Bible Readings for August 16, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Nehemiah 11:1 - 12:26; 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:2; Psalm 34:11-22; and Proverbs 21:14-16. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.    

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Nehemiah 11-12:26 (Contemporary English Version)

Nehemiah 11

People Who Settled in Jerusalem

 ¹The nation's leaders and their families settled in Jerusalem. But there was room for only one out of every ten of the remaining families, and so they asked God to show them ^[a] who would live there. ²Then everyone else asked God to bless those who were willing to live in Jerusalem. ³Some of the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple workers, and the descendants of Solomon's servants lived on their own property in the towns of Judah. But the leaders of the province lived in Jerusalem with their families.   

The Judah Tribe

 ^4-6From the Judah tribe, two leaders settled in Jerusalem with their relatives. One of them was Athaiah son of Uzziah. His ancestors were Zechariah, Amariah, Shephatiah, Mahalalel, and Perez, the son of Judah. From the descendants of Perez, four hundred sixty-eight of the best men lived in Jerusalem.

   The other leader from Judah was Maaseiah the son of Baruch. His ancestors were Colhozeh, Hazaiah, Adaiah, Joiarib, Zechariah, and Shelah, the son of Judah.   

The Benjamin Tribe

 ^7-8From the Benjamin tribe, three leaders settled in Jerusalem. The first was Sallu son of Meshullam, and the others were Gabbai and Sallai. Sallu's ancestors were Joed, Pedaiah, Kolaiah, Maaseiah, Ithiel, and Jeshaiah. Altogether, there were nine hundred twenty-eight men of the Benjamin tribe living in Jerusalem. ⁹Joel son of Zichri was their leader, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command.   

Priests

 ¹⁰Four priests settled in Jerusalem. The first was Jedaiah; he was the son of Joiarib and the uncle of Jachin. ^[b] ¹¹The second priest to settle there was Seraiah son of Hilkiah. His ancestors were Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub, who had been a high priest. ¹²Altogether, there were eight hundred twenty-two from his clan who served in the temple.

   The third priest to settle there was Adaiah son of Jeroham. His ancestors were Pelaliah, Amzi, Zechariah, Pashhur, and Malchijah. ¹³Altogether, there were two hundred forty-two clan leaders among his relatives.

   The fourth priest to settle there was Amashsai son of Azarel. His ancestors were Ahzai, Meshillemoth, and Immer. ¹⁴Altogether, there were one hundred twenty-eight brave warriors from their clans, and their leader was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.   

Levites

 ¹⁵Several Levites settled in Jerusalem. First, there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub. His ancestors were Azrikam, Hashabiah, and Bunni.

    ¹⁶Next, there were Shabbethai and Jozabad, who were in charge of the work outside the temple.

    ¹⁷Then there was Mattaniah son of Mica. His ancestors were Zabdi and Asaph. Mattaniah led the temple choir in the prayer of praise. Bakbukiah, who also settled in Jerusalem, was his assistant.

   Finally, there was Abda son of Shammua; his grandfather was Galal, and his great-grandfather was Jeduthun.

    ¹⁸Altogether, two hundred eighty-four Levites settled in the holy city.   

Temple Guards and Others

 ¹⁹One hundred seventy-two temple guards settled in Jerusalem; their leaders were Akkub and Talmon.

    ²⁰The rest of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, lived on their own property in the other towns of Judah. ²¹But the temple workers lived in the section of Jerusalem known as Ophel, and the two men in charge of them were Ziha and Gishpa.

    ²²Uzzi son of Bani was the leader of the Levites in Jerusalem. His grandfather was Hashabiah, his great-grandfather was Mattaniah, and his great-great-grandfather was Mica. He belonged to the Asaph clan that was in charge of the music for the temple services, ²³though the daily choice of music and musicians was decided by royal decree of the Persian king.

    ²⁴The people of Israel were represented at the Persian court by Pethahiah son of Meshezabel from the Zerah clan of the Judah tribe.   

