August 2

AUGUST 2

PSALMS: 2, 32, 62, 92, 122

PROVERBS: 2

OLD TESTAMENT: JEREMIAH 39:1 – 41:18

NEW TESTAMENT: 2 TIMOTHY 1:1 – 18

PSALMS: 2

¹Why do the nations conspire ^A

and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the LORD

and against his Anointed One. ^B

³“Let us break their chains,” they say,

“and throw off their fetters.”

⁴The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord scoffs at them.

⁵Then he rebukes them in his anger

and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

⁶“I have installed my King ^C

on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:

He said to me, “You are my Son ^D;

today I have become your Father. ^E

⁸Ask of me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.

⁹You will rule them with an iron scepter ^F;

you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰Therefore, you kings, be wise;

be warned, you rulers of the earth.

¹¹Serve the LORD with fear

and rejoice with trembling.

¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry

and you be destroyed in your way,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him. ^{^[1]}

PSALMS: 32

Of David. A maskil. ^A

¹Blessed is he

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

²Blessed is the man

whose sin the LORD does not count against him

and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night

your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was sapped

as in the heat of summer.

Selah

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess

my transgressions to the LORD”–

and you forgave

the guilt of my sin.

Selah

⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you

while you may be found;

surely when the mighty waters rise,

they will not reach him.

⁷You are my hiding place; ^{^[2]}

you will protect me from trouble

and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you and watch over you.

⁹Do not be like the horse or the mule,

which have no understanding

but must be controlled by bit and bridle

or they will not come to you.

¹⁰Many are the woes of the wicked,

but the LORD’s unfailing love

surrounds the man who trusts in him.

¹¹Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;

sing, all you who are upright in heart! ^{^[3]}

PSALMS: 62

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

²He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

³How long will you assault a man?

Would all of you throw him down–

this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

⁴They fully intend to topple him

from his lofty place;

they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless,

but in their hearts they curse.

Selah

⁵Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from him.

⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

⁷My salvation and my honor depend on God ^A;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to him,

for God is our refuge.

Selah

⁹Lowborn men are but a breath, ^{^[4]}

the highborn are but a lie;

if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;

together they are only a breath.

¹⁰Do not trust in extortion

or take pride in stolen goods;

though your riches increase,

do not set your heart on them.

¹¹One thing God has spoken,

two things have I heard:

that you, O God, are strong,

¹²and that you, O Lord, are loving.

Surely you will reward each person

according to what he has done. ^{^[5]}

PSALMS: 92

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

¹It is good to praise the LORD

and make music to your name, O Most High,

²to proclaim your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night,

³to the music of the ten-stringed lyre

and the melody of the harp.

⁴For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;

I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

⁵How great are your works, O LORD,

how profound your thoughts!

⁶The senseless man does not know,

fools do not understand,

⁷that though the wicked spring up like grass

and all evildoers flourish,

they will be forever destroyed.

⁸But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

⁹For surely your enemies, O LORD,

surely your enemies will perish;

all evildoers will be scattered.

¹⁰You have exalted my horn ^A like that of a wild ox;

fine oils have been poured upon me.

¹¹My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;

my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

¹²The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

¹³planted in the house of the LORD, ^{^[6]} they will flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴They will still bear fruit in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

¹⁵proclaiming, “The LORD is upright;

he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” ^{^[7]}

PSALMS: 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹I rejoiced with those who said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

²Our feet are standing

in your gates, O Jerusalem.

³Jerusalem is built like a city

that is closely compacted together.

⁴That is where the tribes go up,

the tribes of the LORD,

to praise the name of the LORD

according to the statute given to Israel.

⁵There the thrones for judgment stand,

the thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May those who love you be secure.

⁷May there be peace within your walls

and security within your citadels.”

⁸For the sake of my brothers and friends,

I will say, “Peace be within you.”

⁹For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,

I will seek your prosperity. ^{^[8]}

PROVERBS: 2

2 ¹ My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

²turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding,

³and if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

⁴and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

⁵then you will understand the fear of the LORD

and find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom,

and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He holds victory in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

⁸for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹Then you will understand what is right and just

and fair–every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹Discretion will protect you,

and understanding will guard you.

¹²Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,

from men whose words are perverse,

¹³who leave the straight paths

to walk in dark ways,

¹⁴who delight in doing wrong

and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

¹⁵whose paths are crooked

and who are devious in their ways.

¹⁶It will save you also from the adulteress,

from the wayward wife with her seductive words ^{^[9]}

¹⁷who has left the partner of her youth

and ignored the covenant she made before God. ^A

¹⁸For her house leads down to death

and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

¹⁹None who go to her return

or attain the paths of life.

²⁰Thus you will walk in the ways of good men

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will live in the land,

and the blameless will remain in it;

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the unfaithful will be torn from it. ^{^[10]}

OLD TESTAMENT: JEREMIAH 39:1 – 41:18

39 ¹In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it.

²And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through.

³Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim ^A a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. ⁴When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. ^B

⁵But the Babylonian ^C army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. ⁶There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. ⁷Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.

⁸The Babylonians ^D set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. ¹⁰But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

¹¹Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: ¹²“Take him and look after him; don’t harm him but do for him whatever he asks.” ¹³So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon ¹⁴sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.

¹⁵While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him: ¹⁶“Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. ¹⁷But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. ¹⁸I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.'” ^{^[11]}

40 ¹The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. ²When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster for this place. ³And now the LORD has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him. ⁴But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.” ⁵However, before Jeremiah turned to go, ^A Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.”

Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. ⁶So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.

⁷When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon,

⁸they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah–Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah^B the son of the Maacathite, and their men. ⁹Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians, ^C” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. ¹⁰I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over.”

¹¹When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ¹²they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

¹³Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?”

¹⁶But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.” ^{^[12]}

41 ¹In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, ²Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. ³Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian ^A soldiers who were there.

⁴The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, ⁵eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the LORD. ⁶Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”

⁷When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern. ⁸But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, oil and honey, hidden in a field.” So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. ⁹Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made as part of his defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

¹⁰Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah–the king’s daughters along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

¹¹When Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, ¹²they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon. ¹³When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. ¹⁴All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.

¹⁵But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.

¹⁶Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the survivors from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam: the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had brought from Gibeon. ¹⁷And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt ¹⁸to escape the Babylonians. ^B They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. ^{^[13]}

NEW TESTAMENT: 2 TIMOTHY 1:1 – 18

1 ¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

⁸So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, ^{^[14]} ⁹who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

¹¹And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

¹³What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

¹⁵You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. ¹⁷On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. ¹⁸May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus. ^{^[15]}