Day 147 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Nehemiah 12

1 Now these [are] the priests and the Levites that went up with Zorobabel the son of Salathiel and Jesus: Saraia, Jeremia, Esdra, 2 Amaria, Maluch, 3 Sechenia. 7 These [were] the chiefs of the priests, and their brethren in the days of Jesus. 8 And the Levites [were], Jesus, Banui, Cadmiel, Sarabia, Jodae, Matthania: he [was] over the bands, and his brethren 9 [were appointed] to the daily courses. 10 And Jesus begot Joakim, and Joakim begot Eliasib, and Eliasib [begot] Jodae, 11 and Jodae begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jadu. 12 And in the days of Joakim, his brethren the priests and the heads of families [were, belonging] to Saraia, Amaria; to Jeremia, Anania; 13 to Esdra, Mesulam; to Amaria, Joanan; 14 to Amaluch, Jonathan; to Sechenia, Joseph; 15 to Are, Mannas; to Marioth, Elcaï; 16 to Adadai, Zacharia; to Ganathoth, Mesolam; 17 to Abia, Zechri; to Miamin, Maadai; to Pheleti, [one]; 18 to Balgas, Samue; to Semia, Jonathan; 19 to Joarib, Matthanai; to Edio, Ozi; 20 to Salai, Callai; to Amec, Abed; 21 to Elkia, Asabias; to Jedeiu, Nathanael. 22 The Levites in the days of Eliasib, Joada, and Joa, and Joanan, and Idua, [were] recorded heads of families: also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 And the sons of Levi, heads of families, [were] written in the book of the chronicles, even to the days of Joanan son of Elisue. 24 And the heads of the Levites [were] Asabia, and Sarabia, and Jesu: and the sons of Cadmiel, and their brethren over against them, were to sing hymns of praise, according to the commandment of David the man of God, course by course. 25 When I gathered the porters, 26 [it was] in the days of Joakim son of Jesus, son of Josedec, and in the days of Neemia: and Esdras the priest [was] scribe. 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep a feast of dedication and gladness with thanksgiving, and they sounded cymbals with songs, and [had] psalteries and harps. 28 And the sons of the singers were assembled both from the neighbourhood round about to Jerusalem, and from the villages, 29 and from the country: for the singers built themselves villages by Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people, and the porters, and the wall. 31 And they brought up the princes of Juda on the wall, and they appointed two great [companies] for thanksgiving, and they passed on the right hand on the wall of the dung-gate. 32 And after them went Osaia, and half the princes of Juda, 33 and Azarias, and Esdras, and Mesollam, 34 and Juda, and Benjamin, and Samaias and Jeremia. 35 And [some] of the sons of the priests with trumpets, Zacharias son of Jonathan, son of Samaias, son of Matthania, son of Michaia, son of Zacchur, son of Asaph: 36 and his brethren, Samaia, and Oziel, Gelol, Jama, Aia, Nathanael, and Juda, Anani, to praise with the hymns of David the man of God; 37 and Esdras the scribe [was] before them, at the gate, to praise before them, and they went up by the steps of the city of David, in the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, even to the water-gate 39 of Ephraim, and to the fish-gate, and by the tower of Anameel, and as far as the sheep-gate. 42 And the singers were heard, and were numbered. 43 And in that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced; for God had made them very joyful: and their wives and their children rejoiced: and the joy in Jerusalem was heard from afar off. 44 And in that day they appointed men over the treasuries, for the treasures, the first-fruits, and the tithes, and [for] the chiefs of the cities who were assembled among them, [to furnish] portions for the priests and Levites: for [there was] joy in Juda over the priests and over the Levites that waited. 45 And they kept the charges of their God, and the charges of the purification, and [ordered] the singers and the porters, according to the commandments of David and his son Solomon. 46 For in the days of David Asaph was originally first of the singers, and [they sang] hymns and praise to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zorobabel, and in the days of Neemias, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, a daily rate: and consecrated them to the Levites: and the Levites consecrated them to the sons of Aaron.

