Today's Reading

¹Behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Beth El: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.

²He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, "Altar, altar, thus says the Lord: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name. On you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and they will burn men's bones on you.'"

³He gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Behold, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out."

⁴It happened, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him!" His hand, which he put out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to himself.

⁵The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

⁶The king answered the man of God, "Now entreat the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again." The man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

⁷The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."

⁸The man of God said to the king, "Even if you gave me half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place;

⁹for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that you came.'"

¹⁰So he went another way, and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

¹¹Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

¹²Their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" Now his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.

¹³He said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it.

¹⁴He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. He said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" He said, "I am."

¹⁵Then he said to him, "Come home with me, and eat bread."

¹⁶He said, "I may not return with you, nor go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place.

¹⁷For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, 'You shall eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that you came.'"

¹⁸He said to him, "I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'" He lied to him.

¹⁹So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

²⁰It happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who brought him back;

²¹and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because you have been disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you,

²²but came back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, "Eat no bread, and drink no water"; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.'"

²³It happened, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.

²⁴When he had gone, a lion met him by the way, and killed him. His body was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body.

²⁵Behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.

²⁶When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God who was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion, which has mauled him and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him."

²⁷He spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle the donkey for me." They saddled it.

²⁸He went and found his body cast in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor mauled the donkey.

²⁹The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to the city of the old prophet to mourn, and to bury him.

³⁰He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!"

³¹It happened, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.

³²For the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely happen."

³³After this thing Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again made priests of the high places from among all the people. Whoever wanted to, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.

³⁴This thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the surface of the earth.

¹At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

²Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please get up and disguise yourself, that you won't be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Go to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people.

³Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the child."

⁴Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

⁵The Lord said to Ahijah, "Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall tell her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman."

⁶It was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, "Come in, you wife of Jeroboam! Why do you pretend to be another? For I am sent to you with heavy news.

⁷Go, tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: "Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel,

⁸and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it you; and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes,

⁹but have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made you other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back:

¹⁰therefore, behold, I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who urinates on a wall, he who is shut up and he who is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweeps away dung, until it is all gone.

¹¹He who dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and he who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat: for the Lord has spoken it."'

¹²Arise therefore, and go to your house. When your feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

¹³All Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.

¹⁴Moreover the Lord will raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is day! What? Even now.

¹⁵For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger.

¹⁶He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he has sinned, and with which he has made Israel to sin."

¹⁷Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.

¹⁸All Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

²⁰The days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

²¹Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

²²Judah did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done.

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

²⁴and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord drove out before the children of Israel.

²⁵It happened in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;

²⁶and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

²⁷King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house.

²⁸It was so, that as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard bore them, and brought them back into the guard room.

²⁹Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

³⁰There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

³¹Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijam his son reigned in his place.

¹Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah.

²He reigned three years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

³He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

⁴Nevertheless for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem;

⁵because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his place.

⁹In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah.

¹⁰He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.

¹²He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁴But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days.

¹⁵He brought into the house of the Lord the things that his father had dedicated, and the things that himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

¹⁶There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,

¹⁹"There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me."

²⁰Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

²¹It happened, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.

²²Then king Asa made a proclamation to all Judah; none was exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and king Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

²³Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

²⁴Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

²⁵Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years.

²⁶He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

²⁷Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed him, and reigned in his place.

²⁹It happened that, as soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam: he did not leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him; according to the saying of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite;

³⁰for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and with which he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.

³¹Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

³²There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah for twenty-four years.

³⁴He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

¹Now in the church that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

²As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them."

³Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

⁴So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.

⁵When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had also John as their attendant.

⁶When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus,

⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.

⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.

⁹But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him,

¹⁰and said, "Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

¹¹Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!" Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

¹²Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

¹³Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁴But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.

¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak."

¹⁶Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.

¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as foreigners in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.

¹⁸For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

¹⁹When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance

²⁰for about four hundred fifty years. After these things he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

²¹Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²²When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'

²³From this man's seed, according to his promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,

²⁴before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵As John was fulfilling his course, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'

²⁶Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to us.

²⁷For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

²⁸Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.

²⁹When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and placed him in a tomb.

³⁰But God raised him from the dead,

³¹and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.

³²We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,

³³that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son. Today I have become your father.'

³⁴"Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'

³⁵Therefore he says also in another psalm, 'You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.'

³⁶For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was placed with his fathers, and saw decay.

³⁷But he whom God raised up saw no decay.

³⁸Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins,

³⁹and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the Prophets:

⁴¹'Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.'"

⁴²So when they went out they begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

⁴³Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴The next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of the Lord.

⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.

⁴⁶Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, "It was necessary that God's word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

⁴⁷For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, 'I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.'"

⁴⁸As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The Lord's word was spread abroad throughout all the region.

⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.

⁵¹But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.

⁵²The disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit.

¹ Hear my prayer, Lord! Let my cry come to you.

²Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call.

³For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a firebrand.

⁴My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.

⁵By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin.

⁶I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places.

⁷I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop.

⁸My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse.

⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,

¹⁰Because of your indignation and your wrath, for you have taken me up, and thrown me away.

¹¹My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.

¹²But you, Lord, will abide forever; your renown endures to all generations.

¹³You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.

¹⁴For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust.

¹⁵So the nations will fear the name of the Lord; all the kings of the earth your glory.

¹⁶For the Lord has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory.

¹⁷He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.

¹⁸This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise Yah.

¹⁹For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, the Lord saw the earth;

²⁰to hear the groans of the prisoner; to free those who are condemned to death;

²¹that men may declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;

²²when the peoples are gathered together, the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

²³He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days.

²⁴I said, "My God, do not take me away in the midst of my days. Your years are throughout all generations.

²⁵Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.

²⁷But you are the same. Your years will have no end.

²⁸The children of your servants will continue. Their seed will be established before you."

¹Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.

²She has prepared her meat. She has mixed her wine. She has also set her table.

³She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:

⁴"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,

⁵"Come, eat some of my bread, Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!

⁶Leave your simple ways, and live. Walk in the way of understanding."

⁷He who corrects a mocker invites insult. He who reproves a wicked man invites abuse.

⁸Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹Instruct a wise man, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹For by me your days will be multiplied. The years of your life will be increased.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. If you mock, you alone will bear it.

¹³The foolish woman is loud, Undisciplined, and knows nothing.

¹⁴She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

¹⁵To call to those who pass by, who go straight on their ways,

¹⁶"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here." as for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,

¹⁷"Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant."

¹⁸But he doesn't know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.