Day 127 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

2 Chronicles 9

1 And the queen of Saba heard [of] the name of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem with a very large force, to prove Solomon with hard questions, and [she had] camels bearing spices in abundance, and gold, and precious stones: and she came to Solomon, and told him all that was in her mind. 2 And Solomon told her all her words; and there passed not a word from Solomon which he told her not. 3 And the queen of Saba saw the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, 4 and the meat of the tables, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their raiment; and his cupbearers, and their apparel; and the whole-burnt-offerings which he offered up in the house of the Lord; then she was in ecstasy. 5 And she said to the king, [It was] a true report which I heard in my land concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. 6 Yet I believed not the reports until I came, and my eyes saw: and, behold, the half of the abundance of thy wisdom was not told me: thou hast exceeded the report which I heard. 7 Blessed [are] thy men, blessed [are] these thy servants, who stand before thee continually, and hear thy wisdom. 8 Blessed be the Lord thy God, who took pleasure in thee, to set thee upon his throne for a king, to the Lord thy God: forasmuch as the Lord thy God loved Israel to establish them for ever, therefore he has set thee over them for a king to execute judgment and justice. 9 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones: and there were not [any where else] such spices as those which the queen of Saba gave king Solomon. 10 And the servants of Solomon and the servants of Chiram brought gold to Solomon out of Suphir, and pine timber, and precious stones. 11 And the king made of the pine timber steps to the house of the Lord, and to the king's house, and harps and lutes for the singers: and such were not seen before in the land of Juda. 12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Saba all that she requested, besides all that she brought to king Solomon: and she returned to her [own] land. 13 And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the men who were regularly appointed and the merchants brought, and all the kings of Arabia and princes of the land: all brought gold and silver to king Solomon. 15 And king Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold: there were six hundred [shekels] of pure gold to one shield. 16 And three hundred bucklers of beaten gold: [the weight] of three hundred gold shekels went to one buckler: and the king placed them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 17 And the king made a great throne of ivory, and he gilded it with pure gold. 18 And [there were] six steps to the throne, riveted with gold, and elbows on either side of the seat of the throne, and two lions standing by the elbows: 19 and twelve lions standing there on the six steps on each side. There was not the like in any [other] kingdom. 20 And all king Solomon's vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were covered with gold: silver was not thought anything of in the days of Solomon. 21 For a ship went for the king to Tharsis with the servants of Chiram: once every three years came vessels from Tharsis to the king, laden with gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes. 22 And Solomon exceeded all [other] kings both in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 And they brought every one his gifts, silver vessels and golden vessels, and raiment, myrrh and spices, horses and mules, a rate every year. 25 And Solomon had four thousand mares for chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he put them in the chariot cities, and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he ruled over all the kings from the river even to the land of the Philistines, and to the borders of Egypt. 27 And the king made gold and silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as the sycamore trees in the plain for abundance. 28 And Solomon imported horses from Egypt, and from every [other] country. 29 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, the first and the last, behold, these are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the words of Achia the Selonite, and in the visions of Joel the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nabat. 30 And Solomon reigned over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon fell asleep, and they buried him in the city of David his father: and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.

2 Chronicles 10

1 And Roboam came to Sychem: for all Israel came to Sychem to make him king. 2 And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nabat heard [it], (now he was in Egypt, forasmuch as he had fled thither from the face of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt,) that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him: and Jeroboam and all the congregation came to Roboam, saying, 4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now then abate [somewhat] of thy father's grievous rule, and of his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve thee. 5 And he said to them, Go away for three days, and [then] come to me. So the people departed. 6 And king Roboam assembled the elders that stood before his father Solomon in his life-time, saying, How do ye counsel [me] to return an answer to this people? 7 And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wouldest this day befriend this people, and be kind to them, and speak to them good words, then will they be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the advice of the old men, who took counsel with him, and he took counsel with the young men who had been brought up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, What do ye advise that I should answer this people, who spoke to me, saying, Ease [somewhat] of the yoke which thy father laid upon us? 10 And the young men that had been brought up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak to the people that spoke to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and do thou lighten [somewhat of it] from us; thus shalt thou say, My little finger [shall be] thicker than my father's loins. 11 And whereas my father chastised you with a heavy yoke, I will also add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, and I will chastise you with scorpions. 12 And Jeroboam and all the people came to Roboam on the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, Return to me on the third day. 13 And the king answered harshly; and king Roboam forsook the counsel of the old men, 14 and spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 And the king hearkened not to the people, for there was a change [of their minds] from God, saying, The Lord has confirmed his word, which he spoke by the hand of Achia the Selonite concerning Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and [concerning] all Israel; 16 for the king did not hearken to them. And the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David, or inheritance in the son of Jessæ? to thy tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But the men of Israel, even those who dwelt in the cities of Juda, [remained] and made Roboam king over them. 18 And king Roboam sent to them Adoniram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. And king Roboam hasted to mount [his] chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David until this day.

2 Chronicles 11

1 And Roboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled Juda and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand young men fit for war, and he waged war with Israel to recover the kingdom to Roboam. 2 And the word of the Lord came to Samaias the man of God, saying, 3 Speak to Roboam the [son] of Solomon, and to all Juda and Benjamin, saying, 4 Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, and ye shall not war against your brethren: return every one to his home; for this thing is of me. And they hearkened to the word of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam. 5 And Roboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and he built walled cities in Judæa. 6 And he built Bethleem, and Ætan and Thecoe, 7 and Bæthsura, and Sochoth, and Odollam, 8 and Geth, and Marisa, and Ziph, 9 and Adorai, and Lachis, and Azeca, 10 and Saraa, and Ælom, and Chebron, which belongs to Juda and Benjamin, walled cities. 11 And he fortified them with walls, and placed in them captains, and stores of provisions, oil and wine, 12 shields and spears in every several city, and he fortified them very strongly, and he had on his side Juda and Benjamin. 13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel were gathered to him out of all the coasts. 14 For the Levites left the tents of their possession, and went to Juda to Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had ejected them so that they should not minister to the Lord. 15 And he made for himself priests of the high places, and for the idols, and for the vanities, and for the calves which Jeroboam made. 16 And he cast out from the tribes of Israel those who set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel: and they came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. 17 And they strengthened the kingdom of Juda; and [Juda] strengthened Roboam the [son] of Solomon for three years, for he walked three years in the ways of David and Solomon. 18 And Roboam took to himself for a wife Moolath daughter of Jerimuth the son of David, and Abigaia daughter of Heliab the son of Jessæ. 19 And she bore him sons; Jeus, and Samoria, and Zaam. 20 And afterwards he took to himself Maacha the daughter of Abessalom; and she bore him Abia, and Jetthi, and Zeza, and Salemoth. 21 And Roboam loved Maacha the daughter of Abessalom more than all his wives and all his concubines: for he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines; and he begot twenty-eight sons, and sixty daughters. 22 And he made Abia the son of Maacha chief, [even] a leader among his brethren, for he intended to make him king. 23 And he was exalted beyond all his [other] sons in all the coasts of Juda and Benjamin, and in the strong cities; and he gave them provisions in great abundance: and he desired many wives.

Acts 2

1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. 6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? 8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabians—we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” 12 They were all amazed and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. 15 For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. 18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know, 23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; 24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope, 27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. 28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ 36 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40 With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. 43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. 46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.