Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (150 page)
Better to be poor and honest than rich
*
and dishonest.
2
It is dangerous and sinful to rush into the unknown.
3
A man may ruin his chances by his own foolishness and then blame it on the Lord!
July 12Some men from Manasseh deserted the Israeli army and joined David just as he was going into battle with the Philistines against King Saul. But as it turned out, the Philistine generals refused to let David and his men go with them. After much discussion they sent them back, for they were afraid that David and his men would imperil them by deserting to King Saul.
20
Here is a list of the men from Manasseh who deserted to David as he was en route to Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, Zillethai.
Each was a high-ranking officer of Manasseh’s troops.
21
They were brave and able warriors, and they assisted David when he fought against the Amalek raiders at Ziklag.
*
22
More men joined David almost every day until he had a tremendous army—the army of God.
23
Here is the registry of recruits who joined David at Hebron. They were all anxious to see David become king instead of Saul, just as the Lord had said would happen.
24-37
From Judah, 6,800 troops armed with shields and spears.
From the tribe of Simeon, 7,100 outstanding warriors.
From the Levites, 4,600.
From the priests—descendants of Aaron—there were 3,700 troops under the command of Zadok, a young man of unusual courage, and Jehoiada. (He and twenty-two members of his family were officers of the fighting priests.)
From the tribe of Benjamin, the same tribe Saul was from, there were 3,000. (Most of that tribe retained its allegiance to Saul.)
From the tribe of Ephraim, 20,800 mighty warriors, each famous in his respective clan.
From the half-tribe of Manasseh, 18,000 were sent for the express purpose of helping David become king.
From the tribe of Issachar there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives—all men who understood the temper of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.
From the tribe of Zebulun there were 50,000 trained warriors; they were fully armed and totally loyal to David.
From Naphtali there were 1,000 officers and 37,000 troops equipped with shields and spears.
From the tribe of Dan there were 28,600 troops, all of them prepared for war.
From the tribe of Asher, there were 40,000 trained and ready troops.
From the other side of the Jordan River—where the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh lived—there were 120,000 troops equipped with every kind of weapon.
38
All these men came in battle array to Hebron with the single purpose of making David the king of Israel. In fact, all of Israel was ready for this change.
39
They feasted and drank with David for three days, for preparations had been made for their arrival.
40
People from nearby and from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Vast supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, oil, cattle, and sheep were brought to the celebration, for joy had spread throughout the land.
13:
1
After David had consulted with all of his army officers,
2
he addressed the assembled men of Israel as follows:
“Since you think that I should be your king, and since the Lord our God has given his approval, let us send messages to our brothers throughout the land of Israel, including the priests and Levites, inviting them to come and join us.
3
And let us bring back the Ark of our God, for we have been neglecting it ever since Saul became king.”
4
There was unanimous consent, for everyone agreed with him.
5
So David summoned the people of Israel from all across the nation
*
so that they could be present when the Ark of God was brought from Kiriath-jearim.
6
Then David and all Israel went to Baalah (i.e., Kiriath-jearim) in Judah to bring back the Ark of the Lord God enthroned above the Guardian Angels.
*
7
It was taken from the house of Abinadab on a new cart. Uzza and Ahio drove the oxen.
8
Then David and all the people danced before the Lord with great enthusiasm, accompanied by singing and by zithers, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
9
But as they arrived at the threshing floor of Chidon, the oxen stumbled and Uzza reached out his hand to steady the Ark.
10
Then the anger of the Lord blazed out against Uzza, and killed him because he had touched the Ark. And so he died there before God.
11
David was angry at the Lord for what he had done to Uzza and he named the place “The Outbreak Against Uzza.” And it is still called that today.
12
Now David was afraid of God and asked, “How shall I ever get the Ark of God home?”
13
Finally he decided to take it to the home of Obed-edom the Gittite instead of bringing it to the City of David.
14
The Ark remained there with the family of Obed-edom for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his family.
14:
1
King Hiram of Tyre sent masons and carpenters to help build David’s palace and he supplied him with much cedar lumber.
