Day 134 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

2 Chronicles 30

1 And Ezekias sent to all Israel and Juda, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasse, that they should come into the house of the Lord to Jerusalem, to keep the passover to the Lord God of Israel. 2 For the king, and the princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, designed to keep the passover in the second month. 3 For they could not keep it at that time, because a sufficient number of priests had not purified themselves, and the people was not gathered to Jerusalem. 4 And the proposal pleased the king and the congregation. 5 And they established a decree that a proclamation should go through all Israel, from Bersabee to Dan, that they should come and keep the passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem: for the multitude had not done it lately according to the scripture. 6 And the posts went with the letters from the king and the princes to all Israel and Juda, according to the command of the king, saying, Children of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraam, and Isaac, and Israel, and bring back them that have escaped [even] those that were left of the hand of the king of Assyria. 7 And be not as your fathers, and your brethren, who revolted from the Lord God of their fathers, and he gave them up to desolation, as ye see. 8 And now harden not your hearts, as your fathers [did]: give glory to the Lord God, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, and he shall turn away [his] fierce anger from you. 9 For when ye turn to the Lord, your brethren and your children shall be pitied before all that have carried them captives, and he will restore [you] to this land: for the Lord our God is merciful and pitiful, and will not turn away his face from you, if we return to him. 10 So the posts went through from city to city in mount Ephraim, and Manasse, and as far as Zabulon: and they as it were laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. 11 But the men of Aser, and [some] of Manasses and of Zabulon, were ashamed, and came to Jerusalem and Juda. 12 And the hand of the Lord was [present] to give them one heart to come, to do according to the commands of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord. 13 And a great multitude were gathered to Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. 14 And they arose, and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all on which they burnt incense to false [gods] they tore down and cast into the brook Kedron. 15 Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites repented, and purified [themselves], and brought whole-burnt-offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 And they stood at their post, according to their ordinance, according to the commandment of Moses the man of God: and the priests received the blood from the hand of the Levites. 17 For a great part of the congregation was not sanctified; and the Levites were [ready] to kill the passover for every one who could not sanctify himself to the Lord. 18 For the greatest part of the people of Ephraim, and Manasse, and Issachar, and Zabulon, had not purified [themselves], but ate the passover contrary to the scripture. On this account also Ezekias prayed concerning them, saying, 19 The good Lord be merciful with regard to every heart that sincerely seeks the Lord God of their fathers, and [is] not [purified] according to the purification of the sanctuary. 20 And the Lord hearkened to Ezekias, and healed the people. 21 And the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy; and they continued to sing hymns to the Lord daily, and the priests and the Levites [played] on instruments to the Lord. 22 And Ezekias encouraged all the Levites, and those that had good understanding of the Lord: and they completely kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days, offering peace-offerings, and confessing to the Lord God of their fathers. 23 And the congregation purposed together to keep other seven days: and they kept seven days with gladness. 24 For Ezekias set apart for Juda, [even] for the congregation, a thousand calves and seven thousand sheep; and the princes set apart for the people a thousand calves and ten thousand sheep: and the holy things of the priests abundantly. 25 And all the congregation, the priests and the Levites, rejoiced, and all the congregation of Juda, and they that were present of Jerusalem, and the strangers that came from the land of Israel, and the dwellers in Juda. 26 And there was great joy in Jerusalem: from the days of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not such a feast in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests the Levites rose up and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came into his holy dwelling-place, [even] into heaven.

