbed. +10. And now you are planning to make slaves of these people from Judah and Jerusalem. What about your own sins against the LORD your God? +11. Listen to me and return these prisoners you have taken, for they are your own relatives. Watch out, because now the LORD's fierce anger has been turned against you!" + +12. Then some of the leaders of Israel--Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai--agreed with this and confronted the men returning from battle. +13. "You must not bring the prisoners here!" they declared. "We cannot afford to add to our sins and guilt. Our guilt is already great, and the LORD's fierce anger is already turned against Israel." + +14. So the warriors released the prisoners and handed over the plunder in the sight of the leaders and all the people. +15. Then the four men just mentioned by name came forward and distributed clothes from the plunder to the prisoners who were naked. They provided clothing and sandals to wear, gave them enough food and drink, and dressed their wounds with olive oil. They put those who were weak on donkeys and took all the prisoners back to their own people in Jericho, the city of palms. Then they returned to Samaria. + +Ahaz Closes the Temple + + +16. At that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help. +17. The armies of Edom had again invaded Judah and taken captives. +18. And the Philistines had raided towns located in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev of Judah. They had already captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. +19. The LORD was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the LORD. + +20. So when King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him. +21. Ahaz took valuable items from the LORD's Temple, the royal palace, and from the homes of his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But this did not help him. + +22. Even during this time of trouble, King Ahaz continued to reject the LORD. +23. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, "Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them." But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah. + +24. The king took the various articles from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the LORD's Temple so that no one could worship there, and he set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem. +25. He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of his ancestors. + +26. The rest of the events of Ahaz's reign and everything he did, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. +27. When Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal cemetery of the kings of Judah. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_29.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_29.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..639a4c3e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_29.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +Hezekiah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 29 +1. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. +2. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. + +Hezekiah Reopens the Temple + + +3. In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them. +4. He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple. +5. He said to them, "Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. +6. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. +7. They also shut the doors to the Temple's entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel. + +8. "That is why the LORD's anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes. +9. Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and our sons and daughters and wives have been captured. +10. But now I will make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. +11. My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him." + +12. Then these Levites got right to work: +From the clan of Kohath: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. + +From the clan of Merari: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. + +From the clan of Gershon: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah. + + +13. From the family of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel. + +From the family of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah. + + +14. From the family of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei. + +From the family of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. + + +15. These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the LORD, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the LORD's instructions in their work. +16. The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the LORD to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley. + +17. They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year, and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the LORD's Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the LORD itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days. + +The Temple Rededication + + +18. Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: "We have cleansed the entire Temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils. +19. We have also recovered all the items discarded by King Ahaz when he was unfaithful and closed the Temple. They are now in front of the altar of the LORD, purified and ready for use." + +20. Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went to the Temple of the LORD. +21. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, and seven male lambs as a burnt offering, together with seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the Temple, and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice the animals on the altar of the LORD. + +22. So they killed the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Next they killed the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. And finally, they did the same with the male lambs. +23. The male goats for the sin offering were then brought before the king and the assembly of people, who laid their hands on them. +24. The priests then killed the goats as a sin offering and sprinkled their blood on the altar to make atonement for the sins of all Israel. The king had specifically commanded that this burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel. + +25. King Hezekiah then stationed the Levites at the Temple of the LORD with cymbals, lyres, and harps. He obeyed all the commands that the LORD had given to King David through Gad, the king's seer, and the prophet Nathan. +26. The Levites then took their positions around the Temple with the instruments of David, and the priests took their positions with the trumpets. + +27. Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the LORD were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, the former king of Israel. +28. The entire assembly worshiped the LORD as the singers sang and the trumpets blew, until all the burnt offerings were finished. +29. Then the king and everyone with him bowed down in worship. +30. King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the psalms written by David and by Asaph the seer. So they offered joyous praise and bowed down in worship. + +31. Then Hezekiah declared, "Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Temple of the LORD." So the people brought their sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings, too. +32. The people brought to the LORD 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 male lambs for burnt offerings. +33. They also brought 600 cattle and 3,000 sheep and goats as sacred offerings. + +34. But there were too few priests to prepare all the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious about purifying themselves than the priests had been. +35. There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great deal of fat from the many peace offerings. +So the Temple of the LORD was restored to service. +36. And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_30.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_30.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..828c9fd9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_30.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +Preparations for Passover + +# Chapter 30 +1. King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. +2. The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual. +3. They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem. + +4. This plan for keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people. +5. So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north, inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law. + +6. At the king's command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters that said: +"O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he will return to the few of us who have survived the conquest of the Assyrian kings. +7. Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and became an object of derision, as you yourselves can see. +8. Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the LORD. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the LORD your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. + +9. "For if you return to the LORD, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you." +Celebration of Passover + + +10. The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just laughed at the runners and made fun of them. +11. However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. + +12. At the same time, God's hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the LORD. +13. So a huge crowd assembled at Jerusalem in midspring to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. +14. They set to work and removed the pagan altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley. + +15. On the fourteenth day of the second month, one month later than usual, the people slaughtered the Passover lamb. This shamed the priests and Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Temple of the LORD. +16. Then they took their places at the Temple as prescribed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. The Levites brought the sacrificial blood to the priests, who then sprinkled it on the altar. + +17. Since many of the people had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover lamb for them, to set them apart for the LORD. +18. Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon those +19. who decide to follow the LORD, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony." +20. And the LORD listened to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people. + +21. So the people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem joyously celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. Each day the Levites and priests sang to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments. +22. Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites regarding the skill they displayed as they served the LORD. The celebration continued for seven days. Peace offerings were sacrificed, and the people gave thanks to the LORD, the God of their ancestors. + +23. The entire assembly then decided to continue the festival another seven days, so they celebrated joyfully for another week. +24. King Hezekiah gave the people 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for offerings, and the officials donated 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. Meanwhile, many more priests purified themselves. + +25. The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, including the priests, the Levites, all who came from the land of Israel, the foreigners who came to the festival, and all those who lived in Judah. +26. There was great joy in the city, for Jerusalem had not seen a celebration like this one since the days of Solomon, King David's son. +27. Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_31.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_31.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c67175df --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_31.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +Hezekiah's Religious Reforms + +# Chapter 31 +1. When the festival ended, the Israelites who attended went to all the towns of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and they smashed all the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and altars. After this, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes. + +2. Hezekiah then organized the priests and Levites into divisions to offer the burnt offerings and peace offerings, and to worship and give thanks and praise to the LORD at the gates of the Temple. +3. The king also made a personal contribution of animals for the daily morning and evening burnt offerings, the weekly Sabbath festivals, the monthly new moon festivals, and the annual festivals as prescribed in the Law of the LORD. +4. In addition, he required the people in Jerusalem to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites, so they could devote themselves fully to the Law of the LORD. + +5. When the people of Israel heard these requirements, they responded generously by bringing the first share of their grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a large quantity--a tithe of all they produced. +6. The people who had moved to Judah from Israel, and the people of Judah themselves, brought in the tithes of their cattle, sheep, and goats and a tithe of the things that had been dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them up in great heaps. +7. They began piling them up in late spring, and the heaps continued to grow until early autumn. +8. When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw these huge piles, they thanked the LORD and his people Israel! + +9. "Where did all this come from?" Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites. + +10. And Azariah the high priest, from the family of Zadok, replied, "Since the people began bringing their gifts to the LORD's Temple, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare. The LORD has blessed his people, and all this is left over." + +11. Hezekiah ordered that storerooms be prepared in the Temple of the LORD. When this was done, +12. the people faithfully brought all the gifts, tithes, and other items dedicated for use in the Temple. Conaniah the Levite was put in charge, assisted by his brother Shimei. +13. The supervisors under them were Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah. These appointments were made by King Hezekiah and Azariah, the chief official in the Temple of God. + +14. Kore son of Imnah the Levite, who was the gatekeeper at the East Gate, was put in charge of distributing the voluntary offerings given to God, the gifts, and the things that had been dedicated to the LORD. +15. His faithful assistants were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah. They distributed the gifts among the families of priests in their towns by their divisions, dividing the gifts fairly among old and young alike. +16. They distributed the gifts to all males three years old or older, regardless of their place in the genealogical records. The distribution went to all who would come to the LORD's Temple to perform their daily duties according to their divisions. +17. They distributed gifts to the priests who were listed by their families in the genealogical records, and to the Levites twenty years old or older who were listed according to their jobs and their divisions. +18. Food allotments were also given to the families of all those listed in the genealogical records, including their little babies, wives, sons, and daughters. For they had all been faithful in purifying themselves. + +19. As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who were living in the open villages around the towns, men were appointed by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to all the Levites listed in the genealogical records. + +20. In this way, King Hezekiah handled the distribution throughout all Judah, doing what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God. +21. In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God's laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_32.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_32.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d36df1c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_32.md @@ -0,0 +1,60 @@ +Assyria Invades Judah + +# Chapter 32 +1. After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls. +2. When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, +3. he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city. +4. They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, "Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?" + +5. Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the supporting terraces in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields. +6. He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying: +7. "Be strong and courageous! Don't be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! +8. He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!" Hezekiah's words greatly encouraged the people. + +Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem + + +9. While King Sennacherib of Assyria was still besieging the town of Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah and all the people in the city: + +10. "This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege of Jerusalem? +11. Hezekiah has said, 'The LORD our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria.' Surely Hezekiah is misleading you, sentencing you to death by famine and thirst! +12. Don't you realize that Hezekiah is the very person who destroyed all the LORD's shrines and altars? He commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar at the Temple and to offer sacrifices on it alone. + +13. "Surely you must realize what I and the other kings of Assyria before me have done to all the people of the earth! Were any of the gods of those nations able to rescue their people from my power? +14. Which of their gods was able to rescue its people from the destructive power of my predecessors? What makes you think your God can rescue you from me? +15. Don't let Hezekiah deceive you! Don't let him fool you like this! I say it again--no god of any nation or kingdom has ever yet been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!" + +16. And Sennacherib's officers further mocked the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah, heaping insult upon insult. +17. The king also sent letters scorning the LORD, the God of Israel. He wrote, "Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail." +18. The Assyrian officials who brought the letters shouted this in Hebrew to the people gathered on the walls of the city, trying to terrify them so it would be easier to capture the city. +19. These officers talked about the God of Jerusalem as though he were one of the pagan gods, made by human hands. + +20. Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. +21. And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword. + +22. That is how the LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land. +23. From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the LORD arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too. + +Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery + + +24. +About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed to the LORD, who healed him and gave him a miraculous sign. +25. But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the LORD's anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem. +26. Then Hezekiah humbled himself and repented of his pride, as did the people of Jerusalem. So the LORD's anger did not fall on them during Hezekiah's lifetime. + +27. Hezekiah was very wealthy and highly honored. He built special treasury buildings for his silver, gold, precious stones, and spices, and for his shields and other valuable items. +28. He also constructed many storehouses for his grain, new wine, and olive oil; and he made many stalls for his cattle and pens for his flocks of sheep and goats. +29. He built many towns and acquired vast flocks and herds, for God had given him great wealth. +30. He blocked up the upper spring of Gihon and brought the water down through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David. And so he succeeded in everything he did. + +31. However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart. + +Summary of Hezekiah's Reign + + +32. The rest of the events in Hezekiah's reign and his acts of devotion are recorded in The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah Son of Amoz, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. +33. When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the upper area of the royal cemetery, and all Judah and Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_33.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_33.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..acf1295f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_33.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +Manasseh Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 33 +1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. +2. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. +3. He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. + +4. He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, "My name will remain in Jerusalem forever." +5. He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD's Temple. +6. Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger. + +7. Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem--the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. +8. If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands--all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses--I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors." +9. But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land. + +10. The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. +11. So the LORD sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. +12. But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. +13. And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God! + +14. After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate, and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah. +15. Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD's Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city. +16. Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the LORD, the God of Israel. +17. However, the people still sacrificed at the pagan shrines, though only to the LORD their God. + +18. The rest of the events of Manasseh's reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel. +19. Manasseh's prayer, the account of the way God answered him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The Record of the Seers. It includes a list of the locations where he built pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and repented. +20. When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon became the next king. + +Amon Rules in Judah + + +21. Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. +22. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. He worshiped and sacrificed to all the idols his father had made. +23. But unlike his father, he did not humble himself before the LORD. Instead, Amon sinned even more. + +24. Then Amon's own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. +25. But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_34.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_34.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b5700db6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_34.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +Josiah Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 34 +1. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. +2. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. + +3. During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David. Then in the twelfth year he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem, destroying all the pagan shrines, the Asherah poles, and the carved idols and cast images. +4. He ordered that the altars of Baal be demolished and that the incense altars which stood above them be broken down. He also made sure that the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images were smashed and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. +5. He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their own altars, and so he purified Judah and Jerusalem. + +6. He did the same thing in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, and in the regions all around them. +7. He destroyed the pagan altars and the Asherah poles, and he crushed the idols into dust. He cut down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem. + +8. In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had purified the land and the Temple, Josiah appointed Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of Jerusalem, and Joah son of Joahaz, the royal historian, to repair the Temple of the LORD his God. +9. They gave Hilkiah the high priest the money that had been collected by the Levites who served as gatekeepers at the Temple of God. The gifts were brought by people from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all Judah, Benjamin, and the people of Jerusalem. + +10. He entrusted the money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the LORD's Temple. Then they paid the workers who did the repairs and renovation of the Temple. +11. They hired carpenters and builders, who purchased finished stone for the walls and timber for the rafters and beams. They restored what earlier kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin. + +12. The workers served faithfully under the leadership of Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the Merarite clan, and Zechariah and Meshullam, Levites of the Kohathite clan. Other Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians, +13. were put in charge of the laborers of the various trades. Still others assisted as secretaries, officials, and gatekeepers. + +Hilkiah Discovers God's Law + + +14. While they were bringing out the money collected at the LORD's Temple, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD that was written by Moses. +15. Hilkiah said to Shaphan the court secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the LORD's Temple!" Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan. + +16. Shaphan took the scroll to the king and reported, "Your officials are doing everything they were assigned to do. +17. The money that was collected at the Temple of the LORD has been turned over to the supervisors and workmen." +18. Shaphan also told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll." So Shaphan read it to the king. + +19. When the king heard what was written in the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. +20. Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king's personal adviser: +21. "Go to the Temple and speak to the LORD for me and for all the remnant of Israel and Judah. Inquire about the words written in the scroll that has been found. For the LORD's great anger has been poured out on us because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the LORD. We have not been doing everything this scroll says we must do." + +22. So Hilkiah and the other men went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe. + +23. She said to them, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you, +24. 'This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the curses written in the scroll that was read to the king of Judah will come true. +25. For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.' + +26. "But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the LORD and tell him: 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard: +27. You were sorry and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this city and its people. You humbled yourself and tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the LORD. +28. So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You yourself will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city and its people.'" +So they took her message back to the king. + +Josiah's Religious Reforms + + +29. Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. +30. And the king went up to the Temple of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the Levites--all the people from the greatest to the least. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the LORD's Temple. +31. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the LORD's presence. He pledged to obey the LORD by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll. +32. And he required everyone in Jerusalem and the people of Benjamin to make a similar pledge. The people of Jerusalem did so, renewing their covenant with God, the God of their ancestors. + +33. So Josiah removed all detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and required everyone to worship the LORD their God. And throughout the rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the LORD, the God of their ancestors. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_35.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_35.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a630bb45 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_35.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +Josiah Celebrates Passover + +# Chapter 35 +1. Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the LORD would be celebrated in Jerusalem, and so the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. +2. Josiah also assigned the priests to their duties and encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the LORD. +3. He issued this order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had been set apart to serve the LORD: "Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the LORD your God and his people Israel. +4. Report for duty according to the family divisions of your ancestors, following the directions of King David of Israel and the directions of his son Solomon. + +5. "Then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. +6. Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and prepare to help those who come. Follow all the directions that the LORD gave through Moses." + +7. Then Josiah provided 30,000 lambs and young goats for the people's Passover offerings, along with 3,000 cattle, all from the king's own flocks and herds. +8. The king's officials also made willing contributions to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of God's Temple, gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats and 300 cattle as Passover offerings. +9. The Levite leaders--Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad--gave 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 cattle to the Levites for their Passover offerings. + +10. When everything was ready for the Passover celebration, the priests and the Levites took their places, organized by their divisions, as the king had commanded. +11. The Levites then slaughtered the Passover lambs and presented the blood to the priests, who sprinkled the blood on the altar while the Levites prepared the animals. +12. They divided the burnt offerings among the people by their family groups, so they could offer them to the LORD as prescribed in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. +13. Then they roasted the Passover lambs as prescribed; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and brought them out quickly so the people could eat them. + +14. Afterward the Levites prepared Passover offerings for themselves and for the priests--the descendants of Aaron--because the priests had been busy from morning till night offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions. The Levites took responsibility for all these preparations. + +15. The musicians, descendants of Asaph, were in their assigned places, following the commands that had been given by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's seer. The gatekeepers guarded the gates and did not need to leave their posts of duty, for their Passover offerings were prepared for them by their fellow Levites. + +16. The entire ceremony for the LORD's Passover was completed that day. All the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the altar of the LORD, as King Josiah had commanded. +17. All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. +18. Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel. +19. This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign. + +Josiah Dies in Battle + + +20. After Josiah had finished restoring the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led his army up from Egypt to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and Josiah and his army marched out to fight him. +21. But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message: +"What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you." + + +22. But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. +23. But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out to his men, "Take me from the battle, for I am badly wounded!" + +24. So they lifted Josiah out of his chariot and placed him in another chariot. Then they brought him back to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried there in the royal cemetery. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. +25. The prophet Jeremiah composed funeral songs for Josiah, and to this day choirs still sing these sad songs about his death. These songs of sorrow have become a tradition and are recorded in The Book of Laments. + +26. The rest of the events of Josiah's reign and his acts of devotion (carried out according to what was written in the Law of the LORD), +27. from beginning to end--all are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. + + + diff --git a/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_36.md b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_36.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..95fe6546 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/14_2 Chronicles/Chapter_36.md @@ -0,0 +1,60 @@ +Jehoahaz Rules in Judah + +# Chapter 36 +1. Then the people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz and made him the next king in Jerusalem. + +2. Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. + +3. Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt, who demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold as tribute. + +Jehoiakim Rules in Judah + + +4. The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner. + +5. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. + +6. Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon. +7. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of the LORD, and he placed them in his palace in Babylon. + +8. The rest of the events in Jehoiakim's reign, including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Then his son Jehoiachin became the next king. + +Jehoiachin Rules in Judah + + +9. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD's sight. + +10. In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of the LORD were also taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem. + +Zedekiah Rules in Judah + + +11. Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. +12. But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the LORD. +13. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God's name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. + +14. Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the LORD that had been consecrated in Jerusalem. + +15. The LORD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. +16. But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD's anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done. + +The Fall of Jerusalem + + +17. So the LORD brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah's young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. +18. The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the LORD's Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. +19. Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. +20. The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. + +21. So the message of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said. + +Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return + + +22. In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the LORD fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: + +23. "This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: +"The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go there for this task. And may the LORD your God be with you!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d65598aa --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +Psalm 1 + + +1. Oh, the joys of those who do not + +follow the advice of the wicked, + +or stand around with sinners, + +or join in with mockers. + + +2. But they delight in the law of the LORD, + +meditating on it day and night. + + +3. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, + +bearing fruit each season. + +Their leaves never wither, + +and they prosper in all they do. + + +4. But not the wicked! + +They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. + + +5. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. + +Sinners will have no place among the godly. + + +6. For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, + +but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c9f8c1f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +Psalm 2 + + +1. Why are the nations so angry? + +Why do they waste their time with futile plans? + + +2. The kings of the earth prepare for battle; + +the rulers plot together +against the LORD + +and against his anointed one. + + +3. "Let us break their chains," they cry, + +"and free ourselves from slavery to God." + + +4. But the one who rules in heaven laughs. + +The Lord scoffs at them. + + +5. Then in anger he rebukes them, + +terrifying them with his fierce fury. + + +6. For the Lord declares, "I have placed my chosen king on the throne + in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain." + +7. The king proclaims the LORD's decree: +"The LORD said to me, 'You are my son. + Today I have become your Father. + +8. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, + +the whole earth as your possession. + + +9. You will break them with an iron rod + +and smash them like clay pots.'" + + +10. Now then, you kings, act wisely! + +Be warned, you rulers of the earth! + + +11. Serve the LORD with reverent fear, + +and rejoice with trembling. + + +12. Submit to God's royal son, or he will become angry, + +and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities-- +for his anger flares up in an instant. + +But what joy for all who take refuge in him! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a8168ae1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +Psalm 3 + + +1. O LORD, I have so many enemies; + +so many are against me. + + +2. So many are saying, + "God will never rescue him!" Interlude + +3. But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; + +you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. + + +4. I cried out to the LORD, + +and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude + + +5. I lay down and slept, + +yet I woke up in safety, + for the LORD was watching over me. + +6. I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies + +who surround me on every side. + + +7. Arise, O LORD! + +Rescue me, my God! +Slap all my enemies in the face! + +Shatter the teeth of the wicked! + + +8. Victory comes from you, O LORD. + +May you bless your people. Interlude + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0bccc438 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +Psalm 4 + + +1. Answer me when I call to you, + +O God who declares me innocent. + +Free me from my troubles. + +Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. + + +2. How long will you people ruin my reputation? + +How long will you make groundless accusations? + +How long will you continue your lies? Interlude + + +3. You can be sure of this: + The LORD set apart the godly for himself. + The LORD will answer when I call to him. + +4. Don't sin by letting anger control you. + +Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude + + +5. Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, + and trust the LORD. + +6. Many people say, "Who will show us better times?" + Let your face smile on us, LORD. + +7. You have given me greater joy + +than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. + + +8. In peace I will lie down and sleep, + for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..90c255b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +Psalm 5 + + +1. O LORD, hear me as I pray; + +pay attention to my groaning. + + +2. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, + +for I pray to no one but you. + + +3. Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. + +Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. + + +4. O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; + +you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. + + +5. Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, + +for you hate all who do evil. + + +6. You will destroy those who tell lies. + The LORD detests murderers and deceivers. + +7. Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; + +I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. + + +8. Lead me in the right path, O LORD, + +or my enemies will conquer me. + +Make your way plain for me to follow. + + +9. My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. + +Their deepest desire is to destroy others. + +Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. + Their tongues are filled with flattery. + +10. O God, declare them guilty. + +Let them be caught in their own traps. + +Drive them away because of their many sins, + +for they have rebelled against you. + + +11. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; + +let them sing joyful praises forever. + +Spread your protection over them, + +that all who love your name may be filled with joy. + + +12. For you bless the godly, O LORD; + +you surround them with your shield of love. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5712b282 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +Psalm 6 + + +1. O LORD, don't rebuke me in your anger + +or discipline me in your rage. + + +2. Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. + Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony. + +3. I am sick at heart. + How long, O LORD, until you restore me? + +4. Return, O LORD, and rescue me. + +Save me because of your unfailing love. + + +5. For the dead do not remember you. + Who can praise you from the grave? + +6. I am worn out from sobbing. + +All night I flood my bed with weeping, + +drenching it with my tears. + + +7. My vision is blurred by grief; + +my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies. + + +8. Go away, all you who do evil, + for the LORD has heard my weeping. + +9. The LORD has heard my plea; + the LORD will answer my prayer. + +10. May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. + +May they suddenly turn back in shame. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d7a44a31 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@ +Psalm 7 + + +1. I come to you for protection, O LORD my God. + Save me from my persecutors--rescue me! + +2. If you don't, they will maul me like a lion, + +tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me. + + +3. O LORD my God, if I have done wrong + +or am guilty of injustice, + + +4. if I have betrayed a friend + +or plundered my enemy without cause, + + +5. then let my enemies capture me. + +Let them trample me into the ground + +and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude + + +6. Arise, O LORD, in anger! + +Stand up against the fury of my enemies! + +Wake up, my God, and bring justice! + + +7. Gather the nations before you. + +Rule over them from on high. + + +8. The LORD judges the nations. +Declare me righteous, O LORD, + +for I am innocent, O Most High! + + +9. End the evil of those who are wicked, + +and defend the righteous. + +For you look deep within the mind and heart, + +O righteous God. + + +10. God is my shield, + +saving those whose hearts are true and right. + + +11. God is an honest judge. + +He is angry with the wicked every day. + + +12. If a person does not repent, + God will sharpen his sword; + +he will bend and string his bow. + + +13. He will prepare his deadly weapons + +and shoot his flaming arrows. + + +14. The wicked conceive evil; + +they are pregnant with trouble + +and give birth to lies. + + +15. They dig a deep pit to trap others, + +then fall into it themselves. + + +16. The trouble they make for others backfires on them. + +The violence they plan falls on their own heads. + + +17. I will thank the LORD because he is just; + I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a8f420c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +Psalm 8 + + +1. O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! + +Your glory is higher than the heavens. + + +2. You have taught children and infants + to tell of your strength, +silencing your enemies + +and all who oppose you. + + +3. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-- + +the moon and the stars you set in place-- + +4. what are mere mortals that you should think about them, + human beings that you should care for them? + +5. Yet you made them only a little lower than God + and crowned them with glory and honor. + +6. You gave them charge of everything you made, + +putting all things under their authority-- + +7. the flocks and the herds + +and all the wild animals, + + +8. the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, + +and everything that swims the ocean currents. + + +9. O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4bdbb7b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +Psalm 9 + + +1. I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; + +I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. + + +2. I will be filled with joy because of you. + +I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. + + +3. My enemies retreated; + +they staggered and died when you appeared. + + +4. For you have judged in my favor; + +from your throne you have judged with fairness. + + +5. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; + +you have erased their names forever. + + +6. The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; + +the cities you uprooted are now forgotten. + + +7. But the LORD reigns forever, + +executing judgment from his throne. + + +8. He will judge the world with justice + +and rule the nations with fairness. + + +9. The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, + +a refuge in times of trouble. + + +10. Those who know your name trust in you, + for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you. + +11. Sing praises to the LORD who reigns in Jerusalem. + +Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. + + +12. For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless. + +He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer. + + +13. LORD, have mercy on me. + +See how my enemies torment me. + +Snatch me back from the jaws of death. + + +14. Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem's gates, + +so I can rejoice that you have rescued me. + + +15. The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. + +Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set. + + +16. The LORD is known for his justice. + The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude + +17. The wicked will go down to the grave. + +This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God. + + +18. But the needy will not be ignored forever; + +the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed. + + +19. Arise, O LORD! + +Do not let mere mortals defy you! + +Judge the nations! + + +20. Make them tremble in fear, O LORD. + +Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..745b6654 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,106 @@ +Psalm 10 + + +1. O LORD, why do you stand so far away? + +Why do you hide when I am in trouble? + + +2. The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. + +Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. + + +3. For they brag about their evil desires; + they praise the greedy and curse the LORD. + +4. The wicked are too proud to seek God. + +They seem to think that God is dead. + + +5. Yet they succeed in everything they do. + +They do not see your punishment awaiting them. + +They sneer at all their enemies. + + +6. They think, "Nothing bad will ever happen to us! + +We will be free of trouble forever!" + + +7. Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. + +Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues. + + +8. They lurk in ambush in the villages, + +waiting to murder innocent people. + +They are always searching for helpless victims. + + +9. Like lions crouched in hiding, + +they wait to pounce on the helpless. + +Like hunters they capture the helpless + +and drag them away in nets. + + +10. Their helpless victims are crushed; + +they fall beneath the strength of the wicked. + + +11. The wicked think, "God isn't watching us! + +He has closed his eyes and won't even see what we do!" + + +12. Arise, O LORD! + +Punish the wicked, O God! + +Do not ignore the helpless! + + +13. Why do the wicked get away with despising God? + +They think, "God will never call us to account." + + +14. But you see the trouble and grief they cause. + +You take note of it and punish them. + +The helpless put their trust in you. + +You defend the orphans. + + +15. Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! + +Go after them until the last one is destroyed. + + +16. The LORD is king forever and ever! + +The godless nations will vanish from the land. + + +17. LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. + +Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. + + +18. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, + +so mere people can no longer terrify them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_100.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_100.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..34c009ed --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_100.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Psalm 100 + + +1. Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! + +2. Worship the LORD with gladness. + +Come before him, singing with joy. + + +3. Acknowledge that the LORD is God! + He made us, and we are his. + +We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. + + +4. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; + +go into his courts with praise. + +Give thanks to him and praise his name. + + +5. For the LORD is good. + +His unfailing love continues forever, + +and his faithfulness continues to each generation. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_101.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_101.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..02c03580 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_101.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +Psalm 101 + + +1. I will sing of your love and justice, LORD. + +I will praise you with songs. + + +2. I will be careful to live a blameless life-- + +when will you come to help me? +I will lead a life of integrity + +in my own home. + + +3. I will refuse to look at + +anything vile and vulgar. + +I hate all who deal crookedly; + +I will have nothing to do with them. + + +4. I will reject perverse ideas + +and stay away from every evil. + + +5. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. + +I will not endure conceit and pride. + + +6. I will search for faithful people + +to be my companions. + +Only those who are above reproach + +will be allowed to serve me. + + +7. I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, + +and liars will not stay in my presence. + + +8. My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked + and free the city of the LORD from their grip. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_102.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_102.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..55f6dd3d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_102.md @@ -0,0 +1,156 @@ +Psalm 102 + + +1. LORD, hear my prayer! + +Listen to my plea! + + +2. Don't turn away from me + +in my time of distress. + +Bend down to listen, + +and answer me quickly when I call to you. + + +3. For my days disappear like smoke, + +and my bones burn like red-hot coals. + + +4. My heart is sick, withered like grass, + +and I have lost my appetite. + + +5. Because of my groaning, + +I am reduced to skin and bones. + + +6. I am like an owl in the desert, + +like a little owl in a far-off wilderness. + + +7. I lie awake, + +lonely as a solitary bird on the roof. + + +8. My enemies taunt me day after day. + +They mock and curse me. + + +9. I eat ashes for food. + +My tears run down into my drink + + +10. because of your anger and wrath. + +For you have picked me up and thrown me out. + + +11. My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. + +I am withering away like grass. + + +12. But you, O LORD, will sit on your throne forever. + +Your fame will endure to every generation. + + +13. You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem-- + +and now is the time to pity her, + +now is the time you promised to help. + + +14. For your people love every stone in her walls + +and cherish even the dust in her streets. + + +15. Then the nations will tremble before the LORD. + +The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory. + + +16. For the LORD will rebuild Jerusalem. + +He will appear in his glory. + + +17. He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. + +He will not reject their pleas. + + +18. Let this be recorded for future generations, + so that a people not yet born will praise the LORD. + +19. Tell them the LORD looked down + +from his heavenly sanctuary. + +He looked down to earth from heaven + + +20. to hear the groans of the prisoners, + +to release those condemned to die. + + +21. And so the LORD's fame will be celebrated in Zion, + +his praises in Jerusalem, + + +22. when multitudes gather together + and kingdoms come to worship the LORD. + +23. He broke my strength in midlife, + +cutting short my days. + + +24. But I cried to him, "O my God, who lives forever, + +don't take my life while I am so young! + + +25. Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth + +and made the heavens with your hands. + + +26. They will perish, but you remain forever; + +they will wear out like old clothing. + +You will change them like a garment + +and discard them. + + +27. But you are always the same; + +you will live forever. + + +28. The children of your people + +will live in security. + +Their children's children + +will thrive in your presence." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_103.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_103.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0468e6bc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_103.md @@ -0,0 +1,119 @@ +Psalm 103 + + +1. Let all that I am praise the LORD; + +with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. + + +2. Let all that I am praise the LORD; + +may I never forget the good things he does for me. + + +3. He forgives all my sins + +and heals all my diseases. + + +4. He redeems me from death + +and crowns me with love and tender mercies. + + +5. He fills my life with good things. + +My youth is renewed like the eagle's! + + +6. The LORD gives righteousness + +and justice to all who are treated unfairly. + + +7. He revealed his character to Moses + +and his deeds to the people of Israel. + + +8. The LORD is compassionate and merciful, + +slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. + + +9. He will not constantly accuse us, + +nor remain angry forever. + + +10. He does not punish us for all our sins; + +he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. + + +11. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him + +is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. + + +12. He has removed our sins as far from us + +as the east is from the west. + + +13. The LORD is like a father to his children, + +tender and compassionate to those who fear him. + + +14. For he knows how weak we are; + +he remembers we are only dust. + + +15. Our days on earth are like grass; + +like wildflowers, we bloom and die. + + +16. The wind blows, and we are gone-- + +as though we had never been here. + + +17. But the love of the LORD remains forever + +with those who fear him. + +His salvation extends to the children's children + + +18. of those who are faithful to his covenant, + +of those who obey his commandments! + + +19. The LORD has made the heavens his throne; + +from there he rules over everything. + + +20. Praise the LORD, you angels, + +you mighty ones who carry out his plans, + +listening for each of his commands. + + +21. Yes, praise the LORD, you armies of angels + +who serve him and do his will! + + +22. Praise the LORD, everything he has created, + +everything in all his kingdom. +Let all that I am praise the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_104.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_104.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..630488ff --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_104.md @@ -0,0 +1,184 @@ +Psalm 104 + + +1. Let all that I am praise the LORD. +O LORD my God, how great you are! + +You are robed with honor and majesty. + + +2. You are dressed in a robe of light. + +You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens; + + +3. you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds. + +You make the clouds your chariot; + +you ride upon the wings of the wind. + + +4. The winds are your messengers; + flames of fire are your servants. + +5. You placed the world on its foundation + +so it would never be moved. + + +6. You clothed the earth with floods of water, + +water that covered even the mountains. + + +7. At your command, the water fled; + +at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away. + + +8. Mountains rose and valleys sank + +to the levels you decreed. + + +9. Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, + +so they would never again cover the earth. + + +10. You make springs pour water into the ravines, + +so streams gush down from the mountains. + + +11. They provide water for all the animals, + +and the wild donkeys quench their thirst. + + +12. The birds nest beside the streams + +and sing among the branches of the trees. + + +13. You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, + +and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor. + + +14. You cause grass to grow for the livestock + +and plants for people to use. + +You allow them to produce food from the earth-- + +15. wine to make them glad, +olive oil to soothe their skin, + +and bread to give them strength. + + +16. The trees of the LORD are well cared for-- + +the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. + + +17. There the birds make their nests, + +and the storks make their homes in the cypresses. + + +18. High in the mountains live the wild goats, + and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes. + +19. You made the moon to mark the seasons, + +and the sun knows when to set. + + +20. You send the darkness, and it becomes night, + +when all the forest animals prowl about. + + +21. Then the young lions roar for their prey, + +stalking the food provided by God. + + +22. At dawn they slink back + +into their dens to rest. + + +23. Then people go off to their work, + +where they labor until evening. + + +24. O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! + +In wisdom you have made them all. + +The earth is full of your creatures. + + +25. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, + +teeming with life of every kind, + +both large and small. + + +26. See the ships sailing along, + and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. + +27. They all depend on you + +to give them food as they need it. + + +28. When you supply it, they gather it. + +You open your hand to feed them, + +and they are richly satisfied. + + +29. But if you turn away from them, they panic. + +When you take away their breath, + +they die and turn again to dust. + + +30. When you give them your breath, life is created, + +and you renew the face of the earth. + + +31. May the glory of the LORD continue forever! + The LORD takes pleasure in all he has made! + +32. The earth trembles at his glance; + +the mountains smoke at his touch. + + +33. I will sing to the LORD as long as I live. + +I will praise my God to my last breath! + + +34. May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, + for I rejoice in the LORD. + +35. Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth; + +let the wicked disappear forever. +Let all that I am praise the LORD. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_105.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_105.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..26518085 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_105.md @@ -0,0 +1,220 @@ +Psalm 105 + + +1. Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. + +Let the whole world know what he has done. + + +2. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. + +Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. + + +3. Exult in his holy name; + rejoice, you who worship the LORD. + +4. Search for the LORD and for his strength; + +continually seek him. + + +5. Remember the wonders he has performed, + +his miracles, and the rulings he has given, + + +6. you children of his servant Abraham, + +you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. + + +7. He is the LORD our God. + +His justice is seen throughout the land. + + +8. He always stands by his covenant-- + +the commitment he made to a thousand generations. + + +9. This is the covenant he made with Abraham + +and the oath he swore to Isaac. + + +10. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, + +and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: + + +11. "I will give you the land of Canaan + +as your special possession." + + +12. He said this when they were few in number, + +a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. + + +13. They wandered from nation to nation, + +from one kingdom to another. + + +14. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. + +He warned kings on their behalf: + + +15. "Do not touch my chosen people, + +and do not hurt my prophets." + + +16. He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, + +cutting off its food supply. + + +17. Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them-- + +Joseph, who was sold as a slave. + + +18. They bruised his feet with fetters + +and placed his neck in an iron collar. + + +19. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, + the LORD tested Joseph's character. + +20. Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; + +the ruler of the nation opened his prison door. + + +21. Joseph was put in charge of all the king's household; + +he became ruler over all the king's possessions. + + +22. He could instruct the king's aides as he pleased + +and teach the king's advisers. + + +23. Then Israel arrived in Egypt; + +Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham. + + +24. And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel + +until they became too mighty for their enemies. + + +25. Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites, + and they plotted against the LORD's servants. + +26. But the LORD sent his servant Moses, + +along with Aaron, whom he had chosen. + + +27. They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians, + +and wonders in the land of Ham. + + +28. The LORD blanketed Egypt in darkness, + for they had defied his commands to let his people go. + +29. He turned their water into blood, + +poisoning all the fish. + + +30. Then frogs overran the land + +and even invaded the king's bedrooms. + + +31. When the LORD spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians, + +and gnats swarmed across Egypt. + + +32. He sent them hail instead of rain, + +and lightning flashed over the land. + + +33. He ruined their grapevines and fig trees + +and shattered all the trees. + + +34. He spoke, and hordes of locusts came-- + +young locusts beyond number. + + +35. They ate up everything green in the land, + +destroying all the crops in their fields. + + +36. Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home, + +the pride and joy of each family. + + +37. The LORD brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; + +and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled. + + +38. Egypt was glad when they were gone, + +for they feared them greatly. + + +39. The LORD spread a cloud above them as a covering + +and gave them a great fire to light the darkness. + + +40. They asked for meat, and he sent them quail; + he satisfied their hunger with manna--bread from heaven. + +41. He split open a rock, and water gushed out + +to form a river through the dry wasteland. + + +42. For he remembered his sacred promise + +to his servant Abraham. + + +43. So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy, + +his chosen ones with rejoicing. + + +44. He gave his people the lands of pagan nations, + +and they harvested crops that others had planted. + + +45. All this happened so they would follow his decrees + +and obey his instructions. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_106.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_106.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5665b010 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_106.md @@ -0,0 +1,255 @@ +Psalm 106 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +2. Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD? + +Who can ever praise him enough? + + +3. There is joy for those who deal justly with others + +and always do what is right. + + +4. Remember me, LORD, when you show favor to your people; + +come near and rescue me. + + +5. Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones. + +Let me rejoice in the joy of your people; + +let me praise you with those who are your heritage. + + +6. Like our ancestors, we have sinned. + +We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly! + + +7. Our ancestors in Egypt + were not impressed by the LORD's miraculous deeds. + +They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. + Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea. + +8. Even so, he saved them-- + +to defend the honor of his name + +and to demonstrate his mighty power. + + +9. He commanded the Red Sea to dry up. + +He led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert. + + +10. So he rescued them from their enemies + +and redeemed them from their foes. + + +11. Then the water returned and covered their enemies; + +not one of them survived. + + +12. Then his people believed his promises. + +Then they sang his praise. + + +13. Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! + +They wouldn't wait for his counsel! + + +14. In the wilderness their desires ran wild, + +testing God's patience in that dry wasteland. + + +15. So he gave them what they asked for, + +but he sent a plague along with it. + + +16. The people in the camp were jealous of Moses + and envious of Aaron, the LORD's holy priest. + +17. Because of this, the earth opened up; + +it swallowed Dathan + +and buried Abiram and the other rebels. + + +18. Fire fell upon their followers; + +a flame consumed the wicked. + + +19. The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; + +they bowed before an image made of gold. + + +20. They traded their glorious God + +for a statue of a grass-eating bull. + + +21. They forgot God, their savior, + +who had done such great things in Egypt-- + +22. such wonderful things in the land of Ham, + +such awesome deeds at the Red Sea. + + +23. So he declared he would destroy them. + But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the LORD and the people. + +He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them. + + +24. The people refused to enter the pleasant land, + +for they wouldn't believe his promise to care for them. + + +25. Instead, they grumbled in their tents + and refused to obey the LORD. + +26. Therefore, he solemnly swore + +that he would kill them in the wilderness, + + +27. that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, + +exiling them to distant lands. + + +28. Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; + +they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead! + + +29. They angered the LORD with all these things, + +so a plague broke out among them. + + +30. But Phinehas had the courage to intervene, + +and the plague was stopped. + + +31. So he has been regarded as a righteous man + +ever since that time. + + +32. At Meribah, too, they angered the LORD, + +causing Moses serious trouble. + + +33. They made Moses angry, + +and he spoke foolishly. + + +34. Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, + as the LORD had commanded them. + +35. Instead, they mingled among the pagans + +and adopted their evil customs. + + +36. They worshiped their idols, + +which led to their downfall. + + +37. They even sacrificed their sons + +and their daughters to the demons. + + +38. They shed innocent blood, + +the blood of their sons and daughters. + +By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, + +they polluted the land with murder. + + +39. They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, + and their love of idols was adultery in the LORD's sight. + +40. That is why the LORD's anger burned against his people, + +and he abhorred his own special possession. + + +41. He handed them over to pagan nations, + +and they were ruled by those who hated them. + + +42. Their enemies crushed them + +and brought them under their cruel power. + + +43. Again and again he rescued them, + +but they chose to rebel against him, + +and they were finally destroyed by their sin. + + +44. Even so, he pitied them in their distress + +and listened to their cries. + + +45. He remembered his covenant with them + +and relented because of his unfailing love. + + +46. He even caused their captors + +to treat them with kindness. + + +47. Save us, O LORD our God! + +Gather us back from among the nations, +so we can thank your holy name + +and rejoice and praise you. + + +48. Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, + +who lives from everlasting to everlasting! +Let all the people say, "Amen!" +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_107.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_107.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7e32bcbe --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_107.md @@ -0,0 +1,222 @@ +Psalm 107 + + +1. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +2. Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! + +Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. + + +3. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, + +from east and west, + from north and south. + +4. Some wandered in the wilderness, + +lost and homeless. + + +5. Hungry and thirsty, + +they nearly died. + + +6. "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, + +and he rescued them from their distress. + + +7. He led them straight to safety, + +to a city where they could live. + + +8. Let them praise the LORD for his great love + +and for the wonderful things he has done for them. + + +9. For he satisfies the thirsty + +and fills the hungry with good things. + + +10. Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, + +imprisoned in iron chains of misery. + + +11. They rebelled against the words of God, + +scorning the counsel of the Most High. + + +12. That is why he broke them with hard labor; + +they fell, and no one was there to help them. + + +13. "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, + +and he saved them from their distress. + + +14. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; + +he snapped their chains. + + +15. Let them praise the LORD for his great love + +and for the wonderful things he has done for them. + + +16. For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; + +he cut apart their bars of iron. + + +17. Some were fools; they rebelled + +and suffered for their sins. + + +18. They couldn't stand the thought of food, + +and they were knocking on death's door. + + +19. "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, + +and he saved them from their distress. + + +20. He sent out his word and healed them, + +snatching them from the door of death. + + +21. Let them praise the LORD for his great love + +and for the wonderful things he has done for them. + + +22. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving + +and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. + + +23. Some went off to sea in ships, + +plying the trade routes of the world. + + +24. They, too, observed the LORD's power in action, + +his impressive works on the deepest seas. + + +25. He spoke, and the winds rose, + +stirring up the waves. + + +26. Their ships were tossed to the heavens + +and plunged again to the depths; + +the sailors cringed in terror. + + +27. They reeled and staggered like drunkards + +and were at their wits' end. + + +28. "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, + +and he saved them from their distress. + + +29. He calmed the storm to a whisper + +and stilled the waves. + + +30. What a blessing was that stillness + +as he brought them safely into harbor! + + +31. Let them praise the LORD for his great love + +and for the wonderful things he has done for them. + + +32. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation + +and before the leaders of the nation. + + +33. He changes rivers into deserts, + +and springs of water into dry, thirsty land. + + +34. He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, + +because of the wickedness of those who live there. + + +35. But he also turns deserts into pools of water, + +the dry land into springs of water. + + +36. He brings the hungry to settle there + +and to build their cities. + + +37. They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, + +and harvest their bumper crops. + + +38. How he blesses them! + +They raise large families there, + +and their herds of livestock increase. + + +39. When they decrease in number and become impoverished + +through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, + + +40. the LORD pours contempt on their princes, + +causing them to wander in trackless wastelands. + + +41. But he rescues the poor from trouble + +and increases their families like flocks of sheep. + + +42. The godly will see these things and be glad, + +while the wicked are struck silent. + + +43. Those who are wise will take all this to heart; + they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_108.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_108.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8e5bf47f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_108.md @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@ +Psalm 108 + + +1. My heart is confident in you, O God; + +no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! + + +2. Wake up, lyre and harp! + +I will wake the dawn with my song. + + +3. I will thank you, LORD, among all the people. + +I will sing your praises among the nations. + + +4. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. + +Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. + + +5. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. + +May your glory shine over all the earth. + + +6. Now rescue your beloved people. + +Answer and save us by your power. + + +7. God has promised this by his holiness: +"I will divide up Shechem with joy. + +I will measure out the valley of Succoth. + + +8. Gilead is mine, + +and Manasseh, too. + +Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, + +and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. + + +9. But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, + +and I will wipe my feet on Edom + +and shout in triumph over Philistia." + + +10. Who will bring me into the fortified city? + +Who will bring me victory over Edom? + + +11. Have you rejected us, O God? + +Will you no longer march with our armies? + + +12. Oh, please help us against our enemies, + +for all human help is useless. + + +13. With God's help we will do mighty things, + +for he will trample down our foes. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_109.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_109.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..37afbbd6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_109.md @@ -0,0 +1,172 @@ +Psalm 109 + + +1. O God, whom I praise, + +don't stand silent and aloof + + +2. while the wicked slander me + +and tell lies about me. + + +3. They surround me with hateful words + +and fight against me for no reason. + + +4. I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations + +even as I am praying for them! + + +5. They repay evil for good, + +and hatred for my love. + + +6. They say, "Get an evil person to turn against him. + +Send an accuser to bring him to trial. + + +7. When his case comes up for judgment, + +let him be pronounced guilty. + +Count his prayers as sins. + + +8. Let his years be few; + +let someone else take his position. + + +9. May his children become fatherless, + +and his wife a widow. + + +10. May his children wander as beggars + and be driven from their ruined homes. + +11. May creditors seize his entire estate, + +and strangers take all he has earned. + + +12. Let no one be kind to him; + +let no one pity his fatherless children. + + +13. May all his offspring die. + +May his family name be blotted out in the next generation. + + +14. May the LORD never forget the sins of his fathers; + +may his mother's sins never be erased from the record. + + +15. May the LORD always remember these sins, + +and may his name disappear from human memory. + + +16. For he refused all kindness to others; + +he persecuted the poor and needy, + +and he hounded the brokenhearted to death. + + +17. He loved to curse others; + +now you curse him. + +He never blessed others; + +now don't you bless him. + + +18. Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, + +or the water he drinks, + +or the rich food he eats. + + +19. Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; + +may they be tied around him like a belt." + + +20. May those curses become the LORD's punishment + +for my accusers who speak evil of me. + + +21. But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD, + +for the sake of your own reputation! +Rescue me + +because you are so faithful and good. + + +22. For I am poor and needy, + +and my heart is full of pain. + + +23. I am fading like a shadow at dusk; + +I am brushed off like a locust. + + +24. My knees are weak from fasting, + +and I am skin and bones. + + +25. I am a joke to people everywhere; + +when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn. + + +26. +Help me, O LORD my God! + +Save me because of your unfailing love. + + +27. Let them see that this is your doing, + that you yourself have done it, LORD. + +28. Then let them curse me if they like, + +but you will bless me! +When they attack me, they will be disgraced! + +But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing! + + +29. May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; + +may their humiliation cover them like a cloak. + + +30. But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD, + +praising him to everyone. + + +31. For he stands beside the needy, + +ready to save them from those who condemn them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e64c6251 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +Psalm 11 + + +1. I trust in the LORD for protection. + +So why do you say to me, + +"Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! + + +2. The wicked are stringing their bows + +and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. + +They shoot from the shadows + +at those whose hearts are right. + + +3. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. + +What can the righteous do?" + + +4. But the LORD is in his holy Temple; + the LORD still rules from heaven. + +He watches everyone closely, + +examining every person on earth. + + +5. The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked. + +He hates those who love violence. + + +6. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, + +punishing them with scorching winds. + + +7. For the righteous LORD loves justice. + +The virtuous will see his face. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_110.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_110.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fac466ed --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_110.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +Psalm 110 + + +1. The LORD said to my Lord, + +"Sit in the place of honor at my right hand +until I humble your enemies, + +making them a footstool under your feet." + + +2. The LORD will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; + +you will rule over your enemies. + + +3. When you go to war, + +your people will serve you willingly. + +You are arrayed in holy garments, + +and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew. + + +4. The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: + +"You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek." + + +5. The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you. + +He will strike down many kings when his anger erupts. + + +6. He will punish the nations + +and fill their lands with corpses; + +he will shatter heads over the whole earth. + + +7. But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way. + +He will be victorious. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_111.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_111.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9366ce3a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_111.md @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +Psalm 111 + +1. Praise the LORD! +I will thank the LORD with all my heart + +as I meet with his godly people. + + +2. How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! + +All who delight in him should ponder them. + + +3. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. + +His righteousness never fails. + + +4. He causes us to remember his wonderful works. + How gracious and merciful is our LORD! + +5. He gives food to those who fear him; + +he always remembers his covenant. + + +6. He has shown his great power to his people + +by giving them the lands of other nations. + + +7. All he does is just and good, + +and all his commandments are trustworthy. + + +8. They are forever true, + +to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity. + + +9. He has paid a full ransom for his people. + +He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. + +What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has! + + +10. Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. + +All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. + +Praise him forever! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_112.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_112.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ca36cb48 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_112.md @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +Psalm 112 + +1. Praise the LORD! +How joyful are those who fear the LORD + +and delight in obeying his commands. + + +2. Their children will be successful everywhere; + +an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. + + +3. They themselves will be wealthy, + +and their good deeds will last forever. + + +4. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. + +They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. + + +5. Good comes to those who lend money generously + +and conduct their business fairly. + + +6. Such people will not be overcome by evil. + +Those who are righteous will be long remembered. + + +7. They do not fear bad news; + they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. + +8. They are confident and fearless + +and can face their foes triumphantly. + + +9. They share freely and give generously to those in need. + +Their good deeds will be remembered forever. + +They will have influence and honor. + + +10. The wicked will see this and be infuriated. + +They will grind their teeth in anger; + +they will slink away, their hopes thwarted. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_113.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_113.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7251a9d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_113.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +Psalm 113 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Yes, give praise, O servants of the LORD. + Praise the name of the LORD! + +2. Blessed be the name of the LORD + +now and forever. + + +3. Everywhere--from east to west-- + praise the name of the LORD. + +4. For the LORD is high above the nations; + +his glory is higher than the heavens. + + +5. Who can be compared with the LORD our God, + +who is enthroned on high? + + +6. He stoops to look down + +on heaven and on earth. + + +7. He lifts the poor from the dust + +and the needy from the garbage dump. + + +8. He sets them among princes, + +even the princes of his own people! + + +9. He gives the childless woman a family, + +making her a happy mother. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_114.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_114.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..079ed240 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_114.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +Psalm 114 + + +1. When the Israelites escaped from Egypt-- + +when the family of Jacob left that foreign land-- + +2. the land of Judah became God's sanctuary, + +and Israel became his kingdom. + + +3. The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! + +The water of the Jordan River turned away. + + +4. The mountains skipped like rams, + +the hills like lambs! + + +5. What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? + +What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away? + + +6. Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? + +Why, hills, like lambs? + + +7. Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, + +at the presence of the God of Jacob. + + +8. He turned the rock into a pool of water; + +yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_115.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_115.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a0b940e8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_115.md @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ +Psalm 115 + + +1. Not to us, O LORD, not to us, + +but to your name goes all the glory + +for your unfailing love and faithfulness. + + +2. Why let the nations say, + +"Where is their God?" + + +3. Our God is in the heavens, + +and he does as he wishes. + + +4. Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, + +shaped by human hands. + + +5. They have mouths but cannot speak, + +and eyes but cannot see. + + +6. They have ears but cannot hear, + +and noses but cannot smell. + + +7. They have hands but cannot feel, + +and feet but cannot walk, + +and throats but cannot make a sound. + + +8. And those who make idols are just like them, + +as are all who trust in them. + + +9. O Israel, trust the LORD! + +He is your helper and your shield. + + +10. O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD! + +He is your helper and your shield. + + +11. All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD! + +He is your helper and your shield. + + +12. The LORD remembers us and will bless us. + +He will bless the people of Israel + +and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron. + + +13. He will bless those who fear the LORD, + +both great and lowly. + + +14. May the LORD richly bless + +both you and your children. + + +15. May you be blessed by the LORD, + +who made heaven and earth. + + +16. The heavens belong to the LORD, + +but he has given the earth to all humanity. + + +17. The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, + +for they have gone into the silence of the grave. + + +18. But we can praise the LORD + +both now and forever! +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_116.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_116.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b0884a44 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_116.md @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@ +Psalm 116 + + +1. I love the LORD because he hears my voice + +and my prayer for mercy. + + +2. Because he bends down to listen, + +I will pray as long as I have breath! + + +3. Death wrapped its ropes around me; + the terrors of the grave overtook me. + +I saw only trouble and sorrow. + + +4. Then I called on the name of the LORD: + "Please, LORD, save me!" + +5. How kind the LORD is! How good he is! + +So merciful, this God of ours! + + +6. The LORD protects those of childlike faith; + +I was facing death, and he saved me. + + +7. Let my soul be at rest again, + for the LORD has been good to me. + +8. He has saved me from death, + +my eyes from tears, + +my feet from stumbling. + + +9. And so I walk in the LORD's presence + +as I live here on earth! + + +10. I believed in you, so I said, + "I am deeply troubled, LORD." + +11. In my anxiety I cried out to you, + +"These people are all liars!" + + +12. What can I offer the LORD + +for all he has done for me? + + +13. I will lift up the cup of salvation + and praise the LORD's name for saving me. + +14. I will keep my promises to the LORD + +in the presence of all his people. + + +15. The LORD cares deeply + +when his loved ones die. + + +16. O LORD, I am your servant; + +yes, I am your servant, born into your household; + +you have freed me from my chains. + + +17. I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving + and call on the name of the LORD. + +18. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD + +in the presence of all his people-- + +19. in the house of the LORD + +in the heart of Jerusalem. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_117.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_117.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6c57c6e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_117.md @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +Psalm 117 + + +1. Praise the LORD, all you nations. + +Praise him, all you people of the earth. + + +2. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; + the LORD's faithfulness endures forever. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_118.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_118.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cf0d37e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_118.md @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@ +Psalm 118 + + +1. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +2. Let all Israel repeat: + " +His faithful love endures forever." + +3. Let Aaron's descendants, the priests, repeat: + " +His faithful love endures forever." + +4. Let all who fear the LORD repeat: + " +His faithful love endures forever." + +5. In my distress I prayed to the LORD, + and the LORD answered me and set me free. + +6. The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear. + +What can mere people do to me? + + +7. Yes, the LORD is for me; he will help me. + +I will look in triumph at those who hate me. + + +8. It is better to take refuge in the LORD + +than to trust in people. + + +9. It is better to take refuge in the LORD + +than to trust in princes. + + +10. Though hostile nations surrounded me, + I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. + +11. Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, + but I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. + +12. They swarmed around me like bees; + +they blazed against me like a crackling fire. + But I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. + +13. My enemies did their best to kill me, + but the LORD rescued me. + +14. The LORD is my strength and my song; + +he has given me victory. + + +15. Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. + The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! + +16. The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph. + The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! + +17. I will not die; instead, I will live + to tell what the LORD has done. + +18. The LORD has punished me severely, + +but he did not let me die. + + +19. Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, + and I will go in and thank the LORD. + +20. These gates lead to the presence of the LORD, + +and the godly enter there. + + +21. I thank you for answering my prayer + +and giving me victory! + + +22. The stone that the builders rejected + +has now become the cornerstone. + + +23. This is the LORD's doing, + +and it is wonderful to see. + + +24. This is the day the LORD has made. + +We will rejoice and be glad in it. + + +25. Please, LORD, please save us. + Please, LORD, please give us success. + +26. Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD. + We bless you from the house of the LORD. + +27. The LORD is God, shining upon us. + +Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar. + + +28. You are my God, and I will praise you! + +You are my God, and I will exalt you! + + +29. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! + +His faithful love endures forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_119.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_119.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3a61da2d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_119.md @@ -0,0 +1,882 @@ +Psalm 119 + +1. Joyful are people of integrity, + who follow the instructions of the LORD. + +2. Joyful are those who obey his laws + +and search for him with all their hearts. + + +3. They do not compromise with evil, + +and they walk only in his paths. + + +4. You have charged us + +to keep your commandments carefully. + + +5. Oh, that my actions would consistently + +reflect your decrees! + + +6. Then I will not be ashamed + +when I compare my life with your commands. + + +7. As I learn your righteous regulations, + +I will thank you by living as I should! + + +8. +I will obey your decrees. + +Please don't give up on me! + + +9. How can a young person stay pure? + +By obeying your word. + + +10. I have tried hard to find you-- + +don't let me wander from your commands. + + +11. I have hidden your word in my heart, + +that I might not sin against you. + + +12. I praise you, O LORD; + +teach me your decrees. + + +13. I have recited aloud + +all the regulations you have given us. + + +14. I have rejoiced in your laws + +as much as in riches. + + +15. I will study your commandments + +and reflect on your ways. + + +16. I will delight in your decrees + +and not forget your word. + + +17. Be good to your servant, + +that I may live and obey your word. + + +18. Open my eyes to see + +the wonderful truths in your instructions. + + +19. I am only a foreigner in the land. + +Don't hide your commands from me! + + +20. I am always overwhelmed + +with a desire for your regulations. + + +21. You rebuke the arrogant; + +those who wander from your commands are cursed. + + +22. Don't let them scorn and insult me, + +for I have obeyed your laws. + + +23. Even princes sit and speak against me, + +but I will meditate on your decrees. + + +24. Your laws please me; + +they give me wise advice. + + +25. I lie in the dust; + +revive me by your word. + + +26. I told you my plans, and you answered. + Now +teach me your decrees. + + +27. + +Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, + +and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds. + + +28. I weep with sorrow; + +encourage me by your word. + + +29. Keep me from lying to myself; + +give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. + + +30. I have chosen to be faithful; + +I have determined to live by your regulations. + + +31. I cling to your laws. + LORD, don't let me be put to shame! + +32. I will pursue your commands, + +for you expand my understanding. + + +33. Teach me your decrees, O LORD; + +I will keep them to the end. + + +34. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; + +I will put them into practice with all my heart. + + +35. Make me walk along the path of your commands, + +for that is where my happiness is found. + + +36. Give me an eagerness for your laws + +rather than a love for money! + + +37. Turn my eyes from worthless things, + and give me life through your word. + +38. Reassure me of your promise, + +made to those who fear you. + + +39. + +Help me abandon my shameful ways; + +for your regulations are good. + + +40. I long to obey your commandments! + +Renew my life with your goodness. + + +41. LORD, give me your unfailing love, + +the salvation that you promised me. + + +42. Then I can answer those who taunt me, + +for I trust in your word. + + +43. Do not snatch your word of truth from me, + +for your regulations are my only hope. + + +44. I will keep on obeying your instructions + +forever and ever. + + +45. I will walk in freedom, + +for I have devoted myself to your commandments. + + +46. I will speak to kings about your laws, + +and I will not be ashamed. + + +47. How I delight in your commands! + +How I love them! + + +48. I honor and love your commands. + +I meditate on your decrees. + + +49. Remember your promise to me; + +it is my only hope. + + +50. Your promise revives me; + +it comforts me in all my troubles. + + +51. The proud hold me in utter contempt, + +but I do not turn away from your instructions. + + +52. I meditate on your age-old regulations; + O LORD, they comfort me. + +53. I become furious with the wicked, + +because they reject your instructions. + + +54. Your decrees have been the theme of my songs + +wherever I have lived. + + +55. I reflect at night on who you are, O LORD; + +therefore, I obey your instructions. + + +56. This is how I spend my life: + +obeying your commandments. + + +57. LORD, you are mine! + +I promise to obey your words! + + +58. With all my heart I want your blessings. + +Be merciful as you promised. + + +59. I pondered the direction of my life, + +and I turned to follow your laws. + + +60. I will hurry, without delay, + +to obey your commands. + + +61. Evil people try to drag me into sin, + +but I am firmly anchored to your instructions. + + +62. I rise at midnight to thank you + +for your just regulations. + + +63. I am a friend to anyone who fears you-- + +anyone who obeys your commandments. + + +64. O LORD, your unfailing love fills the earth; + +teach me your decrees. + + +65. You have done many good things for me, LORD, + +just as you promised. + + +66. I believe in your commands; + +now teach me good judgment and knowledge. + + +67. I used to wander off until you disciplined me; + +but now I closely follow your word. + + +68. You are good and do only good; + +teach me your decrees. + + +69. Arrogant people smear me with lies, + +but in truth I obey your commandments with all my heart. + + +70. Their hearts are dull and stupid, + +but I delight in your instructions. + + +71. My suffering was good for me, + +for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. + + +72. Your instructions are more valuable to me + +than millions in gold and silver. + + +73. You made me; you created me. + +Now give me the sense to follow your commands. + + +74. May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, + +for I have put my hope in your word. + + +75. I know, O LORD, that your regulations are fair; + +you disciplined me because I needed it. + + +76. Now let your unfailing love comfort me, + +just as you promised me, your servant. + + +77. Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, + +for your instructions are my delight. + + +78. Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about me; + +meanwhile, I will concentrate on your commandments. + + +79. Let me be united with all who fear you, + +with those who know your laws. + + +80. May I be blameless in keeping your decrees; + +then I will never be ashamed. + + +81. I am worn out waiting for your rescue, + +but I have put my hope in your word. + + +82. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. + +When will you comfort me? + + +83. I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, + +but I have not forgotten to obey your decrees. + + +84. How long must I wait? + +When will you punish those who persecute me? + + +85. These arrogant people who hate your instructions + +have dug deep pits to trap me. + + +86. All your commands are trustworthy. + +Protect me from those who hunt me down without cause. + + +87. They almost finished me off, + +but I refused to abandon your commandments. + + +88. In your unfailing love, spare my life; + +then I can continue to obey your laws. + + +89. Your eternal word, O LORD, + +stands firm in heaven. + + +90. Your faithfulness extends to every generation, + +as enduring as the earth you created. + + +91. Your regulations remain true to this day, + +for everything serves your plans. + + +92. If your instructions hadn't sustained me with joy, + +I would have died in my misery. + + +93. I will never forget your commandments, + +for by them you give me life. + + +94. I am yours; rescue me! + For I have worked hard at +obeying your commandments. + + +95. Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me, + +I will quietly keep my mind on your laws. + + +96. Even perfection has its limits, + +but your commands have no limit. + + +97. Oh, how I love your instructions! + +I think about them all day long. + + +98. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, + +for they are my constant guide. + + +99. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, + +for I am always thinking of your laws. + + +100. I am even wiser than my elders, + +for I have kept your commandments. + + +101. I have refused to walk on any evil path, + +so that I may remain obedient to your word. + + +102. I haven't turned away from your regulations, + +for you have taught me well. + + +103. How sweet your words taste to me; + +they are sweeter than honey. + + +104. Your commandments give me understanding; + +no wonder I hate every false way of life. + + +105. Your word is a lamp to guide my feet + +and a light for my path. + + +106. I've promised it once, and I'll promise it again: + +I will obey your righteous regulations. + + +107. I have suffered much, O LORD; + +restore my life again as you promised. + + +108. LORD, accept my offering of praise, + +and teach me your regulations. + + +109. My life constantly hangs in the balance, + +but I will not stop obeying your instructions. + + +110. The wicked have set their traps for me, + +but I will not turn from your commandments. + + +111. Your laws are my treasure; + +they are my heart's delight. + + +112. I am determined to keep your decrees + +to the very end. + + +113. I hate those with divided loyalties, + +but I love your instructions. + + +114. You are my refuge and my shield; + +your word is my source of hope. + + +115. Get out of my life, you evil-minded people, + +for I intend to obey the commands of my God. + + +116. LORD, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! + +Do not let my hope be crushed. + + +117. Sustain me, and I will be rescued; + +then I will meditate continually on your decrees. + + +118. But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees. + +They are only fooling themselves. + + +119. You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum; + +no wonder I love to obey your laws! + + +120. I tremble in fear of you; + +I stand in awe of your regulations. + + +121. Don't leave me to the mercy of my enemies, + +for I have done what is just and right. + + +122. Please guarantee a blessing for me. + +Don't let the arrogant oppress me! + + +123. My eyes strain to see your rescue, + +to see the truth of your promise fulfilled. + + +124. I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love, + and +teach me your decrees. + + +125. Give discernment to me, your servant; + +then I will understand your laws. + + +126. LORD, it is time for you to act, + +for these evil people have violated your instructions. + + +127. Truly, I love your commands + +more than gold, even the finest gold. + + +128. Each of your commandments is right. + +That is why I hate every false way. + + +129. Your laws are wonderful. + +No wonder I obey them! + + +130. The teaching of your word gives light, + +so even the simple can understand. + + +131. I pant with expectation, + +longing for your commands. + + +132. Come and show me your mercy, + +as you do for all who love your name. + + +133. Guide my steps by your word, + +so I will not be overcome by evil. + + +134. Ransom me from the oppression of evil people; + +then I can obey your commandments. + + +135. Look upon me with love; + +teach me your decrees. + + +136. Rivers of tears gush from my eyes + +because people disobey your instructions. + + +137. O LORD, you are righteous, + +and your regulations are fair. + + +138. Your laws are perfect + +and completely trustworthy. + + +139. I am overwhelmed with indignation, + +for my enemies have disregarded your words. + + +140. Your promises have been thoroughly tested; + +that is why I love them so much. + + +141. I am insignificant and despised, + +but I don't forget your commandments. + + +142. Your justice is eternal, + +and your instructions are perfectly true. + + +143. As pressure and stress bear down on me, + +I find joy in your commands. + + +144. Your laws are always right; + +help me to understand them so I may live. + + +145. I pray with all my heart; answer me, LORD! + +I will obey your decrees. + + +146. I cry out to you; rescue me, + +that I may obey your laws. + + +147. I rise early, before the sun is up; + +I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. + + +148. I stay awake through the night, + +thinking about your promise. + + +149. In your faithful love, O LORD, hear my cry; + +let me be revived by following your regulations. + + +150. Lawless people are coming to attack me; + +they live far from your instructions. + + +151. But you are near, O LORD, + +and all your commands are true. + + +152. I have known from my earliest days + +that your laws will last forever. + + +153. Look upon my suffering and rescue me, + +for I have not forgotten your instructions. + + +154. Argue my case; take my side! + +Protect my life as you promised. + + +155. The wicked are far from rescue, + +for they do not bother with your decrees. + + +156. LORD, how great is your mercy; + +let me be revived by following your regulations. + + +157. Many persecute and trouble me, + +yet I have not swerved from your laws. + + +158. Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart, + +because they care nothing for your word. + + +159. See how I love your commandments, LORD. + +Give back my life because of your unfailing love. + + +160. The very essence of your words is truth; + +all your just regulations will stand forever. + + +161. Powerful people harass me without cause, + +but my heart trembles only at your word. + + +162. I rejoice in your word + +like one who discovers a great treasure. + + +163. I hate and abhor all falsehood, + +but I love your instructions. + + +164. I will praise you seven times a day + +because all your regulations are just. + + +165. Those who love your instructions have great peace + +and do not stumble. + + +166. I long for your rescue, LORD, + +so I have obeyed your commands. + + +167. I have obeyed your laws, + +for I love them very much. + + +168. Yes, I obey your commandments and laws + +because you know everything I do. + + +169. O LORD, listen to my cry; + +give me the discerning mind you promised. + + +170. Listen to my prayer; + +rescue me as you promised. + + +171. Let praise flow from my lips, + +for you have taught me your decrees. + + +172. Let my tongue sing about your word, + +for all your commands are right. + + +173. Give me a helping hand, + +for I have chosen to follow your commandments. + + +174. O LORD, I have longed for your rescue, + +and your instructions are my delight. + + +175. Let me live so I can praise you, + +and may your regulations help me. + + +176. I have wandered away like a lost sheep; + +come and find me, + +for I have not forgotten your commands. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..16be9072 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +Psalm 12 + + +1. +Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing! + +The faithful have vanished from the earth! + + +2. Neighbors lie to each other, + +speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. + + +3. May the LORD cut off their flattering lips + +and silence their boastful tongues. + + +4. They say, "We will lie to our hearts' content. + Our lips are our own--who can stop us?" + +5. The LORD replies, "I have seen violence done to the helpless, + +and I have heard the groans of the poor. + +Now I will rise up to rescue them, + +as they have longed for me to do." + + +6. The LORD's promises are pure, + +like silver refined in a furnace, + +purified seven times over. + + +7. Therefore, LORD, we know you will protect the oppressed, + +preserving them forever from this lying generation, + + +8. even though the wicked strut about, + +and evil is praised throughout the land. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_120.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_120.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0d979747 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_120.md @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +Psalm 120 + + +1. I took my troubles to the LORD; + +I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. + + +2. Rescue me, O LORD, from liars + +and from all deceitful people. + + +3. O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you? + +How will he increase your punishment? + + +4. You will be pierced with sharp arrows + +and burned with glowing coals. + + +5. How I suffer in far-off Meshech. + +It pains me to live in distant Kedar. + + +6. I am tired of living + +among people who hate peace. + + +7. I search for peace; + +but when I speak of peace, they want war! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_121.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_121.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..aed2b18c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_121.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +Psalm 121 + + +1. I look up to the mountains-- + +does my help come from there? + + +2. My help comes from the LORD, + +who made heaven and earth! + + +3. He will not let you stumble; + +the one who watches over you will not slumber. + + +4. Indeed, he who watches over Israel + +never slumbers or sleeps. + + +5. The LORD himself watches over you! + The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. + +6. The sun will not harm you by day, + +nor the moon at night. + + +7. The LORD keeps you from all harm + +and watches over your life. + + +8. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, + +both now and forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_122.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_122.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..49521b90 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_122.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Psalm 122 + + +1. I was glad when they said to me, + "Let us go to the house of the LORD." + +2. And now here we are, + +standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem. + + +3. Jerusalem is a well-built city; + +its seamless walls cannot be breached. + + +4. All the tribes of Israel--the LORD's people-- + +make their pilgrimage here. +They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD, + +as the law requires of Israel. + + +5. Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, + +the thrones of the dynasty of David. + + +6. Pray for peace in Jerusalem. + +May all who love this city prosper. + + +7. O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls + +and prosperity in your palaces. + + +8. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, + +"May you have peace." + + +9. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, + +I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_123.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_123.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d4173c02 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_123.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +Psalm 123 + + +1. I lift my eyes to you, + +O God, enthroned in heaven. + + +2. We keep looking to the LORD our God for his mercy, + +just as servants keep their eyes on their master, + +as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal. + + +3. Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy, + +for we have had our fill of contempt. + + +4. We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud + +and the contempt of the arrogant. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_124.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_124.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cd008ed9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_124.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +Psalm 124 + + +1. What if the LORD had not been on our side? + +Let all Israel repeat: + + +2. What if the LORD had not been on our side + +when people attacked us? + + +3. They would have swallowed us alive + +in their burning anger. + + +4. The waters would have engulfed us; + +a torrent would have overwhelmed us. + + +5. Yes, the raging waters of their fury + +would have overwhelmed our very lives. + + +6. Praise the LORD, + +who did not let their teeth tear us apart! + + +7. We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. + +The trap is broken, and we are free! + + +8. Our help is from the LORD, + +who made heaven and earth. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_125.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_125.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..75a179ee --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_125.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +Psalm 125 + + +1. Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; + +they will not be defeated but will endure forever. + + +2. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, + so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever. + +3. The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, + +for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong. + + +4. O LORD, do good to those who are good, + +whose hearts are in tune with you. + + +5. But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O LORD. + +Take them away with those who do evil. + +May Israel have peace! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_126.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_126.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9ba55275 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_126.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +Psalm 126 + + +1. When the LORD brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, + +it was like a dream! + + +2. We were filled with laughter, + +and we sang for joy. + +And the other nations said, + "What amazing things the LORD has done for them." + +3. Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! + +What joy! + + +4. Restore our fortunes, LORD, + +as streams renew the desert. + + +5. Those who plant in tears + +will harvest with shouts of joy. + + +6. They weep as they go to plant their seed, + +but they sing as they return with the harvest. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_127.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_127.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7f2badd4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_127.