2
David now realized why the Lord had made him king and why he had made his kingdom so great; it was for a special reason—to give joy to God’s people!
3
After David moved to Jerusalem, he married additional wives and became the father of many sons and daughters.
4-7
These are the names of the sons born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Beeliada, Eliphelet.
8
When the Philistines heard that David was Israel’s new king, they mobilized their forces to capture him. But David learned that they were on the way, so he called together his army.
9
The Philistines were raiding the valley of Rephaim,
10
and David asked the Lord, “If I go out and fight them, will you give me the victory?”
And the Lord replied, “Yes, I will.”
11
So he attacked them at Baal-perazim and wiped them out. He exulted, “God has used me to sweep away my enemies like water bursting through a dam!” That is why the place has been known as Baal-perazim ever since (meaning, “The Place of Breaking Through”).
12
After the battle the Israelis picked up many idols left by the Philistines, but David ordered them burned.
13
Later the Philistines raided the valley again,
14
and again David asked God what to do.
The Lord replied, “Go around by the mulberry trees and attack from there.
15
When you hear a sound like marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that is your signal to attack, for God will go before you and destroy the enemy.”
16
So David did as the Lord commanded him; and he cut down the army of the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
17
David’s fame spread everywhere, and the Lord caused all the nations to fear him.
Dear friends in Rome: This letter is from Paul, Jesus Christ’s slave, chosen to be a missionary, and sent out to preach God’s Good News.
2
This Good News was promised long ago by God’s prophets in the Old Testament.
3
It is the Good News about his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who came as a human baby, born into King David’s royal family line;
4
and by being raised from the dead he was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God himself.
5
And now, through Christ, all the kindness of God has been poured out upon us undeserving sinners; and now he is sending us out around the world to tell all people everywhere the great things God has done for them, so that they, too, will believe and obey him.
6-7
And you, dear friends in Rome, are among those he dearly loves; you, too, are invited by Jesus Christ to be God’s very own—yes, his holy people. May all God’s mercies and peace be yours from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord.
8
Let me say first of all that wherever I go I hear you being talked about! For your faith in God is becoming known around the world. How I thank God through Jesus Christ for this good report, and for each one of you.
9
God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to the one I serve with all my might, telling others the Good News about his Son.
10
And one of the things I keep on praying for is the opportunity, God willing,
*
to come at last to see you and, if possible, that I will have a safe trip.
11-12
For I long to visit you so that I can impart to you the faith
*
that will help your church grow strong in the Lord. Then, too, I need your help, for I want not only to share my faith with you but to be encouraged by yours: Each of us will be a blessing to the other.
13
I want you to know, dear brothers, that I planned to come many times before (but was prevented) so that I could work among you and see good results, just as I have among the other Gentile churches.
*
14
For I owe a great debt to you and to everyone else, both to civilized people and uncivilized alike; yes, to the educated and uneducated alike.
15
So, to the fullest extent of my ability, I am ready to come also to you in Rome to preach God’s Good News.
16
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way.
17
This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven—makes us right in God’s sight—when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.
*
As the Scripture says it, “The man who finds life will find it through trusting God.”
And now, O Lord, have mercy on me; see how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Lord, snatch me back from the jaws of death.
14
Save me, so that I can praise you publicly before all the people at Jerusalem’s gates
*
and rejoice that you have rescued me.
15
The nations fall into the pitfalls they have dug for others; the trap they set has snapped on them.
16
The Lord is famous for the way he punishes the wicked in their own snares!
*
17
The wicked shall be sent away to hell; this is the fate of all the nations forgetting the Lord.
18
For the needs of the needy shall not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor shall not always be crushed.
19
O Lord, arise and judge and punish the nations; don’t let them defy you!
20
Make them tremble in fear; put the nations in their place until at last they know they are but puny men.
A wealthy man has many “friends”; the poor man has none left.
5
Punish false witnesses. Track down liars.
July 13David now built several palaces for himself in Jerusalem, and he also built a new Tabernacle to house the Ark of God,
2
and issued these instructions: “When we transfer the Ark to its new home,
*
no one except the Levites may carry it, for God has chosen them for this purpose; they are to minister to him forever.”
