Judges 18

• 1. Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place to settle, for they had not yet driven out the people who lived in the land assigned to them.
• 2. So the men of Dan chose five warriors from among their clans, who lived in the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out a land for them to settle in. When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah's home and spent the night there.
• 3. Noticing the young Levite's accent, they took him aside and asked him, "Who brought you here, and what are you doing? Why are you here?"
• 4. He told them about his agreement with Micah and that he was Micah's personal priest.
• 5. Then they said, "Ask God whether or not our journey will be successful."
• 6. "Go in peace," the priest replied. "For the LORD will go ahead of you on your journey."
• 7. So the five men went on to the town of Laish, where they noticed the people living carefree lives, like the Sidonians; they were peaceful and secure. The people were also wealthy because their land was very fertile. And they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby.
• 8. When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, "What did you find?"
• 9. The men replied, "Let's attack! We have seen the land, and it is very good. You should not hesitate to go and take possession of it.
• 10. When you get there, you will find the people living carefree lives. God has given us a spacious and fertile land, lacking in nothing!"
• 11. So six hundred warriors from the tribe of Dan set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.
• 12. They camped at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah, which is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.
• 13. Then they went up into the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
• 14. The five men who had scouted out the land around Laish said to the others, "There is a shrine here with a sacred ephod, some household idols, a carved image, and a cast idol. It's obvious what we ought to do."
• 15. So the five men went over to Micah's house, where the young Levite lived, and greeted him kindly.
• 16. As the six hundred warriors from the tribe of Dan stood just outside the gate,
• 17. the five spies entered the shrine and took the carved image, the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the cast idol.
• 18. When the priest saw the men carrying all the sacred objects out of Micah's shrine, he said, "What are you doing?"
• 19. "Be quiet and come with us," they said. "Be a father and priest to all of us. Isn't it better to be a priest for an entire tribe of Israel than just for the household of one man?"
• 20. The young priest was quite happy to go with them, so he took along the sacred ephod, the household idols, and the carved image.
• 21. They started on their way again, placing their children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.
• 22. When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah's home, Micah and some of his neighbors came chasing after them.
• 23. They were shouting as they caught up with them. The men of Dan turned around and said, "What do you want? Why have you called these men together and chased after us like this?"
• 24. "What do you mean, What do I want?" Micah replied. "You've taken away all my gods and my priest, and I have nothing left!"
• 25. The men of Dan said, "Watch what you say! Some of us are short-tempered, and they might get angry and kill you and your family."
• 26. So the men of Dan went on their way. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to attack, he turned around and went home.
• 27. Then, with Micah's idols and his priest, the men of Dan came to the town of Laish, whose people were peaceful and secure. They attacked and killed all the people and burned the town to the ground.
• 28. There was no one to rescue the residents of the town, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob. Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there.
• 29. They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel's son, but it had originally been called Laish.
• 30. Then they set up the carved image, and they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, a descendant of Moses, as their priest. This family continued as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile.
• 31. So Micah's carved image was worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God remained at Shiloh.

Acts 22

• 1. "Brothers and esteemed fathers," Paul said, "listen to me as I offer my defense."
• 2. When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.
• 3. "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. At his feet I learned to follow our Jewish laws and customs very carefully. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just as all of you are today.
• 4. And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, binding and delivering both men and women to prison.
• 5. The high priest and the whole council of leaders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the Christians from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.
• 6. "As I was on the road, nearing Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone around me.
• 7. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
• 8. "'Who are you, sir?' I asked. And he replied, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.'
• 9. The people with me saw the light but didn't hear the voice.
• 10. "I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord told me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that you are to do.'
• 11. "I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led into Damascus by my companions.
• 12. A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man in his devotion to the law, and he was well thought of by all the Jews of Damascus.
• 13. He came to me and stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And that very hour I could see him!
• 14. "Then he told me, 'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak.
• 15. You are to take his message everywhere, telling the whole world what you have seen and heard.
• 16. And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on the name of the Lord.'
• 17. "One day after I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I fell into a trance.
• 18. I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, 'Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won't believe you when you give them your testimony about me.'
• 19. "'But Lord,' I argued, 'they certainly know that I imprisoned and beat those in every synagogue who believed on you.
• 20. And when your witness Stephen was killed, I was standing there agreeing. I kept the coats they laid aside as they stoned him.'
• 21. "But the Lord said to me, 'Leave Jerusalem, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!'"
• 22. The crowd listened until Paul came to that word; then with one voice they shouted, "Away with such a fellow! Kill him! He isn't fit to live!"
• 23. They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
• 24. The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious.
• 25. As they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, "Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't even been tried?"
• 26. The officer went to the commander and asked, "What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!"
• 27. So the commander went over and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?Yes, I certainly am," Paul replied.
• 28. "I am, too," the commander muttered, "and it cost me plenty!But I am a citizen by birth!"
• 29. The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped.
• 30. The next day the commander freed Paul from his chains and ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He had Paul brought in before them to try to find out what the trouble was all about.

Jeremiah 32

• 1. The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.
• 2. Jerusalem was under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace.
• 3. King Zedekiah had put him there because he continued to give this prophecy: "This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon.
• 4. King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonians and taken to the king of Babylon to be judged and sentenced.
• 5. I will take Zedekiah to Babylon and will deal with him there. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed."
• 6. At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said,
• 7. "Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, `Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.'"
• 8. Then, just as the LORD had said he would, Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, "Buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself." Then I knew for sure that the message I had heard was from the LORD.
• 9. So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it.
• 10. I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him.
• 11. Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase,
• 12. and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there.
• 13. Then I said to Baruch as they all listened,
• 14. "The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.
• 15. For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields."
• 16. Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the LORD:
• 17. "O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you!
• 18. You are loving and kind to thousands, though children suffer for their parents' sins. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD Almighty.
• 19. You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You are very aware of the conduct of all people, and you reward them according to their deeds.
• 20. You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt--things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name very great, as it is today.
• 21. "You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with great power and overwhelming terror.
• 22. You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before--a land flowing with milk and honey.
• 23. Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your law. They have hardly done one thing you told them to! That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.
• 24. "See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Because of war, famine, and disease, the city has been handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said it would.
• 25. And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you have told me to buy the field--paying good money for it before these witnesses--even though the city will soon belong to the Babylonians."
• 26. Then this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
• 27. "I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?
• 28. I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
• 29. The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses, where the people caused my fury to rise by offering incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.
• 30. Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds," says the LORD.
• 31. "From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.
• 32. "The sins of Israel and Judah--the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets--stir up my anger.
• 33. My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Day after day, year after year, I taught them right from wrong, but they would not listen or obey.
• 34. They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it.
• 35. They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!
• 36. "Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, `It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.' But this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
• 37. I will surely bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety.
• 38. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
• 39. And I will give them one heart and mind to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.
• 40. "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, promising not to stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.
• 41. I will rejoice in doing good to them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.
• 42. Just as I have sent all these calamities upon them, so I will do all the good I have promised them. I, the LORD, have spoken!
• 43. "Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, `It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a land where people and animals have all disappeared.'
• 44. Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold--deeds signed and sealed and witnessed--in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

New Living Translation: 216 of 365 days.