2 Chronicles 31

1 And when all these things were finished, all Israel that were found in the cities of Juda went out, and broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the groves, and tore down the high places and the altars out of all Judea and Benjamin, also of Ephraim and Manasse, till they made an end: and all Israel returned, every one to his inheritance, and to their cities. 2 And Ezekias appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites, and the courses of each one according to his ministry, to the priests and to the Levites, for the whole-burnt-offering, and for the peace-offering, and to praise, and to give thanks, and to minister in the gates [and] in the courts of the house of the Lord. 3 And the king's proportion out of his substance [was appointed] for the whole-burnt-offerings, the morning and the evening one, and the whole-burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the feasts that were ordered in the law of the Lord. 4 And they told the people who dwelt in Jerusalem, to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be strong in the ministry of the house of the Lord. 5 And as he gave the command, Israel brought abundantly first-fruits of corn, and wine, and oil, and honey, and every fruit of the field: and the children of Israel and Juda brought tithes of everything abundantly. 6 And they that dwelt in the cities of Juda themselves also brought tithes of calves and sheep, and tithes of goats, and consecrated them to the Lord their God, and they brought them and laid them in heaps. 7 In the third month the heaps began to be piled, and in the seventh month they were finished. 8 And Ezekias and the princes came and saw the heaps, and blessed the Lord, and his people Israel. 9 Then Ezekias enquired of the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 And Azarias the priest, the chief over the house of Sadoc, spoke to him, and said, From the time that the first-fruits began to be brought into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and drunk, and left even abundantly; for the Lord has blessed his people, and we have left to this amount. 11 And Ezekias told them yet farther to prepare chambers for the house of the Lord; and they prepared [them], 12 and they brought thither the first-fruits and the tithes faithfully: and Chonenias the Levite was superintendent over them, and Semei his brother was next. 13 And Jeiel, and Ozias, and Naeth, and Asael, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Samachia, and Maath, and Banaias, and his sons, were appointed by Chonenias and Semei his brother, as Ezekias the king, and Azarias who was over the house of the Lord commanded. 14 And Core, the [son] of Jemna the Levite, the porter eastward, [was] over the gifts, to distribute the first-fruits of the Lord, and the most holy things, 15 by the hand of Odom, and Benjamin, and Jesus, and Semei, and Amarias, and Sechonias, by the hand of the priests faithfully, to give to their brethren according to the courses, as well to great as small; 16 besides the increase of males from three years old and upward, to every one entering into the house of the Lord, [a portion] according to a daily rate, for service in the daily courses of their order. 17 This [is] the distribution of the priests according to the houses of their families; and the Levites in their daily courses from twenty years old and upward [were] in [their] order, 18 to assign stations for all the increase of their sons and their daughters, for the whole number: for they faithfully sanctified the holy place. 19 As for the sons of Aaron that executed the priests' office,—even those from their cities, the men in each several city who were named expressly,—[were appointed] to give a portion to every male among the priests, and to every one reckoned among the Levites. 20 And Ezekias did so through all Juda, and did that which was good and right before the Lord his God. 21 And in every work which he began in service in the house of the Lord, and in the law, and in the ordinances, he sought his God with all his soul, and wrought, and prospered.

