1 KINGS 20:1- 21:29
ACTS 12:24- 13:15
PSALM 137:1- 9
PROVERBS 17:16
Now 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 Israelite capital, 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 the best of your wives and children! '" 4 "All right, my lord," Ahab 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 people. They will take away everything you consider valuable!'" 7 Then Ahab summoned all the leaders of the land and said to them, "Look how this man is stirring up trouble! I already agreed when he sent the message demanding that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold." 8 "Don't give in to any more demands," the leaders and 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 this last demand of yours I simply cannot meet. '" So the messengers returned to Ben- hadad with the response. 10 Then Ben- hadad sent this message to Ahab:"May the gods bring tragedy on me, and even worse than that, if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide more than a handful for each of my soldiers." 11 The king of Israel sent back this answer:"A warrior still dressing for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won." 12 This reply of Ahab's 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. 13 Then a prophet came to see King Ahab 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 his army of seven thousand men. 16 About noontime, as Ben- hadad and the thirty- two allied kings were still in their tents getting drunk, 17 the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city. 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 by now Ahab's provincial commanders had led the army 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 others escaped on horses. 21 However, the other horses and chariots were destroyed, and the Arameans were killed in a great slaughter. 22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, "Get ready for another attack by the king of Aram next spring." 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 in the plains. There's not a shadow of a 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 moved into the 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 that the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the plains. So I will help you defeat this vast army. 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 behind the walls of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben- hadad fled into the city and hid in a secret room. 31 Ben- hadad's officers said to him, "Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are very merciful. So let's humble ourselves by wearing sackcloth and putting ropes on our heads. Then perhaps King Ahab will let you live." 32 So they put on sackcloth and ropes and 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 were quick to grasp at this straw of hope, and they replied, "Yes, 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 let you go under these conditions." So they made a treaty, and Ben- hadad was set free. 35 Meanwhile, the LORD instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, "Strike me!" But the man refused to strike 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 sure enough, when he had gone, a lion attacked and killed him. 37 Then the prophet turned to another man and said, "Strike me!" So he struck the prophet and wounded him. 38 The prophet waited for the king beside the road, having placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, "Sir, I was in the battle, and 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 determined your own judgment." 41 Then the prophet pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And the prophet told 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. 21:1 KING Ahab had a palace in Jezreel, and near the palace was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, "Since your vineyard is so convenient to the 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 in the world is the matter?" his wife, Jezebel, asked him. "What has made you so upset that you are not eating?" 6 "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to trade it, and he refused!" Ahab told her. 7 "Are you the king of Israel or not?" Jezebel asked. "Get up and eat 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 city where Naboth lived. 9 In her letters she commanded:"Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 Find two scoundrels 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 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 two scoundrels accused him before all the people of cursing God and the king. So he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. 14 The city officials 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 to claim it. 17 But the LORD said to Elijah, who was from Tishbe, 18 "Go down to meet King Ahab, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, taking possession of it. 19 Give him this message:`This is what the LORD says:Isn't killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!'" 20 "So my enemy has 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 The LORD is going to bring disaster to you and sweep you away. He will not let a single one of your male descendants, slave or free alike, survive in Israel! 22 He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin. 23 The LORD has also told me that the dogs of Jezreel will eat the body of your wife, Jezebel, at the city wall. 24 The members of your 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 did Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, influenced him. 26 He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites had done-- the people whom the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 27 When Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and went about in deep mourning. 28 Then another message from the LORD came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe: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 all his descendants."
But God's Good News was spreading rapidly, and there were many new believers. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them. 13:1 AMONG the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called "the black man"), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. 2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them." 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. 4 Sent out by the Holy Spirit, Saul and Barnabas went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. (John Mark went with them as their assistant.) 6 Afterward they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar- Jesus. 7 He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Saul and Barnabas said. He was trying to turn the governor away from the Christian faith. 9 Then Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked the sorcerer in the eye and said, 10 "You son of the Devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness." Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at what he learned about the Lord. 13 Now Paul and those with him left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, *landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But Barnabas and Paul traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message:"Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it!"
Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
as we thought of Jerusalem.
2 We put away our lyres,
hanging them on the branches of the willow trees.
3 For there our captors demanded a song of us.
Our tormentors requested 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 foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill upon 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 highest 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!