3
Then David summoned all Israel to Jerusalem to celebrate the bringing of the Ark into the new Tabernacle.
4-10
These were the priests and Levites present:
120 from the clan of Kohath; with Uriel as their leader;
220 from the clan of Merari; with Asaiah as their leader;
130 from the clan of Gershom; with Joel as their leader;
200 from the subclan of Elizaphan; with Shemaiah as their leader;
80 from the subclan of Hebron; with Eliel as their leader;
112 from the subclan of Uzziel; with Amminadab as their leader.
11
Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar, the High Priests, and for the Levite leaders: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
12
“You are the leaders of the clans of the Levites,” he told them. “Now sanctify yourselves with all your brothers so that you may bring the Ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.
13
The Lord destroyed us before because we handled the matter improperly—you were not carrying it.”
14
So the priests and the Levites underwent the ceremonies of sanctification in preparation for bringing home the Ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel.
15
Then the Levites carried the Ark on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
16
King David also ordered the Levite leaders to organize the singers into an orchestra, and they played loudly and joyously upon psaltries, harps, and cymbals.
17
Heman (son of Joel), Asaph (son of Berechiah), and Ethan (son of Kushaiah) from the clan of Merari were the heads of the musicians.
18
The following men were chosen as their assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, the doorkeepers.
19
Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound the bronze cymbals;
20
and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah comprised an octet accompanied by harps.
*
21
Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were the harpists.
*
22
The song leader was Chenaniah, the chief of the Levites, who was selected for his skill.
23
Berechiah and Elkanah were guards for the Ark.
24
Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer—all of whom were priests—formed a bugle corps to march at the head of the procession. And Obed-edom and Jehiah guarded the Ark.
25
Then David and the elders of Israel and the high officers of the army went with great joy to the home of Obed-edom to take the Ark to Jerusalem.
26
And because God didn’t destroy the Levites who were carrying the Ark, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven lambs.
27
David, the Levites carrying the Ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the song leader were all dressed in linen robes. David also wore a linen ephod.
28
So the leaders of Israel took the Ark to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the blowing of horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on the harps and zithers.
29
(But as the Ark arrived in Jerusalem, David’s wife Michal, the daughter of King Saul, felt a deep disgust for David as she watched from the window and saw him dancing like a madman.)
16:
1
So they brought the Ark of God into the special tent that David had prepared for it, and the leaders of Israel sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
2
At the conclusion of these offerings David blessed the people in the name of the Lord;
3
then he gave every person present
*
(men and women alike) a loaf of bread, some wine, and a cake of raisins.
4
He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark by giving constant praise and thanks to the Lord God of Israel and by asking for his blessings upon his people. These are the names of those given this assignment:
5
Asaph, the leader of this detail, sounded the cymbals. His associates were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel; they played the harps and zithers.
6
The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel played their trumpets regularly before the Ark.
7
At that time David began the custom of using choirs in the Tabernacle to sing thanksgiving to the Lord. Asaph was the director of this choral group of priests.
8
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord and pray to him,” they sang.
“Tell the peoples of the world
About his mighty doings.
9
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises
And tell of his marvelous works.
10
Glory in his holy name;
Let all rejoice who seek the Lord.
11
Seek the Lord; yes, seek his strength
And seek his face untiringly.
12-13
O descendants of his servant Abraham,
O chosen sons of Jacob,
Remember his mighty miracles
And his marvelous miracles
And his authority:
14
He is the Lord our God!
His authority is seen throughout the earth.
15
Remember his covenant forever—
The words he commanded
To a thousand generations:
16
His agreement with Abraham,
And his oath to Isaac,
17
And his confirmation to Jacob.
He promised Israel
With an everlasting promise:
18
‘I will give you the land of Canaan
As your inheritance.’
19
When Israel was few in number—oh, so few—
And merely strangers in the Promised Land;
20
When they wandered from country to country,
From one kingdom to another—
21
God didn’t let anyone harm them.
Even kings were killed who sought to hurt them.
22
‘Don’t harm my chosen people,’ he declared.