The People in the Other Towns and Villages

 ²⁵Some of the people of Judah lived in the following towns near their farms: Kiriath-Arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel, ²⁶Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-Pelet, ²⁷Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, ²⁸Ziklag, Meconah, ²⁹Enrimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, Lachish, and Azekah. In fact, they settled the towns from Beersheba in the south to Hinnom Valley in the north.

    ³¹The people of Benjamin lived in the towns of Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel with its nearby villages, ³²Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵Lod, and Ono, as well as in Craft Valley. ³⁶Several groups of Levites from the territory of Judah were sent to live among the people of Benjamin.

   

Nehemiah 12

A List of Priests and Levites

 ¹Many priests and Levites had returned from Babylonia with Zerubbabel ^[c] and Joshua as their leaders. Those priests were Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, ⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and another Jedaiah. These were the leading priests and their assistants during the time of Joshua. ^[d] ⁸The Levites who returned were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. They and their assistants were responsible for the songs of praise, ⁹while Bakbukiah and Unno, together with their assistants, were responsible for the choral responses.   

Descendants of Joshua the High Priest

 ¹⁰Joshua was the father of Joiakim, the grandfather of Eliashib, and the great-grandfather of Joiada. ¹¹Joiada was the father of Jonathan and the grandfather of Jaddua.   

Leaders of the Priestly Clans

 ¹²When Joiakim was high priest, the following priests were leaders of their clans: Meraiah of the Seraiah clan, Hananiah of Jeremiah, ¹³Meshullam of Ezra, Jehohanan of Amariah, ¹⁴Jonathan of Malluchi, Joseph of Shebaniah,¹⁵Adna of Harim, Helkai of Meraioth, ¹⁶Zechariah of Iddo, Meshullam of Ginnethon, ¹⁷Zichri of Abijah, ^[e] Piltai of Moadiah, ¹⁸Shammua of Bilgah, Jehonathan of Shemaiah, ¹⁹Mattenai of Joiarib, Uzzi of Jedaiah, ²⁰Kallai of Sallai, Eber of Amok, ²¹Hashabiah of Hilkiah, and Nethanel of Jedaiah.

The Priestly and Levite Families

 ²²During the time of the high priests Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, and including the time that Darius was king of Persia, a record was kept of the heads of the Levite and priestly families. ²³However, no official record was kept of the heads of the Levite clans after the death of Johanan, ^[f] the grandson of Eliashib. ²⁴Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, ^[g] and their assistants organized two choirs of Levites to offer praises to God, just as King David, the man of God, had commanded. ²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were responsible for guarding the storerooms near the temple gates.

    ²⁶All of these men lived during the time of Joiakim ^[h] and during the time that I was governor and Ezra, a teacher of the Law of Moses, was priest.

Footnotes:

1. Nehemiah 11:1 asked God to show them: The Hebrew text has " cast lots." These were made of wood or stone and were thrown on the ground by a priest or official to find out how and when to do something.
2. Nehemiah 11:10 son of Joiarib and the uncle of Jachin: See 1 Chronicles 9.10-12; the Hebrew text has " son of Joiarib, Jachin."
3. Nehemiah 12:1 Zerubbabel: Hebrew " Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel."
4. Nehemiah 12:7 Joshua: Joshua the high priest and friend of Zerubbabel (see verse 1 and Haggai 1.1; 2.2).
5. Nehemiah 12:17 of Abijah: The Hebrew text adds " . . . of Miniamin."
6. Nehemiah 12:23 death of Johanan: Probably between 408 and 405 B.C., when Darius II died.
7. Nehemiah 12:24 son of Kadmiel: Or possibly " Binnui, Kadmiel" (see 10.9; 12.8).
8. Nehemiah 12:26 Joiakim: Hebrew " Joiakim son of Joshua son of Jozadak."

