1 Samuel 13

• 1. Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years.
• 2. Saul selected three thousand special troops from the army of Israel and sent the rest of the men home. He took two thousand of the chosen men with him to Micmash and the hill country of Bethel. The other thousand went with Saul's son Jonathan to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
• 3. Soon after this, Jonathan attacked and defeated the garrison of Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly among the Philistines that Israel was in revolt, so Saul sounded the call to arms throughout Israel.
• 4. He announced that the Philistine garrison at Geba had been destroyed, and he warned the people that the Philistines now hated the Israelites more than ever. So the entire Israelite army mobilized again and met Saul at Gilgal.
• 5. The Philistines mustered a mighty army of three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and as many warriors as the grains of sand along the seashore! They camped at Micmash east of Beth-aven.
• 6. When the men of Israel saw the vast number of enemy troops, they lost their nerve entirely and tried to hide in caves, holes, rocks, tombs, and cisterns.
• 7. Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear.
• 8. Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn't come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away.
• 9. So he demanded, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!" And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.
• 10. Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him,
• 11. but Samuel said, "What is this you have done?" Saul replied, "I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn't arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle.
• 12. So I said, `The Philistines are ready to march against us, and I haven't even asked for the LORD's help!' So I felt obliged to offer the burnt offering myself before you came."
• 13. "How foolish!" Samuel exclaimed. "You have disobeyed the command of the LORD your God. Had you obeyed, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
• 14. But now your dynasty must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already chosen him to be king over his people, for you have not obeyed the LORD's command."
• 15. Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way, but the rest of the troops went with Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. When Saul counted the men who were still with him, he found only six hundred left!
• 16. Saul and Jonathan and the troops with them were staying at Geba, near Gibeah, in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines set up their camp at Micmash.
• 17. Three raiding parties soon left the camp of the Philistines. One went north toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,
• 18. another went west to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the wilderness.
• 19. There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn't allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.
• 20. So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, picks, axes, or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith.
• 21. (The schedule of charges was as follows: a quarter of an ounce of silver for sharpening a plowshare or a pick, and an eighth of an ounce for sharpening an ax, a sickle, or an ox goad.)
• 22. So none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan.
• 23. The pass at Micmash had meanwhile been secured by a contingent of the Philistine army.

Romans 11

• 1. I ask, then, has God rejected his people, the Jews? Of course not! Remember that I myself am a Jew, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
• 2. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,
• 3. "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too."
• 4. And do you remember God's reply? He said, "You are not the only one left. I have seven thousand others who have never bowed down to Baal!"
• 5. It is the same today, for not all the Jews have turned away from God. A few are being saved as a result of God's kindness in choosing them.
• 6. And if they are saved by God's kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's wonderful kindness would not be what it really is--free and undeserved.
• 7. So this is the situation: Most of the Jews have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have--the ones God has chosen--but the rest were made unresponsive.
• 8. As the Scriptures say, "God has put them into a deep sleep. To this very day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear."
• 9. David spoke of this same thing when he said, "Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble.
• 10. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs grow weaker and weaker."
• 11. Did God's people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! His purpose was to make his salvation available to the Gentiles, and then the Jews would be jealous and want it for themselves.
• 12. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the Jews turned down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when the Jews finally accept it.
• 13. I am saying all of this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I lay great stress on this,
• 14. for I want to find a way to make the Jews want what you Gentiles have, and in that way I might save some of them.
• 15. For since the Jews' rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, how much more wonderful their acceptance will be. It will be life for those who were dead!
• 16. And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their children will also be holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.
• 17. But some of these branches from Abraham's tree, some of the Jews, have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, were grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in God's rich nourishment of his special olive tree.
• 18. But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root.
• 19. "Well," you may say, "those branches were broken off to make room for me."
• 20. Yes, but remember--those branches, the Jews, were broken off because they didn't believe God, and you are there because you do believe. Don't think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.
• 21. For if God did not spare the branches he put there in the first place, he won't spare you either.
• 22. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe to those who disobeyed, but kind to you as you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.
• 23. And if the Jews turn from their unbelief, God will graft them back into the tree again. He has the power to do it.
• 24. For if God was willing to take you who were, by nature, branches from a wild olive tree and graft you into his own good tree--a very unusual thing to do--he will be far more eager to graft the Jews back into the tree where they belong.
• 25. I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
• 26. And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this? "A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel from all ungodliness.
• 27. And then I will keep my covenant with them and take away their sins."
• 28. Many of the Jews are now enemies of the Good News. But this has been to your benefit, for God has given his gifts to you Gentiles. Yet the Jews are still his chosen people because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• 29. For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
• 30. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the Jews refused his mercy, God was merciful to you instead.
• 31. And now, in the same way, the Jews are the rebels, and God's mercy has come to you. But someday they, too, will share in God's mercy.
• 32. For God has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
• 33. Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!
• 34. For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?
• 35. And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back?
• 36. For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.