‘These are my prophets—touch them not.’
23
Sing to the Lord, O Earth,
Declare each day that he is the one who saves!
24
Show his glory to the nations!
Tell everyone about his miracles.
25
For the Lord is great and should be highly praised;
He is to be held in awe above all gods.
26
The other so-called gods are demons,
But the Lord made the heavens.
27
Majesty and honor march before him,
Strength and gladness walk beside him.
28
O people of all nations of the earth,
Ascribe great strength and glory to his name!
29
Yes, ascribe to the Lord
The glory due his name!
Bring an offering and come before him;
Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!
30
Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world stands unmoved.
31
Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice;
Let all the nations say, ‘It is the Lord who reigns.’
32
Let the vast seas roar,
Let the countryside and everything in it rejoice!
33
Let the trees in the woods sing for joy before the Lord,
For he comes to judge the earth.
34
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
His love and his kindness go on forever.
35
Cry out to him, ‘Oh, save us, God of our salvation;
Bring us safely back from among the nations.
Then we will thank your holy name,
And triumph in your praise.’
36
Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel,
Forever and forevermore.”
And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, evil men who push away the truth from them.
19
For the truth about God is known to them instinctively;
*
God has put this knowledge in their hearts.
20
Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day.
*
21
Yes, they knew about him all right, but they wouldn’t admit it or worship him or even thank him for all his daily care. And after a while they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what he wanted them to do. The result was that their foolish minds became dark and confused.
22
Claiming themselves to be wise without God, they became utter fools instead.
23
And then, instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they took wood and stone and made idols for themselves, carving them to look like mere birds and animals and snakes and puny
*
men.
24
So God let them go ahead into every sort of sex sin, and do whatever they wanted to—yes, vile and sinful things with each other’s bodies.
25
Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they prayed to the things God made, but wouldn’t obey the blessed God who made these things.
26
That is why God let go of them and let them do all these evil things, so that even their women turned against God’s natural plan for them and indulged in sex sin with each other.
27
And the men, instead of having normal sex relationships with women, burned with lust for each other, men doing shameful things with other men and, as a result, getting paid within their own souls with the penalty they so richly deserved.
28
So it was that when they gave God up and would not even acknowledge him, God gave them up to doing everything their evil minds could think of.
29
Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness and sin, of greed and hate, envy, murder, fighting, lying, bitterness, and gossip.
30
They were backbiters, haters of God, insolent, proud, braggarts, always thinking of new ways of sinning and continually being disobedient to their parents.
31
They tried to misunderstand,
*
broke their promises, and were heartless—without pity.
32
They were fully aware of God’s death penalty for these crimes, yet they went right ahead and did them anyway and encouraged others to do them, too.
Lord, why are you standing aloof and far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?
2
Come and deal with all these proud and wicked men who viciously persecute the poor. Pour upon these men the evil they planned for others!
3
For these men brag of all their evil lusts; they revile God and congratulate those the Lord abhors, whose only goal in life is money.
4
These wicked men, so proud and haughty, seem to think that God is dead.
*
They wouldn’t think of looking for him!
5
Yet there is success in everything they do, and their enemies fall before them. They do not see your punishment awaiting them.
6
They boast that neither God nor man can ever keep them down—somehow they’ll find a way!
7
Their mouths are full of profanity and lies and fraud. They are always boasting of their evil plans.
8
They lurk in dark alleys of the city and murder passersby.
9
Like lions they crouch silently, waiting to pounce upon the poor. Like hunters they catch their victims in their traps.
10
The unfortunate are overwhelmed by their superior strength and fall beneath their blows.
11
“God isn’t watching,” they say to themselves; “he’ll never know!”
12
O Lord, arise! O God, crush them! Don’t forget the poor or anyone else in need.
13
Why do you let the wicked get away with this contempt for God? For they think that God will never call them to account.
14
Lord, you see what they are doing. You have noted each evil act. You know what trouble and grief they have caused. Now punish them. O Lord, the poor man trusts himself to you; you are known as the helper of the helpless.
15
Break the arms of these wicked men. Go after them until the last of them is destroyed.