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +Psalm 127 + + +1. Unless the LORD builds a house, + +the work of the builders is wasted. +Unless the LORD protects a city, + +guarding it with sentries will do no good. + + +2. It is useless for you to work so hard + +from early morning until late at night, +anxiously working for food to eat; + +for God gives rest to his loved ones. + + +3. Children are a gift from the LORD; + +they are a reward from him. + + +4. Children born to a young man + +are like arrows in a warrior's hands. + + +5. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! + +He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_128.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_128.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e88b431a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_128.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +Psalm 128 + + +1. How joyful are those who fear the LORD-- + +all who follow his ways! + + +2. You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. + +How joyful and prosperous you will be! + + +3. Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, + +flourishing within your home. + +Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees + +as they sit around your table. + + +4. That is the LORD's blessing + +for those who fear him. + + +5. May the LORD continually bless you from Zion. + +May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live. + + +6. May you live to enjoy your grandchildren. + +May Israel have peace! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_129.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_129.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a6a10743 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_129.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +Psalm 129 + + +1. From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. + +Let all Israel repeat this: + + +2. From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, + +but they have never defeated me. + + +3. My back is covered with cuts, + +as if a farmer had plowed long furrows. + + +4. But the LORD is good; + +he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly. + + +5. May all who hate Jerusalem + +be turned back in shameful defeat. + + +6. May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, + +turning yellow when only half grown, + + +7. ignored by the harvester, + +despised by the binder. + + +8. And may those who pass by + +refuse to give them this blessing: +"The LORD bless you; + we bless you in the LORD's name." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..51ce6991 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +Psalm 13 + + +1. O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? + +How long will you look the other way? + + +2. How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, + +with sorrow in my heart every day? + +How long will my enemy have the upper hand? + + +3. Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! + +Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. + + +4. Don't let my enemies gloat, saying, "We have defeated him!" + +Don't let them rejoice at my downfall. + + +5. But I trust in your unfailing love. + +I will rejoice because you have rescued me. + + +6. I will sing to the LORD + +because he is good to me. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_130.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_130.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..803aaae8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_130.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +Psalm 130 + + +1. From the depths of despair, O LORD, + +I call for your help. + + +2. Hear my cry, O Lord. + +Pay attention to my prayer. + + +3. LORD, if you kept a record of our sins, + +who, O Lord, could ever survive? + + +4. But you offer forgiveness, + +that we might learn to fear you. + + +5. I am counting on the LORD; + +yes, I am counting on him. + +I have put my hope in his word. + + +6. I long for the Lord + +more than sentries long for the dawn, + +yes, more than sentries long for the dawn. + + +7. O Israel, hope in the LORD; + for with the LORD there is unfailing love. + +His redemption overflows. + + +8. He himself will redeem Israel + +from every kind of sin. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_131.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_131.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1115b784 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_131.md @@ -0,0 +1,25 @@ +Psalm 131 + + +1. LORD, my heart is not proud; + +my eyes are not haughty. + +I don't concern myself with matters too great + +or too awesome for me to grasp. + + +2. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, + +like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother's milk. + +Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. + + +3. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD-- + +now and always. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_132.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_132.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9630a8f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_132.md @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@ +Psalm 132 + + +1. LORD, remember David + +and all that he suffered. + + +2. He made a solemn promise to the LORD. + He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, + +3. "I will not go home; + +I will not let myself rest. + + +4. I will not let my eyes sleep + +nor close my eyelids in slumber + + +5. until I find a place to build a house for the LORD, + +a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel." + + +6. We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah; + +then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar. + + +7. Let us go to the sanctuary of the LORD; + +let us worship at the footstool of his throne. + + +8. Arise, O LORD, and enter your resting place, + +along with the Ark, the symbol of your power. + + +9. May your priests be clothed in godliness; + +may your loyal servants sing for joy. + + +10. For the sake of your servant David, + +do not reject the king you have anointed. + + +11. The LORD swore an oath to David + +with a promise he will never take back: +"I will place one of your descendants + +on your throne. + + +12. If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant + +and the laws that I teach them, +then your royal line + +will continue forever and ever." + + +13. For the LORD has chosen Jerusalem; + +he has desired it for his home. + + +14. "This is my resting place forever," he said. + +"I will live here, for this is the home I desired. + + +15. I will bless this city and make it prosperous; + +I will satisfy its poor with food. + + +16. I will clothe its priests with godliness; + +its faithful servants will sing for joy. + + +17. Here I will increase the power of David; + +my anointed one will be a light for my people. + + +18. I will clothe his enemies with shame, + +but he will be a glorious king." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_133.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_133.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a66aa377 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_133.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +Psalm 133 + + +1. How wonderful and pleasant it is + +when brothers live together in harmony! + + +2. For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil + +that was poured over Aaron's head, + +that ran down his beard + +and onto the border of his robe. + + +3. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon + +that falls on the mountains of Zion. +And there the LORD has pronounced his blessing, + +even life everlasting. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_134.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_134.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ef217768 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_134.md @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +Psalm 134 + + +1. Oh, praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, + you who serve at night in the house of the LORD. + +2. Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, + and praise the LORD. + +3. May the LORD, who made heaven and earth, + bless you from Jerusalem. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_135.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_135.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9f9683a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_135.md @@ -0,0 +1,108 @@ +Psalm 135 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Praise the name of the LORD! + Praise him, you who serve the LORD, + +2. you who serve in the house of the LORD, + +in the courts of the house of our God. + + +3. Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; + +celebrate his lovely name with music. + + +4. For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, + +Israel for his own special treasure. + + +5. I know the greatness of the LORD-- + +that our Lord is greater than any other god. + + +6. The LORD does whatever pleases him + +throughout all heaven and earth, + +and on the seas and in their depths. + + +7. He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. + +He sends the lightning with the rain + +and releases the wind from his storehouses. + + +8. He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, + +both people and animals. + + +9. He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt + +against Pharaoh and all his people. + + +10. He struck down great nations + +and slaughtered mighty kings-- + +11. Sihon king of the Amorites, + +Og king of Bashan, + +and all the kings of Canaan. + + +12. He gave their land as an inheritance, + +a special possession to his people Israel. + + +13. Your name, O LORD, endures forever; + your fame, O LORD, is known to every generation. + +14. For the LORD will give justice to his people + +and have compassion on his servants. + + +15. The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, + +shaped by human hands. + + +16. They have mouths but cannot speak, + +and eyes but cannot see. + + +17. They have ears but cannot hear, + +and mouths but cannot breathe. + + +18. And those who make idols are just like them, + +as are all who trust in them. + + +19. O Israel, praise the LORD! + O priests--descendants of Aaron--praise the LORD! + +20. O Levites, praise the LORD! + All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! + +21. The LORD be praised from Zion, + +for he lives here in Jerusalem. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_136.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_136.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..83ab4f3a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_136.md @@ -0,0 +1,127 @@ +Psalm 136 + + +1. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! +His faithful love endures forever. + + +2. Give thanks to the God of gods. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +3. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +4. Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +5. Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +6. Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +7. Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights-- +His faithful love endures forever. + + +8. the sun to rule the day, +His faithful love endures forever. + + +9. and the moon and stars to rule the night. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +10. Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +11. He brought Israel out of Egypt. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +12. He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +13. Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +14. He led Israel safely through, +His faithful love endures forever. + + +15. but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +16. Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +17. Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +18. He killed powerful kings-- +His faithful love endures forever. + + +19. Sihon king of the Amorites, +His faithful love endures forever. + + +20. and Og king of Bashan. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +21. God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance-- +His faithful love endures forever. + + +22. a special possession to his servant Israel. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +23. He remembered us in our weakness. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +24. He saved us from our enemies. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +25. He gives food to every living thing. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + +26. Give thanks to the God of heaven. + +His faithful love endures forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_137.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_137.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f5df7a5c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_137.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +Psalm 137 + + +1. Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept + as we thought of Jerusalem. + +2. We put away our harps, + +hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. + + +3. For our captors demanded a song from us. + +Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: + +"Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!" + + +4. But how can we sing the songs of the LORD + +while in a pagan land? + + +5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, + +let my right hand forget how to play the harp. + + +6. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth + +if I fail to remember you, + +if I don't make Jerusalem my greatest joy. + + +7. O LORD, remember what the Edomites did + +on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. + +"Destroy it!" they yelled. + +"Level it to the ground!" + + +8. O Babylon, you will be destroyed. + +Happy is the one who pays you back + +for what you have done to us. + + +9. Happy is the one who takes your babies + +and smashes them against the rocks! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_138.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_138.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5f4eed6b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_138.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Psalm 138 + + +1. I give you thanks, O LORD, with all my heart; + +I will sing your praises before the gods. + + +2. I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. + +I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; +for your promises are backed + +by all the honor of your name. + + +3. As soon as I pray, you answer me; + +you encourage me by giving me strength. + + +4. Every king in all the earth will thank you, LORD, + +for all of them will hear your words. + + +5. Yes, they will sing about the LORD's ways, + for the glory of the LORD is very great. + +6. Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, + +but he keeps his distance from the proud. + + +7. Though I am surrounded by troubles, + +you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. + +You reach out your hand, + +and the power of your right hand saves me. + + +8. The LORD will work out his plans for my life-- + for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. + +Don't abandon me, for you made me. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_139.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_139.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..32b98ea1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_139.md @@ -0,0 +1,128 @@ +Psalm 139 + + +1. O LORD, you have examined my heart + +and know everything about me. + + +2. You know when I sit down or stand up. + +You know my thoughts even when I'm far away. + + +3. You see me when I travel + +and when I rest at home. + +You know everything I do. + + +4. You know what I am going to say + even before I say it, LORD. + +5. You go before me and follow me. + +You place your hand of blessing on my head. + + +6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, + +too great for me to understand! + + +7. I can never escape from your Spirit! + +I can never get away from your presence! + + +8. If I go up to heaven, you are there; + if I go down to the grave, you are there. + +9. If I ride the wings of the morning, + +if I dwell by the farthest oceans, + + +10. even there your hand will guide me, + +and your strength will support me. + + +11. I could ask the darkness to hide me + +and the light around me to become night-- + +12. but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. + +To you the night shines as bright as day. + +Darkness and light are the same to you. + + +13. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body + +and knit me together in my mother's womb. + + +14. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! + Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it. + +15. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, + +as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. + + +16. You saw me before I was born. + +Every day of my life was recorded in your book. + +Every moment was laid out + +before a single day had passed. + + +17. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. + +They cannot be numbered! + + +18. I can't even count them; + +they outnumber the grains of sand! +And when I wake up, + +you are still with me! + + +19. O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! + +Get out of my life, you murderers! + + +20. They blaspheme you; + +your enemies misuse your name. + + +21. O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? + +Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you? + + +22. Yes, I hate them with total hatred, + +for your enemies are my enemies. + + +23. Search me, O God, and know my heart; + +test me and know my anxious thoughts. + + +24. Point out anything in me that offends you, + +and lead me along the path of everlasting life. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..70f1db7d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +Psalm 14 + + +1. Only fools say in their hearts, + +"There is no God." +They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; + +not one of them does good! + + +2. The LORD looks down from heaven + +on the entire human race; +he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, + +if anyone seeks God. + + +3. But no, all have turned away; + all have become corrupt. + +No one does good, + +not a single one! + + +4. Will those who do evil never learn? + +They eat up my people like bread + and wouldn't think of praying to the LORD. + +5. Terror will grip them, + +for God is with those who obey him. + + +6. The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed, + but the LORD will protect his people. + +7. Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? + When the LORD restores his people, + +Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_140.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_140.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4436b38c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_140.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +Psalm 140 + + +1. O LORD, rescue me from evil people. + +Protect me from those who are violent, + + +2. those who plot evil in their hearts + +and stir up trouble all day long. + + +3. Their tongues sting like a snake; + +the venom of a viper drips from their lips. Interlude + + +4. O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked. + +Protect me from those who are violent, + +for they are plotting against me. + + +5. The proud have set a trap to catch me; + +they have stretched out a net; + +they have placed traps all along the way. Interlude + + +6. I said to the LORD, "You are my God!" + Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy! + +7. O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me, + +you protected me on the day of battle. + + +8. LORD, do not let evil people have their way. + +Do not let their evil schemes succeed, + +or they will become proud. Interlude + + +9. Let my enemies be destroyed + +by the very evil they have planned for me. + + +10. Let burning coals fall down on their heads. + +Let them be thrown into the fire + +or into watery pits from which they can't escape. + + +11. Don't let liars prosper here in our land. + +Cause great disasters to fall on the violent. + + +12. But I know the LORD will help those they persecute; + +he will give justice to the poor. + + +13. Surely righteous people are praising your name; + +the godly will live in your presence. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_141.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_141.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3462e849 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_141.md @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@ +Psalm 141 + + +1. O LORD, I am calling to you. Please hurry! + +Listen when I cry to you for help! + + +2. Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, + +and my upraised hands as an evening offering. + + +3. Take control of what I say, O LORD, + +and guard my lips. + + +4. Don't let me drift toward evil + +or take part in acts of wickedness. + +Don't let me share in the delicacies + +of those who do wrong. + + +5. Let the godly strike me! + +It will be a kindness! +If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. + +Don't let me refuse it. + +But I pray constantly + +against the wicked and their deeds. + + +6. When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, + +the wicked will listen to my words and find them true. + + +7. Like rocks brought up by a plow, + the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial. + +8. I look to you for help, O Sovereign LORD. + +You are my refuge; don't let them kill me. + + +9. Keep me from the traps they have set for me, + from the snares +of those who do wrong. + + +10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, + +but let me escape. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_142.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_142.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4974e041 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_142.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +Psalm 142 + + +1. I cry out to the LORD; + I plead for the LORD's mercy. + +2. I pour out my complaints before him + +and tell him all my troubles. + + +3. When I am overwhelmed, + +you alone know the way I should turn. + +Wherever I go, + +my enemies have set traps for me. + + +4. I look for someone to come and help me, + +but no one gives me a passing thought! +No one will help me; + +no one cares a bit what happens to me. + + +5. Then I pray to you, O LORD. + +I say, "You are my place of refuge. + +You are all I really want in life. + + +6. Hear my cry, + +for I am very low. + +Rescue me from my persecutors, + +for they are too strong for me. + + +7. Bring me out of prison + +so I can thank you. + +The godly will crowd around me, + +for you are good to me." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_143.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_143.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..197aeda1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_143.md @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +Psalm 143 + + +1. Hear my prayer, O LORD; + +listen to my plea! + +Answer me because you are faithful and righteous. + + +2. Don't put your servant on trial, + +for no one is innocent before you. + + +3. My enemy has chased me. + +He has knocked me to the ground + +and forces me to live in darkness like those in the grave. + + +4. I am losing all hope; + +I am paralyzed with fear. + + +5. I remember the days of old. + +I ponder all your great works + +and think about what you have done. + + +6. I lift my hands to you in prayer. + +I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude + + +7. Come quickly, LORD, and answer me, + +for my depression deepens. + +Don't turn away from me, + +or I will die. + + +8. Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, + +for I am trusting you. + +Show me where to walk, + +for I give myself to you. + + +9. Rescue me from my enemies, LORD; + +I run to you to hide me. + + +10. Teach me to do your will, + +for you are my God. + +May your gracious Spirit lead me forward + +on a firm footing. + + +11. For the glory of your name, O LORD, preserve my life. + +Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress. + + +12. In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies + +and destroy all my foes, + +for I am your servant. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_144.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_144.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e4817c88 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_144.md @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ +Psalm 144 + + +1. Praise the LORD, who is my rock. + +He trains my hands for war + +and gives my fingers skill for battle. + + +2. He is my loving ally and my fortress, + +my tower of safety, my rescuer. + +He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. + He makes the nations submit to me. + +3. O LORD, what are human beings that you should notice them, + +mere mortals that you should think about them? + + +4. For they are like a breath of air; + +their days are like a passing shadow. + + +5. Open the heavens, LORD, and come down. + +Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. + + +6. Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! + +Shoot your arrows and confuse them! + + +7. Reach down from heaven and rescue me; + +rescue me from deep waters, + +from the power of my enemies. + + +8. +Their mouths are full of lies; + +they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. + + +9. I will sing a new song to you, O God! + +I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. + + +10. For you grant victory to kings! + +You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. + + +11. Save me! + Rescue me +from the power of my enemies. + +Their mouths are full of lies; + +they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. + + +12. May our sons flourish in their youth + +like well-nurtured plants. + +May our daughters be like graceful pillars, + +carved to beautify a palace. + + +13. May our barns be filled + +with crops of every kind. + +May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, + +even tens of thousands, + + +14. and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. + +May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, + +no going into captivity, + +no cries of alarm in our town squares. + + +15. Yes, joyful are those who live like this! + Joyful indeed are those whose God is the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_145.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_145.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..78af0de4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_145.md @@ -0,0 +1,113 @@ +Psalm 145 + +1. I will exalt you, my God and King, + +and praise your name +forever and ever. + + + +2. I will praise you every day; + +yes, I will praise you forever. + + +3. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! + +No one can measure his greatness. + + +4. Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; + +let them proclaim your power. + + +5. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor + +and your wonderful miracles. + + +6. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; + +I will proclaim your greatness. + + +7. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; + +they will sing with joy about your righteousness. + + +8. The LORD is merciful and compassionate, + +slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. + + +9. The LORD is good to everyone. + +He showers compassion on all his creation. + + +10. All of your works will thank you, LORD, + +and your faithful followers will praise you. + + +11. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; + +they will give examples of your power. + + +12. They will tell about your mighty deeds + +and about the majesty and glory of your reign. + + +13. For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. + +You rule throughout all generations. +The LORD always keeps his promises; + he is gracious in all he does. + +14. The LORD helps the fallen + +and lifts those bent beneath their loads. + + +15. The eyes of all look to you in hope; + +you give them their food as they need it. + + +16. When you open your hand, + +you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. + + +17. The LORD is righteous in everything he does; + +he is filled with kindness. + + +18. The LORD is close to all who call on him, + +yes, to all who call on him in truth. + + +19. He grants the desires of those who fear him; + +he hears their cries for help and rescues them. + + +20. The LORD protects all those who love him, + +but he destroys the wicked. + + +21. I will praise the LORD, + +and may everyone on earth bless his holy name + +forever and ever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_146.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_146.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..34eaa455 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_146.md @@ -0,0 +1,53 @@ +Psalm 146 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Let all that I am praise the LORD. + +2. I will praise the LORD as long as I live. + +I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. + + +3. Don't put your confidence in powerful people; + +there is no help for you there. + + +4. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, + +and all their plans die with them. + + +5. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, + whose hope is in the LORD their God. + +6. He made heaven and earth, + +the sea, and everything in them. + +He keeps every promise forever. + + +7. He gives justice to the oppressed + +and food to the hungry. +The LORD frees the prisoners. + +8. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. +The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. + The LORD loves the godly. + +9. The LORD protects the foreigners among us. + +He cares for the orphans and widows, + +but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. + + +10. The LORD will reign forever. + He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_147.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_147.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3b85c7ae --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_147.md @@ -0,0 +1,108 @@ +Psalm 147 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +How good to sing praises to our God! + +How delightful and how fitting! + + +2. The LORD is rebuilding Jerusalem + +and bringing the exiles back to Israel. + + +3. He heals the brokenhearted + +and bandages their wounds. + + +4. He counts the stars + +and calls them all by name. + + +5. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! + +His understanding is beyond comprehension! + + +6. The LORD supports the humble, + +but he brings the wicked down into the dust. + + +7. Sing out your thanks to the LORD; + +sing praises to our God with a harp. + + +8. He covers the heavens with clouds, + +provides rain for the earth, + +and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures. + + +9. He gives food to the wild animals + +and feeds the young ravens when they cry. + + +10. He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse + +or in human might. + + +11. No, the LORD's delight is in those who fear him, + +those who put their hope in his unfailing love. + + +12. Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem! + +Praise your God, O Zion! + + +13. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates + +and blessed your children within your walls. + + +14. He sends peace across your nation + +and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. + + +15. He sends his orders to the world-- + +how swiftly his word flies! + + +16. He sends the snow like white wool; + +he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes. + + +17. He hurls the hail like stones. + +Who can stand against his freezing cold? + + +18. Then, at his command, it all melts. + +He sends his winds, and the ice thaws. + + +19. He has revealed his words to Jacob, + +his decrees and regulations to Israel. + + +20. He has not done this for any other nation; + +they do not know his regulations. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_148.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_148.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ceb07192 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_148.md @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +Psalm 148 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Praise the LORD from the heavens! + +Praise him from the skies! + + +2. Praise him, all his angels! + +Praise him, all the armies of heaven! + + +3. Praise him, sun and moon! + +Praise him, all you twinkling stars! + + +4. Praise him, skies above! + +Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! + + +5. Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, + +for he issued his command, and they came into being. + + +6. He set them in place forever and ever. + +His decree will never be revoked. + + +7. Praise the LORD from the earth, + +you creatures of the ocean depths, + + +8. fire and hail, snow and clouds, + +wind and weather that obey him, + + +9. mountains and all hills, + +fruit trees and all cedars, + + +10. wild animals and all livestock, + +small scurrying animals and birds, + + +11. kings of the earth and all people, + +rulers and judges of the earth, + + +12. young men and young women, + +old men and children. + + +13. Let them all praise the name of the LORD. + +For his name is very great; + +his glory towers over the earth and heaven! + + +14. He has made his people strong, + +honoring his faithful ones-- + +the people of Israel who are close to him. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_149.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_149.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3df583bb --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_149.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +Psalm 149 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Sing to the LORD a new song. + +Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. + + +2. O Israel, rejoice in your Maker. + O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King. + +3. Praise his name with dancing, + +accompanied by tambourine and harp. + + +4. For the LORD delights in his people; + +he crowns the humble with victory. + + +5. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. + +Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds. + + +6. Let the praises of God be in their mouths, + +and a sharp sword in their hands-- + +7. to execute vengeance on the nations + +and punishment on the peoples, + + +8. to bind their kings with shackles + +and their leaders with iron chains, + + +9. to execute the judgment written against them. + +This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..045a9ab6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Psalm 15 + + +1. Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? + +Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? + + +2. Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, + +speaking the truth from sincere hearts. + + +3. Those who refuse to gossip + +or harm their neighbors + +or speak evil of their friends. + + +4. Those who despise flagrant sinners, + and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, + +and keep their promises even when it hurts. + + +5. Those who lend money without charging interest, + +and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. + +Such people will stand firm forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_150.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_150.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2f47ea6c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_150.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Psalm 150 + + +1. Praise the LORD! +Praise God in his sanctuary; + +praise him in his mighty heaven! + + +2. Praise him for his mighty works; + +praise his unequaled greatness! + + +3. Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn; + +praise him with the lyre and harp! + + +4. Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; + +praise him with strings and flutes! + + +5. Praise him with a clash of cymbals; + +praise him with loud clanging cymbals. + + +6. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD! +Praise the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..679324a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +Psalm 16 + + +1. Keep me safe, O God, + +for I have come to you for refuge. + + +2. I said to the LORD, "You are my Master! + +Every good thing I have comes from you." + + +3. The godly people in the land + +are my true heroes! + +I take pleasure in them! + + +4. Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. + +I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood + +or even speak the names of their gods. + + +5. LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. + +You guard all that is mine. + + +6. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. + +What a wonderful inheritance! + + +7. I will bless the LORD who guides me; + +even at night my heart instructs me. + + +8. I know the LORD is always with me. + +I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. + + +9. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. + +My body rests in safety. + + +10. For you will not leave my soul among the dead + or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. + +11. You will show me the way of life, + +granting me the joy of your presence + and the pleasures of living with you forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_17.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_17.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..dc325376 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_17.md @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +Psalm 17 + + +1. O LORD, hear my plea for justice. + +Listen to my cry for help. + +Pay attention to my prayer, + +for it comes from honest lips. + + +2. Declare me innocent, + +for you see those who do right. + + +3. You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. + +You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. + +I am determined not to sin in what I say. + + +4. I have followed your commands, + +which keep me from following cruel and evil people. + + +5. My steps have stayed on your path; + +I have not wavered from following you. + + +6. I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. + +Bend down and listen as I pray. + + +7. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. + +By your mighty power you rescue + +those who seek refuge from their enemies. + + +8. Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. + +Hide me in the shadow of your wings. + + +9. Protect me from wicked people who attack me, + +from murderous enemies who surround me. + + +10. They are without pity. + +Listen to their boasting! + + +11. They track me down and surround me, + +watching for the chance to throw me to the ground. + + +12. They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart-- + +like young lions hiding in ambush. + + +13. Arise, O LORD! + +Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! + +Rescue me from the wicked with your sword! + + +14. By the power of your hand, O LORD, + +destroy those who look to this world for their reward. + +But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. + +May their children have plenty, + +leaving an inheritance for their descendants. + + +15. Because I am righteous, I will see you. + +When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_18.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_18.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..15642271 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_18.md @@ -0,0 +1,270 @@ +Psalm 18 + + +1. I love you, LORD; + +you are my strength. + + +2. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; + +my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. + +He is my shield, the power that saves me, + +and my place of safety. + + +3. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, + +and he saved me from my enemies. + + +4. The ropes of death entangled me; + +floods of destruction swept over me. + + +5. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; + +death laid a trap in my path. + + +6. But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; + +yes, I prayed to my God for help. + +He heard me from his sanctuary; + +my cry to him reached his ears. + + +7. Then the earth quaked and trembled. + +The foundations of the mountains shook; + +they quaked because of his anger. + + +8. Smoke poured from his nostrils; + +fierce flames leaped from his mouth. + +Glowing coals blazed forth from him. + + +9. He opened the heavens and came down; + +dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. + + +10. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, + +soaring on the wings of the wind. + + +11. He shrouded himself in darkness, + +veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. + + +12. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him + and rained down hail and burning coals. + +13. The LORD thundered from heaven; + +the voice of the Most High resounded + +amid the hail and burning coals. + + +14. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; + +great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused. + + +15. Then at your command, O LORD, + +at the blast of your breath, +the bottom of the sea could be seen, + +and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. + + +16. He reached down from heaven and rescued me; + +he drew me out of deep waters. + + +17. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, + +from those who hated me and were too strong for me. + + +18. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, + but the LORD supported me. + +19. He led me to a place of safety; + +he rescued me because he delights in me. + + +20. The LORD rewarded me for doing right; + +he restored me because of my innocence. + + +21. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; + +I have not turned from my God to follow evil. + + +22. I have followed all his regulations; + +I have never abandoned his decrees. + + +23. I am blameless before God; + +I have kept myself from sin. + + +24. The LORD rewarded me for doing right. + +He has seen my innocence. + + +25. To the faithful you show yourself faithful; + +to those with integrity you show integrity. + + +26. To the pure you show yourself pure, + +but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. + + +27. You rescue the humble, + +but you humiliate the proud. + + +28. You light a lamp for me. + The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness. + +29. In your strength I can crush an army; + +with my God I can scale any wall. + + +30. God's way is perfect. + All the LORD's promises prove true. + +He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. + + +31. For who is God except the LORD? + +Who but our God is a solid rock? + + +32. God arms me with strength, + +and he makes my way perfect. + + +33. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, + +enabling me to stand on mountain heights. + + +34. He trains my hands for battle; + +he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. + + +35. You have given me your shield of victory. + +Your right hand supports me; + your help has made me great. + +36. You have made a wide path for my feet + +to keep them from slipping. + + +37. I chased my enemies and caught them; + +I did not stop until they were conquered. + + +38. I struck them down so they could not get up; + +they fell beneath my feet. + + +39. You have armed me with strength for the battle; + +you have subdued my enemies under my feet. + + +40. You placed my foot on their necks. + +I have destroyed all who hated me. + + +41. They called for help, but no one came to their rescue. + They even cried to the LORD, but he refused to answer. + +42. I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. + +I swept them into the gutter like dirt. + + +43. You gave me victory over my accusers. + +You appointed me ruler over nations; + +people I don't even know now serve me. + + +44. As soon as they hear of me, they submit; + +foreign nations cringe before me. + + +45. They all lose their courage + +and come trembling from their strongholds. + + +46. The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock! + +May the God of my salvation be exalted! + + +47. He is the God who pays back those who harm me; + +he subdues the nations under me + + +48. and rescues me from my enemies. + +You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; + +you save me from violent opponents. + + +49. For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations; + +I will sing praises to your name. + + +50. You give great victories to your king; + +you show unfailing love to your anointed, + +to David and all his descendants forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_19.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_19.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8c8d289d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_19.md @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +Psalm 19 + + +1. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. + +The skies display his craftsmanship. + + +2. Day after day they continue to speak; + +night after night they make him known. + + +3. They speak without a sound or word; + their voice is never heard. + +4. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, + +and their words to all the world. + +God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. + + +5. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. + +It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. + + +6. The sun rises at one end of the heavens + +and follows its course to the other end. + +Nothing can hide from its heat. + + +7. The instructions of the LORD are perfect, + +reviving the soul. +The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, + +making wise the simple. + + +8. The commandments of the LORD are right, + +bringing joy to the heart. +The commands of the LORD are clear, + +giving insight for living. + + +9. Reverence for the LORD is pure, + +lasting forever. +The laws of the LORD are true; + +each one is fair. + + +10. They are more desirable than gold, + +even the finest gold. + +They are sweeter than honey, + +even honey dripping from the comb. + + +11. They are a warning to your servant, + +a great reward for those who obey them. + + +12. How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? + +Cleanse me from these hidden faults. + + +13. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! + +Don't let them control me. + +Then I will be free of guilt + +and innocent of great sin. + + +14. May the words of my mouth + +and the meditation of my heart +be pleasing to you, + O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_20.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_20.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a3d447c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_20.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +Psalm 20 + + +1. In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry. + +May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm. + + +2. May he send you help from his sanctuary + and strengthen you from Jerusalem. + +3. May he remember all your gifts + +and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude + + +4. May he grant your heart's desires + +and make all your plans succeed. + + +5. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory + +and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. +May the LORD answer all your prayers. + +6. Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king. + +He will answer him from his holy heaven + +and rescue him by his great power. + + +7. Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, + but we boast in the name of the LORD our God. + +8. Those nations will fall down and collapse, + +but we will rise up and stand firm. + + +9. Give victory to our king, O LORD! + +Answer our cry for help. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_21.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_21.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..468ea726 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_21.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +Psalm 21 + + +1. How the king rejoices in your strength, O LORD! + +He shouts with joy because you give him victory. + + +2. For you have given him his heart's desire; + +you have withheld nothing he requested. Interlude + + +3. You welcomed him back with success and prosperity. + +You placed a crown of finest gold on his head. + + +4. He asked you to preserve his life, + +and you granted his request. + +The days of his life stretch on forever. + + +5. Your victory brings him great honor, + +and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty. + + +6. You have endowed him with eternal blessings + +and given him the joy of your presence. + + +7. For the king trusts in the LORD. + +The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling. + + +8. You will capture all your enemies. + +Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you. + + +9. You will throw them in a flaming furnace + +when you appear. +The LORD will consume them in his anger; + +fire will devour them. + + +10. You will wipe their children from the face of the earth; + +they will never have descendants. + + +11. Although they plot against you, + +their evil schemes will never succeed. + + +12. For they will turn and run + +when they see your arrows aimed at them. + + +13. Rise up, O LORD, in all your power. + +With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_22.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_22.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5424204e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_22.md @@ -0,0 +1,172 @@ +Psalm 22 + + +1. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? + +Why are you so far away when I groan for help? + + +2. Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. + +Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. + + +3. Yet you are holy, + +enthroned on the praises of Israel. + + +4. Our ancestors trusted in you, + +and you rescued them. + + +5. They cried out to you and were saved. + +They trusted in you and were never disgraced. + + +6. But I am a worm and not a man. + +I am scorned and despised by all! + + +7. Everyone who sees me mocks me. + +They sneer and shake their heads, saying, + + +8. "Is this the one who relies on the LORD? + Then let the LORD save him! +If the LORD loves him so much, + let the LORD rescue him!" + +9. Yet you brought me safely from my mother's womb + +and led me to trust you at my mother's breast. + + +10. I was thrust into your arms at my birth. + +You have been my God from the moment I was born. + + +11. Do not stay so far from me, + +for trouble is near, + +and no one else can help me. + + +12. My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; + +fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in! + + +13. Like lions they open their jaws against me, + +roaring and tearing into their prey. + + +14. My life is poured out like water, + +and all my bones are out of joint. + +My heart is like wax, + +melting within me. + + +15. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. + +My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. + +You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. + + +16. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; + +an evil gang closes in on me. + They have pierced my hands and feet. + +17. I can count all my bones. + +My enemies stare at me and gloat. + + +18. They divide my garments among themselves + and throw dice for my clothing. + +19. O LORD, do not stay far away! + +You are my strength; come quickly to my aid! + + +20. Save me from the sword; + +spare my precious life from these dogs. + + +21. Snatch me from the lion's jaws + +and from the horns of these wild oxen. + + +22. I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. + +I will praise you among your assembled people. + + +23. Praise the LORD, all you who fear him! + +Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! + +Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel! + + +24. For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. + +He has not turned his back on them, + +but has listened to their cries for help. + + +25. I will praise you in the great assembly. + +I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you. + + +26. The poor will eat and be satisfied. + All who seek the LORD will praise him. + +Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. + + +27. The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him. + +All the families of the nations will bow down before him. + + +28. For royal power belongs to the LORD. + +He rules all the nations. + + +29. Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. + +Bow before him, all who are mortal, + +all whose lives will end as dust. + + +30. Our children will also serve him. + +Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. + + +31. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. + +They will hear about everything he has done. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_23.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_23.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0bad162f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_23.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +Psalm 23 + + +1. The LORD is my shepherd; + +I have all that I need. + + +2. He lets me rest in green meadows; + +he leads me beside peaceful streams. + + +3. He renews my strength. + +He guides me along right paths, + +bringing honor to his name. + + +4. Even when I walk + through the darkest valley, +I will not be afraid, + +for you are close beside me. + +Your rod and your staff + +protect and comfort me. + + +5. You prepare a feast for me + +in the presence of my enemies. + +You honor me by anointing my head with oil. + +My cup overflows with blessings. + + +6. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me + +all the days of my life, +and I will live in the house of the LORD + +forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_24.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_24.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..55f77bc4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_24.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Psalm 24 + + +1. The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. + +The world and all its people belong to him. + + +2. For he laid the earth's foundation on the seas + +and built it on the ocean depths. + + +3. Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? + +Who may stand in his holy place? + + +4. Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, + +who do not worship idols + +and never tell lies. + + +5. They will receive the LORD's blessing + +and have a right relationship with God their savior. + + +6. Such people may seek you + and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob. Interlude + +7. Open up, ancient gates! + +Open up, ancient doors, + +and let the King of glory enter. + + +8. Who is the King of glory? + The LORD, strong and mighty; + the LORD, invincible in battle. + +9. Open up, ancient gates! + +Open up, ancient doors, + +and let the King of glory enter. + + +10. Who is the King of glory? + The LORD of Heaven's Armies-- + +he is the King of glory. Interlude + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_25.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_25.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..bd615f9e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_25.md @@ -0,0 +1,113 @@ +Psalm 25 + +1. O LORD, I give my life to you. + +2. I trust in you, my God! +Do not let me be disgraced, + +or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. + + +3. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, + +but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. + + +4. Show me the right path, O LORD; + +point out the road for me to follow. + + +5. Lead me by your truth and teach me, + +for you are the God who saves me. + +All day long I put my hope in you. + + +6. Remember, O LORD, your compassion and unfailing love, + +which you have shown from long ages past. + + +7. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. + +Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, + for you are merciful, O LORD. + +8. The LORD is good and does what is right; + +he shows the proper path to those who go astray. + + +9. He leads the humble in doing right, + +teaching them his way. + + +10. The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness + +all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. + + +11. For the honor of your name, O LORD, + +forgive my many, many sins. + + +12. Who are those who fear the LORD? + +He will show them the path they should choose. + + +13. They will live in prosperity, + +and their children will inherit the land. + + +14. The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. + +He teaches them his covenant. + + +15. My eyes are always on the LORD, + +for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies. + + +16. Turn to me and have mercy, + +for I am alone and in deep distress. + + +17. My problems go from bad to worse. + +Oh, save me from them all! + + +18. Feel my pain and see my trouble. + +Forgive all my sins. + + +19. See how many enemies I have + +and how viciously they hate me! + + +20. Protect me! Rescue my life from them! + +Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. + + +21. May integrity and honesty protect me, + +for I put my hope in you. + + +22. O God, ransom Israel + +from all its troubles. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_26.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_26.