2 Samuel 2

• 1. After this, David asked the LORD, "Should I move back to Judah?" And the LORD replied, "Yes." Then David asked, "Which town should I go to?" And the LORD replied, "Hebron."
• 2. David's wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. So David and his wives
• 3. and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled near the town of Hebron.
• 4. Then Judah's leaders came to David and crowned him king over the tribe of Judah. When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul,
• 5. he sent them this message: "May the LORD bless you for being so loyal to your king and giving him a decent burial.
• 6. May the LORD be loyal to you in return and reward you with his unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done.
• 7. And now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king."
• 8. But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul's son Ishbosheth.
• 9. There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel.
• 10. Ishbosheth was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the tribe of Judah remained loyal to David.
• 11. David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.
• 12. One day Abner led some of Ishbosheth's troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
• 13. About the same time, Joab son of Zeruiah led David's troops from Hebron, and they met Abner at the pool of Gibeon. The two groups sat down there, facing each other from opposite sides of the pool.
• 14. Then Abner suggested to Joab, "Let's have a few of our warriors put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat.All right," Joab agreed.
• 15. So twelve men were chosen from each side to fight against each other.
• 16. Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other's side so that all of them died. The place has been known ever since as the Field of Swords.
• 17. The two armies then began to fight each other, and by the end of the day Abner and the men of Israel had been defeated by the forces of David.
• 18. Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, the three sons of Zeruiah, were among David's forces that day. Asahel could run like a deer,
• 19. and he began chasing Abner. He was relentless and single-minded in his pursuit.
• 20. When Abner looked back and saw him coming, he called out, "Is that you, Asahel?Yes, it is," he replied.
• 21. "Go fight someone else!" Abner warned. "Take on one of the younger men and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel refused and kept right on chasing Abner.
• 22. Again Abner shouted to him, "Get away from here! I will never be able to face your brother Joab if I have to kill you!"
• 23. But Asahel would not give up, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel's stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there.
• 24. When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at the hill of Ammah near Giah, along the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
• 25. Abner's troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill to take a stand.
• 26. Abner shouted down to Joab, "Must we always solve our differences with swords? Don't you realize the only thing we will gain is bitterness toward each other? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?"
• 27. Then Joab said, "God only knows what would have happened if you hadn't spoken, for we would have chased you all night if necessary."
• 28. So Joab blew his trumpet, and his men stopped chasing the troops of Israel.
• 29. All that night Abner and his men retreated through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, traveling all through the morning, and they did not stop until they arrived at Mahanaim.
• 30. Meanwhile, Joab and his men also returned home. When Joab counted his casualties, he discovered that only nineteen men were missing, in addition to Asahel.
• 31. But three hundred and sixty of Abner's men, all from the tribe of Benjamin, had been killed.
• 32. Joab and his men took Asahel's body to Bethlehem and buried him there beside his father. Then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.

1 Corinthians 13

• 1. If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.
• 2. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody.
• 3. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
• 4. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
• 5. or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
• 6. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
• 7. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
• 8. Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear.
• 9. Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little!
• 10. But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
• 11. It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
• 12. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
• 13. There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.

Ezekiel 11

• 1. Then the Spirit lifted me and brought me over to the east gateway of the LORD's Temple, where I saw twenty-five prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders among the people.
• 2. Then the Spirit said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who are responsible for the wicked counsel being given in this city.
• 3. They say to the people, `Is it not a good time to build houses? Our city is like an iron pot. Inside it we will be like meat--safe from all harm. '
• 4. Therefore, son of man, prophesy against them loudly and clearly."
• 5. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say, "This is what the LORD says to the people of Israel: Is that what you are saying? Yes, I know it is, for I know every thought that comes into your minds.
• 6. You have murdered endlessly and filled your streets with the dead.
• 7. "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: This city is an iron pot, but the victims of your injustice are the pieces of meat. And you are not safe, for I will soon drag you from the city.
• 8. I will expose you to the war you so greatly fear, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 9. I will drive you out of Jerusalem and hand you over to foreigners who will carry out my judgments against you.
• 10. You will be slaughtered all the way to the borders of Israel, and then you will know that I am the LORD.
• 11. No, this city will not be an iron pot for you, and you will not be the meat, safe inside. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel,
• 12. and you will know that I am the LORD. For you have refused to obey me; instead, you have copied the sins of the nations around you."
• 13. While I was still speaking, Pelatiah son of Benaiah suddenly died. Then I fell face down in the dust and cried out, "O Sovereign LORD, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?"
• 14. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 15. "Son of man, the people still left in Jerusalem are talking about their relatives in exile, saying, `They are far away from the LORD, so now he has given their land to us!'
• 16. Therefore, give the exiles this message from the Sovereign LORD: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile.
• 17. I, the Sovereign LORD, will gather you back from the nations where you are scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.
• 18. "When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their detestable idol worship.
• 19. And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their hearts of stone and give them tender hearts instead,
• 20. so they will obey my laws and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
• 21. But as for those who long for idols, I will repay them fully for their sins, says the Sovereign LORD."
• 22. Then the cherubim lifted their wings and rose into the air with their wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
• 23. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east.
• 24. Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia, to the Judeans in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem.
• 25. And I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.

New Living Translation: 251 of 365 days.