1 Corinthians 10:14-11:2 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴My friends, you must keep away from idols. ¹⁵I am speaking to you as people who have enough sense to know what I am talking about. ¹⁶When we drink from the cup that we ask God to bless, isn't that sharing in the blood of Christ? When we eat the bread that we break, isn't that sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷By sharing in the same loaf of bread, we become one body, even though there are many of us.
    ¹⁸Aren't the people of Israel sharing in the worship when they gather around the altar and eat the sacrifices offered there? ¹⁹Am I saying that either the idols or the food sacrificed to them is anything at all? ²⁰No, I am not! That food is really sacrificed to demons and not to God. I don't want you to have anything to do with demons. ²¹You cannot drink from the cup of demons and still drink from the Lord's cup. You cannot eat at the table of demons and still eat at the Lord's table. ²²We would make the Lord jealous if we did that. And we are not stronger than the Lord.     

Always Honor God

 ²³Some of you say, "We can do whatever we want to!" But I tell you that not everything may be good or helpful. ²⁴We should think about others and not about ourselves. ²⁵However, when you buy meat in the market, go ahead and eat it. Keep your conscience clear by not asking where the meat came from. ²⁶The Scriptures say, "The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord."     ²⁷If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, and you want to go, then go. Eat whatever you are served. Don't cause a problem for someone's conscience by asking where the food came from. ^28-29But if you are told that it has been sacrificed to idols, don't cause a problem by eating it. I don't mean a problem for yourself, but for the one who told you. Why should my freedom be limited by someone else's conscience? ³⁰If I give thanks for what I eat, why should anyone accuse me of doing wrong?
    ³¹When you eat or drink or do anything else, always do it to honor God. ³²Don't cause problems for Jews or Greeks or anyone else who belongs to God's church. ³³I always try to please others instead of myself, in the hope that many of them will be saved.
    

1 Corinthians 11

 ¹You must follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.     

Rules for Worship

 ²I am proud of you, because you always remember me and obey the teachings I gave you.

Psalm 34:11-22 (Contemporary English Version)

¹¹Come, my children, listen

   as I teach you

   to respect the LORD.

    ¹²Do you want to live

   and enjoy a long life?

    ¹³Then don't say cruel things

   and don't tell lies.

    ¹⁴Do good instead of evil

   and try to live at peace.

    ¹⁵If you obey the LORD,

   he will watch over you

   and answer your prayers.

    ¹⁶But God despises evil people,

   and he will wipe them all

   from the earth,

   till they are forgotten.

    ¹⁷When his people pray for help,

   he listens and rescues them

   from their troubles.

    ¹⁸The LORD is there to rescue

   all

   who are discouraged

   and have given up hope.

    ¹⁹The LORD's people

   may suffer a lot,

   but he will always

   bring them safely through.

    ²⁰Not one of their bones

   will ever be broken.

    ²¹Wicked people are killed

   by their own evil deeds,

   and if you hate God's people

   you will be punished.

    ²²The LORD saves the lives

   of his servants.

   Run to him for protection,

   and you won't be punished.

Proverbs 21:14-16 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴A secret bribe will save you

   from someone's fierce anger.

    ¹⁵When justice is done,

   good citizens are glad

   and crooks are terrified.

    ¹⁶If you stop using good sense,

   you will find yourself

   in the grave.

Thought for the Day

 

My friends, God has made us these promises. So we should stay away from everything that keeps our bodies and spirits from being clean. We should honor God and try to be completely like him. (2 Corinthians 7:1 CEV - Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.) I believe we can show our appreciation to God by making good use of what we have. In other words, the best way to offer him thanks is to love him with everything we've got and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Quote for the Day

American actor, author, comedian, director and producer, Bob Balaban wrote, "I mean, the whole idea of movies was it was special to go to see - you went to a movie theater to see something that was magical and amazing, in a very special location."

A Joke for Today

Little Johnny was eating breakfast one morning and got to thinking about things. “Mommy, mommy, why has daddy got so few hairs on his head?” he asked his mother.

“He thinks a lot,” replied his mother, pleased with herself for coming up with a good answer to her husband’s baldness.

Or she was until Johnny thought for a second and asked, “So why do you have so much hair?”

A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That we look past the immediate benefit so that they might see the long-term consequences of their actions.