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..eb7d9c06 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_26.md @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +Psalm 26 + + +1. Declare me innocent, O LORD, + +for I have acted with integrity; + I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. + +2. Put me on trial, LORD, and cross-examine me. + +Test my motives and my heart. + + +3. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, + +and I have lived according to your truth. + + +4. I do not spend time with liars + +or go along with hypocrites. + + +5. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, + +and I refuse to join in with the wicked. + + +6. I wash my hands to declare my innocence. + I come to your altar, O LORD, + +7. singing a song of thanksgiving + +and telling of all your wonders. + + +8. I love your sanctuary, LORD, + +the place where your glorious presence dwells. + + +9. Don't let me suffer the fate of sinners. + +Don't condemn me along with murderers. + + +10. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, + +and they constantly take bribes. + + +11. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. + +So redeem me and show me mercy. + + +12. Now I stand on solid ground, + and I will publicly praise the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_27.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_27.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..59d6b643 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_27.md @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@ +Psalm 27 + + +1. The LORD is my light and my salvation-- + +so why should I be afraid? +The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, + +so why should I tremble? + + +2. When evil people come to devour me, + +when my enemies and foes attack me, + +they will stumble and fall. + + +3. Though a mighty army surrounds me, + +my heart will not be afraid. + +Even if I am attacked, + +I will remain confident. + + +4. The one thing I ask of the LORD-- + +the thing I seek most-- +is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, + delighting in the LORD's perfections + +and meditating in his Temple. + + +5. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; + +he will hide me in his sanctuary. + +He will place me out of reach on a high rock. + + +6. Then I will hold my head high + +above my enemies who surround me. + +At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, + singing and praising the LORD with music. + +7. Hear me as I pray, O LORD. + +Be merciful and answer me! + + +8. My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." + And my heart responds, "LORD, I am coming." + +9. Do not turn your back on me. + +Do not reject your servant in anger. + +You have always been my helper. + +Don't leave me now; don't abandon me, + +O God of my salvation! + + +10. Even if my father and mother abandon me, + the LORD will hold me close. + +11. Teach me how to live, O LORD. + +Lead me along the right path, + +for my enemies are waiting for me. + + +12. Do not let me fall into their hands. + +For they accuse me of things I've never done; + +with every breath they threaten me with violence. + + +13. Yet I am confident I will see the LORD's goodness + +while I am here in the land of the living. + + +14. Wait patiently for the LORD. + +Be brave and courageous. + Yes, wait patiently for the LORD. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_28.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_28.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..40c25b08 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_28.md @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@ +Psalm 28 + + +1. I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. + +Do not turn a deaf ear to me. + +For if you are silent, + +I might as well give up and die. + + +2. Listen to my prayer for mercy + +as I cry out to you for help, + +as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary. + + +3. Do not drag me away with the wicked-- + +with those who do evil-- +those who speak friendly words to their neighbors + +while planning evil in their hearts. + + +4. Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! + +Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. + +Pay them back for all their evil deeds! + +Give them a taste of what they have done to others. + + +5. They care nothing for what the LORD has done + +or for what his hands have made. + +So he will tear them down, + +and they will never be rebuilt! + + +6. Praise the LORD! + +For he has heard my cry for mercy. + + +7. The LORD is my strength and shield. + +I trust him with all my heart. + +He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. + +I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. + + +8. The LORD gives his people strength. + +He is a safe fortress for his anointed king. + + +9. Save your people! + Bless Israel, your special possession. + +Lead them like a shepherd, + +and carry them in your arms forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_29.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_29.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..efb79dd2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_29.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +Psalm 29 + + +1. Honor the LORD, you heavenly beings; + honor the LORD for his glory and strength. + +2. Honor the LORD for the glory of his name. + Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. + +3. The voice of the LORD echoes above the sea. + +The God of glory thunders. + The LORD thunders over the mighty sea. + +4. The voice of the LORD is powerful; + the voice of the LORD is majestic. + +5. The voice of the LORD splits the mighty cedars; + the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon. + +6. He makes Lebanon's mountains skip like a calf; + he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox. + +7. The voice of the LORD strikes + +with bolts of lightning. + + +8. The voice of the LORD makes the barren wilderness quake; + the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. + +9. The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks + +and strips the forests bare. + +In his Temple everyone shouts, "Glory!" + + +10. The LORD rules over the floodwaters. + The LORD reigns as king forever. + +11. The LORD gives his people strength. + The LORD blesses them with peace. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_30.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_30.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..89d44a97 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_30.md @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +Psalm 30 + + +1. I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me. + +You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. + + +2. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, + +and you restored my health. + + +3. You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. + +You kept me from falling into the pit of death. + + +4. Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! + +Praise his holy name. + + +5. For his anger lasts only a moment, + +but his favor lasts a lifetime! +Weeping may last through the night, + +but joy comes with the morning. + + +6. When I was prosperous, I said, + +"Nothing can stop me now!" + + +7. Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain. + +Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. + + +8. I cried out to you, O LORD. + +I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, + + +9. "What will you gain if I die, + +if I sink into the grave? +Can my dust praise you? + +Can it tell of your faithfulness? + + +10. Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. + +Help me, O LORD." + +11. You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. + +You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, + + +12. that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. + O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_31.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_31.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..727fda11 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_31.md @@ -0,0 +1,158 @@ +Psalm 31 + + +1. O LORD, I have come to you for protection; + +don't let me be disgraced. + +Save me, for you do what is right. + + +2. Turn your ear to listen to me; + +rescue me quickly. + +Be my rock of protection, + +a fortress where I will be safe. + + +3. You are my rock and my fortress. + +For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. + + +4. Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me, + +for I find protection in you alone. + + +5. I entrust my spirit into your hand. + Rescue me, LORD, for you are a faithful God. + +6. I hate those who worship worthless idols. + I trust in the LORD. + +7. I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, + +for you have seen my troubles, + +and you care about the anguish of my soul. + + +8. You have not handed me over to my enemies + +but have set me in a safe place. + + +9. Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress. + +Tears blur my eyes. + +My body and soul are withering away. + + +10. I am dying from grief; + +my years are shortened by sadness. + +Sin has drained my strength; + +I am wasting away from within. + + +11. I am scorned by all my enemies + +and despised by my neighbors-- + +even my friends are afraid to come near me. + +When they see me on the street, + +they run the other way. + + +12. I am ignored as if I were dead, + +as if I were a broken pot. + + +13. I have heard the many rumors about me, + +and I am surrounded by terror. + +My enemies conspire against me, + +plotting to take my life. + + +14. But I am trusting you, O LORD, + +saying, "You are my God!" + + +15. My future is in your hands. + +Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. + + +16. Let your favor shine on your servant. + +In your unfailing love, rescue me. + + +17. Don't let me be disgraced, O LORD, + +for I call out to you for help. + +Let the wicked be disgraced; + let them lie silent in the grave. + +18. Silence their lying lips-- + +those proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly. + + +19. How great is the goodness + +you have stored up for those who fear you. + +You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, + +blessing them before the watching world. + + +20. You hide them in the shelter of your presence, + +safe from those who conspire against them. + +You shelter them in your presence, + +far from accusing tongues. + + +21. Praise the LORD, + +for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love. + +He kept me safe when my city was under attack. + + +22. In panic I cried out, + "I am cut off from the LORD!" +But you heard my cry for mercy + +and answered my call for help. + + +23. Love the LORD, all you godly ones! + For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, + +but he harshly punishes the arrogant. + + +24. So be strong and courageous, + all you who put your hope in the LORD! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_32.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_32.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5824d47b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_32.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +Psalm 32 + + +1. Oh, what joy for those + +whose disobedience is forgiven, + +whose sin is put out of sight! + + +2. Yes, what joy for those + whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, + +whose lives are lived in complete honesty! + + +3. When I refused to confess my sin, + +my body wasted away, + +and I groaned all day long. + + +4. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. + +My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude + + +5. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you + +and stopped trying to hide my guilt. +I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD." + +And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude + + +6. Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, + +that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. + + +7. For you are my hiding place; + +you protect me from trouble. + +You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude + + +8. The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. + +I will advise you and watch over you. + + +9. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule + +that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control." + + +10. Many sorrows come to the wicked, + but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD. + +11. So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! + +Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_33.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_33.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e7d265fe --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_33.md @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +Psalm 33 + + +1. Let the godly sing for joy to the LORD; + +it is fitting for the pure to praise him. + + +2. Praise the LORD with melodies on the lyre; + +make music for him on the ten-stringed harp. + + +3. Sing a new song of praise to him; + +play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy. + + +4. For the word of the LORD holds true, + +and we can trust everything he does. + + +5. He loves whatever is just and good; + the unfailing love of the LORD fills the earth. + +6. The LORD merely spoke, + +and the heavens were created. + +He breathed the word, + +and all the stars were born. + + +7. He assigned the sea its boundaries + +and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. + + +8. Let the whole world fear the LORD, + +and let everyone stand in awe of him. + + +9. For when he spoke, the world began! + +It appeared at his command. + + +10. The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations + +and thwarts all their schemes. + + +11. But the LORD's plans stand firm forever; + +his intentions can never be shaken. + + +12. What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD, + +whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. + + +13. The LORD looks down from heaven + +and sees the whole human race. + + +14. From his throne he observes + +all who live on the earth. + + +15. He made their hearts, + +so he understands everything they do. + + +16. The best-equipped army cannot save a king, + +nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. + + +17. Don't count on your warhorse to give you victory-- + +for all its strength, it cannot save you. + + +18. But the LORD watches over those who fear him, + +those who rely on his unfailing love. + + +19. He rescues them from death + +and keeps them alive in times of famine. + + +20. We put our hope in the LORD. + +He is our help and our shield. + + +21. In him our hearts rejoice, + +for we trust in his holy name. + + +22. Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, + +for our hope is in you alone. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_34.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_34.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7323e284 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_34.md @@ -0,0 +1,107 @@ +Psalm 34 + +1. I will praise the LORD at all times. + +I will constantly speak his praises. + + +2. I will boast only in the LORD; + +let all who are helpless take heart. + + +3. Come, let us tell of the LORD's greatness; + +let us exalt his name together. + + +4. I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. + +He freed me from all my fears. + + +5. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; + +no shadow of shame will darken their faces. + + +6. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; + +he saved me from all my troubles. + + +7. For the angel of the LORD is a guard; + +he surrounds and defends all who fear him. + + +8. Taste and see that the LORD is good. + +Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! + + +9. Fear the LORD, you his godly people, + +for those who fear him will have all they need. + + +10. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, + but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing. + +11. Come, my children, and listen to me, + and I will teach you to fear the LORD. + +12. Does anyone want to live a life + +that is long and prosperous? + + +13. Then keep your tongue from speaking evil + +and your lips from telling lies! + + +14. Turn away from evil and do good. + +Search for peace, and work to maintain it. + + +15. The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right; + +his ears are open to their cries for help. + + +16. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil; + +he will erase their memory from the earth. + + +17. The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. + +He rescues them from all their troubles. + + +18. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; + +he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. + + +19. The righteous person faces many troubles, + but the LORD comes to the rescue each time. + +20. For the LORD protects the bones of the righteous; + +not one of them is broken! + + +21. Calamity will surely destroy the wicked, + +and those who hate the righteous will be punished. + + +22. But the LORD will redeem those who serve him. + +No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_35.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_35.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..23189715 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_35.md @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@ +Psalm 35 + + +1. O LORD, oppose those who oppose me. + +Fight those who fight against me. + + +2. Put on your armor, and take up your shield. + +Prepare for battle, and come to my aid. + + +3. Lift up your spear and javelin + +against those who pursue me. + +Let me hear you say, + +"I will give you victory!" + + +4. Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me; + +turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me. + + +5. Blow them away like chaff in the wind-- + a wind sent by the angel of the LORD. + +6. Make their path dark and slippery, + with the angel of the LORD pursuing them. + +7. I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me. + +I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me. + + +8. So let sudden ruin come upon them! + +Let them be caught in the trap they set for me! + +Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me. + + +9. Then I will rejoice in the LORD. + +I will be glad because he rescues me. + + +10. With every bone in my body I will praise him: + "LORD, who can compare with you? +Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? + +Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?" + + +11. Malicious witnesses testify against me. + +They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about. + + +12. They repay me evil for good. + +I am sick with despair. + + +13. Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. + +I denied myself by fasting for them, + +but my prayers returned unanswered. + + +14. I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, + +as if I were grieving for my own mother. + + +15. But they are glad now that I am in trouble; + +they gleefully join together against me. + +I am attacked by people I don't even know; + +they slander me constantly. + + +16. They mock me and call me names; + +they snarl at me. + + +17. How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? + +Rescue me from their fierce attacks. + +Protect my life from these lions! + + +18. Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. + +I will praise you before all the people. + + +19. Don't let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. + +Don't let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow. + + +20. They don't talk of peace; + +they plot against innocent people who mind their own business. + + +21. They shout, "Aha! Aha! + +With our own eyes we saw him do it!" + + +22. O LORD, you know all about this. + +Do not stay silent. + +Do not abandon me now, O Lord. + + +23. Wake up! Rise to my defense! + +Take up my case, my God and my Lord. + + +24. Declare me not guilty, O LORD my God, for you give justice. + +Don't let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles. + + +25. Don't let them say, "Look, we got what we wanted! + +Now we will eat him alive!" + + +26. May those who rejoice at my troubles + +be humiliated and disgraced. + +May those who triumph over me + +be covered with shame and dishonor. + + +27. But give great joy to those who came to my defense. + Let them continually say, "Great is the LORD, + +who delights in blessing his servant with peace!" + + +28. Then I will proclaim your justice, + +and I will praise you all day long. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_36.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_36.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..70aa50ae --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_36.md @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +Psalm 36 + + +1. Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. + +They have no fear of God at all. + + +2. In their blind conceit, + +they cannot see how wicked they really are. + + +3. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. + +They refuse to act wisely or do good. + + +4. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. + +Their actions are never good. + +They make no attempt to turn from evil. + + +5. Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; + +your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. + + +6. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, + +your justice like the ocean depths. +You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. + +7. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! +All humanity finds shelter + +in the shadow of your wings. + + +8. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, + +letting them drink from your river of delights. + + +9. For you are the fountain of life, + +the light by which we see. + + +10. Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you; + +give justice to those with honest hearts. + + +11. Don't let the proud trample me + +or the wicked push me around. + + +12. Look! Those who do evil have fallen! + +They are thrown down, never to rise again. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_37.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_37.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..85f42d11 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_37.md @@ -0,0 +1,222 @@ +Psalm 37 + +1. Don't worry about the wicked + +or envy those who do wrong. + + +2. For like grass, they soon fade away. + +Like spring flowers, they soon wither. + + +3. Trust in the LORD and do good. + +Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. + + +4. Take delight in the LORD, + +and he will give you your heart's desires. + + +5. Commit everything you do to the LORD. + +Trust him, and he will help you. + + +6. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, + +and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. + + +7. Be still in the presence of the LORD, + +and wait patiently for him to act. + +Don't worry about evil people who prosper + +or fret about their wicked schemes. + + +8. Stop being angry! + +Turn from your rage! +Do not lose your temper-- + +it only leads to harm. + + +9. For the wicked will be destroyed, + but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land. + +10. Soon the wicked will disappear. + +Though you look for them, they will be gone. + + +11. The lowly will possess the land + +and will live in peace and prosperity. + + +12. The wicked plot against the godly; + +they snarl at them in defiance. + + +13. But the Lord just laughs, + +for he sees their day of judgment coming. + + +14. The wicked draw their swords + +and string their bows +to kill the poor and the oppressed, + +to slaughter those who do right. + + +15. But their swords will stab their own hearts, + +and their bows will be broken. + + +16. It is better to be godly and have little + +than to be evil and rich. + + +17. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, + but the LORD takes care of the godly. + +18. Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, + +and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. + + +19. They will not be disgraced in hard times; + +even in famine they will have more than enough. + + +20. But the wicked will die. + The LORD's enemies are like flowers in a field-- + +they will disappear like smoke. + + +21. The wicked borrow and never repay, + +but the godly are generous givers. + + +22. Those the LORD blesses will possess the land, + +but those he curses will die. + + +23. The LORD directs the steps of the godly. + +He delights in every detail of their lives. + + +24. Though they stumble, they will never fall, + for the LORD holds them by the hand. + +25. Once I was young, and now I am old. + +Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned + +or their children begging for bread. + + +26. The godly always give generous loans to others, + +and their children are a blessing. + + +27. Turn from evil and do good, + +and you will live in the land forever. + + +28. For the LORD loves justice, + +and he will never abandon the godly. + +He will keep them safe forever, + +but the children of the wicked will die. + + +29. The godly will possess the land + +and will live there forever. + + +30. The godly offer good counsel; + +they teach right from wrong. + + +31. They have made God's law their own, + +so they will never slip from his path. + + +32. The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, + +looking for an excuse to kill them. + + +33. But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed + +or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial. + + +34. Put your hope in the LORD. + +Travel steadily along his path. + +He will honor you by giving you the land. + +You will see the wicked destroyed. + + +35. I have seen wicked and ruthless people + +flourishing like a tree in its native soil. + + +36. But when I looked again, they were gone! + +Though I searched for them, I could not find them! + + +37. Look at those who are honest and good, + +for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace. + + +38. But the rebellious will be destroyed; + +they have no future. + + +39. The LORD rescues the godly; + +he is their fortress in times of trouble. + + +40. The LORD helps them, + +rescuing them from the wicked. + +He saves them, + +and they find shelter in him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_38.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_38.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7bbd8c5f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_38.md @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +Psalm 38 + + +1. O LORD, don't rebuke me in your anger + +or discipline me in your rage! + + +2. Your arrows have struck deep, + +and your blows are crushing me. + + +3. Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; + +my health is broken because of my sins. + + +4. My guilt overwhelms me-- + +it is a burden too heavy to bear. + + +5. My wounds fester and stink + +because of my foolish sins. + + +6. I am bent over and racked with pain. + +All day long I walk around filled with grief. + + +7. A raging fever burns within me, + +and my health is broken. + + +8. I am exhausted and completely crushed. + +My groans come from an anguished heart. + + +9. You know what I long for, Lord; + +you hear my every sigh. + + +10. My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, + +and I am going blind. + + +11. My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. + +Even my own family stands at a distance. + + +12. Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me. + +Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me. + +All day long they plan their treachery. + + +13. But I am deaf to all their threats. + +I am silent before them as one who cannot speak. + + +14. I choose to hear nothing, + +and I make no reply. + + +15. For I am waiting for you, O LORD. + +You must answer for me, O Lord my God. + + +16. I prayed, "Don't let my enemies gloat over me + +or rejoice at my downfall." + + +17. I am on the verge of collapse, + +facing constant pain. + + +18. But I confess my sins; + +I am deeply sorry for what I have done. + + +19. I have many aggressive enemies; + +they hate me without reason. + + +20. They repay me evil for good + +and oppose me for pursuing good. + + +21. Do not abandon me, O LORD. + +Do not stand at a distance, my God. + + +22. Come quickly to help me, + +O Lord my savior. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_39.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_39.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c5fd41b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_39.md @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +Psalm 39 + + +1. I said to myself, "I will watch what I do + +and not sin in what I say. + +I will hold my tongue + +when the ungodly are around me." + + +2. But as I stood there in silence-- + +not even speaking of good things-- + +the turmoil within me grew worse. + + +3. The more I thought about it, + +the hotter I got, + +igniting a fire of words: + + +4. "LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. + +Remind me that my days are numbered-- + +how fleeting my life is. + + +5. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. + +My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; + +at best, each of us is but a breath." Interlude + + +6. We are merely moving shadows, + +and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. + +We heap up wealth, + +not knowing who will spend it. + + +7. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? + +My only hope is in you. + + +8. Rescue me from my rebellion. + +Do not let fools mock me. + + +9. I am silent before you; I won't say a word, + +for my punishment is from you. + + +10. But please stop striking me! + +I am exhausted by the blows from your hand. + + +11. When you discipline us for our sins, + +you consume like a moth what is precious to us. + +Each of us is but a breath. Interlude + + +12. Hear my prayer, O LORD! + +Listen to my cries for help! + +Don't ignore my tears. + +For I am your guest-- + +a traveler passing through, + +as my ancestors were before me. + + +13. Leave me alone so I can smile again + +before I am gone and exist no more. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_40.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_40.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4220ea06 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_40.md @@ -0,0 +1,123 @@ +Psalm 40 + + +1. I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, + +and he turned to me and heard my cry. + + +2. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, + +out of the mud and the mire. + +He set my feet on solid ground + +and steadied me as I walked along. + + +3. He has given me a new song to sing, + +a hymn of praise to our God. + +Many will see what he has done and be amazed. + They will put their trust in the LORD. + +4. Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, + +who have no confidence in the proud + +or in those who worship idols. + + +5. O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. + +Your plans for us are too numerous to list. + +You have no equal. + +If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, + +I would never come to the end of them. + + +6. You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. + Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand-- + +you don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings. + + +7. Then I said, "Look, I have come. + +As is written about me in the Scriptures: + + +8. I take joy in doing your will, my God, + +for your instructions are written on my heart." + + +9. I have told all your people about your justice. + +I have not been afraid to speak out, + as you, O LORD, well know. + +10. I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; + +I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. + +I have told everyone in the great assembly + +of your unfailing love and faithfulness. + + +11. LORD, don't hold back your tender mercies from me. + +Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. + + +12. For troubles surround me-- + +too many to count! +My sins pile up so high + +I can't see my way out. + +They outnumber the hairs on my head. + +I have lost all courage. + + +13. Please, LORD, rescue me! + Come quickly, LORD, and help me. + +14. May those who try to destroy me + +be humiliated and put to shame. + +May those who take delight in my trouble + +be turned back in disgrace. + + +15. Let them be horrified by their shame, + +for they said, "Aha! We've got him now!" + + +16. But may all who search for you + +be filled with joy and gladness in you. + +May those who love your salvation + repeatedly shout, "The LORD is great!" + +17. As for me, since I am poor and needy, + +let the Lord keep me in his thoughts. + +You are my helper and my savior. + +O my God, do not delay. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_41.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_41.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6fb1cbc1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_41.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +Psalm 41 + + +1. Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! + The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble. + +2. The LORD protects them + +and keeps them alive. + +He gives them prosperity in the land + +and rescues them from their enemies. + + +3. The LORD nurses them when they are sick + +and restores them to health. + + +4. "O LORD," I prayed, "have mercy on me. + +Heal me, for I have sinned against you." + + +5. But my enemies say nothing but evil about me. + +"How soon will he die and be forgotten?" they ask. + + +6. They visit me as if they were my friends, + +but all the while they gather gossip, + +and when they leave, they spread it everywhere. + + +7. All who hate me whisper about me, + +imagining the worst. + + +8. "He has some fatal disease," they say. + +"He will never get out of that bed!" + + +9. Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, + +the one who shared my food, has turned against me. + + +10. LORD, have mercy on me. + +Make me well again, so I can pay them back! + + +11. I know you are pleased with me, + +for you have not let my enemies triumph over me. + + +12. You have preserved my life because I am innocent; + +you have brought me into your presence forever. + + +13. Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, + +who lives from everlasting to everlasting. + +Amen and amen! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_42.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_42.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..96cba76d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_42.md @@ -0,0 +1,85 @@ +Psalm 42 + + +1. As the deer longs for streams of water, + +so I long for you, O God. + + +2. I thirst for God, the living God. + +When can I go and stand before him? + + +3. Day and night I have only tears for food, + +while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, + +"Where is this God of yours?" + + +4. My heart is breaking + +as I remember how it used to be: +I walked among the crowds of worshipers, + +leading a great procession to the house of God, +singing for joy and giving thanks + +amid the sound of a great celebration! + + +5. Why am I discouraged? + +Why is my heart so sad? +I will put my hope in God! + +I will praise him again-- + +my Savior and + +6. my God! +Now I am deeply discouraged, + +but I will remember you-- +even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, + +from the land of Mount Mizar. + + +7. I hear the tumult of the raging seas + +as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. + + +8. But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, + +and through each night I sing his songs, + +praying to God who gives me life. + + +9. "O God my rock," I cry, + +"Why have you forgotten me? +Why must I wander around in grief, + +oppressed by my enemies?" + + +10. Their taunts break my bones. + They scoff, +"Where is this God of yours?" + + +11. Why am I discouraged? + +Why is my heart so sad? +I will put my hope in God! + +I will praise him again-- + +my Savior and my God! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_43.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_43.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1043de7f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_43.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +Psalm 43 + + +1. Declare me innocent, O God! + +Defend me against these ungodly people. + +Rescue me from these unjust liars. + + +2. For you are God, my only safe haven. + +Why have you tossed me aside? +Why must I wander around in grief, + +oppressed by my enemies? + + +3. Send out your light and your truth; + +let them guide me. + +Let them lead me to your holy mountain, + +to the place where you live. + + +4. There I will go to the altar of God, + to God--the source of all my joy. + +I will praise you with my harp, + +O God, my God! + + +5. Why am I discouraged? + +Why is my heart so sad? +I will put my hope in God! + +I will praise him again-- + +my Savior and my God! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_44.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_44.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..07192fed --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_44.md @@ -0,0 +1,146 @@ +Psalm 44 + + +1. O God, we have heard it with our own ears-- + +our ancestors have told us +of all you did in their day, + +in days long ago: + + +2. You drove out the pagan nations by your power + +and gave all the land to our ancestors. + +You crushed their enemies + +and set our ancestors free. + + +3. They did not conquer the land with their swords; + +it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. + +It was your right hand and strong arm + +and the blinding light from your face that helped them, + +for you loved them. + + +4. You are my King and my God. + You command victories for Israel. + +5. Only by your power can we push back our enemies; + +only in your name can we trample our foes. + + +6. I do not trust in my bow; + +I do not count on my sword to save me. + + +7. You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies; + +you disgrace those who hate us. + + +8. O God, we give glory to you all day long + +and constantly praise your name. Interlude + + +9. But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor. + +You no longer lead our armies to battle. + + +10. You make us retreat from our enemies + +and allow those who hate us to plunder our land. + + +11. You have butchered us like sheep + +and scattered us among the nations. + + +12. You sold your precious people for a pittance, + +making nothing on the sale. + + +13. You let our neighbors mock us. + +We are an object of scorn and derision to those around us. + + +14. You have made us the butt of their jokes; + +they shake their heads at us in scorn. + + +15. We can't escape the constant humiliation; + +shame is written across our faces. + + +16. All we hear are the taunts of our mockers. + +All we see are our vengeful enemies. + + +17. All this has happened though we have not forgotten you. + +We have not violated your covenant. + + +18. Our hearts have not deserted you. + +We have not strayed from your path. + + +19. Yet you have crushed us in the jackal's desert home. + +You have covered us with darkness and death. + + +20. If we had forgotten the name of our God + +or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods, + + +21. God would surely have known it, + +for he knows the secrets of every heart. + + +22. But for your sake we are killed every day; + +we are being slaughtered like sheep. + + +23. Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? + +Get up! Do not reject us forever. + + +24. Why do you look the other way? + +Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression? + + +25. We collapse in the dust, + +lying face down in the dirt. + + +26. Rise up! +Help us! + +Ransom us because of your unfailing love. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_45.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_45.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5bae3b5d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_45.md @@ -0,0 +1,99 @@ +Psalm 45 + + +1. Beautiful words stir my heart. + +I will recite a lovely poem about the king, + +for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet. + + +2. You are the most handsome of all. + +Gracious words stream from your lips. + +God himself has blessed you forever. + + +3. Put on your sword, O mighty warrior! + +You are so glorious, so majestic! + + +4. In your majesty, ride out to victory, + +defending truth, humility, and justice. + +Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds! + + +5. Your arrows are sharp, piercing your enemies' hearts. + +The nations fall beneath your feet. + + +6. Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. + +You rule with a scepter of justice. + + +7. You love justice and hate evil. + +Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, + +pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. + + +8. Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume your robes. + +In ivory palaces the music of strings entertains you. + + +9. Kings' daughters are among your noble women. + +At your right side stands the queen, + +wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir! + + +10. Listen to me, O royal daughter; take to heart what I say. + +Forget your people and your family far away. + + +11. For your royal husband delights in your beauty; + +honor him, for he is your lord. + + +12. The princess of Tyre will shower you with gifts. + +The wealthy will beg your favor. + + +13. The bride, a princess, looks glorious + +in her golden gown. + + +14. In her beautiful robes, she is led to the king, + +accompanied by her bridesmaids. + + +15. What a joyful and enthusiastic procession + +as they enter the king's palace! + + +16. Your sons will become kings like their father. + +You will make them rulers over many lands. + + +17. I will bring honor to your name in every generation. + +Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_46.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_46.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3f3d7be1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_46.md @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +Psalm 46 + + +1. God is our refuge and strength, + +always ready to help in times of trouble. + + +2. So we will not fear when earthquakes come + +and the mountains crumble into the sea. + + +3. Let the oceans roar and foam. + +Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude + + +4. A river brings joy to the city of our God, + +the sacred home of the Most High. + + +5. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. + +From the very break of day, God will protect it. + + +6. The nations are in chaos, + +and their kingdoms crumble! +God's voice thunders, + +and the earth melts! + + +7. The LORD of Heaven's Armies is here among us; + +the God of Israel is our fortress. Interlude + + +8. Come, see the glorious works of the LORD: + +See how he brings destruction upon the world. + + +9. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. + +He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; + +he burns the shields with fire. + + +10. "Be still, and know that I am God! + +I will be honored by every nation. + +I will be honored throughout the world." + + +11. The LORD of Heaven's Armies is here among us; + +the God of Israel is our fortress. Interlude + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_47.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_47.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3d2f77c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_47.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +Psalm 47 + + +1. Come, everyone! Clap your hands! + +Shout to God with joyful praise! + + +2. For the LORD Most High is awesome. + +He is the great King of all the earth. + + +3. He subdues the nations before us, + +putting our enemies beneath our feet. + + +4. He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance, + +the proud possession of Jacob's descendants, whom he loves. Interlude + + +5. God has ascended with a mighty shout. + The LORD has ascended with trumpets blaring. + +6. Sing praises to God, sing praises; + +sing praises to our King, sing praises! + + +7. For God is the King over all the earth. + Praise him with a psalm. + +8. God reigns above the nations, + +sitting on his holy throne. + + +9. The rulers of the world have gathered together + +with the people of the God of Abraham. + +For all the kings of the earth belong to God. + +He is highly honored everywhere. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_48.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_48.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1e70df39 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_48.md @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@ +Psalm 48 + + +1. How great is the LORD, + +how deserving of praise, +in the city of our God, + +which sits on his holy mountain! + + +2. It is high and magnificent; + +the whole earth rejoices to see it! +Mount Zion, the holy mountain, + +is the city of the great King! + + +3. God himself is in Jerusalem's towers, + +revealing himself as its defender. + + +4. The kings of the earth joined forces + +and advanced against the city. + + +5. But when they saw it, they were stunned; + +they were terrified and ran away. + + +6. They were gripped with terror + +and writhed in pain like a woman in labor. + + +7. You destroyed them like the mighty ships of Tarshish + +shattered by a powerful east wind. + + +8. We had heard of the city's glory, + +but now we have seen it ourselves-- + the city of the LORD of Heaven's Armies. + +It is the city of our God; + +he will make it safe forever. Interlude + + +9. O God, we meditate on your unfailing love + +as we worship in your Temple. + + +10. As your name deserves, O God, + +you will be praised to the ends of the earth. + +Your strong right hand is filled with victory. + + +11. Let the people on Mount Zion rejoice. + +Let all the towns of Judah be glad + +because of your justice. + + +12. Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem. + +Walk around and count the many towers. + + +13. Take note of the fortified walls, + +and tour all the citadels, +that you may describe them + +to future generations. + + +14. For that is what God is like. + +He is our God forever and ever, + +and he will guide us until we die. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_49.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_49.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..aa741836 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_49.md @@ -0,0 +1,109 @@ +Psalm 49 + + +1. Listen to this, all you people! + +Pay attention, everyone in the world! + + +2. High and low, + rich and poor--listen! + +3. For my words are wise, + +and my thoughts are filled with insight. + + +4. I listen carefully to many proverbs + +and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp. + + +5. Why should I fear when trouble comes, + +when enemies surround me? + + +6. They trust in their wealth + +and boast of great riches. + + +7. Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death + +by paying a ransom to God. + + +8. Redemption does not come so easily, + +for no one can ever pay enough + + +9. to live forever + +and never see the grave. + + +10. Those who are wise must finally die, + +just like the foolish and senseless, + +leaving all their wealth behind. + + +11. The grave is their eternal home, + +where they will stay forever. + +They may name their estates after themselves, + + +12. but their fame will not last. + +They will die, just like animals. + + +13. This is the fate of fools, + though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude + +14. Like sheep, they are led to the grave, + +where death will be their shepherd. + +In the morning the godly will rule over them. + +Their bodies will rot in the grave, + +far from their grand estates. + + +15. But as for me, God will redeem my life. + +He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude + + +16. So don't be dismayed when the wicked grow rich + +and their homes become ever more splendid. + + +17. For when they die, they take nothing with them. + +Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. + + +18. In this life they consider themselves fortunate + +and are applauded for their success. + + +19. But they will die like all before them + +and never again see the light of day. + + +20. People who boast of their wealth don't understand; + they will die, just like animals. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_50.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_50.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..32d5c05f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_50.md @@ -0,0 +1,139 @@ +Psalm 50 + + +1. The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, + +and he has spoken; +he has summoned all humanity + +from where the sun rises to where it sets. + + +2. From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, + +God shines in glorious radiance. + + +3. Our God approaches, + +and he is not silent. + +Fire devours everything in his way, + +and a great storm rages around him. + + +4. He calls on the heavens above and earth below + +to witness the judgment of his people. + + +5. "Bring my faithful people to me-- + +those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices." + + +6. Then let the heavens proclaim his justice, + +for God himself will be the judge. Interlude + + +7. "O my people, listen as I speak. + +Here are my charges against you, O Israel: + +I am God, your God! + + +8. I have no complaint about your sacrifices + +or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. + + +9. But I do not need the bulls from your barns + +or the goats from your pens. + + +10. For all the animals of the forest are mine, + +and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. + + +11. I know every bird on the mountains, + +and all the animals of the field are mine. + + +12. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, + +for all the world is mine and everything in it. + + +13. Do I eat the meat of bulls? + +Do I drink the blood of goats? + + +14. Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, + +and keep the vows you made to the Most High. + + +15. Then call on me when you are in trouble, + +and I will rescue you, + +and you will give me glory." + + +16. But God says to the wicked: +"Why bother reciting my decrees + +and pretending to obey my covenant? + + +17. For you refuse my discipline + +and treat my words like trash. + + +18. When you see thieves, you approve of them, + +and you spend your time with adulterers. + + +19. Your mouth is filled with wickedness, + +and your tongue is full of lies. + + +20. You sit around and slander your brother-- + +your own mother's son. + + +21. While you did all this, I remained silent, + +and you thought I didn't care. + +But now I will rebuke you, + +listing all my charges against you. + + +22. Repent, all of you who forget me, + +or I will tear you apart, + +and no one will help you. + + +23. But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. + +If you keep to my path, + +I will reveal to you the salvation of God." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_51.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_51.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fdb79c70 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_51.md @@ -0,0 +1,107 @@ +Psalm 51 + + +1. Have mercy on me, O God, + +because of your unfailing love. + +Because of your great compassion, + +blot out the stain of my sins. + + +2. Wash me clean from my guilt. + +Purify me from my sin. + + +3. For I recognize my rebellion; + +it haunts me day and night. + + +4. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; + +I have done what is evil in your sight. + +You will be proved right in what you say, + and your judgment against me is just. + +5. For I was born a sinner-- + +yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. + + +6. But you desire honesty from the womb, + +teaching me wisdom even there. + + +7. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; + +wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. + + +8. Oh, give me back my joy again; + +you have broken me-- + +now let me rejoice. + + +9. Don't keep looking at my sins. + +Remove the stain of my guilt. + + +10. Create in me a clean heart, O God. + +Renew a loyal spirit within me. + + +11. Do not banish me from your presence, + and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. + +12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, + +and make me willing to obey you. + + +13. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, + +and they will return to you. + + +14. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; + +then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. + + +15. Unseal my lips, O Lord, + +that my mouth may praise you. + + +16. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. + +You do not want a burnt offering. + + +17. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. + +You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. + + +18. Look with favor on Zion and help her; + +rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. + + +19. Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit-- + +with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. + +Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_52.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_52.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b80da7b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_52.md @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +Psalm 52 + + +1. Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? + +Don't you realize God's justice continues forever? + + +2. All day long you plot destruction. + +Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; + +you're an expert at telling lies. + + +3. You love evil more than good + +and lies more than truth. Interlude + + +4. You love to destroy others with your words, + +you liar! + + +5. But God will strike you down once and for all. + +He will pull you from your home + +and uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude + + +6. The righteous will see it and be amazed. + +They will laugh and say, + + +7. "Look what happens to mighty warriors + +who do not trust in God. + +They trust their wealth instead + +and grow more and more bold in their wickedness." + + +8. But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. + +I will always trust in God's unfailing love. + + +9. I will praise you forever, O God, + +for what you have done. + +I will trust in your good name + +in the presence of your faithful people. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_53.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_53.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1242ecde --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_53.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +Psalm 53 + + +1. Only fools say in their hearts, + +"There is no God." +They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; + +not one of them does good! + + +2. God looks down from heaven + +on the entire human race; +he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, + +if anyone seeks God. + + +3. But no, all have turned away; + all have become corrupt. + +No one does good, + +not a single one! + + +4. Will those who do evil never learn? + +They eat up my people like bread + +and wouldn't think of praying to God. + + +5. Terror will grip them, + +terror like they have never known before. + +God will scatter the bones of your enemies. + +You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them. + + +6. Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? + +When God restores his people, + +Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_54.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_54.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cd6beb28 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_54.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +Psalm 54 + + +1. Come with great power, O God, and rescue me! + +Defend me with your might. + + +2. Listen to my prayer, O God. + +Pay attention to my plea. + + +3. For strangers are attacking me; + +violent people are trying to kill me. + +They care nothing for God. Interlude + + +4. But God is my helper. + +The Lord keeps me alive! + + +5. May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them. + +Do as you promised and put an end to them. + + +6. I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you; + I will praise your name, O LORD, + +for it is good. + + +7. For you have rescued me from my troubles + +and helped me to triumph over my enemies. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_55.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_55.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9b71e11f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_55.md @@ -0,0 +1,141 @@ +Psalm 55 + + +1. Listen to my prayer, O God. + +Do not ignore my cry for help! + + +2. Please listen and answer me, + +for I am overwhelmed by my troubles. + + +3. My enemies shout at me, + +making loud and wicked threats. + +They bring trouble on me + +and angrily hunt me down. + + +4. My heart pounds in my chest. + +The terror of death assaults me. + + +5. Fear and trembling overwhelm me, + +and I can't stop shaking. + + +6. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; + +then I would fly away and rest! + + +7. I would fly far away + +to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude + + +8. How quickly I would escape-- + +far from this wild storm of hatred. + + +9. Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, + +for I see violence and conflict in the city. + + +10. Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, + +but the real danger is wickedness within the city. + + +11. Everything is falling apart; + +threats and cheating are rampant in the streets. + + +12. It is not an enemy who taunts me-- + +I could bear that. + +It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me-- + +I could have hidden from them. + + +13. Instead, it is you--my equal, + +my companion and close friend. + + +14. What good fellowship we once enjoyed + +as we walked together to the house of God. + + +15. Let death stalk my enemies; + let the grave swallow them alive, + +for evil makes its home within them. + + +16. But I will call on God, + and the LORD will rescue me. + +17. Morning, noon, and night + +I cry out in my distress, + and the LORD hears my voice. + +18. He ransoms me and keeps me safe + +from the battle waged against me, + +though many still oppose me. + + +19. God, who has ruled forever, + +will hear me and humble them. Interlude +For my enemies refuse to change their ways; + +they do not fear God. + + +20. As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; + +he broke his promises. + + +21. His words are as smooth as butter, + +but in his heart is war. + +His words are as soothing as lotion, + +but underneath are daggers! + + +22. Give your burdens to the LORD, + +and he will take care of you. + +He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. + + +23. But you, O God, will send the wicked + +down to the pit of destruction. + +Murderers and liars will die young, + +but I am trusting you to save me. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_56.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_56.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8b64438a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_56.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +Psalm 56 + + +1. O God, have mercy on me, + +for people are hounding me. + +My foes attack me all day long. + + +2. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, + +and many are boldly attacking me. + + +3. But when I am afraid, + +I will put my trust in you. + + +4. I praise God for what he has promised. + +I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? + +What can mere mortals do to me? + + +5. They are always twisting what I say; + +they spend their days plotting to harm me. + + +6. They come together to spy on me-- + +watching my every step, eager to kill me. + + +7. Don't let them get away with their wickedness; + +in your anger, O God, bring them down. + + +8. You keep track of all my sorrows. + +You have collected all my tears in your bottle. + +You have recorded each one in your book. + + +9. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. + +This I know: God is on my side! + + +10. I praise God for what he has promised; + yes, I praise the LORD for what he has promised. + +11. +I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? + +What can mere mortals do to me? + + +12. I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, + +and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help. + + +13. For you have rescued me from death; + +you have kept my feet from slipping. + +So now I can walk in your presence, O God, + +in your life-giving light. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_57.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_57.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ef0dffd6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_57.md @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +Psalm 57 + + +1. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! + +I look to you for protection. + +I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings + +until the danger passes by. + + +2. I cry out to God Most High, + +to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. + + +3. He will send help from heaven to rescue me, + +disgracing those who hound me. Interlude +My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness. + + +4. I am surrounded by fierce lions + +who greedily devour human prey-- +whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows, + +and whose tongues cut like swords. + + +5. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens! + +May your glory shine over all the earth. + + +6. My enemies have set a trap for me. + +I am weary from distress. + +They have dug a deep pit in my path, + +but they themselves have fallen into it. Interlude + + +7. My heart is confident in you, O God; + +my heart is confident. + +No wonder I can sing your praises! + + +8. Wake up, my heart! + +Wake up, O lyre and harp! + +I will wake the dawn with my song. + + +9. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. + +I will sing your praises among the nations. + + +10. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. + +Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. + + +11. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. + +May your glory shine over all the earth. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_58.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_58.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5e368605 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_58.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +Psalm 58 + + +1. Justice--do you rulers know the meaning of the word? + +Do you judge the people fairly? + + +2. No! You plot injustice in your hearts. + +You spread violence throughout the land. + + +3. These wicked people are born sinners; + +even from birth they have lied and gone their own way. + + +4. They spit venom like deadly snakes; + +they are like cobras that refuse to listen, + + +5. ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers, + +no matter how skillfully they play. + + +6. Break off their fangs, O God! + Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD! + +7. May they disappear like water into thirsty ground. + Make their weapons useless in their hands. + +8. May they be like snails that dissolve into slime, + +like a stillborn child who will never see the sun. + + +9. God will sweep them away, both young and old, + +faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. + + +10. The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. + +They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. + + +11. Then at last everyone will say, + +"There truly is a reward for those who live for God; + +surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_59.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_59.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8a6074b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_59.md @@ -0,0 +1,110 @@ +Psalm 59 + + +1. Rescue me from my enemies, O God. + +Protect me from those who have come to destroy me. + + +2. Rescue me from these criminals; + +save me from these murderers. + + +3. They have set an ambush for me. + Fierce enemies are out there waiting, LORD, + +though I have not sinned or offended them. + + +4. I have done nothing wrong, + +yet they prepare to attack me. + +Wake up! See what is happening and help me! + + +5. O LORD God of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, + +wake up and punish those hostile nations. + +Show no mercy to wicked traitors. Interlude + + +6. They come out at night, + +snarling like vicious dogs + +as they prowl the streets. + + +7. Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths; + +their words cut like swords. + +"After all, who can hear us?" they sneer. + + +8. But LORD, you laugh at them. + +You scoff at all the hostile nations. + + +9. You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me, + +for you, O God, are my fortress. + + +10. In his unfailing love, my God will stand with me. + +He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies. + + +11. Don't kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons; + +stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees, + +O Lord our shield. + + +12. Because of the sinful things they say, + +because of the evil that is on their lips, +let them be captured by their pride, + +their curses, and their lies. + + +13. Destroy them in your anger! + +Wipe them out completely! +Then the whole world will know + that God reigns in Israel. Interlude + +14. My enemies come out at night, + +snarling like vicious dogs + +as they prowl the streets. + + +15. They scavenge for food + but go to sleep unsatisfied. + +16. But as for me, I will sing about your power. + +Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. + +For you have been my refuge, + +a place of safety when I am in distress. + + +17. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, + +for you, O God, are my refuge, + +the God who shows me unfailing love. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_60.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_60.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d4acddd5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_60.md @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +Psalm 60 + + +1. You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses. + +You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor. + + +2. You have shaken our land and split it open. + +Seal the cracks, for the land trembles. + + +3. You have been very hard on us, + +making us drink wine that sent us reeling. + + +4. But you have raised a banner for those who fear you-- + +a rallying point in the face of attack. Interlude + + +5. Now rescue your beloved people. + +Answer and save us by your power. + + +6. God has promised this by his holiness: +"I will divide up Shechem with joy. + +I will measure out the valley of Succoth. + + +7. Gilead is mine, + +and Manasseh, too. + +Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, + +and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. + + +8. But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, + +and I will wipe my feet on Edom + +and shout in triumph over Philistia." + + +9. Who will bring me into the fortified city? + +Who will bring me victory over Edom? + + +10. Have you rejected us, O God? + +Will you no longer march with our armies? + + +11. Oh, please help us against our enemies, + +for all human help is useless. + + +12. With God's help we will do mighty things, + +for he will trample down our foes. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_61.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_61.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3852a5e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_61.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +Psalm 61 + + +1. O God, listen to my cry! + +Hear my prayer! + + +2. From the ends of the earth, + +I cry to you for help + +when my heart is overwhelmed. + +Lead me to the towering rock of safety, + + +3. for you are my safe refuge, + +a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. + + +4. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, + +safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Interlude + + +5. For you have heard my vows, O God. + +You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name. + + +6. Add many years to the life of the king! + +May his years span the generations! + + +7. May he reign under God's protection forever. + +May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him. + + +8. Then I will sing praises to your name forever + +as I fulfill my vows each day. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_62.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_62.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..538ee730 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_62.md @@ -0,0 +1,85 @@ +Psalm 62 + + +1. I wait quietly before God, + +for my victory comes from him. + + +2. He alone is my rock and my salvation, + +my fortress where I will never be shaken. + + +3. So many enemies against one man-- + +all of them trying to kill me. + +To them I'm just a broken-down wall + +or a tottering fence. + + +4. They plan to topple me from my high position. + +They delight in telling lies about me. + +They praise me to my face + +but curse me in their hearts. Interlude + + +5. Let all that I am wait quietly before God, + +for my hope is in him. + + +6. He alone is my rock and my salvation, + +my fortress where I will not be shaken. + + +7. My victory and honor come from God alone. + +He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. + + +8. O my people, trust in him at all times. + +Pour out your heart to him, + +for God is our refuge. Interlude + + +9. Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, + +and the powerful are not what they appear to be. + +If you weigh them on the scales, + +together they are lighter than a breath of air. + + +10. Don't make your living by extortion + +or put your hope in stealing. + +And if your wealth increases, + +don't make it the center of your life. + + +11. God has spoken plainly, + +and I have heard it many times: +Power, O God, belongs to you; + + +12. unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. + +Surely you repay all people + +according to what they have done. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_63.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_63.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5aabbbf3 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_63.md @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +Psalm 63 + + +1. O God, you are my God; + +I earnestly search for you. + +My soul thirsts for you; + +my whole body longs for you +in this parched and weary land + +where there is no water. + + +2. I have seen you in your sanctuary + +and gazed upon your power and glory. + + +3. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; + +how I praise you! + + +4. I will praise you as long as I live, + +lifting up my hands to you in prayer. + + +5. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. + +I will praise you with songs of joy. + + +6. I lie awake thinking of you, + +meditating on you through the night. + + +7. Because you are my helper, + +I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. + + +8. I cling to you; + +your strong right hand holds me securely. + + +9. But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin. + +They will go down into the depths of the earth. + + +10. They will die by the sword + +and become the food of jackals. + + +11. But the king will rejoice in God. + +All who swear to tell the truth will praise him, + +while liars will be silenced. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_64.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_64.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8b9e0a0b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_64.md @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +Psalm 64 + + +1. O God, listen to my complaint. + +Protect my life from my enemies' threats. + + +2. Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, + +from this gang of wrongdoers. + + +3. They sharpen their tongues like swords + +and aim their bitter words like arrows. + + +4. They shoot from ambush at the innocent, + +attacking suddenly and fearlessly. + + +5. They encourage each other to do evil + +and plan how to set their traps in secret. + +"Who will ever notice?" they ask. + + +6. As they plot their crimes, they say, + +"We have devised the perfect plan!" + +Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning. + + +7. But God himself will shoot them with his arrows, + +suddenly striking them down. + + +8. Their own tongues will ruin them, + +and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. + + +9. Then everyone will be afraid; + +they will proclaim the mighty acts of God + +and realize all the amazing things he does. + + +10. The godly will rejoice in the LORD + +and find shelter in him. + +And those who do what is right + +will praise him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_65.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_65.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..68a9c587 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_65.md @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +Psalm 65 + + +1. What mighty praise, O God, + +belongs to you in Zion. + +We will fulfill our vows to you, + + +2. for you answer our prayers. + +All of us must come to you. + + +3. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, + +you forgive them all. + + +4. What joy for those you choose to bring near, + +those who live in your holy courts. + +What festivities await us + +inside your holy Temple. + + +5. You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, + +O God our savior. + +You are the hope of everyone on earth, + +even those who sail on distant seas. + + +6. You formed the mountains by your power + +and armed yourself with mighty strength. + + +7. You quieted the raging oceans + +with their pounding waves + +and silenced the shouting of the nations. + + +8. Those who live at the ends of the earth + +stand in awe of your wonders. + +From where the sun rises to where it sets, + +you inspire shouts of joy. + + +9. You take care of the earth and water it, + +making it rich and fertile. + +The river of God has plenty of water; + +it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, + +for you have ordered it so. + + +10. You drench the plowed ground with rain, + +melting the clods and leveling the ridges. + +You soften the earth with showers + +and bless its abundant crops. + + +11. You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; + +even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. + + +12. The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, + +and the hillsides blossom with joy. + + +13. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, + +and the valleys are carpeted with grain. + +They all shout and sing for joy! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_66.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_66.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d48c12b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_66.md @@ -0,0 +1,110 @@ +Psalm 66 + + +1. Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth! + +2. Sing about the glory of his name! + +Tell the world how glorious he is. + + +3. Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! + +Your enemies cringe before your mighty power. + + +4. Everything on earth will worship you; + +they will sing your praises, + +shouting your name in glorious songs." Interlude + + +5. Come and see what our God has done, + +what awesome miracles he performs for people! + + +6. He made a dry path through the Red Sea, + +and his people went across on foot. + +There we rejoiced in him. + + +7. For by his great power he rules forever. + +He watches every movement of the nations; + +let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude + + +8. Let the whole world bless our God + +and loudly sing his praises. + + +9. Our lives are in his hands, + +and he keeps our feet from stumbling. + + +10. You have tested us, O God; + +you have purified us like silver. + + +11. You captured us in your net + +and laid the burden of slavery on our backs. + + +12. Then you put a leader over us. + +We went through fire and flood, + +but you brought us to a place of great abundance. + + +13. Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings + +to fulfill the vows I made to you-- + +14. yes, the sacred vows that I made + +when I was in deep trouble. + + +15. That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you-- + +the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, + +and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude + + +16. Come and listen, all you who fear God, + +and I will tell you what he did for me. + + +17. For I cried out to him for help, + +praising him as I spoke. + + +18. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, + +the Lord would not have listened. + + +19. But God did listen! + +He paid attention to my prayer. + + +20. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer + +or withdraw his unfailing love from me. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_67.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_67.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e0964280 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_67.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +Psalm 67 + + +1. May God be merciful and bless us. + +May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude + + +2. May your ways be known throughout the earth, + +your saving power among people everywhere. + + +3. May the nations praise you, O God. + +Yes, may all the nations praise you. + + +4. Let the whole world sing for joy, + +because you govern the nations with justice + +and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude + + +5. May the nations praise you, O God. + +Yes, may all the nations praise you. + + +6. Then the earth will yield its harvests, + +and God, our God, will richly bless us. + + +7. Yes, God will bless us, + +and people all over the world will fear him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_68.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_68.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fdc758ea --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_68.md @@ -0,0 +1,201 @@ +Psalm 68 + + +1. Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies. + +Let those who hate God run for their lives. + + +2. Blow them away like smoke. + +Melt them like wax in a fire. + +Let the wicked perish in the presence of God. + + +3. But let the godly rejoice. + +Let them be glad in God's presence. + +Let them be filled with joy. + + +4. Sing praises to God and to his name! + Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. +His name is the LORD-- + +rejoice in his presence! + + +5. Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-- + +this is God, whose dwelling is holy. + + +6. God places the lonely in families; + +he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. + +But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. + + +7. O God, when you led your people out from Egypt, + +when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude + + +8. the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain + +before you, the God of Sinai, + +before God, the God of Israel. + + +9. You sent abundant rain, O God, + +to refresh the weary land. + + +10. There your people finally settled, + +and with a bountiful harvest, O God, + +you provided for your needy people. + + +11. The Lord gives the word, + and a great army brings the good news. + +12. Enemy kings and their armies flee, + +while the women of Israel divide the plunder. + + +13. Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures-- + +doves with wings of silver + +and feathers of gold. + + +14. The Almighty scattered the enemy kings + +like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon. + + +15. The mountains of Bashan are majestic, + +with many peaks stretching high into the sky. + + +16. Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains, + +at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live, + where the LORD himself will live forever? + +17. Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots, + +the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary. + + +18. When you ascended to the heights, + +you led a crowd of captives. + +You received gifts from the people, + +even from those who rebelled against you. + Now the LORD God will live among us there. + +19. Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! + +For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude + + +20. Our God is a God who saves! + The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death. + +21. But God will smash the heads of his enemies, + +crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways. + + +22. The Lord says, "I will bring my enemies down from Bashan; + +I will bring them up from the depths of the sea. + + +23. You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood, + +and even your dogs will get their share!" + + +24. Your procession has come into view, O God-- + +the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary. + + +25. Singers are in front, musicians behind; + +between them are young women playing tambourines. + + +26. Praise God, all you people of Israel; + praise the LORD, the source of Israel's life. + +27. Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way. + +Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah + +and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali. + + +28. Summon your might, O God. + +Display your power, O God, as you have in the past. + + +29. The kings of the earth are bringing tribute + +to your Temple in Jerusalem. + + +30. Rebuke these enemy nations-- + +these wild animals lurking in the reeds, + +this herd of bulls among the weaker calves. + +Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute. + +Scatter the nations that delight in war. + + +31. Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals; + let Ethiopia bring tribute to God. + +32. Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth. + +Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude + + +33. Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens, + +his mighty voice thundering from the sky. + + +34. Tell everyone about God's power. + +His majesty shines down on Israel; + +his strength is mighty in the heavens. + + +35. God is awesome in his sanctuary. + +The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. + +Praise be to God! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_69.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_69.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c3156ce9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_69.md @@ -0,0 +1,216 @@ +Psalm 69 + + +1. Save me, O God, + +for the floodwaters are up to my neck. + + +2. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; + +I can't find a foothold. + +I am in deep water, + +and the floods overwhelm me. + + +3. I am exhausted from crying for help; + +my throat is parched. + +My eyes are swollen with weeping, + +waiting for my God to help me. + + +4. Those who hate me without cause + +outnumber the hairs on my head. + +Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, + +demanding that I give back what I didn't steal. + + +5. O God, you know how foolish I am; + +my sins cannot be hidden from you. + + +6. Don't let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me, + O Sovereign LORD of Heaven's Armies. + +Don't let me cause them to be humiliated, + +O God of Israel. + + +7. For I endure insults for your sake; + +humiliation is written all over my face. + + +8. Even my own brothers pretend they don't know me; + +they treat me like a stranger. + + +9. Passion for your house has consumed me, + +and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. + + +10. When I weep and fast, + +they scoff at me. + + +11. When I dress in burlap to show sorrow, + +they make fun of me. + + +12. I am the favorite topic of town gossip, + +and all the drunks sing about me. + + +13. But I keep praying to you, LORD, + +hoping this time you will show me favor. + +In your unfailing love, O God, + +answer my prayer with your sure salvation. + + +14. Rescue me from the mud; + +don't let me sink any deeper! +Save me from those who hate me, + +and pull me from these deep waters. + + +15. Don't let the floods overwhelm me, + +or the deep waters swallow me, + +or the pit of death devour me. + + +16. Answer my prayers, O LORD, + +for your unfailing love is wonderful. + +Take care of me, + +for your mercy is so plentiful. + + +17. Don't hide from your servant; + +answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble! + + +18. Come and redeem me; + +free me from my enemies. + + +19. You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace. + +You see all that my enemies are doing. + + +20. Their insults have broken my heart, + +and I am in despair. + +If only one person would show some pity; + +if only one would turn and comfort me. + + +21. But instead, they give me poison for food; + +they offer me sour wine for my thirst. + + +22. Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare + and their prosperity become a trap. + +23. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, + and make their bodies shake continually. + +24. Pour out your fury on them; + +consume them with your burning anger. + + +25. Let their homes become desolate + +and their tents be deserted. + + +26. To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; + +they add to the pain of those you have hurt. + + +27. Pile their sins up high, + +and don't let them go free. + + +28. Erase their names from the Book of Life; + +don't let them be counted among the righteous. + + +29. I am suffering and in pain. + +Rescue me, O God, by your saving power. + + +30. Then I will praise God's name with singing, + +and I will honor him with thanksgiving. + + +31. For this will please the LORD more than sacrificing cattle, + +more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves. + + +32. The humble will see their God at work and be glad. + +Let all who seek God's help be encouraged. + + +33. For the LORD hears the cries of the needy; + +he does not despise his imprisoned people. + + +34. Praise him, O heaven and earth, + +the seas and all that move in them. + + +35. For God will save Jerusalem + +and rebuild the towns of Judah. + +His people will live there + +and settle in their own land. + + +36. The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, + +and those who love him will live there in safety. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_70.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_70.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..71a87abe --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_70.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +Psalm 70 + + +1. Please, God, rescue me! + Come quickly, LORD, and help me. + +2. May those who try to kill me + +be humiliated and put to shame. + +May those who take delight in my trouble + +be turned back in disgrace. + + +3. Let them be horrified by their shame, + +for they said, "Aha! We've got him now!" + + +4. But may all who search for you + +be filled with joy and gladness in you. + +May those who love your salvation + +repeatedly shout, "God is great!" + + +5. But as for me, I am poor and needy; + +please hurry to my aid, O God. + +You are my helper and my savior; + O LORD, do not delay. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_71.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_71.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9b1eced5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_71.md @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@ +Psalm 71 + + +1. O LORD, I have come to you for protection; + +don't let me be disgraced. + + +2. Save me and rescue me, + +for you do what is right. + +Turn your ear to listen to me, + +and set me free. + + +3. Be my rock of safety + +where I can always hide. + +Give the order to save me, + +for you are my rock and my fortress. + + +4. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, + +from the clutches of cruel oppressors. + + +5. O Lord, you alone are my hope. + I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. + +6. Yes, you have been with me from birth; + +from my mother's womb you have cared for me. + +No wonder I am always praising you! + + +7. My life is an example to many, + +because you have been my strength and protection. + + +8. That is why I can never stop praising you; + +I declare your glory all day long. + + +9. And now, in my old age, don't set me aside. + +Don't abandon me when my strength is failing. + + +10. For my enemies are whispering against me. + +They are plotting together to kill me. + + +11. They say, "God has abandoned him. + +Let's go and get him, + +for no one will help him now." + + +12. O God, don't stay away. + +My God, please hurry to help me. + + +13. Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers. + +Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me. + + +14. But I will keep on hoping for your help; + +I will praise you more and more. + + +15. I will tell everyone about your righteousness. + +All day long I will proclaim your saving power, + though I am not skilled with words. + +16. I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. + +I will tell everyone that you alone are just. + + +17. O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, + +and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. + + +18. Now that I am old and gray, + +do not abandon me, O God. + +Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, + +your mighty miracles to all who come after me. + + +19. Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. + +You have done such wonderful things. + +Who can compare with you, O God? + + +20. You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, + +but you will restore me to life again + +and lift me up from the depths of the earth. + + +21. You will restore me to even greater honor + +and comfort me once again. + + +22. Then I will praise you with music on the harp, + +because you are faithful to your promises, O my God. + +I will sing praises to you with a lyre, + +O Holy One of Israel. + + +23. I will shout for joy and sing your praises, + +for you have ransomed me. + + +24. I will tell about your righteous deeds + +all day long, +for everyone who tried to hurt me + +has been shamed and humiliated. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_72.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_72.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7db67480 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_72.md @@ -0,0 +1,124 @@ +Psalm 72 + + +1. Give your love of justice to the king, O God, + +and righteousness to the king's son. + + +2. +Help him judge your people in the right way; + +let the poor always be treated fairly. + + +3. May the mountains yield prosperity for all, + +and may the hills be fruitful. + + +4. +Help him to defend the poor, + +to rescue the children of the needy, + +and to crush their oppressors. + + +5. May they fear you as long as the sun shines, + +as long as the moon remains in the sky. + +Yes, forever! + + +6. May the king's rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass, + +like the showers that water the earth. + + +7. May all the godly flourish during his reign. + +May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more. + + +8. May he reign from sea to sea, + and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. + +9. Desert nomads will bow before him; + +his enemies will fall before him in the dust. + + +10. The western kings of Tarshish and other distant lands + +will bring him tribute. + +The eastern kings of Sheba and Seba + +will bring him gifts. + + +11. All kings will bow before him, + +and all nations will serve him. + + +12. He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; + +he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. + + +13. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, + +and he will rescue them. + + +14. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, + +for their lives are precious to him. + + +15. Long live the king! + +May the gold of Sheba be given to him. + +May the people always pray for him + +and bless him all day long. + + +16. May there be abundant grain throughout the land, + +flourishing even on the hilltops. + +May the fruit trees flourish like the trees of Lebanon, + +and may the people thrive like grass in a field. + + +17. May the king's name endure forever; + +may it continue as long as the sun shines. + +May all nations be blessed through him + +and bring him praise. + + +18. Praise the LORD God, the God of Israel, + +who alone does such wonderful things. + + +19. Praise his glorious name forever! + +Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. + +Amen and amen! + + +20. (This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.) + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_73.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_73.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d9426fad --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_73.md @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@ +Psalm 73 + + +1. Truly God is good to Israel, + +to those whose hearts are pure. + + +2. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. + +My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. + + +3. For I envied the proud + +when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. + + +4. They seem to live such painless lives; + +their bodies are so healthy and strong. + + +5. They don't have troubles like other people; + +they're not plagued with problems like everyone else. + + +6. They wear pride like a jeweled necklace + +and clothe themselves with cruelty. + + +7. These fat cats have everything + +their hearts could ever wish for! + + +8. They scoff and speak only evil; + +in their pride they seek to crush others. + + +9. They boast against the very heavens, + +and their words strut throughout the earth. + + +10. And so the people are dismayed and confused, + +drinking in all their words. + + +11. "What does God know?" they ask. + +"Does the Most High even know what's happening?" + + +12. Look at these wicked people-- + +enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. + + +13. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? + +Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? + + +14. I get nothing but trouble all day long; + +every morning brings me pain. + + +15. If I had really spoken this way to others, + +I would have been a traitor to your people. + + +16. So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. + +But what a difficult task it is! + + +17. Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, + +and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. + + +18. Truly, you put them on a slippery path + +and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. + + +19. In an instant they are destroyed, + +completely swept away by terrors. + + +20. When you arise, O Lord, + +you will laugh at their silly ideas + +as a person laughs at dreams in the morning. + + +21. Then I realized that my heart was bitter, + +and I was all torn up inside. + + +22. I was so foolish and ignorant-- + +I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. + + +23. Yet I still belong to you; + +you hold my right hand. + + +24. You guide me with your counsel, + +leading me to a glorious destiny. + + +25. Whom have I in heaven but you? + +I desire you more than anything on earth. + + +26. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, + +but God remains the strength of my heart; + +he is mine forever. + + +27. Those who desert him will perish, + +for you destroy those who abandon you. + + +28. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! + I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, + +and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_74.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_74.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..67df132b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_74.md @@ -0,0 +1,119 @@ +Psalm 74 + + +1. O God, why have you rejected us so long? + +Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture? + + +2. Remember that we are the people you chose long ago, + +the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession! + And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth. + +3. Walk through the awful ruins of the city; + +see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary. + + +4. There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries; + +there they set up their battle standards. + + +5. They swung their axes + +like woodcutters in a forest. + + +6. With axes and picks, + +they smashed the carved paneling. + + +7. They burned your sanctuary to the ground. + +They defiled the place that bears your name. + + +8. Then they thought, "Let's destroy everything!" + +So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped. + + +9. We no longer see your miraculous signs. + +All the prophets are gone, + +and no one can tell us when it will end. + + +10. How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you? + +Will you let them dishonor your name forever? + + +11. Why do you hold back your strong right hand? + +Unleash your powerful fist and destroy them. + + +12. You, O God, are my king from ages past, + +bringing salvation to the earth. + + +13. You split the sea by your strength + +and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. + + +14. You crushed the heads of Leviathan + +and let the desert animals eat him. + + +15. You caused the springs and streams to gush forth, + +and you dried up rivers that never run dry. + + +16. Both day and night belong to you; + you made the starlight and the sun. + +17. You set the boundaries of the earth, + +and you made both summer and winter. + + +18. See how these enemies insult you, LORD. + +A foolish nation has dishonored your name. + + +19. Don't let these wild beasts destroy your turtledoves. + +Don't forget your suffering people forever. + + +20. Remember your covenant promises, + +for the land is full of darkness and violence! + + +21. Don't let the downtrodden be humiliated again. + +Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name. + + +22. Arise, O God, and defend your cause. + +Remember how these fools insult you all day long. + + +23. Don't overlook what your enemies have said + +or their growing uproar. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_75.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_75.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f94ecfeb --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_75.md @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +Psalm 75 + + +1. We thank you, O God! + +We give thanks because you are near. + +People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds. + + +2. God says, "At the time I have planned, + +I will bring justice against the wicked. + + +3. When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, + +I am the one who keeps its foundations firm. Interlude + + +4. "I warned the proud, 'Stop your boasting!' + +I told the wicked, 'Don't raise your fists! + + +5. Don't raise your fists in defiance at the heavens + +or speak with such arrogance.'" + + +6. For no one on earth--from east or west, + +or even from the wilderness-- + should raise a defiant fist. + +7. It is God alone who judges; + +he decides who will rise and who will fall. + + +8. For the LORD holds a cup in his hand + +that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. + +He pours out the wine in judgment, + +and all the wicked must drink it, + +draining it to the dregs. + + +9. But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done; + +I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. + + +10. For God says, "I will break the strength of the wicked, + +but I will increase the power of the godly." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_76.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_76.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2ca03c63 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_76.md @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +Psalm 76 + + +1. God is honored in Judah; + +his name is great in Israel. + + +2. Jerusalem is where he lives; + +Mount Zion is his home. + + +3. There he has broken the fiery arrows of the enemy, + +the shields and swords and weapons of war. Interlude + + +4. You are glorious and more majestic + than the everlasting mountains. + +5. Our boldest enemies have been plundered. + +They lie before us in the sleep of death. + +No warrior could lift a hand against us. + + +6. At the blast of your breath, O God of Jacob, + +their horses and chariots lay still. + + +7. No wonder you are greatly feared! + +Who can stand before you when your anger explodes? + + +8. From heaven you sentenced your enemies; + +the earth trembled and stood silent before you. + + +9. You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God, + +and to rescue the oppressed of the earth. Interlude + + +10. Human defiance only enhances your glory, + for you use it as a weapon. + +11. Make vows to the LORD your God, and keep them. + +Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One. + + +12. For he breaks the pride of princes, + +and the kings of the earth fear him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_77.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_77.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9265180a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_77.md @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +Psalm 77 + + +1. I cry out to God; yes, I shout. + +Oh, that God would listen to me! + + +2. When I was in deep trouble, + +I searched for the Lord. + +All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, + +but my soul was not comforted. + + +3. I think of God, and I moan, + +overwhelmed with longing for his help. Interlude + + +4. You don't let me sleep. + +I am too distressed even to pray! + + +5. I think of the good old days, + +long since ended, + + +6. when my nights were filled with joyful songs. + +I search my soul and ponder the difference now. + + +7. Has the Lord rejected me forever? + +Will he never again be kind to me? + + +8. Is his unfailing love gone forever? + +Have his promises permanently failed? + + +9. Has God forgotten to be gracious? + +Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude + + +10. And I said, "This is my fate; + +the Most High has turned his hand against me." + + +11. But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; + +I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. + + +12. They are constantly in my thoughts. + +I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. + + +13. O God, your ways are holy. + +Is there any god as mighty as you? + + +14. You are the God of great wonders! + +You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations. + + +15. By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, + +the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Interlude + + +16. When the Red Sea saw you, O God, + +its waters looked and trembled! + +The sea quaked to its very depths. + + +17. The clouds poured down rain; + +the thunder rumbled in the sky. + +Your arrows of lightning flashed. + + +18. Your thunder roared from the whirlwind; + +the lightning lit up the world! + +The earth trembled and shook. + + +19. Your road led through the sea, + +your pathway through the mighty waters-- + +a pathway no one knew was there! + + +20. You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, + +with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_78.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_78.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1638c9e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_78.md @@ -0,0 +1,390 @@ +Psalm 78 + + +1. O my people, listen to my instructions. + +Open your ears to what I am saying, + + +2. for I will speak to you in a parable. + +I will teach you hidden lessons from our past-- + +3. stories we have heard and known, + +stories our ancestors handed down to us. + + +4. We will not hide these truths from our children; + +we will tell the next generation +about the glorious deeds of the LORD, + +about his power and his mighty wonders. + + +5. For he issued his laws to Jacob; + +he gave his instructions to Israel. + +He commanded our ancestors + +to teach them to their children, + + +6. so the next generation might know them-- + +even the children not yet born-- + +and they in turn will teach their own children. + + +7. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, + +not forgetting his glorious miracles + +and obeying his commands. + + +8. Then they will not be like their ancestors-- + +stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, + +refusing to give their hearts to God. + + +9. The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, + +turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. + + +10. They did not keep God's covenant + +and refused to live by his instructions. + + +11. They forgot what he had done-- + +the great wonders he had shown them, + + +12. the miracles he did for their ancestors + +on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt. + + +13. For he divided the sea and led them through, + +making the water stand up like walls! + + +14. In the daytime he led them by a cloud, + +and all night by a pillar of fire. + + +15. He split open the rocks in the wilderness + +to give them water, as from a gushing spring. + + +16. He made streams pour from the rock, + +making the waters flow down like a river! + + +17. Yet they kept on sinning against him, + +rebelling against the Most High in the desert. + + +18. They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, + +demanding the foods they craved. + + +19. They even spoke against God himself, saying, + +"God can't give us food in the wilderness. + + +20. Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, + +but he can't give his people bread and meat." + + +21. When the LORD heard them, he was furious. + +The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. + +Yes, his anger rose against Israel, + + +22. for they did not believe God + +or trust him to care for them. + + +23. But he commanded the skies to open; + +he opened the doors of heaven. + + +24. He rained down manna for them to eat; + +he gave them bread from heaven. + + +25. They ate the food of angels! + +God gave them all they could hold. + + +26. He released the east wind in the heavens + +and guided the south wind by his mighty power. + + +27. He rained down meat as thick as dust-- + +birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore! + + +28. He caused the birds to fall within their camp + +and all around their tents. + + +29. The people ate their fill. + +He gave them what they craved. + + +30. But before they satisfied their craving, + +while the meat was yet in their mouths, + + +31. the anger of God rose against them, + +and he killed their strongest men. + +He struck down the finest of Israel's young men. + + +32. But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. + +Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him. + + +33. So he ended their lives in failure, + +their years in terror. + + +34. When God began killing them, + +they finally sought him. + +They repented and took God seriously. + + +35. Then they remembered that God was their rock, + that God Most High was their redeemer. + +36. But all they gave him was lip service; + +they lied to him with their tongues. + + +37. Their hearts were not loyal to him. + +They did not keep his covenant. + + +38. Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins + +and did not destroy them all. + +Many times he held back his anger + +and did not unleash his fury! + + +39. For he remembered that they were merely mortal, + +gone like a breath of wind that never returns. + + +40. Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness + +and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland. + + +41. Again and again they tested God's patience + +and provoked the Holy One of Israel. + + +42. They did not remember his power + +and how he rescued them from their enemies. + + +43. They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, + +his wonders on the plain of Zoan. + + +44. For he turned their rivers into blood, + +so no one could drink from the streams. + + +45. He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them + +and hordes of frogs to ruin them. + + +46. He gave their crops to caterpillars; + +their harvest was consumed by locusts. + + +47. He destroyed their grapevines with hail + +and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet. + + +48. He abandoned their cattle to the hail, + +their livestock to bolts of lightning. + + +49. He loosed on them his fierce anger-- + +all his fury, rage, and hostility. + +He dispatched against them + +a band of destroying angels. + + +50. He turned his anger against them; + +he did not spare the Egyptians' lives + +but ravaged them with the plague. + + +51. He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, + the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt. + +52. But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, + +guiding them safely through the wilderness. + + +53. He kept them safe so they were not afraid; + +but the sea covered their enemies. + + +54. He brought them to the border of his holy land, + +to this land of hills he had won for them. + + +55. He drove out the nations before them; + +he gave them their inheritance by lot. + +He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes. + + +56. But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. + +They did not obey his laws. + + +57. They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. + +They were as undependable as a crooked bow. + + +58. They angered God by building shrines to other gods; + +they made him jealous with their idols. + + +59. When God heard them, he was very angry, + +and he completely rejected Israel. + + +60. Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, + +the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people. + + +61. He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; + +he surrendered his glory into enemy hands. + + +62. He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, + because he was so angry with his own people--his special possession. + +63. Their young men were killed by fire; + +their young women died before singing their wedding songs. + + +64. Their priests were slaughtered, + +and their widows could not mourn their deaths. + + +65. Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, + +like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor. + + +66. He routed his enemies + +and sent them to eternal shame. + + +67. But he rejected Joseph's descendants; + +he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. + + +68. He chose instead the tribe of Judah, + +and Mount Zion, which he loved. + + +69. There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, + +as solid and enduring as the earth. + + +70. He chose his servant David, + +calling him from the sheep pens. + + +71. He took David from tending the ewes and lambs + +and made him the shepherd of Jacob's descendants-- + +God's own people, Israel. + + +72. He cared for them with a true heart + +and led them with skillful hands. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_79.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_79.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..dfa82480 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_79.md @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +Psalm 79 + + +1. O God, pagan nations have conquered your land, + +your special possession. + +They have defiled your holy Temple + +and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. + + +2. They have left the bodies of your servants + +as food for the birds of heaven. + +The flesh of your godly ones + +has become food for the wild animals. + + +3. Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem; + +no one is left to bury the dead. + + +4. We are mocked by our neighbors, + +an object of scorn and derision to those around us. + + +5. O LORD, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? + +How long will your jealousy burn like fire? + + +6. Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you-- + +on kingdoms that do not call upon your name. + + +7. For they have devoured your people Israel, + +making the land a desolate wilderness. + + +8. Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors! + +Let your compassion quickly meet our needs, + +for we are on the brink of despair. + + +9. +Help us, O God of our salvation! + +Help us for the glory of your name. + +Save us and forgive our sins + +for the honor of your name. + + +10. Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff, + +asking, "Where is their God?" +Show us your vengeance against the nations, + +for they have spilled the blood of your servants. + + +11. Listen to the moaning of the prisoners. + +Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die. + + +12. O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times + +for the scorn they have hurled at you. + + +13. Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, + +will thank you forever and ever, + +praising your greatness from generation to generation. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_80.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_80.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5e1aa51f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_80.md @@ -0,0 +1,111 @@ +Psalm 80 + + +1. Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel, + +you who lead Joseph's descendants like a flock. + +O God, enthroned above the cherubim, + +display your radiant glory + + +2. to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. + +Show us your mighty power. + +Come to rescue us! + + +3. Turn us again to yourself, O God. + +Make your face shine down upon us. + +Only then will we be saved. + + +4. O LORD God of Heaven's Armies, + +how long will you be angry with our prayers? + + +5. You have fed us with sorrow + +and made us drink tears by the bucketful. + + +6. You have made us the scorn of neighboring nations. + +Our enemies treat us as a joke. + + +7. Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven's Armies. + +Make your face shine down upon us. + +Only then will we be saved. + + +8. You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine; + +you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land. + + +9. You cleared the ground for us, + +and we took root and filled the land. + + +10. Our shade covered the mountains; + +our branches covered the mighty cedars. + + +11. We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea; + our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River. + +12. But now, why have you broken down our walls + +so that all who pass by may steal our fruit? + + +13. The wild boar from the forest devours it, + +and the wild animals feed on it. + + +14. Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven's Armies. + +Look down from heaven and see our plight. + +Take care of this grapevine + + +15. that you yourself have planted, + +this son you have raised for yourself. + + +16. For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. + +May they perish at the sight of your frown. + + +17. Strengthen the man you love, + +the son of your choice. + + +18. Then we will never abandon you again. + +Revive us so we can call on your name once more. + + +19. Turn us again to yourself, O LORD God of Heaven's Armies. + +Make your face shine down upon us. + +Only then will we be saved. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_81.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_81.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..007a6709 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_81.md @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +Psalm 81 + + +1. Sing praises to God, our strength. + +Sing to the God of Jacob. + + +2. Sing! Beat the tambourine. + +Play the sweet lyre and the harp. + + +3. Blow the ram's horn at new moon, + +and again at full moon to call a festival! + + +4. For this is required by the decrees of Israel; + +it is a regulation of the God of Jacob. + + +5. He made it a law for Israel + +when he attacked Egypt to set us free. + +I heard an unknown voice say, + + +6. "Now I will take the load from your shoulders; + +I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. + + +7. You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; + +I answered out of the thundercloud + +and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Interlude + + +8. "Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. + +O Israel, if you would only listen to me! + + +9. You must never have a foreign god; + +you must not bow down before a false god. + + +10. For it was I, the LORD your God, + +who rescued you from the land of Egypt. + +Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. + + +11. "But no, my people wouldn't listen. + +Israel did not want me around. + + +12. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, + +living according to their own ideas. + + +13. Oh, that my people would listen to me! + +Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! + + +14. How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! + +How soon my hands would be upon their foes! + + +15. Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him; + +they would be doomed forever. + + +16. But I would feed you with the finest wheat. + +I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_82.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_82.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0f0a294a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_82.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +Psalm 82 + + +1. God presides over heaven's court; + +he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings: + + +2. "How long will you hand down unjust decisions + +by favoring the wicked? Interlude + + +3. "Give justice to the poor and the orphan; + +uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. + + +4. Rescue the poor and helpless; + +deliver them from the grasp of evil people. + + +5. But these oppressors know nothing; + +they are so ignorant! +They wander about in darkness, + +while the whole world is shaken to the core. + + +6. I say, 'You are gods; + +you are all children of the Most High. + + +7. But you will die like mere mortals + +and fall like every other ruler.'" + + +8. Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, + +for all the nations belong to you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_83.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_83.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c115069c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_83.md @@ -0,0 +1,95 @@ +Psalm 83 + + +1. O God, do not be silent! + +Do not be deaf. + +Do not be quiet, O God. + + +2. Don't you hear the uproar of your enemies? + +Don't you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? + + +3. They devise crafty schemes against your people; + +they conspire against your precious ones. + + +4. "Come," they say, "let us wipe out Israel as a nation. + +We will destroy the very memory of its existence." + + +5. Yes, this was their unanimous decision. + +They signed a treaty as allies against you-- + +6. these Edomites and Ishmaelites; + +Moabites and Hagrites; + + +7. Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; + +and people from Philistia and Tyre. + + +8. Assyria has joined them, too, + +and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Interlude + + +9. Do to them as you did to the Midianites + +and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. + + +10. They were destroyed at Endor, + +and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. + + +11. Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. + +Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, + + +12. for they said, "Let us seize for our own use + +these pasturelands of God!" + + +13. O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, + +like chaff before the wind! + + +14. As a fire burns a forest + +and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, + + +15. chase them with your fierce storm; + +terrify them with your tempest. + + +16. Utterly disgrace them + until they submit to your name, O LORD. + +17. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. + +Let them die in disgrace. + + +18. Then they will learn that you alone are called the LORD, + +that you alone are the Most High, + +supreme over all the earth. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_84.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_84.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d4c3ba3e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_84.md @@ -0,0 +1,72 @@ +Psalm 84 + + +1. How lovely is your dwelling place, + O LORD of Heaven's Armies. + +2. I long, yes, I faint with longing + to enter the courts of the LORD. + +With my whole being, body and soul, + +I will shout joyfully to the living God. + + +3. Even the sparrow finds a home, + +and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young +at a place near your altar, + O LORD of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God! + +4. What joy for those who can live in your house, + +always singing your praises. Interlude + + +5. What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD, + +who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. + + +6. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, + +it will become a place of refreshing springs. + +The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. + + +7. They will continue to grow stronger, + and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem. + +8. O LORD God of Heaven's Armies, hear my prayer. + +Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude + + +9. O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! + +Show favor to the one you have anointed. + + +10. A single day in your courts + +is better than a thousand anywhere else! +I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God + +than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. + + +11. For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. + +He gives us grace and glory. +The LORD will withhold no good thing + +from those who do what is right. + + +12. O LORD of Heaven's Armies, + +what joy for those who trust in you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_85.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_85.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2bd7fbdc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_85.md @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +Psalm 85 + + +1. LORD, you poured out blessings on your land! + You restored the fortunes of Israel. + +2. You forgave the guilt of your people-- + +yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude + + +3. You held back your fury. + +You kept back your blazing anger. + + +4. Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. + +Put aside your anger against us once more. + + +5. Will you be angry with us always? + +Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? + + +6. Won't you revive us again, + +so your people can rejoice in you? + + +7. Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, + +and grant us your salvation. + + +8. I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, + +for he speaks peace to his faithful people. + +But let them not return to their foolish ways. + + +9. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, + +so our land will be filled with his glory. + + +10. Unfailing love and truth have met together. + +Righteousness and peace have kissed! + + +11. Truth springs up from the earth, + +and righteousness smiles down from heaven. + + +12. Yes, the LORD pours down his blessings. + +Our land will yield its bountiful harvest. + + +13. Righteousness goes as a herald before him, + +preparing the way for his steps. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_86.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_86.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4e9e03f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_86.md @@ -0,0 +1,102 @@ +Psalm 86 + + +1. Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; + +answer me, for I need your help. + + +2. Protect me, for I am devoted to you. + +Save me, for I serve you and trust you. + +You are my God. + + +3. Be merciful to me, O Lord, + +for I am calling on you constantly. + + +4. Give me happiness, O Lord, + +for I give myself to you. + + +5. O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, + +so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. + + +6. Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD; + +hear my urgent cry. + + +7. I will call to you whenever I'm in trouble, + +and you will answer me. + + +8. No pagan god is like you, O Lord. + +None can do what you do! + + +9. All the nations you made + +will come and bow before you, Lord; + +they will praise your holy name. + + +10. For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. + +You alone are God. + + +11. Teach me your ways, O LORD, + +that I may live according to your truth! +Grant me purity of heart, + +so that I may honor you. + + +12. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. + +I will give glory to your name forever, + + +13. for your love for me is very great. + You have rescued me from the depths of death. + +14. O God, insolent people rise up against me; + +a violent gang is trying to kill me. + +You mean nothing to them. + + +15. But you, O Lord, + +are a God of compassion and mercy, +slow to get angry + +and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. + + +16. Look down and have mercy on me. + +Give your strength to your servant; + +save me, the son of your servant. + + +17. Send me a sign of your favor. + +Then those who hate me will be put to shame, + for you, O LORD, help and comfort me. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_87.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_87.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..edc5c479 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_87.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +Psalm 87 + + +1. On the holy mountain + stands the city founded by the LORD. + +2. He loves the city of Jerusalem + more than any other city in Israel. + +3. O city of God, + +what glorious things are said of you! Interlude + + +4. I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me-- + also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia. + +They have all become citizens of Jerusalem! + + +5. Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, + +"Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there." + +And the Most High will personally bless this city. + + +6. When the LORD registers the nations, he will say, + +"They have all become citizens of Jerusalem." Interlude + + +7. The people will play flutes and sing, + +"The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_88.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_88.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2e73d9e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_88.md @@ -0,0 +1,99 @@ +Psalm 88 + + +1. O LORD, God of my salvation, + +I cry out to you by day. + +I come to you at night. + + +2. Now hear my prayer; + +listen to my cry. + + +3. For my life is full of troubles, + and death draws near. + +4. I am as good as dead, + +like a strong man with no strength left. + + +5. They have left me among the dead, + +and I lie like a corpse in a grave. + +I am forgotten, + +cut off from your care. + + +6. You have thrown me into the lowest pit, + +into the darkest depths. + + +7. Your anger weighs me down; + +with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude + + +8. You have driven my friends away + +by making me repulsive to them. + +I am in a trap with no way of escape. + + +9. My eyes are blinded by my tears. +Each day I beg for your help, O LORD; + +I lift my hands to you for mercy. + + +10. Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? + +Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude + + +11. Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? + Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction? + +12. Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? + +Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness? + + +13. O LORD, I cry out to you. + +I will keep on pleading day by day. + + +14. O LORD, why do you reject me? + +Why do you turn your face from me? + + +15. I have been sick and close to death since my youth. + +I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors. + + +16. Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. + +Your terrors have paralyzed me. + + +17. They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. + +They have engulfed me completely. + + +18. You have taken away my companions and loved ones. + +Darkness is my closest friend. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_89.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_89.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5bb32547 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_89.md @@ -0,0 +1,263 @@ +Psalm 89 + + +1. I will sing of the LORD's unfailing love forever! + +Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. + + +2. Your unfailing love will last forever. + +Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. + + +3. The LORD said, "I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. + +I have sworn this oath to him: + + +4. 'I will establish your descendants as kings forever; + +they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.'" Interlude + + +5. All heaven will praise your great wonders, LORD; + +myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. + + +6. For who in all of heaven can compare with the LORD? + What mightiest angel is anything like the LORD? + +7. The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. + +He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. + + +8. O LORD God of Heaven's Armies! + Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O LORD? + +You are entirely faithful. + + +9. You rule the oceans. + +You subdue their storm-tossed waves. + + +10. You crushed the great sea monster. + +You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. + + +11. The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; + everything in the world is yours--you created it all. + +12. You created north and south. + +Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name. + + +13. Powerful is your arm! + +Strong is your hand! + +Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength. + + +14. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. + +Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. + + +15. Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, + for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD. + +16. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. + +They exult in your righteousness. + + +17. You are their glorious strength. + +It pleases you to make us strong. + + +18. Yes, our protection comes from the LORD, + +and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king. + + +19. Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people. + +You said, "I have raised up a warrior. + +I have selected him from the common people to be king. + + +20. I have found my servant David. + +I have anointed him with my holy oil. + + +21. I will steady him with my hand; + +with my powerful arm I will make him strong. + + +22. His enemies will not defeat him, + +nor will the wicked overpower him. + + +23. I will beat down his adversaries before him + +and destroy those who hate him. + + +24. My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, + +and by my authority he will grow in power. + + +25. I will extend his rule over the sea, + +his dominion over the rivers. + + +26. And he will call out to me, 'You are my Father, + +my God, and the Rock of my salvation.' + + +27. I will make him my firstborn son, + +the mightiest king on earth. + + +28. I will love him and be kind to him forever; + +my covenant with him will never end. + + +29. I will preserve an heir for him; + +his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. + + +30. But if his descendants forsake my instructions + +and fail to obey my regulations, + + +31. if they do not obey my decrees + +and fail to keep my commands, + + +32. then I will punish their sin with the rod, + +and their disobedience with beating. + + +33. But I will never stop loving him + +nor fail to keep my promise to him. + + +34. No, I will not break my covenant; + +I will not take back a single word I said. + + +35. I have sworn an oath to David, + +and in my holiness I cannot lie: + + +36. His dynasty will go on forever; + +his kingdom will endure as the sun. + + +37. It will be as eternal as the moon, + +my faithful witness in the sky!" Interlude + + +38. But now you have rejected him and cast him off. + +You are angry with your anointed king. + + +39. You have renounced your covenant with him; + +you have thrown his crown in the dust. + + +40. You have broken down the walls protecting him + +and ruined every fort defending him. + + +41. Everyone who comes along has robbed him, + +and he has become a joke to his neighbors. + + +42. You have strengthened his enemies + +and made them all rejoice. + + +43. You have made his sword useless + +and refused to help him in battle. + + +44. You have ended his splendor + +and overturned his throne. + + +45. You have made him old before his time + +and publicly disgraced him. Interlude + + +46. O LORD, how long will this go on? + +Will you hide yourself forever? + +How long will your anger burn like fire? + + +47. Remember how short my life is, + +how empty and futile this human existence! + + +48. No one can live forever; all will die. + No one can escape the power of the grave. Interlude + +49. Lord, where is your unfailing love? + +You promised it to David with a faithful pledge. + + +50. Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced! + +I carry in my heart the insults of so many people. + + +51. Your enemies have mocked me, O LORD; + +they mock your anointed king wherever he goes. + + +52. Praise the LORD forever! + +Amen and amen! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_90.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_90.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3f1e53b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_90.md @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +Psalm 90 + + +1. Lord, through all the generations + +you have been our home! + + +2. Before the mountains were born, + +before you gave birth to the earth and the world, + +from beginning to end, you are God. + + +3. You turn people back to dust, saying, + +"Return to dust, you mortals!" + + +4. For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, + +as brief as a few night hours. + + +5. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. + +They are like grass that springs up in the morning. + + +6. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, + +but by evening it is dry and withered. + + +7. We wither beneath your anger; + +we are overwhelmed by your fury. + + +8. You spread out our sins before you-- + our secret sins--and you see them all. + +9. We live our lives beneath your wrath, + +ending our years with a groan. + + +10. Seventy years are given to us! + +Some even live to eighty. + +But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; + +soon they disappear, and we fly away. + + +11. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? + +Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. + + +12. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, + +so that we may grow in wisdom. + + +13. O LORD, come back to us! + +How long will you delay? + +Take pity on your servants! + + +14. Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, + +so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. + + +15. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! + +Replace the evil years with good. + + +16. Let us, your servants, see you work again; + +let our children see your glory. + + +17. And may the Lord our God show us his approval + +and make our efforts successful. + +Yes, make our efforts successful! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_91.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_91.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a3394c2a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_91.md @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@ +Psalm 91 + + +1. Those who live in the shelter of the Most High + +will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. + + +2. This I declare about the LORD: +He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; + +he is my God, and I trust him. + + +3. For he will rescue you from every trap + +and protect you from deadly disease. + + +4. He will cover you with his feathers. + +He will shelter you with his wings. + +His faithful promises are your armor and protection. + + +5. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, + +nor the arrow that flies in the day. + + +6. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, + +nor the disaster that strikes at midday. + + +7. Though a thousand fall at your side, + +though ten thousand are dying around you, + +these evils will not touch you. + + +8. Just open your eyes, + +and see how the wicked are punished. + + +9. If you make the LORD your refuge, + +if you make the Most High your shelter, + + +10. no evil will conquer you; + +no plague will come near your home. + + +11. For he will order his angels + +to protect you wherever you go. + + +12. They will hold you up with their hands + +so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. + + +13. You will trample upon lions and cobras; + +you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! + + +14. The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me. + +I will protect those who trust in my name. + + +15. When they call on me, I will answer; + +I will be with them in trouble. + +I will rescue and honor them. + + +16. I will reward them with a long life + +and give them my salvation." + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_92.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_92.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6f514801 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_92.md @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +Psalm 92 + + +1. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, + +to sing praises to the Most High. + + +2. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, + +your faithfulness in the evening, + + +3. accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, + +and the melody of a lyre. + + +4. You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! + +I sing for joy because of what you have done. + + +5. O LORD, what great works you do! + +And how deep are your thoughts. + + +6. Only a simpleton would not know, + +and only a fool would not understand this: + + +7. Though the wicked sprout like weeds + +and evildoers flourish, + +they will be destroyed forever. + + +8. But you, O LORD, will be exalted forever. + +9. Your enemies, LORD, will surely perish; + +all evildoers will be scattered. + + +10. But you have made me as strong as a wild ox. + +You have anointed me with the finest oil. + + +11. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; + +my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents. + + +12. But the godly will flourish like palm trees + +and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. + + +13. For they are transplanted to the LORD's own house. + +They flourish in the courts of our God. + + +14. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; + +they will remain vital and green. + + +15. They will declare, "The LORD is just! + +He is my rock! + +There is no evil in him!" + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_93.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_93.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..56ef7b2b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_93.md @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +Psalm 93 + + +1. The LORD is king! He is robed in majesty. + Indeed, the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength. + +The world stands firm + +and cannot be shaken. + + +2. Your throne, O LORD, has stood from time immemorial. + +You yourself are from the everlasting past. + + +3. The floods have risen up, O LORD. + +The floods have roared like thunder; + +the floods have lifted their pounding waves. + + +4. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, + +mightier than the breakers on the shore-- + the LORD above is mightier than these! + +5. Your royal laws cannot be changed. + Your reign, O LORD, is holy forever and ever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_94.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_94.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..488ef567 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_94.md @@ -0,0 +1,112 @@ +Psalm 94 + + +1. O LORD, the God of vengeance, + +O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth! + + +2. Arise, O Judge of the earth. + +Give the proud what they deserve. + + +3. How long, O LORD? + +How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? + + +4. How long will they speak with arrogance? + +How long will these evil people boast? + + +5. They crush your people, LORD, + +hurting those you claim as your own. + + +6. They kill widows and foreigners + +and murder orphans. + + +7. "The LORD isn't looking," they say, + "and besides, the God of Israel doesn't care." + +8. Think again, you fools! + +When will you finally catch on? + + +9. Is he deaf--the one who made your ears? + Is he blind--the one who formed your eyes? + +10. He punishes the nations--won't he also punish you? + He knows everything--doesn't he also know what you are doing? + +11. The LORD knows people's thoughts; + +he knows they are worthless! + + +12. Joyful are those you discipline, LORD, + +those you teach with your instructions. + + +13. You give them relief from troubled times + +until a pit is dug to capture the wicked. + + +14. The LORD will not reject his people; + +he will not abandon his special possession. + + +15. Judgment will again be founded on justice, + +and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it. + + +16. Who will protect me from the wicked? + +Who will stand up for me against evildoers? + + +17. Unless the LORD had helped me, + +I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. + + +18. I cried out, "I am slipping!" + but your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. + +19. When doubts filled my mind, + +your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. + + +20. Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side-- + +leaders whose decrees permit injustice? + + +21. They gang up against the righteous + +and condemn the innocent to death. + + +22. But the LORD is my fortress; + +my God is the mighty rock where I hide. + + +23. God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. + +He will destroy them for their sins. + The LORD our God will destroy them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_95.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_95.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ba32f299 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_95.md @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +Psalm 95 + + +1. Come, let us sing to the LORD! + +Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. + + +2. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. + +Let us sing psalms of praise to him. + + +3. For the LORD is a great God, + +a great King above all gods. + + +4. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth + +and the mightiest mountains. + + +5. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. + +His hands formed the dry land, too. + + +6. Come, let us worship and bow down. + Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, + +7. for he is our God. + +We are the people he watches over, + +the flock under his care. + +If only you would listen to his voice today! + + +8. The LORD says, "Don't harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, + +as they did at Massah in the wilderness. + + +9. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, + +even though they saw everything I did. + + +10. For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, +'They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. + +They refuse to do what I tell them.' + + +11. So in my anger I took an oath: + +'They will never enter my place of rest.'" + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_96.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_96.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7f93817b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_96.md @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +Psalm 96 + + +1. Sing a new song to the LORD! + Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! + +2. Sing to the LORD; praise his name. + +Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. + + +3. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. + +Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. + + +4. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! + +He is to be feared above all gods. + + +5. The gods of other nations are mere idols, + but the LORD made the heavens! + +6. Honor and majesty surround him; + +strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. + + +7. O nations of the world, recognize the LORD; + recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong. + +8. Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! + +Bring your offering and come into his courts. + + +9. Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. + +Let all the earth tremble before him. + + +10. Tell all the nations, "The LORD reigns!" + +The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. + +He will judge all peoples fairly. + + +11. Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! + +Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! + + +12. Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! + +Let the trees of the forest sing for joy + + +13. before the LORD, for he is coming! + +He is coming to judge the earth. + +He will judge the world with justice, + +and the nations with his truth. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_97.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_97.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d9760935 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_97.md @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@ +Psalm 97 + + +1. The LORD is king! + +Let the earth rejoice! + +Let the farthest coastlands be glad. + + +2. Dark clouds surround him. + +Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. + + +3. Fire spreads ahead of him + +and burns up all his foes. + + +4. His lightning flashes out across the world. + +The earth sees and trembles. + + +5. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, + +before the Lord of all the earth. + + +6. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; + +every nation sees his glory. + + +7. Those who worship idols are disgraced-- + +all who brag about their worthless gods-- + +for every god must bow to him. + + +8. Jerusalem has heard and rejoiced, + +and all the towns of Judah are glad + because of your justice, O LORD! + +9. For you, O LORD, are supreme over all the earth; + +you are exalted far above all gods. + + +10. You who love the LORD, hate evil! + +He protects the lives of his godly people + +and rescues them from the power of the wicked. + + +11. Light shines on the godly, + +and joy on those whose hearts are right. + + +12. May all who are godly rejoice in the LORD + +and praise his holy name! + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_98.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_98.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7c6f2bf7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_98.md @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +Psalm 98 + + +1. Sing a new song to the LORD, + +for he has done wonderful deeds. + +His right hand has won a mighty victory; + +his holy arm has shown his saving power! + + +2. The LORD has announced his victory + +and has revealed his righteousness to every nation! + + +3. He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. + +The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. + + +4. Shout to the LORD, all the earth; + +break out in praise and sing for joy! + + +5. Sing your praise to the LORD with the harp, + +with the harp and melodious song, + + +6. with trumpets and the sound of the ram's horn. + Make a joyful symphony before the LORD, the King! + +7. Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! + +Let the earth and all living things join in. + + +8. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! + +Let the hills sing out their songs of joy + + +9. before the LORD, + +for he is coming to judge the earth. + +He will judge the world with justice, + +and the nations with fairness. + + + diff --git a/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_99.md b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_99.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..70c8678c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/19_Psalms/Chapter_99.md @@ -0,0 +1,60 @@ +Psalm 99 + + +1. The LORD is king! + +Let the nations tremble! +He sits on his throne between the cherubim. + +Let the whole earth quake! + + +2. The LORD sits in majesty in Jerusalem, + +exalted above all the nations. + + +3. Let them praise your great and awesome name. + +Your name is holy! + + +4. Mighty King, lover of justice, + +you have established fairness. + +You have acted with justice + and righteousness throughout Israel. + +5. Exalt the LORD our God! + +Bow low before his feet, for he is holy! + + +6. Moses and Aaron were among his priests; + +Samuel also called on his name. +They cried to the LORD for help, + +and he answered them. + + +7. He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud, + +and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them. + + +8. O LORD our God, you answered them. + +You were a forgiving God to them, + +but you punished them when they went wrong. + + +9. Exalt the LORD our God, + +and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, + for the LORD our God is holy! + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a260bced --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,110 @@ +# Chapter 1 +1. This is Solomon's song of songs, more wonderful than any other. + +2. Kiss me and kiss me again, + +for your love is sweeter than wine. + + +3. How pleasing is your fragrance; + +your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils. + +No wonder all the young women love you! + + +4. Take me with you; come, let's run! + +The king has brought me into his bedroom. + +How happy we are for you, O king. + +We praise your love even more than wine. + +How right they are to adore you. + + +5. I am dark but beautiful, + +O women of Jerusalem-- +dark as the tents of Kedar, + +dark as the curtains of Solomon's tents. + + +6. Don't stare at me because I am dark-- + +the sun has darkened my skin. + +My brothers were angry with me; + +they forced me to care for their vineyards, + so I couldn't care for myself--my own vineyard. + +7. Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today? + +Where will you rest your sheep at noon? +For why should I wander like a prostitute + +among your friends and their flocks? + + +8. If you don't know, O most beautiful woman, + +follow the trail of my flock, + +and graze your young goats by the shepherds' tents. + + +9. You are as exciting, my darling, + +as a mare among Pharaoh's stallions. + + +10. How lovely are your cheeks; + +your earrings set them afire! +How lovely is your neck, + +enhanced by a string of jewels. + + +11. We will make for you earrings of gold + +and beads of silver. + + +12. The king is lying on his couch, + +enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume. + + +13. My lover is like a sachet of myrrh + +lying between my breasts. + + +14. He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms + +from the vineyards of En-gedi. + + +15. How beautiful you are, my darling, + +how beautiful! + +Your eyes are like doves. + + +16. You are so handsome, my love, + +pleasing beyond words! +The soft grass is our bed; + + +17. fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, + +and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters. + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fbd9e6ed --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,122 @@ +# Chapter 2 +1. I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain, + +the lily of the valley. + + +2. Like a lily among thistles + +is my darling among young women. + + +3. Like the finest apple tree in the orchard + +is my lover among other young men. + +I sit in his delightful shade + +and taste his delicious fruit. + + +4. He escorts me to the banquet hall; + +it's obvious how much he loves me. + + +5. Strengthen me with raisin cakes, + +refresh me with apples, + +for I am weak with love. + + +6. His left arm is under my head, + +and his right arm embraces me. + + +7. Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, + +by the gazelles and wild deer, + not to awaken love until the time is right. + +8. Ah, I hear my lover coming! + +He is leaping over the mountains, + +bounding over the hills. + + +9. My lover is like a swift gazelle + +or a young stag. + +Look, there he is behind the wall, + +looking through the window, + +peering into the room. + + +10. My lover said to me, + +" +Rise up, my darling! + +Come away with me, my fair one! + + +11. Look, the winter is past, + +and the rains are over and gone. + + +12. The flowers are springing up, + the season of singing birds has come, + +and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. + + +13. The fig trees are forming young fruit, + +and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. + +Rise up, my darling! + +Come away with me, my fair one!" + + +14. My dove is hiding behind the rocks, + +behind an outcrop on the cliff. + +Let me see your face; + +let me hear your voice. + +For your voice is pleasant, + +and your face is lovely. + + +15. Catch all the foxes, + +those little foxes, +before they ruin the vineyard of love, + +for the grapevines are blossoming! + + +16. My lover is mine, and I am his. + +He browses among the lilies. + + +17. Before the dawn breezes blow + +and the night shadows flee, +return to me, my love, like a gazelle + or a young stag on the rugged mountains. + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e7eb7116 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +# Chapter 3 +1. One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. + +I yearned for him, but he did not come. + + +2. So I said to myself, "I will get up and roam the city, + +searching in all its streets and squares. + +I will search for the one I love." + +So I searched everywhere but did not find him. + + +3. The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, + +and I asked, "Have you seen the one I love?" + + +4. Then scarcely had I left them + +when I found my love! +I caught and held him tightly, + +then I brought him to my mother's house, + +into my mother's bed, where I had been conceived. + + +5. Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, + +by the gazelles and wild deer, + not to awaken love until the time is right. + +6. Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness + +like a cloud of smoke? +Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense + +and every kind of spice? + + +7. Look, it is Solomon's carriage, + +surrounded by sixty heroic men, + +the best of Israel's soldiers. + + +8. They are all skilled swordsmen, + +experienced warriors. + +Each wears a sword on his thigh, + +ready to defend the king against an attack in the night. + + +9. King Solomon's carriage is built + +of wood imported from Lebanon. + + +10. Its posts are silver, + +its canopy gold; + +its cushions are purple. + +It was decorated with love + +by the young women of Jerusalem. + + +11. Come out to see King Solomon, + young women of Jerusalem. + +He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day, + +his most joyous day. + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fda83a24 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,130 @@ +# Chapter 4 +1. You are beautiful, my darling, + +beautiful beyond words. + +Your eyes are like doves + +behind your veil. + +Your hair falls in waves, + +like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. + + +2. Your teeth are as white as sheep, + +recently shorn and freshly washed. + +Your smile is flawless, + each tooth matched with its twin. + +3. Your lips are like scarlet ribbon; + +your mouth is inviting. + +Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates + +behind your veil. + + +4. Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David, + +jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes. + + +5. Your breasts are like two fawns, + +twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies. + + +6. Before the dawn breezes blow + +and the night shadows flee, +I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh + +and to the hill of frankincense. + + +7. You are altogether beautiful, my darling, + +beautiful in every way. + + +8. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, + +come with me from Lebanon. +Come down from Mount Amana, + +from the peaks of Senir and Hermon, +where the lions have their dens + +and leopards live among the hills. + + +9. You have captured my heart, + +my treasure, my bride. + +You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, + +with a single jewel of your necklace. + + +10. Your love delights me, + +my treasure, my bride. + +Your love is better than wine, + +your perfume more fragrant than spices. + + +11. Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. + +Honey and milk are under your tongue. + +Your clothes are scented + +like the cedars of Lebanon. + + +12. You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride, + +a secluded spring, a hidden fountain. + + +13. Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates + +with rare spices-- +henna with nard, + + +14. nard and saffron, + +fragrant calamus and cinnamon, +with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, + +and every other lovely spice. + + +15. You are a garden fountain, + +a well of fresh water + +streaming down from Lebanon's mountains. + + +16. Awake, north wind! + +Rise up, south wind! +Blow on my garden + +and spread its fragrance all around. + +Come into your garden, my love; + +taste its finest fruits. + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3bf2cdbc --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,144 @@ +# Chapter 5 +1. I have entered my garden, my treasure, my bride! + +I gather myrrh with my spices +and eat honeycomb with my honey. + +I drink wine with my milk. + +Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! + +Yes, drink deeply of your love! + + +2. I slept, but my heart was awake, + +when I heard my lover knocking and calling: +"Open to me, my treasure, my darling, + +my dove, my perfect one. + +My head is drenched with dew, + +my hair with the dampness of the night." + + +3. But I responded, +"I have taken off my robe. + +Should I get dressed again? +I have washed my feet. + +Should I get them soiled?" + + +4. My lover tried to unlatch the door, + +and my heart thrilled within me. + + +5. I jumped up to open the door for my love, + +and my hands dripped with perfume. + +My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh + +as I pulled back the bolt. + + +6. I opened to my lover, + +but he was gone! + +My heart sank. + +I searched for him + +but could not find him anywhere. + +I called to him, + +but there was no reply. + + +7. The night watchmen found me + +as they made their rounds. + +They beat and bruised me + +and stripped off my veil, + +those watchmen on the walls. + + +8. Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem-- + +If you find my lover, + +tell him I am weak with love. + + +9. Why is your lover better than all others, + +O woman of rare beauty? +What makes your lover so special + +that we must promise this? + + +10. My lover is dark and dazzling, + +better than ten thousand others! + + +11. His head is finest gold, + +his wavy hair is black as a raven. + + +12. His eyes sparkle like doves + +beside springs of water; +they are set like jewels + +washed in milk. + + +13. His cheeks are like gardens of spices + +giving off fragrance. + +His lips are like lilies, + +perfumed with myrrh. + + +14. His arms are like rounded bars of gold, + +set with beryl. + +His body is like bright ivory, + +glowing with lapis lazuli. + + +15. His legs are like marble pillars + +set in sockets of finest gold. + +His posture is stately, + +like the noble cedars of Lebanon. + + +16. His mouth is sweetness itself; + +he is desirable in every way. + +Such, O women of Jerusalem, + +is my lover, my friend. + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cbd85873 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@ +# Chapter 6 +1. Where has your lover gone, + +O woman of rare beauty? +Which way did he turn + +so we can help you find him? + + +2. My lover has gone down to his garden, + +to his spice beds, +to browse in the gardens + +and gather the lilies. + + +3. I am my lover's, and my lover is mine. + +He browses among the lilies. + + +4. You are beautiful, my darling, + +like the lovely city of Tirzah. + +Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem, + +as majestic as an army with billowing banners. + + +5. Turn your eyes away, + +for they overpower me. + +Your hair falls in waves, + +like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. + + +6. Your teeth are as white as sheep + +that are freshly washed. + +Your smile is flawless, + each tooth matched with its twin. + +7. Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates + +behind your veil. + + +8. Even among sixty queens + +and eighty concubines + +and countless young women, + + +9. I would still choose my dove, my perfect one-- + +the favorite of her mother, + +dearly loved by the one who bore her. + +The young women see her and praise her; + +even queens and royal concubines sing her praises: + + +10. "Who is this, arising like the dawn, + +as fair as the moon, +as bright as the sun, + +as majestic as an army with billowing banners?" + + +11. I went down to the grove of walnut trees + +and out to the valley to see the new spring growth, +to see whether the grapevines had budded + +or the pomegranates were in bloom. + + +12. Before I realized it, + my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man. + +13. Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. + +Come back, come back, that we may see you again. + +Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, + as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..37b772a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@ +# Chapter 7 +1. How beautiful are your sandaled feet, + +O queenly maiden. + +Your rounded thighs are like jewels, + +the work of a skilled craftsman. + + +2. Your navel is perfectly formed + +like a goblet filled with mixed wine. + +Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat + +bordered with lilies. + + +3. Your breasts are like two fawns, + +twin fawns of a gazelle. + + +4. Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower. + +Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon + +by the gate of Bath-rabbim. + +Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon + +overlooking Damascus. + + +5. Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel, + +and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty. + +The king is held captive by its tresses. + + +6. Oh, how beautiful you are! + +How pleasing, my love, how full of delights! + + +7. You are slender like a palm tree, + +and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit. + + +8. I said, "I will climb the palm tree + +and take hold of its fruit." +May your breasts be like grape clusters, + +and the fragrance of your breath like apples. + + +9. May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine-- +Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover, + flowing gently over lips and teeth. + +10. I am my lover's, + +and he claims me as his own. + + +11. Come, my love, let us go out to the fields + and spend the night among the wildflowers. + +12. Let us get up early and go to the vineyards + +to see if the grapevines have budded, +if the blossoms have opened, + +and if the pomegranates have bloomed. + +There I will give you my love. + + +13. There the mandrakes give off their fragrance, + +and the finest fruits are at our door, +new delights as well as old, + +which I have saved for you, my lover. + + + diff --git a/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ddec7691 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/22_Song of Solomon/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,117 @@ +# Chapter 8 +1. Oh, I wish you were my brother, + +who nursed at my mother's breasts. + +Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, + +and no one would criticize me. + + +2. I would bring you to my childhood home, + and there you would teach me. + +I would give you spiced wine to drink, + +my sweet pomegranate wine. + + +3. Your left arm would be under my head, + +and your right arm would embrace me. + + +4. Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, + not to awaken love until the time is right. + +5. Who is this sweeping in from the desert, + +leaning on her lover? +I aroused you under the apple tree, + +where your mother gave you birth, + +where in great pain she delivered you. + + +6. Place me like a seal over your heart, + +like a seal on your arm. + +For love is as strong as death, + its jealousy as enduring as the grave. + +Love flashes like fire, + +the brightest kind of flame. + + +7. Many waters cannot quench love, + +nor can rivers drown it. + +If a man tried to buy love + +with all his wealth, + +his offer would be utterly scorned. + + +8. We have a little sister + +too young to have breasts. + +What will we do for our sister + +if someone asks to marry her? + + +9. If she is a virgin, like a wall, + +we will protect her with a silver tower. + +But if she is promiscuous, like a swinging door, + +we will block her door with a cedar bar. + + +10. I was a virgin, like a wall; + +now my breasts are like towers. + +When my lover looks at me, + +he is delighted with what he sees. + + +11. Solomon has a vineyard at Baal-hamon, + +which he leases out to tenant farmers. + +Each of them pays a thousand pieces of silver + +for harvesting its fruit. + + +12. But my vineyard is mine to give, + +and Solomon need not pay a thousand pieces of silver. + +But I will give two hundred pieces + +to those who care for its vines. + + +13. O my darling, lingering in the gardens, + +your companions are fortunate to hear your voice. + +Let me hear it, too! + + +14. Come away, my love! Be like a gazelle + +or a young stag on the mountains of spices. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..790959b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Greetings from Paul + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes. + +2. I am writing to God's church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. + +3. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. + +Paul Gives Thanks to God + + +4. I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. +5. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way--with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. +6. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. +7. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. +8. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. +9. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. + +Divisions in the Church + + +10. I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. +11. For some members of Chloe's household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. +12. Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter," or "I follow only Christ." + +13. Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! +14. I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, +15. for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. +16. (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don't remember baptizing anyone else.) +17. For Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News--and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. + +The Wisdom of God + + +18. The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. +19. As the Scriptures say, +"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise + and discard the intelligence of the intelligent." + +20. So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. +21. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. +22. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. +23. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. + +24. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. +25. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. + +26. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. +27. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. +28. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. +29. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. + +30. God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. +31. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD." + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..baf9924f --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +Paul's Message of Wisdom + +# Chapter 2 +1. When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan. +2. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. +3. I came to you in weakness--timid and trembling. +4. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. +5. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. + +6. Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. +7. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God--his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. +8. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. +9. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, +"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, + +and no mind has imagined +what God has prepared + for those who love him." + +10. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. +11. No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. +12. And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. + +13. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths. +14. But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. +15. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. +16. For, +"Who can know the LORD's thoughts? + Who knows enough to teach him?" +But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e4685c91 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +Paul and Apollos, Servants of Christ + +# Chapter 3 +1. Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. +2. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren't ready for anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, +3. for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world? +4. When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I follow Apollos," aren't you acting just like people of the world? + +5. After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. +6. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. +7. It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. +8. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. +9. For we are both God's workers. And you are God's field. You are God's building. + +10. Because of God's grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. +11. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have--Jesus Christ. + +12. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials--gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. +13. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value. +14. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. +15. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. + +16. Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? +17. God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. + +18. Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world's standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. +19. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, +"He traps the wise + in the snare of their own cleverness." + +20. And again, +"The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise; + he knows they are worthless." + +21. So don't boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you-- +22. whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, +23. and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9aae6872 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Paul's Relationship with the Corinthians + +# Chapter 4 +1. So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God's mysteries. +2. Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. +3. As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point. +4. My conscience is clear, but that doesn't prove I'm right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. + +5. So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time--before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. + +6. Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I've been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won't be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. +7. For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? + +8. You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God's kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. +9. Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor's parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world--to people and angels alike. + +10. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. +11. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don't have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. +12. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. +13. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world's garbage, like everybody's trash--right up to the present moment. + +14. I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. +15. For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. +16. So I urge you to imitate me. + +17. That's why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go. + +18. Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. +19. But I will come--and soon--if the Lord lets me, and then I'll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God's power. +20. For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power. +21. Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit? + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5d16dc70 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +Paul Condemns Spiritual Pride + +# Chapter 5 +1. I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you--something that even pagans don't do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. +2. You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. + +3. Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man +4. in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. +5. Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns. + +6. Your boasting about this is terrible. Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? +7. Get rid of the old "yeast" by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. +8. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. + +9. When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. +10. But I wasn't talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. +11. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don't even eat with such people. + +12. It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. +13. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you." + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..39edae3d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Avoiding Lawsuits with Christians + +# Chapter 6 +1. When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! +2. Don't you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can't you decide even these little things among yourselves? +3. Don't you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. +4. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? +5. I am saying this to shame you. Isn't there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? +6. But instead, one believer sues another--right in front of unbelievers! + +7. Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? +8. Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers. + +9. Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, +10. or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people--none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. +11. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. + +Avoiding Sexual Sin + + +12. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything. +13. You say, "Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food." (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can't say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. +14. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. + +15. Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! +16. And don't you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, "The two are united into one." +17. But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. + +18. Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. +19. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, +20. for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..66bf081b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Instruction on Marriage + +# Chapter 7 +1. Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. +2. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. + +3. The husband should fulfill his wife's sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband's needs. +4. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. + +5. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won't be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. +6. I say this as a concession, not as a command. +7. But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another. + +8. So I say to those who aren't married and to widows--it's better to stay unmarried, just as I am. +9. But if they can't control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It's better to marry than to burn with lust. + +10. But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. +11. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife. + +12. Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. +13. And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. +14. For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. +15. (But if the husband or wife who isn't a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) +16. Don't you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don't you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you? + +17. Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. +18. For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. +19. For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God's commandments. + +20. Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. +21. Are you a slave? Don't let that worry you--but if you get a chance to be free, take it. +22. And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. +23. God paid a high price for you, so don't be enslaved by the world. +24. Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you. + +25. Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. +26. Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are. +27. If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. +28. But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems. + +29. But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. +30. Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. +31. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away. + +32. I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. +33. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. +34. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. +35. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible. + +36. But if a man thinks that he's treating his fianc�e improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her as he wishes. It is not a sin. +37. But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry. +38. So the person who marries his fianc�e does well, and the person who doesn't marry does even better. + +39. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord. +40. But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God's Spirit when I say this. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2e2ca8ee --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Food Sacrificed to Idols + +# Chapter 8 +1. Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that "we all have knowledge" about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. +2. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much. +3. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. + +4. So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. +5. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. +6. But for us, +There is one God, the Father, + +by whom all things were created, + +and for whom we live. + +And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, + +through whom all things were created, + +and through whom we live. + + +7. However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. +8. It's true that we can't win God's approval by what we eat. We don't lose anything if we don't eat it, and we don't gain anything if we do. + +9. But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. +10. For if others see you--with your "superior knowledge"--eating in the temple of an idol, won't they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? +11. So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. +12. And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. +13. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live--for I don't want to cause another believer to stumble. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7546d1c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +Paul Gives Up His Rights + +# Chapter 9 +1. Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn't it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? +2. Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord's apostle. + +3. This is my answer to those who question my authority. +4. Don't we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? +5. Don't we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord's brothers do, and as Peter does? +6. Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves? + +7. What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn't have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn't allowed to drink some of the milk? +8. Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? +9. For the law of Moses says, "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain." Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? +10. Wasn't he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest. + +11. Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren't we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? +12. If you support others who preach to you, shouldn't we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. + +13. Don't you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. +14. In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. +15. Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. +16. Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News! + +17. If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. +18. What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That's why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. + +19. Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. +20. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. +21. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. + +22. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. +23. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. + +24. Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! +25. All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. +26. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. +27. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..00956993 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +Lessons from Israel's Idolatry + +# Chapter 10 +1. I don't want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. +2. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. +3. All of them ate the same spiritual food, +4. and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. +5. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. + +6. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, +7. or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, "The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry." +8. And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. + +9. Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. +10. And don't grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. +11. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. + +12. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. +13. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. + +14. So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. +15. You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true. +16. When we bless the cup at the Lord's Table, aren't we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren't we sharing in the body of Christ? +17. And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body. +18. Think about the people of Israel. Weren't they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar? + +19. What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? +20. No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don't want you to participate with demons. +21. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord's Table and at the table of demons, too. +22. What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord's jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is? + +23. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is beneficial. +24. Don't be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. + +25. So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. +26. For "the earth is the LORD's, and everything in it." + +27. If someone who isn't a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. +28. (But suppose someone tells you, "This meat was offered to an idol." Don't eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. +29. It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? +30. If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it? + +31. So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. +32. Don't give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. +33. I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don't just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..88cd30d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ +# Chapter 11 +1. +1. And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. + +Instructions for Public Worship + + +2. I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you. +3. But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. +4. A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. +5. But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. +6. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering. + +7. A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God's image and reflects God's glory. And woman reflects man's glory. +8. For the first man didn't come from woman, but the first woman came from man. +9. And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. +10. For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority. + +11. But among the Lord's people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. +12. For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God. + +13. Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? +14. Isn't it obvious that it's disgraceful for a man to have long hair? +15. And isn't long hair a woman's pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. +16. But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God's other churches. + +Order at the Lord's Supper + + +17. But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. +18. First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. +19. But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God's approval will be recognized! + +20. When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord's Supper. +21. For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. +22. What? Don't you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God's church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this! + +23. For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread +24. and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, *"This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."* +25. In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, *"This cup is the new covenant between God and his people--an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it."* +26. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. + +27. So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. +28. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. +29. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. +30. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. + +31. But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. +32. Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world. + +33. So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord's Supper, wait for each other. +34. If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won't bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I'll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..158b94c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +Spiritual Gifts + +# Chapter 12 +1. Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don't want you to misunderstand this. +2. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. +3. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. + +4. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. +5. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. +6. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. + +7. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. +8. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. +9. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. +10. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. +11. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. + +One Body with Many Parts + + +12. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. +13. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. + +14. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. +15. If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body. +16. And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body? +17. If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? + +18. But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. +19. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! +20. Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. +21. The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you." + +22. In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. +23. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, +24. while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. +25. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. +26. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. + +27. All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it. +28. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: +first are apostles, +second are prophets, +third are teachers, +then those who do miracles, +those who have the gift of healing, +those who can help others, +those who have the gift of leadership, +those who speak in unknown languages. + + +29. Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? +30. Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! +31. So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. + +But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ef6496c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +Love Is the Greatest + +# Chapter 13 +1. If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. +2. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. +3. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. + +4. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud +5. or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. +6. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. +7. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. + +8. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! +9. Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! +10. But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. + +11. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. +12. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. + +13. Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_14.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_14.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..697004c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_14.md @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@ +Tongues and Prophecy + +# Chapter 14 +1. Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives--especially the ability to prophesy. +2. For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won't be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. +3. But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. +4. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. + +5. I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. + +6. Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful. +7. Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody. +8. And if the bugler doesn't sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? + +9. It's the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don't understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space. + +10. There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. +11. But if I don't understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. +12. And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church. + +13. So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said. +14. For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don't understand what I am saying. + +15. Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand. +16. For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don't understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don't understand what you are saying? +17. You will be giving thanks very well, but it won't strengthen the people who hear you. + +18. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you. +19. But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language. + +20. Dear brothers and sisters, don't be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. +21. It is written in the Scriptures: +"I will speak to my own people + +through strange languages + +and through the lips of foreigners. +But even then, they will not listen to me," + says the LORD. + +22. So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. +23. Even so, if unbelievers or people who don't understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. +24. But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don't understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. +25. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, "God is truly here among you." +A Call to Orderly Worship + + +26. Well, my brothers and sisters, let's summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you. + +27. No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. +28. But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately. + +29. Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. +30. But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. +31. In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. +32. Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. +33. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God's holy people. + +34. Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. +35. If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings. + +36. Or do you think God's word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? +37. If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. +38. But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized. + +39. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don't forbid speaking in tongues. +40. But be sure that everything is done properly and in order. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_15.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_15.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..66a2d06c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_15.md @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +The Resurrection of Christ + +# Chapter 15 +1. Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. +2. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you--unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. + +3. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. +4. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. +5. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. +6. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. +7. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. +8. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. +9. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church. + +10. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me--and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. +11. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed. + +The Resurrection of the Dead + + +12. But tell me this--since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? +13. For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. +14. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. +15. And we apostles would all be lying about God--for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. +16. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. +17. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. +18. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! +19. And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. + +20. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. + +21. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. +22. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. +23. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. + +24. After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. +25. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. +26. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. +27. For the Scriptures say, "God has put all things under his authority." (Of course, when it says "all things are under his authority," that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) +28. Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. + +29. If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again? + +30. And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? +31. For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. +32. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts--those people of Ephesus--if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, "Let's feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!" +33. Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character." +34. Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don't know God at all. + +The Resurrection Body + + +35. But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?" +36. What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first. +37. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. +38. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. +39. Similarly there are different kinds of flesh--one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. + +40. There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. +41. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. + +42. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. +43. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. +44. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. + +45. The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam--that is, Christ--is a life-giving Spirit. +46. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. +47. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. +48. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. +49. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. + +50. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. + +51. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! +52. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. +53. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. + +54. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: +"Death is swallowed up in victory. + +55. O death, where is your victory? + O death, where is your sting?" + +56. For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. +57. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. + +58. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. + + + diff --git a/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_16.md b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_16.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6b638641 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/46_1 Corinthians/Chapter_16.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +The Collection for Jerusalem + +# Chapter 16 +1. Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God's people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. +2. On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don't wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. +3. When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem. +4. And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me. + +Paul's Final Instructions + + +5. I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia. +6. Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination. +7. This time I don't want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me. +8. In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. +9. There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me. + +10. When Timothy comes, don't intimidate him. He is doing the Lord's work, just as I am. +11. Don't let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers. + +12. Now about our brother Apollos--I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity. + +13. Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. +14. And do everything with love. + +15. You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God's people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, +16. to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion. +17. I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren't here to give me. +18. They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well. + +Paul's Final Greetings + + +19. The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. +20. All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss. + +21. HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING--PAUL. + +22. If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Our Lord, come! + +23. May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. + +24. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..088b6d48 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +Greetings from Paul + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. +I am writing to God's church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece. + +2. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. + +God Offers Comfort to All + + +3. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. +4. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. +5. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. +6. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. +7. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. + +8. We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. +9. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. +10. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. +11. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. + +Paul's Change of Plans + + +12. We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God's grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you. +13. Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can't understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, +14. even if you don't understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you. + +15. Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing by visiting you twice-- +16. first on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned from Macedonia. Then you could send me on my way to Judea. + +17. You may be asking why I changed my plan. Do you think I make my plans carelessly? Do you think I am like people of the world who say "Yes" when they really mean "No"? +18. As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between "Yes" and "No." +19. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between "Yes" and "No." He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God's ultimate "Yes," he always does what he says. +20. For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory. + +21. It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, +22. and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. + +23. Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke. +24. But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ec7e2101 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +# Chapter 2 +1. So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit. +2. For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved. +3. That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won't be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful. +4. I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn't want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you. + +Forgiveness for the Sinner + + +5. I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. +6. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. +7. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. +8. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him. + +9. I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. +10. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ's authority for your benefit, +11. so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes. + +12. When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. +13. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn't yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him. + +Ministers of the New Covenant + + +14. But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. +15. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. +16. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? + +17. You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..0be334be --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +# Chapter 3 +1. Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! +2. The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. +3. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. + +4. We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. +5. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. +6. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. + +The Glory of the New Covenant + + +7. The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses' face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. +8. Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? +9. If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! +10. In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. +11. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! + +12. Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. +13. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. +14. But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. +15. Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. + +16. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. +17. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. +18. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..025bb92e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars + +# Chapter 4 +1. Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. +2. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. + +3. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. +4. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. + +5. You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake. +6. For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. + +7. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. + +8. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. +9. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. +10. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. + +11. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. +12. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. + +13. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, so I spoke." +14. We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. +15. All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. + +16. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. +17. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! +18. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fb414742 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +New Bodies + +# Chapter 5 +1. For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. +2. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. +3. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. +4. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. +5. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. + +6. So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. +7. For we live by believing and not by seeing. +8. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. +9. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. +10. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. + +We Are God's Ambassadors + + +11. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. +12. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. +13. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. +14. Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. +15. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. + +16. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! +17. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! + +18. And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. +19. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. +20. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" +21. For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2c20918d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +# Chapter 6 +1. As God's partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. +2. For God says, +"At just the right time, I heard you. + On the day of salvation, I helped you." +Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation. + +Paul's Hardships + + +3. We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. +4. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. +5. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. +6. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. +7. We faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. +8. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. +9. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. +10. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. + +11. Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. +12. There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. +13. I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us! +The Temple of the Living God + + +14. Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? +15. What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? +16. And what union can there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: +"I will live in them + +and walk among them. + +I will be their God, + and they will be my people. + +17. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, + and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. + +Don't touch their filthy things, + and I will welcome you. + +18. And I will be your Father, + +and you will be my sons and daughters, + says the LORD Almighty." + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_07.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_07.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..07f91f21 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_07.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +# Chapter 7 +1. Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. + +2. Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. +3. I'm not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. +4. I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles. + +Paul's Joy at the Church's Repentance + + +5. When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. +6. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. +7. His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy! + +8. I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. +9. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. +10. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. + +11. Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. +12. My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. +13. We have been greatly encouraged by this. +In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease. +14. I had told him how proud I was of you--and you didn't disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! +15. Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way all of you obeyed him and welcomed him with such fear and deep respect. +16. I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_08.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_08.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..732bf998 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_08.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +A Call to Generous Giving + +# Chapter 8 +1. Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. +2. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. + +3. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. +4. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. +5. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. + +6. So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. +7. Since you excel in so many ways--in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us--I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. + +8. I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches. + +9. You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. + +10. Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. +11. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. +12. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don't have. +13. Of course, I don't mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. +14. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. +15. As the Scriptures say, +"Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, + and those who gathered only a little had enough." +Titus and His Companions + + +16. But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. +17. Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. +18. We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. +19. He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem--a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help. + +20. We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. +21. We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. + +22. We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. +23. If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ. +24. So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_09.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_09.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5df677b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_09.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem + +# Chapter 9 +1. I really don't need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. +2. For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving. + +3. But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don't want to be wrong in my boasting about you. +4. We would be embarrassed--not to mention your own embarrassment--if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren't ready after all I had told them! +5. So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly. + +6. Remember this--a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. +7. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully." +8. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. +9. As the Scriptures say, +"They share freely and give generously to the poor. + Their good deeds will be remembered forever." + +10. For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. + +11. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. +12. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving--the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. + +13. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. +14. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. +15. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_10.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_10.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..872c1b6c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_10.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Paul Defends His Authority + +# Chapter 10 +1. Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ--though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. +2. Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won't have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives. + +3. We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. +4. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. +5. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. +6. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. + +7. Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. +8. I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn't tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority. + +9. I'm not trying to frighten you by my letters. +10. For some say, "Paul's letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!" +11. Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away. + +12. Oh, don't worry; we wouldn't dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! + +13. We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. +14. We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ. + +15. Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. +16. Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else's territory. +17. As the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD." + +18. When people commend themselves, it doesn't count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_11.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_11.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7b21cceb --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_11.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ +Paul and the False Apostles + +# Chapter 11 +1. I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. +2. For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband--Christ. +3. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. +4. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. + +5. But I don't consider myself inferior in any way to these "super apostles" who teach such things. +6. I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I'm not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. + +7. Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God's Good News to you without expecting anything in return? +8. I "robbed" other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. +9. And when I was with you and didn't have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. +10. As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. +11. Why? Because I don't love you? God knows that I do. + +12. But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. +13. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. +14. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. +15. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. + +Paul's Many Trials + + +16. Again I say, don't think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. +17. Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. +18. And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. +19. After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools! +20. You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. +21. I'm ashamed to say that we've been too "weak" to do that! +But whatever they dare to boast about--I'm talking like a fool again--I dare to boast about it, too. +22. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. +23. Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. +24. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. +25. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. +26. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. +27. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. + +28. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. +29. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? + +30. If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. +31. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. +32. When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. +33. I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_12.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_12.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6ec7f576 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_12.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +Paul's Vision and His Thorn in the Flesh + +# Chapter 12 +1. This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. +2. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don't know--only God knows. +3. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know +4. that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. + +5. That experience is worth boasting about, but I'm not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. +6. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, +7. even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. + +8. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. +9. Each time he said, *"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness."* So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. +10. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. + +Paul's Concern for the Corinthians + + +11. You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these "super apostles," even though I am nothing at all. +12. When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle. For I patiently did many signs and wonders and miracles among you. +13. The only thing I failed to do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong! + +14. Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don't want what you have--I want you. After all, children don't provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children. +15. I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me. + +16. Some of you admit I was not a burden to you. But others still think I was sneaky and took advantage of you by trickery. +17. But how? Did any of the men I sent to you take advantage of you? +18. When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No! For we have the same spirit and walk in each other's steps, doing things the same way. + +19. Perhaps you think we're saying these things just to defend ourselves. No, we tell you this as Christ's servants, and with God as our witness. Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you. +20. For I am afraid that when I come I won't like what I find, and you won't like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. +21. Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure. + + + diff --git a/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_13.md b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_13.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8fe051d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/47_2 Corinthians/Chapter_13.md @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +Paul's Final Advice + +# Chapter 13 +1. This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, "The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses"). +2. I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them. + +3. I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. +4. Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God's power. + +5. Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. +6. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. + +7. We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won't need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come--even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. +8. For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. +9. We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature. + +10. I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won't need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down. + +Paul's Final Greetings + + +11. Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. + +12. Greet each other with a sacred kiss. +13. All of God's people here send you their greetings. + +14. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. + + + diff --git a/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cc80263a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +Greetings from Paul + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. + +We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. + +May God give you grace and peace. + +The Faith of the Thessalonian Believers + + +2. We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. +3. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +4. We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. +5. For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. +6. So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. +7. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece--throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. + +8. And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, +9. for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. +10. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven--Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. + + + diff --git a/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..596dde5b --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +Paul Remembers His Visit + +# Chapter 2 +1. You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. +2. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. +3. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery. + +4. For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. +5. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! +6. As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else. + +7. As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. +8. We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God's Good News but our own lives, too. + +9. Don't you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God's Good News to you. +10. You yourselves are our witnesses--and so is God--that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. +11. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. +12. We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. + +13. Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn't think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God--which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. + +14. And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God's churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews. +15. For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanity +16. as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last. + +Timothy's Good Report about the Church + + +17. Dear brothers and sisters, after we were separated from you for a little while (though our hearts never left you), we tried very hard to come back because of our intense longing to see you again. +18. We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us. +19. After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! +20. Yes, you are our pride and joy. + + + diff --git a/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4d2d7791 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +# Chapter 3 +1. Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens, +2. and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God's co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, +3. and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. +4. Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come--and they did, as you well know. +5. That is why, when I could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless. + +6. But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. +7. So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. +8. It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. + +9. How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God's presence. +10. Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith. + +11. May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. +12. And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. +13. May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen. + + + diff --git a/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1e37a084 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +Live to Please God + +# Chapter 4 +1. Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. +2. For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. + +3. God's will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. +4. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor-- +5. not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. +6. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. +7. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. +8. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. + +9. But we don't need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. +10. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. + +11. Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. +12. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. + +The Hope of the Resurrection + + +13. And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. +14. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. + +15. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. +16. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. +17. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. +18. So encourage each other with these words. + + + diff --git a/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..508b00d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/52_1 Thessalonians/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +# Chapter 5 +1. Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don't really need to write you. +2. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. +3. When people are saying, "Everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. + +4. But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. +5. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. +6. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. +7. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. +8. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. + +9. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. +10. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. +11. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. + +Paul's Final Advice + + +12. Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. +13. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. + +14. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. + +15. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. + +16. Always be joyful. +17. Never stop praying. +18. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. + +19. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. +20. Do not scoff at prophecies, +21. but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. +22. Stay away from every kind of evil. + +Paul's Final Greetings + + +23. Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. +24. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. + +25. Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. + +26. Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss. + +27. I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. + +28. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9b0c4842 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +Greetings from Paul + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. + +We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. + + +2. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. + +Encouragement during Persecution + + +3. Dear brothers and sisters, we can't help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. +4. We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. +5. And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. +6. In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you. + +7. And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, +8. in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. +9. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. +10. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people--praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him. + +11. So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. +12. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. + + + diff --git a/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2f23d761 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +Events prior to the Lord's Second Coming + +# Chapter 2 +1. Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. +2. Don't be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don't believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. +3. Don't be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed--the one who brings destruction. +4. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. + +5. Don't you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? +6. And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. +7. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. +8. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. + +9. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. +10. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. +11. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. +12. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. + +Believers Should Stand Firm + + +13. As for us, we can't help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation--a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. +14. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +15. With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. + +16. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, +17. comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. + + + diff --git a/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..fc3196c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/53_2 Thessalonians/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +Paul's Request for Prayer + +# Chapter 3 +1. Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. +2. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. +3. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. +4. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. +5. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. + +An Exhortation to Proper Living + + +6. And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don't follow the tradition they received from us. +7. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. +8. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. +9. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. +10. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat." + +11. Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people's business. +12. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. +13. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good. + +14. Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. +15. Don't think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister. + +Paul's Final Greetings + + +16. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. + +17. HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING--PAUL. I DO THIS IN ALL MY LETTERS TO PROVE THEY ARE FROM ME. + +18. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. + + + diff --git a/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..dbdbce02 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +Greetings from Paul + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. + +2. I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith. + +May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. + +Warnings against False Teachings + + +3. When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. +4. Don't let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God. + +5. The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. +6. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. +7. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently. + +8. We know that the law is good when used correctly. +9. For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. +10. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching +11. that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. + +Paul's Gratitude for God's Mercy + + +12. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, +13. even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. +14. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. + +15. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"--and I am the worst of them all. +16. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. +17. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. + +Timothy's Responsibility + + +18. Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord's battles. +19. Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. +20. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God. + + + diff --git a/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..7c5e0ec6 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +Instructions about Worship + +# Chapter 2 +1. I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. +2. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. +3. This is good and pleases God our Savior, +4. who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. +5. For, +There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity--the man Christ Jesus. +6. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. + +This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. + +7. And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I'm not exaggerating--just telling the truth. + +8. In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. + +9. And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. +10. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. + +11. Women should learn quietly and submissively. +12. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. +13. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. +14. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. +15. But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty. + + + diff --git a/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..46ec349a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +Leaders in the Church + +# Chapter 3 +1. This is a trustworthy saying: "If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position." +2. So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. +3. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. +4. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. +5. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? + +6. A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. +7. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil's trap. + +8. In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. +9. They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. +10. Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons. + +11. In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do. + +12. A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well. +13. Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus. + +The Truths of Our Faith + + +14. I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, +15. so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth. + +16. Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: +Christ was revealed in a human body + and vindicated by the Spirit. + +He was seen by angels + +and announced to the nations. + +He was believed in throughout the world + +and taken to heaven in glory. + + + diff --git a/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b2b4a92d --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +Warnings against False Teachers + +# Chapter 4 +1. Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. +2. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. + +3. They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. +4. Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. +5. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. + +A Good Servant of Christ Jesus + + +6. If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. +7. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. +8. "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come." +9. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. +10. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers. + +11. Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. +12. Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. +13. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. + +14. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. +15. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. +16. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..108d8f2e --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +Advice about Widows, Elders, and Slaves + +# Chapter 5 +1. Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. +2. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters. + +3. Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her. +4. But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God. + +5. Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help. +6. But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives. +7. Give these instructions to the church so that no one will be open to criticism. + +8. But those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. + +9. A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least sixty years old and was faithful to her husband. +10. She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good? + +11. The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. +12. Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge. +13. And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people's business and talking about things they shouldn't. +14. So I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children, and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them. +15. For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan. + +16. If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone. + +17. Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. +18. For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain." And in another place, *"Those who work deserve their pay!"* + +19. Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. +20. Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others. + +21. I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone. + +22. Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. + +23. Don't drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often. + +24. Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. +25. In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light. + + + diff --git a/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_06.md b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_06.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..b4fb9db1 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/54_1 Timothy/Chapter_06.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +# Chapter 6 +1. All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. +2. If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved. + +False Teaching and True Riches +Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. + +3. Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. +4. Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. +5. These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy. + +6. Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. +7. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. +8. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. + +9. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. +10. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. + +Paul's Final Instructions + + +11. But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. +12. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. +13. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, +14. that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. +15. For, +At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. + +16. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen. + +17. Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. +18. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. +19. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. + +20. Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. +21. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. + +May God's grace be with you all. + + + diff --git a/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..66b0cb98 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +Greetings from Paul + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus. + +2. I am writing to Timothy, my dear son. + +May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. + +Encouragement to Be Faithful + + +3. Timothy, I thank God for you--the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. +4. I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again. + +5. I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. +6. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. +7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. + +8. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. +9. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time--to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. +10. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. +11. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News. + +12. That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return. + +13. Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me--a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. +14. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. + +15. As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me--even Phygelus and Hermogenes. + +16. May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. +17. When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me. +18. May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ's return. And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus. + + + diff --git a/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..2609a352 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus + +# Chapter 2 +1. Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. +2. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. + +3. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. +4. Soldiers don't get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. +5. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. +6. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. +7. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things. + +8. Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. +9. And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. +10. So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. + +11. This is a trustworthy saying: +If we die with him, + +we will also live with him. + + +12. If we endure hardship, + +we will reign with him. + +If we deny him, + +he will deny us. + + +13. If we are unfaithful, + +he remains faithful, + +for he cannot deny who he is. + + +14. Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God's presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them. + +An Approved Worker + + +15. Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. +16. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. +17. This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. +18. They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith. + +19. But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: "The LORD knows those who are his," and "All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil." + +20. In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. +21. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. + +22. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. + +23. Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. +24. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. +25. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. +26. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. + + + diff --git a/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..c9c13092 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +The Dangers of the Last Days + +# Chapter 3 +1. You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. +2. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. +3. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. +4. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. +5. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! + +6. They are the kind who work their way into people's homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. +7. (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) +8. These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. +9. But they won't get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres. + +Paul's Charge to Timothy + + +10. But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. +11. You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra--but the Lord rescued me from all of it. +12. Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. +13. But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. + +14. But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. +15. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. +16. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. +17. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. + + + diff --git a/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..9e0d05f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/55_2 Timothy/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +# Chapter 4 +1. I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: +2. Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. + +3. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. +4. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. + +5. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. + +6. As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. +7. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. +8. And now the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. + +Paul's Final Words + + +9. Timothy, please come as soon as you can. +10. Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. +11. Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry. +12. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. +13. When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my books, and especially my papers. + +14. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done. +15. Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said. + +16. The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. +17. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death. +18. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. + +Paul's Final Greetings + + +19. Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and those living in the household of Onesiphorus. +20. Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus. + +21. Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters. + +22. May the Lord be with your spirit. And may his grace be with all of you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f3aeaf76 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,58 @@ +Greetings from Peter + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. +I am writing to God's chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. +2. God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. + +May God give you more and more grace and peace. + +The Hope of Eternal Life + + +3. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, +4. and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. +5. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. + +6. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. +7. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. + +8. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. +9. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. + +10. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. +11. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward. + +12. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. + +A Call to Holy Living + + +13. So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. +14. So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. +15. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. +16. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy." + +17. And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as "temporary residents." +18. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. +19. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. +20. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. + +21. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. + +22. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. + +23. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. +24. As the Scriptures say, +"People are like grass; + +their beauty is like a flower in the field. + +The grass withers and the flower fades. + + +25. But the word of the Lord remains forever." +And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4211df74 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,93 @@ +# Chapter 2 +1. So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. +2. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, +3. now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. + +Living Stones for God's House + + +4. You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. + +5. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. +6. As the Scriptures say, +"I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, + +chosen for great honor, +and anyone who trusts in him + will never be disgraced." + +7. Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, +"The stone that the builders rejected + has now become the cornerstone." + +8. And, +"He is the stone that makes people stumble, + the rock that makes them fall." +They stumble because they do not obey God's word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. + + +9. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. + +10. "Once you had no identity as a people; + +now you are God's people. + +Once you received no mercy; + now you have received God's mercy." + +11. Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. +12. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. + +Respecting People in Authority + + +13. For the Lord's sake, submit to all human authority--whether the king as head of state, +14. or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. + +15. It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. +16. For you are free, yet you are God's slaves, so don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. +17. Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. + +Slaves + + +18. You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you--not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. +19. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. +20. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. + +21. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. + +22. He never sinned, + nor ever deceived anyone. + +23. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, + +nor threaten revenge when he suffered. + +He left his case in the hands of God, + +who always judges fairly. + + +24. He personally carried our sins + +in his body on the cross +so that we can be dead to sin + +and live for what is right. + +By his wounds + +you are healed. + + +25. Once you were like sheep + +who wandered away. + +But now you have turned to your Shepherd, + +the Guardian of your souls. + + + diff --git a/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..e31ada3a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,59 @@ +Wives + +# Chapter 3 +1. In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over +2. by observing your pure and reverent lives. + +3. Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. +4. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. +5. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. +6. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do. + +Husbands + + +7. In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. + +All Christians + + +8. Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. +9. Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. +10. For the Scriptures say, +"If you want to enjoy life + +and see many happy days, +keep your tongue from speaking evil + +and your lips from telling lies. + + +11. Turn away from evil and do good. + +Search for peace, and work to maintain it. + + +12. The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, + +and his ears are open to their prayers. +But the LORD turns his face + against those who do evil." +Suffering for Doing Good + + +13. Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? +14. But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. +15. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. +16. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. +17. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! + +18. Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. + +19. So he went and preached to the spirits in prison-- +20. those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. +21. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. + +22. Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority. + + + diff --git a/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..aca78e5c --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +Living for God + +# Chapter 4 +1. So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. +2. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. +3. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy--their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. + +4. Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. +5. But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. +6. That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead--so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit. + +7. The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. +8. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. +9. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. + +10. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. +11. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. + +Suffering for Being a Christian + + +12. Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. +13. Instead, be very glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. + +14. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. +15. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people's affairs. +16. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! +17. For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God's household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God's Good News? +18. And also, +"If the righteous are barely saved, + what will happen to godless sinners?" + +19. So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you. + + + diff --git a/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5c0d488a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/60_1 Peter/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +Advice for Elders and Young Men + +# Chapter 5 +1. And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: +2. Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly--not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. +3. Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. +4. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. + +5. In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for +"God opposes the proud + but gives grace to the humble." + +6. So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. +7. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. + +8. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. +9. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. + +10. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. +11. All power to him forever! Amen. + +Peter's Final Greetings + + +12. I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God's grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. + +13. Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. +14. Greet each other with a kiss of love. + +Peace be with all of you who are in Christ. + + + diff --git a/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d10ce2c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,42 @@ +Greetings from Peter + +# Chapter 1 +1. This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. +I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. + +2. May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. + +Growing in Faith + + +3. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. +4. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires. + +5. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, +6. and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, +7. and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. + +8. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. +9. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. + +10. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. +11. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. + +Paying Attention to Scripture + + +12. Therefore, I will always remind you about these things--even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. +13. And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. +14. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, +15. so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone. + +16. For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes +17. when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." +18. We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. + +19. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place--until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. +20. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, +21. or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. + + + diff --git a/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d7025ec2 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +The Danger of False Teachers + +# Chapter 2 +1. But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. +2. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. +3. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. + +4. For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. +5. And God did not spare the ancient world--except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God's righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. +6. Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. +7. But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. +8. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. +9. So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. +10. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. +These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. +11. But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings. + +12. These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. +13. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. +14. They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God's curse. +15. They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. +16. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice. + +17. These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. +18. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. +19. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. +20. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. +21. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. +22. They prove the truth of this proverb: "A dog returns to its vomit." And another says, "A washed pig returns to the mud." + + + diff --git a/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..83aa674a --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/61_2 Peter/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,36 @@ +The Day of the Lord Is Coming + +# Chapter 3 +1. This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. +2. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. + +3. Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. +4. They will say, "What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created." + +5. They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. +6. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. +7. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. + +8. But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. +9. The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. +10. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. + +11. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, +12. looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. +13. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. + +14. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. + +15. And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him-- +16. speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. + +Peter's Final Words + + +17. You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. +18. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. + +All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. + + + diff --git a/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..bbac1cc8 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +Introduction + +# Chapter 1 +1. We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. +2. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. +3. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. +4. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. + +Living in the Light + + +5. This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. +6. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. +7. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. + +8. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. +9. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. +10. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. + + + diff --git a/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_02.md b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_02.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3a0cf450 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_02.md @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +# Chapter 2 +1. My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. +2. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. + +3. And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. +4. If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. +5. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. +6. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. + +A New Commandment + + +7. Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment--to love one another--is the same message you heard before. +8. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. + +9. If anyone claims, "I am living in the light," but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. +10. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. +11. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. + +12. I am writing to you who are God's children + because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. + +13. I am writing to you who are mature in the faith + +because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. + +I am writing to you who are young in the faith + +because you have won your battle with the evil one. + + +14. I have written to you who are God's children + +because you know the Father. + +I have written to you who are mature in the faith + +because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. + +I have written to you who are young in the faith + +because you are strong. + +God's word lives in your hearts, + +and you have won your battle with the evil one. + +Do Not Love This World + + +15. Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. +16. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. +17. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. + +Warning about Antichrists + + +18. Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. +19. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. + +20. But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. +21. So I am writing to you not because you don't know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. +22. And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. +23. Anyone who denies the Son doesn't have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. + +24. So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. +25. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. + +26. I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. +27. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. + +Living as Children of God + + +28. And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. + +29. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God's children. + + + diff --git a/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_03.md b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8ce85cd3 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_03.md @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +# Chapter 3 +1. See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him. +2. Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. +3. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. + +4. Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. +5. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. +6. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. + +7. Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. +8. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. +9. Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God. +10. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. + +Love One Another + + +11. This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. +12. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. +13. So don't be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. + +14. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. +15. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them. + +16. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. +17. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion--how can God's love be in that person? + +18. Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. +19. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. +20. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. + +21. Dear friends, if we don't feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. +22. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. + +23. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. +24. Those who obey God's commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. + + + diff --git a/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_04.md b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_04.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..684138e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_04.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +Discerning False Prophets + +# Chapter 4 +1. Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. +2. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. +3. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. + +4. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. +5. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them. +6. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. + +Loving One Another + + +7. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. +8. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. + +9. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. +10. This is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. + +11. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. +12. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. + +13. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. +14. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. +15. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. +16. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. + +God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. + +17. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. + +18. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. +19. We love each other because he loved us first. + +20. If someone says, "I love God," but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? +21. And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. + + + diff --git a/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_05.md b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_05.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..8abcb964 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/62_1 John/Chapter_05.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +Faith in the Son of God + +# Chapter 5 +1. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. +2. We know we love God's children if we love God and obey his commandments. +3. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. +4. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. +5. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. + +6. And Jesus Christ was revealed as God's Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross--not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. +7. So we have these three witnesses-- +8. the Spirit, the water, and the blood--and all three agree. +9. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. +10. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don't believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don't believe what God has testified about his Son. + +11. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. +12. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life. + +Conclusion + + +13. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. +14. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. +15. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. + +16. If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. +17. All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death. + +18. We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. +19. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. + +20. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. + +21. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. + + + diff --git a/NLT/63_2 John/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/63_2 John/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f95db8fa --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/63_2 John/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ +Greetings + + +1. This letter is from John, the elder. +I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth--as does everyone else who knows the truth-- +2. because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever. + +3. Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ--the Son of the Father--will continue to be with us who live in truth and love. + +Live in the Truth + + +4. How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. + +5. I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. +6. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. + +7. I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. +8. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. +9. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. + +10. If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don't invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. +11. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work. + +Conclusion + + +12. I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete. + +13. +Greetings from the children of your sister, chosen by God. + + + diff --git a/NLT/64_3 John/Chapter_01.md b/NLT/64_3 John/Chapter_01.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..40408458 --- /dev/null +++ b/NLT/64_3 John/Chapter_01.md @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +Greetings + + +1. This letter is from John, the elder. + +I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth. + + +2. Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. +3. Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. +4. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. + +Caring for the Lord's Workers + + +5. Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. +6. They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. +7. For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. +8. So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth. + +9. I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. +10. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. + +11. Dear friend, don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God's children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God. + +12. Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth. + +Conclusion + + +13. I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to write it with pen and ink. +14. For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face. + +15. Peace be with you. + +Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings to each of our friends there. + + + diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml index 698b1f72..96bc717a 100644 --- a/docker-compose.yml +++ b/docker-compose.yml @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ services: the-bible: - image: ryderjj89/the-bible:latest + image: https://git.rydertech.us/ryder/the-bible:latest container_name: the-bible ports: - "3000:3000" diff --git a/frontend/src/App-VivoBook.tsx b/frontend/src/App-VivoBook.tsx new file mode 100644 index 00000000..ce44c5a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/frontend/src/App-VivoBook.tsx @@ -0,0 +1,537 @@ +import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react'; +import { Routes, Route, useNavigate, useParams, useLocation } from 'react-router-dom'; +import { Book, ChevronRight, Moon, Sun, LogOut, Search, User } from 'lucide-react'; +import BookSelector from './components/BookSelector'; +import ChapterSelector from './components/ChapterSelector'; +import BibleReader from './components/BibleReader'; +import FavoritesMenu from './components/FavoritesMenu'; +import SearchComponent from './components/SearchComponent'; +import VersionSelector from './components/VersionSelector'; +import { getBooks } from './services/api'; + +interface BookData { + books: string[]; +} + +function App() { + const [books, setBooks] = useState([]); + const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true); + const [user, setUser] = useState(null); + const [authAvailable, setAuthAvailable] = useState(false); + const [darkMode, setDarkMode] = useState(() => { + // Load dark mode preference from localStorage as fallback + const saved = localStorage.getItem('darkMode'); + return saved ? JSON.parse(saved) : false; + }); + const [error, setError] = useState(''); + const [showSearch, setShowSearch] = useState(false); + const [selectedVersion, setSelectedVersion] = useState(''); // Empty means no version selected yet + const [versionSelected, setVersionSelected] = useState(false); // Track if version has been chosen + const [availableVersions, setAvailableVersions] = useState([]); + const location = useLocation(); + const navigate = useNavigate(); + + // Debug logging + console.log('App component rendered'); + + // Extract version from URL path on mount and when location changes + useEffect(() => { + const pathParts = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean); + if (pathParts[0] === 'version' && (pathParts[1] === 'esv' || pathParts[1] === 'nkjv' || pathParts[1] === 'nlt')) { + setSelectedVersion(pathParts[1]); + } else if (location.pathname === '/') { + // At root path, no version is selected + setSelectedVersion(''); + } + + // Scroll to top when navigating to new pages (unless there's verse auto-navigation active) + if (!window.location.hash.startsWith('#verse-')) { + window.scrollTo(0, 0); + } + }, [location.pathname]); + + useEffect(() => { + console.log('App useEffect triggered'); + loadVersions(); + loadBooks(); + checkAuthStatus(); + }, []); + + // Load versions when version changes + useEffect(() => { + loadBooks(); + + // Update page title to reflect selected version + const versionTitle = selectedVersion ? selectedVersion.toUpperCase() : ''; + document.title = versionTitle ? `${versionTitle} Bible` : 'The Bible'; + }, [selectedVersion]); + + // Load user preferences when user changes + useEffect(() => { + if (user) { + loadUserPreferences(); + } + }, [user]); + + // Load user preferences from database + const loadUserPreferences = async () => { + if (!user) return; + + try { + const response = await fetch('/api/preferences', { + credentials: 'include' + }); + + if (response.ok) { + const preferences = await response.json(); + console.log('Loaded user preferences:', preferences); + setDarkMode(preferences.dark_mode); + } + } catch (error) { + console.error('Failed to load user preferences:', error); + } + }; + + // Save user preferences to database + const saveUserPreferences = async (newDarkMode: boolean) => { + if (!user) return; + + try { + await fetch('/api/preferences', { + method: 'PUT', + headers: { + 'Content-Type': 'application/json', + }, + credentials: 'include', + body: JSON.stringify({ + dark_mode: newDarkMode + }) + }); + console.log('Saved user preferences to database'); + } catch (error) { + console.error('Failed to save user preferences:', error); + } + }; + + const checkAuthStatus = async () => { + try { + const response = await fetch('/auth/user', { + credentials: 'include' + }); + + if (response.ok) { + const userData = await response.json(); + setUser(userData.user); + setAuthAvailable(true); + } else if (response.status === 501) { + // Authentication not configured + setAuthAvailable(false); + } else if (response.status === 401) { + // Authentication configured but user not logged in + setAuthAvailable(true); + setUser(null); + } else { + // Other error + setAuthAvailable(false); + } + } catch (error) { + console.log('Auth check failed:', error); + setAuthAvailable(false); + } + }; + + const handleLogin = () => { + window.location.href = '/auth/login'; + }; + + const handleLogout = async () => { + try { + await fetch('/auth/logout', { + method: 'POST', + credentials: 'include' + }); + setUser(null); + // Optionally reload the page to reset any user-specific state + window.location.reload(); + } catch (error) { + console.error('Logout failed:', error); + } + }; + + // Handle dark mode toggle with hybrid storage + const handleDarkModeToggle = async () => { + const newDarkMode = !darkMode; + setDarkMode(newDarkMode); + + if (user) { + // Save to database for authenticated users + await saveUserPreferences(newDarkMode); + } else { + // Save to localStorage for non-authenticated users + localStorage.setItem('darkMode', JSON.stringify(newDarkMode)); + } + }; + + useEffect(() => { + // Apply dark mode + if (darkMode) { + document.documentElement.classList.add('dark'); + } else { + document.documentElement.classList.remove('dark'); + } + + // Save to localStorage as backup (for non-authenticated users) + if (!user) { + localStorage.setItem('darkMode', JSON.stringify(darkMode)); + } + }, [darkMode, user]); + + // Helper function to format book names for display + const formatBookName = (bookName: string): string => { + // Handle both formats: numbered (01_Genesis) and regular (Genesis) + const cleanName = bookName.replace(/^\d+_/, ''); // Remove leading number and underscore + return cleanName.replace(/_/g, ' '); // Replace underscores with spaces + }; + + // Helper function to convert display name back to file name + const getBookFileName = (displayName: string): string => { + // Find the book that matches the display name + const book = books.find((b: string) => formatBookName(b) === displayName); + return book || displayName; + }; + + // Helper function to convert book file name to URL-safe name + const getBookUrlName = (bookName: string): string => { + // Remove leading numbers and convert spaces to underscores for URL + return bookName.replace(/^\d+_/, '').replace(/ /g, '_'); + }; + + // Helper function to convert URL name back to file name + const getBookFromUrl = (urlName: string): string => { + // Convert URL name back to display name, then find the file name + const displayName = urlName.replace(/_/g, ' '); + return getBookFileName(displayName); + }; + + const loadBooks = async () => { + try { + console.log('Loading books from API for version:', selectedVersion); + const response = await fetch(`/books?version=${selectedVersion}`); + const data: BookData = await response.json(); + console.log('Books loaded:', data); + setBooks(data.books); + } catch (error) { + console.error('Failed to load books:', error); + setError('Failed to load books. Please check the console for details.'); + } finally { + setLoading(false); + } + }; + + const loadVersions = async () => { + try { + console.log('Loading available versions...'); + const response = await fetch('/versions'); + if (response.ok) { + const data = await response.json(); + setAvailableVersions(data.versions); + console.log('Versions loaded:', data.versions); + } else { + console.error('Failed to load versions'); + } + } catch (error) { + console.error('Failed to load versions:', error); + } + }; + + // Get current navigation info from URL + const getCurrentNavInfo = () => { + const pathParts = location.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean); + + if (pathParts.length < 3 || pathParts[0] !== 'version' || pathParts[2] !== 'book') { + return { currentBook: null, currentChapter: null }; + } + + const currentBook = pathParts[3]; // book name from /version/:versionId/book/:bookName + const currentChapter = pathParts[4] === 'chapter' && pathParts[5] ? pathParts[5] : null; + return { currentBook, currentChapter }; + }; + + const { currentBook, currentChapter } = getCurrentNavInfo(); + + // Component for the version selection page (root) + const VersionPage = () => { + const handleVersionSelect = (version: 'esv' | 'nkjv' | 'nlt') => { + navigate(`/version/${version}`); + }; + + return ( + setShowSearch(true)} + /> + ); + }; + + // Component for book list page (version-specific) + const BookListPage = () => { + const { versionId } = useParams<{ versionId: string }>(); + + const handleBookSelect = (book: string) => { + const urlName = getBookUrlName(book); + navigate(`/version/${versionId}/book/${urlName}`); + }; + + const handleBack = () => { + navigate('/'); + }; + + const handleFavoriteChange = () => { + // This will trigger a re-render of the FavoritesMenu + setUser((prev: any) => ({ ...prev })); + }; + + return ( + setShowSearch(true)} + /> + ); + }; + + // Component for book chapters page + const BookPage = () => { + const { versionId, bookName } = useParams<{ versionId: string, bookName: string }>(); + const actualBookName = bookName ? getBookFromUrl(bookName) : ''; + + const handleChapterSelect = (chapter: string) => { + navigate(`/version/${versionId}/book/${bookName}/chapter/${chapter}`); + }; + + const handleBack = () => { + navigate(`/version/${versionId}`); + }; + + const handleFavoriteChange = () => { + // This will trigger a re-render of the FavoritesMenu + setUser((prev: any) => ({ ...prev })); + }; + + if (!bookName || !actualBookName || !books.includes(actualBookName)) { + return
Book not found
; + } + + return ( + setShowSearch(true)} + /> + ); + }; + + // Component for chapter reading page + const ChapterPage = () => { + const { versionId, bookName, chapterNumber } = useParams<{ versionId: string, bookName: string, chapterNumber: string }>(); + const actualBookName = bookName ? getBookFromUrl(bookName) : ''; + + const handleBack = () => { + navigate(`/version/${versionId}/book/${bookName}`); + }; + + const handleFavoriteChange = () => { + // This will trigger a re-render of the FavoritesMenu + setUser((prev: any) => ({ ...prev })); + }; + + if (!bookName || !chapterNumber || !actualBookName) { + return
Chapter not found
; + } + + return ( + setShowSearch(true)} + /> + ); + }; + + if (loading || !books) { + return ( +
+
+ +

Loading The Bible...

+
+
+ ); + } + + return ( +
+ {/* Header */} +
+
+
+
+ {!selectedVersion ? ( + + ) : ( +
+ {`${selectedVersion.toUpperCase()} +
+ )} +
+ + {/* Version Selector */} + {selectedVersion ? ( + + ) : null} +
+
+ + + + + + {/* User Authentication & Dark Mode */} +
+ {/* Authentication Button */} + {authAvailable && ( +
+ {user ? ( +
+ + {user.name || user.email} + + +
+ ) : ( + + )} +
+ )} + + {/* Dark Mode Toggle */} + +
+
+
+
+ + {/* Favorites Menu - Positioned below header for authenticated users */} + {user && ( +
+
+ setUser((prev: any) => ({ ...prev }))} + /> +
+
+ )} + + {/* Search Modal */} + {showSearch && ( + setShowSearch(false)} + isModal={true} + /> + )} + + {/* Main Content */} +
+ + } /> + } /> + } /> + } /> + + } /> + +
+
+ ); +} + +export default App;