2 Chronicles 32

1 And after these things and this faithful dealing, came Sennacherim king of the Assyrians, and he came to Juda, and encamped against the fortified cities, and intended to take them for himself. 2 And Ezekias saw that Sennacherim was come, and [that] his face [was set] to fight against Jerusalem. 3 And he took counsel with his elders and his mighty [men] to stop the wells of water which were without the city: and they helped him. 4 And he collected many people, and stopped the wells of water, and the river that flowed through the city, saying, Lest the king of Assyria come, and find much water, and strengthen [himself]. 5 And Ezekias strengthened [himself], and built all the wall that had been pulled down, and the towers, and another wall in front without, and fortified the strong place of the city of David, and prepared arms in abundance. 6 And he appointed captains of war over the people, and they were gathered to [meet] him to the open place of the gate of the valley, and he encouraged them, saying, 7 Be strong and courageous, and fear not, neither be dismayed before the king of Assyria, and before all the nation that [is] with him: for [there are] more with us than with him. 8 With him [are] arms of flesh; but with us [is] the Lord our God to save [us], and to fight our battle. And the people were encouraged at the words of Ezekias king of Juda. 9 And afterward Sennacherim king of the Assyrians sent his servants to Jerusalem; and [he went] himself against Lachis, and all his army with him, and sent to Ezekias king of Juda, and to all Juda that [was] in Jerusalem, saying, 10 Thus says Sennacherim king of the Assyrians, On what do ye trust, that ye will remain in the siege in Jerusalem? 11 Does not Ezekias deceive you, to deliver you to death and famine and thirst, saying, The Lord our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 12 Is not this Ezekias who has taken down his altars and his high places, and has spoken to Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before this altar, and burn incense upon it? 13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done to all the nations of the countries? Could the gods of the nations of all the earth at all rescue their people out of my hand? 14 Who is there among all the gods of those nations whom my fathers utterly destroyed, [worthy of trust]? Could they deliver their people out of my hand, that your God should deliver you out of my hand? 15 Now then, let not Ezekias deceive you, and let him not make you thus confident, and believe him not: for no god of any kingdom or nation is at all able to deliver his people out of my hand, or the hand of my fathers: therefore your God shall not deliver you out of my hand. 16 And his servants continued to speak against the Lord God, and against his servant Ezekias. 17 And he wrote a letter to reproach the Lord God of Israel, and spoke concerning him, saying, As the gods of the nations of the earth have not delivered their people out of my hand, so the God of Ezekias shall by no means deliver his people out of my hand. 18 And he cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language to the people of Jerusalem on the wall, [calling them] to assist them, and pull down [the walls], that they might take the city. 19 And he spoke against the God of Jerusalem, even as against the gods of the nations of the earth, the works of the hands of men. 20 And king Ezekias and Esaias the prophet the son of Amos prayed concerning these things, and they cried to heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, and he destroyed every mighty man and warrior, and leader and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria: and he returned with shame of face to his own land and came into the house of his god: and [some] of them that came out of his bowels slew him with the sword. 22 So the Lord delivered Ezekias and the dwellers in Jerusalem out of the hand of Sennacherim king of Assyria, and out of the hand of all [his enemies], and gave them rest round about. 23 And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Ezekias king of Juda; and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after these things. 24 In those days Ezekias was sick even to death, and prayed to the Lord: and he hearkened to him, and gave him a sign. 25 But Ezekias did not recompense the Lord according to the return which he made him, but his heart was lifted up: and wrath came upon him, and upon Juda and Jerusalem. 26 And Ezekias humbled himself after the exaltation of his heart, he and the dwellers in Jerusalem; and the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Ezekias. 27 And Ezekias had wealth and very great glory: and he made for himself treasuries of gold, and silver, and precious stones, also for spices, and stores for arms, and for precious vessels; 28 and cities for the produce of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls and mangers for every [kind of] cattle, and folds for flocks; 29 and cities which he built for himself, and store of sheep and oxen in abundance, for the Lord gave him a very great store. 30 The same Ezekias stopped up the course of the water of Gion above, and brought the water down straight south of the city of David. And Ezekias prospered in all his works. 31 Notwithstanding, in regard to the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who were sent to him to enquire of him [concerning] the prodigy which came upon the land, the Lord left him, to try him, to know what was in his heart. 32 And the rest of the acts of Ezekias, and his kindness, behold, they are written in the prophecy of Esaias the son of Amos the prophet, and in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel. 33 And Ezekias slept with his fathers, and they buried him in a high place among the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem gave him glory and honour at his death. And Manasses his son reigned in his stead.

Acts 7

1 The high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your land and away from your relatives, and come into a land which I will show you.’ 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his offspring after him, when he still had no child. 6 God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 7 ‘I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and serve me in this place.’ 8 He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt. God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time. 13 On the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. 14 Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his relatives, seventy-five souls. 15 Jacob went down into Egypt and he died, himself and our fathers; 16 and they were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Hamor of Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise came close which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until there arose a different king who didn’t know Joseph. 19 The same took advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers, and forced them to abandon their babies, so that they wouldn’t stay alive. 20 At that time Moses was born, and was exceedingly handsome to God. He was nourished three months in his father’s house. 21 When he was abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up and reared him as her own son. 22 Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works. 23 But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 Seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him and avenged him who was oppressed, striking the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers understood that God, by his hand, was giving them deliverance; but they didn’t understand. 26 “The day following, he appeared to them as they fought, and urged them to be at peace again, saying, ‘Sirs, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Moses fled at this saying, and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 “When forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight. As he came close to see, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you into Egypt.’ 35 “This Moses whom they refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—God has sent him as both a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord our God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me.’ 38 This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living revelations to give to us, 39 to whom our fathers wouldn’t be obedient, but rejected him and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 41 They made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them up to serve the army of the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘Did you offer to me slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You took up the tabernacle of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship, so I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’ 44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen; 45 which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations whom God drove out before the face of our fathers to the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built him a house. 48 However, the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says, 49 ‘heaven is my throne, and the earth a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me?’ says the Lord. ‘Or what is the place of my rest? 50 Didn’t my hand make all these things?’ 51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do. 52 Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers. 53 You received the law as it was ordained by angels, and didn’t keep it!” 54 Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears, then rushed at him with one accord. 58 They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.