It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool who has no heart for wisdom
ACTS 12:24- 13:15
PSALM 137:1- 9
PROVERBS 17:16
Now 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 Israelite capital, 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 the best of your wives and children! '" 4 "All right, my lord," Ahab 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 people. They will take away everything you consider valuable!'" 7 Then Ahab summoned all the leaders of the land and said to them, "Look how this man is stirring up trouble! I already agreed when he sent the message demanding that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold." 8 "Don't give in to any more demands," the leaders and 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 this last demand of yours I simply cannot meet. '" So the messengers returned to Ben- hadad with the response. 10 Then Ben- hadad sent this message to Ahab:"May the gods bring tragedy on me, and even worse than that, if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide more than a handful for each of my soldiers." 11 The king of Israel sent back this answer:"A warrior still dressing for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won." 12 This reply of Ahab's 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. 13 Then a prophet came to see King Ahab 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 his army of seven thousand men. 16 About noontime, as Ben- hadad and the thirty- two allied kings were still in their tents getting drunk, 17 the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city. 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 by now Ahab's provincial commanders had led the army 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 others escaped on horses. 21 However, the other horses and chariots were destroyed, and the Arameans were killed in a great slaughter. 22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, "Get ready for another attack by the king of Aram next spring." 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 in the plains. There's not a shadow of a 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 moved into the 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 that the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the plains. So I will help you defeat this vast army. 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 behind the walls of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben- hadad fled into the city and hid in a secret room. 31 Ben- hadad's officers said to him, "Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are very merciful. So let's humble ourselves by wearing sackcloth and putting ropes on our heads. Then perhaps King Ahab will let you live." 32 So they put on sackcloth and ropes and 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 were quick to grasp at this straw of hope, and they replied, "Yes, 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 let you go under these conditions." So they made a treaty, and Ben- hadad was set free. 35 Meanwhile, the LORD instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, "Strike me!" But the man refused to strike 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 sure enough, when he had gone, a lion attacked and killed him. 37 Then the prophet turned to another man and said, "Strike me!" So he struck the prophet and wounded him. 38 The prophet waited for the king beside the road, having placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, "Sir, I was in the battle, and 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 determined your own judgment." 41 Then the prophet pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And the prophet told 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. 21:1 KING Ahab had a palace in Jezreel, and near the palace was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, "Since your vineyard is so convenient to the 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 in the world is the matter?" his wife, Jezebel, asked him. "What has made you so upset that you are not eating?" 6 "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to trade it, and he refused!" Ahab told her. 7 "Are you the king of Israel or not?" Jezebel asked. "Get up and eat 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 city where Naboth lived. 9 In her letters she commanded:"Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 Find two scoundrels 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 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 two scoundrels accused him before all the people of cursing God and the king. So he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. 14 The city officials 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 to claim it. 17 But the LORD said to Elijah, who was from Tishbe, 18 "Go down to meet King Ahab, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, taking possession of it. 19 Give him this message:`This is what the LORD says:Isn't killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!'" 20 "So my enemy has 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 The LORD is going to bring disaster to you and sweep you away. He will not let a single one of your male descendants, slave or free alike, survive in Israel! 22 He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin. 23 The LORD has also told me that the dogs of Jezreel will eat the body of your wife, Jezebel, at the city wall. 24 The members of your 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 did Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, influenced him. 26 He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites had done-- the people whom the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 27 When Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and went about in deep mourning. 28 Then another message from the LORD came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe: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 all his descendants."
But God's Good News was spreading rapidly, and there were many new believers. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them. 13:1 AMONG the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called "the black man"), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. 2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them." 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. 4 Sent out by the Holy Spirit, Saul and Barnabas went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. (John Mark went with them as their assistant.) 6 Afterward they preached from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar- Jesus. 7 He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, a man of considerable insight and understanding. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Saul and Barnabas said. He was trying to turn the governor away from the Christian faith. 9 Then Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked the sorcerer in the eye and said, 10 "You son of the Devil, full of every sort of trickery and villainy, enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness." Instantly mist and darkness fell upon him, and he began wandering around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at what he learned about the Lord. 13 Now Paul and those with him left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, *landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But Barnabas and Paul traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message:"Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it!"
Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
as we thought of Jerusalem.
2 We put away our lyres,
hanging them on the branches of the willow trees.
3 For there our captors demanded a song of us.
Our tormentors requested 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 foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill upon 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 highest 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!
It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool who has no heart for wisdom
