Daily Readings

¹ And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying,² Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;³ Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?⁵ And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.⁶ Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.⁷ And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.⁸ And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.⁹ And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?¹⁰ Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.¹¹ So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.¹² And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,¹³ Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.¹⁴ And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.¹⁵ And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.¹⁶ And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.¹⁸ And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.¹⁹ Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.²⁰ And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.²¹ And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.²² And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.²³ And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.²⁴ And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.²⁵ And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.²⁶ And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.²⁷ And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.²⁸ Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.²⁹ Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.³⁰ And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.³¹ But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.³² In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;³³ From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?³⁵ And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.³⁶ And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.

¹ Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.² In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,³ The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.⁴ And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.⁵ Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.⁶ And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.⁷ And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.⁸ And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.⁹ Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.¹⁰ As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.¹¹ Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.¹² And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.¹⁴ And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.¹⁵ Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.¹⁷ When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.¹⁸ As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.¹⁹ And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.²⁰ Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.²¹ When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.²² And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.²³ And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.²⁴ And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.²⁵ And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.²⁶ And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.²⁷ And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.²⁸ As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

¹ For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.² For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:³ If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.⁴ For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.⁵ Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.⁶ Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:⁷ (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.⁹ Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.¹¹ Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.¹² For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.¹³ For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.¹⁴ For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:¹⁵ And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.¹⁶ Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.¹⁸ And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;¹⁹ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

¹ We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.² (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)³ Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:⁴ But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,⁵ In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;⁶ By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,⁷ By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,⁸ By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;⁹ As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;¹⁰ As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.¹¹ O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.¹² Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.¹³ Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

¹ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.² Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.³ I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.⁴ Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.⁵ For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.⁶ Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;⁷ And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.⁸ For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.⁹ Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.¹⁰ For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.¹¹ For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.¹² Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.¹³ Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.¹⁴ For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth.¹⁵ And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.¹⁶ I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.