Nehemiah 13

1 In that day they read in the book of Moses in the ears of the people; and it was found written in it, that the Ammonites and Moabites should not enter into the congregation of God for ever; 2 because they met not the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them: but our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 And it came to pass, when they heard the law, that they were separated, [even] every alien in Israel. 4 And before this time Eliasib the priest dwelt in the treasury of the house of our God, connected with Tobias; 5 and he made himself a great treasury, and there they were formerly in the habit of bestowing the offerings, and the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the corn, and the wine, and the oil, the ordered portion of the Levites, and singers, and porters; and the first-fruits of the priests. 6 But in all this [time] I was not in Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Arthasastha king of Babylon I came to the king, and after a certain time I made my request of the king; 7 and I came to Jerusalem, and I understood the mischief which Eliasib had done in the case of Tobias, in making for him a treasury in the court of the house of God. 8 And it appeared very evil to me: so I cast forth all the furniture of the house of Tobias from the treasury. 9 And I gave orders, and they purified the treasuries: and I restored thither the vessels of the house of God, [and] the offerings, and the frankincense. 10 And I understood that the portion of the Levites had not been given: and they had fled every one to his field, the Levites and the singers doing the work. 11 And I strove with the commanders, and said, Wherefore has the house of God been abandoned? and I assembled them, and set them in their place. 12 And all Juda brought a tithe of the wheat and the wine and the oil into the treasuries, 13 to the charge of Selemia the priest, and Sadoc the scribe, and Phadæa of the Levites: and next to them [was] Anan the son of Zacchur, son of Matthanias; for they were accounted faithful: [it was] their office to distribute to their brethren. 14 Remember me, O God, in this, and let not my kindness be forgotten which I have wrought in [regard to] the house of the Lord God. 15 In those days I saw in Juda [men] treading wine-presses on the sabbath, and carrying sheaves, and loading asses with both wine, and grapes, and figs, and every [kind of] burden, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the sabbath-day: 16 and I testified in the day of their sale. Also there dwelt in it [men] bringing fish, and selling every [kind of] merchandise to the children of Juda and in Jerusalem on the sabbath. 17 And I strove with the free children of Juda, and said to them, What [is] this evil thing which ye do, and profane the sabbath-day? 18 Did not your fathers thus, and our God brought upon them and upon us and upon this city all these evils? and do ye bring additional wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath? 19 And it came to pass, when the gates were set up in Jerusalem, before the sabbath, that I spoke, and they shut the gates; and I gave orders that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and I set [some] of my servants at the gates, that none should bring [in] burdens on the sabbath-day. 20 So all [the merchants] lodged, and carried on traffic without Jerusalem once or twice. 21 Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do ye lodge in front of the wall? if ye do so again, I will stretch out my hand upon you. From that time they came not on the sabbath. 22 And I told the Levites who were purifying themselves, and came and kept the gates, that they should sanctify the sabbath-day. Remember me, O God, for these things, and spare me according to the abundance of thy mercy. 23 And in those days I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, [and] of Moab: 24 and their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and did not know how to speak in the Jewish language. 25 And I strove with them and cursed them; and I smote some of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, [saying], Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, and ye shall not take of their daughters to your sons. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin thus? though there was no king like him among many nations, and he was beloved of God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet strange women turned him aside. 27 So we will not hearken to you to do all this evil, to break covenant with our God,—to marry strange wives. 28 And Elisub the high priest, [one] of the sons of Joada, [being] son-in-law of Sanaballat the Uranite, I chased him away from me. 29 Remember them, O God, for their [false] connection with the priesthood, and [the breaking] the covenant of the priesthood, and [for defiling] the Levites. 30 So I purged them from all foreign connection, and established courses for the priests and the Levites, [every] man according to his work. 31 And the offering of the wood-bearers [was] at certain set times, and in the [times of the] first-fruits. Remember me, O our God, for good.

Tobit 1

1 The book of the words of Tobit, the [son] of Tobiel, the son of Ananiel, the son of Aduel, the son of Gabael, of the seed of Asael, of the tribe of Nephthali; 2 who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is called properly Nephthali in Galilee above Aser. 3 I Tobit have walked all the days of my life in the way of truth and justice, and I did many alms-deeds to my brethren, and my nation, who came with me to Nineve, into the land of the Assyrians. 4 And when I was in mine own country, in the land of Israel, being but young, all the tribe of Nephthali my father fell from the house of Jerusalem, which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, that all the tribes should sacrifice [there], and, [where] the temple of the habitation of the most High was consecrated and built for all ages. 5 Now all the tribes which together revolted, and the house of my father Nephthali, sacrificed unto the heifer Baal. 6 But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it was ordained unto all the people of Israel by an everlasting decree, having the first-fruits and tenths of increase, with that which was first shorn; and them gave I at the altar to the priests the children of Aaron. 7 The first tenth part of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who ministered at Jerusalem: another tenth part I sold away, and went, and spent it every year at Jerusalem: 8 and the third I gave unto them to whom it was meet, as Debora my father's mother had commanded me, because I was left an orphan by my father. 9 Furthermore, when I was come to the age of a man, I married Anna of mine own kindred, and of her I begat Tobias. 10 And when we were carried away captives to Nineve, all my brethren and those that were of my kindred did eat of the bread of the Gentiles. 11 But I kept myself from eating; 12 because I remembered God with all my heart. 13 And the most High gave me grace and favour before Enemessar, so that I was his purveyor. 14 And I went into Media, and left in trust with Gabael, the brother of Gabrias, at Rages a city of Media, ten talents of silver. 15 Now when Enemessar was dead, Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead; whose estate was troubled, that I could not go into Media. 16 And in the time of Enemessar I gave many alms to my brethren, and gave my bread to the hungry, 17 and my clothes to the naked: and if I saw any of my nation dead, or cast about the walls of Nineve, I buried him. 18 And if the king Sennacherib had slain any, when he was come, and fled from Judea, I buried them privily; for in his wrath he killed many; but the bodies were not found, when they were sought for of the king. 19 And when one of the Ninevites went and complained of me to the king, that I buried them, and hid myself; understanding that I was sought for to be put to death, I withdrew myself for fear. 20 Then all my goods were forcibly taken away, neither was there any thing left me, beside my wife Anna and my son Tobias. 21 And there passed not fifty days, before two of his sons killed him, and they fled into the mountains of Ararath; and Sarchedonus his son reigned in his stead; who appointed over his father's accounts, and over all his affairs, Achiacharus my brother Anael's son. 22 And Achiacharus intreating for me, I returned to Nineve. Now Achiacharus was cupbearer, and keeper of the signet, and steward, and overseer of the accounts: and Sarchedonus appointed him next unto him: and he was my brother's son.

Acts 16

1 He came to Derbe and Lystra; and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him. 3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem. 5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. 6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. 8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them. 11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us. The Lord opened her heart to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. 15 When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” So she persuaded us. 16 As we were going to prayer, a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling. 17 Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!” 18 She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” It came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are agitating our city 21 and advocate customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” 22 The multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates tore their clothes from them, then commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received such a command, he threw them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosened. 27 The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, “Don’t harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, 30 brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household. 34 He brought them up into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with all his household, having believed in God. 35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!” 38 The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city. 40 They went out of the prison and entered into Lydia’s house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, then departed.