Jeremiah 50

• 1. The LORD gave Jeremiah the prophet this message concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians.
• 2. This is what the LORD says: "Tell the whole world, and keep nothing back! Raise a signal flag so everyone will know that Babylon will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.
• 3. For a nation will attack her from the north and bring such destruction that no one will live in her again. Everything will be gone; both people and animals will flee.
• 4. "Then the people of Israel and Judah will join together," says the LORD, "weeping and seeking the LORD their God.
• 5. They will ask the way to Jerusalem and will start back home again. They will bind themselves to the LORD with an eternal covenant that will never again be broken.
• 6. "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray and turned them loose in the mountains. They have lost their way and cannot remember how to get back to the fold.
• 7. All who found them devoured them. Their enemies said, `We are allowed to attack them freely, for they have sinned against the LORD, their place of rest, the hope of their ancestors.'
• 8. "But now, flee from Babylon! Leave the land of the Babylonians. Lead my people home again.
• 9. For look, I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. I will bring them against Babylon to attack her, and she will be captured. The enemies' arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss!
• 10. Babylonia will be plundered until the attackers are glutted with plunder," says the LORD.
• 11. "You rejoice and are glad, you plunderers of my chosen people. You frisk about like a calf in a meadow and neigh like a stallion.
• 12. But your homeland will be overwhelmed with shame and disgrace. You will become the least of nations--a wilderness, a dry and desolate land.
• 13. Because of the LORD's anger, Babylon will become a deserted wasteland. All who pass by will be horrified and will gasp at the destruction they see there.
• 14. "Yes, prepare to attack Babylon, all you nations round about. Let your archers shoot at her. Spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD.
• 15. Shout against her from every side. Look! She surrenders! Her walls have fallen. The LORD has taken vengeance, so do not spare her. Do to her as she has done to others!
• 16. Lead from Babylon all those who plant crops; send all the harvesters away. Let the captives escape the sword of the enemy and rush back to their own lands.
• 17. "The Israelites are like sheep that have been scattered by lions. First the king of Assyria ate them up. Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones."
• 18. Therefore, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Now I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.
• 19. And I will bring Israel home again to her own land, to feed in the fields of Carmel and Bashan, and to be satisfied once more on the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.
• 20. In those days," says the LORD, "no sin will be found in Israel or in Judah, for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.
• 21. "Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim and against the people of Pekod. Yes, march against Babylon, the land of rebels, a land that I will judge! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them, as I have commanded you," says the LORD.
• 22. "Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction.
• 23. Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth, lies broken and shattered. Babylon is desolate among the nations!
• 24. Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the LORD.
• 25. "The LORD has opened his armory and brought out weapons to vent his fury against his enemies. The terror that falls upon the Babylonians will be the work of the Sovereign LORD Almighty.
• 26. Yes, come against her from distant lands. Break open her granaries. Crush her walls and houses into heaps of rubble. Destroy her completely, and leave nothing!
• 27. Even destroy her cattle--it will be terrible for them, too! Slaughter them all! For the time has come for Babylon to be devastated.
• 28. Listen to the people who have escaped from Babylon, as they declare in Jerusalem how the LORD our God has taken vengeance against those who destroyed his Temple.
• 29. "Send out a call for archers to come to Babylon. Surround the city so none can escape. Do to her as she has done to others, for she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
• 30. Her young men will fall in the streets and die. Her warriors will all be killed," says the LORD.
• 31. "See, I am your enemy, O proud people," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty. "Your day of reckoning has arrived.
• 32. O land of pride, you will stumble and fall, and no one will raise you up. For I will light a fire in the cities of Babylon that will burn everything around them."
• 33. And now the LORD Almighty says this: "The people of Israel and Judah have been wronged. Their captors hold them and refuse to let them go.
• 34. But the one who redeems them is strong. His name is the LORD Almighty. He will defend them and give them rest again in Israel. But the people of Babylon--there will be no rest for them!
• 35. "The sword of destruction will strike the Babylonians," says the LORD. "It will strike the people of Babylon--her princes and wise men, too.
• 36. And when it strikes her wise counselors, they will become fools! When it strikes her mightiest warriors, panic will seize them!
• 37. When it strikes her horses and chariots, her allies from other lands will become as weak as women. When it strikes her treasures, they all will be plundered.
• 38. It will even strike her water supply, causing it to dry up. And why? Because the whole land is filled with idols, and the people are madly in love with them.
• 39. "Soon this city of Babylon will be inhabited by ostriches and jackals. It will be a home for the wild animals of the desert. Never again will people live there; it will lie desolate forever.
• 40. I will destroy it just as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns," says the LORD. "No one will live there anymore.
• 41. "Look! A great army is marching from the north! A great nation and many kings are rising against you from far-off lands.
• 42. They are fully armed for slaughter. They are cruel and show no mercy. As they ride forward, the noise of their army is like a roaring sea. They are marching in battle formation to destroy you, Babylon.
• 43. The king of Babylon has received reports about the enemy, and he is weak with fright. Fear and pain have gripped him, like that of a woman about to give birth.
• 44. "I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Babylon from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?"
• 45. Listen to the LORD's plans against Babylon and the land of the Babylonians. Even little children will be dragged off, and their homes will be empty.
• 46. The earth will shake with the noise of Babylon's fall, and her cry of despair will be heard around the world.

New Living Translation: 233 of 365 days.