1 Kings 9

• 1. So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do.
• 2. Then the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon.
• 3. The LORD said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your request. I have set apart this Temple you have built so that my name will be honored there forever. I will always watch over it and care for it.
• 4. As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, always obeying my commands and keeping my laws and regulations,
• 5. then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: `You will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'
• 6. "But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey my commands and laws, and if you go and worship other gods,
• 7. then I will uproot the people of Israel from this land I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have set apart to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.
• 8. And though this Temple is impressive now, it will become an appalling sight for all who pass by. They will scoff and ask, `Why did the LORD do such terrible things to his land and to his Temple?'
• 9. And the answer will be, `Because his people forgot the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead. That is why the LORD has brought all these disasters upon them.'"
• 10. Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace,
• 11. Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre as payment for all the cedar and cypress lumber and gold he had furnished for the construction of the buildings.
• 12. Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, but he was not at all pleased with them.
• 13. "What kind of towns are these, my brother?" he asked. "These towns are worthless!" So Hiram called that area Cabul--"worthless"--as it is still known today.
• 14. Hiram had sent Solomon nine thousand pounds of gold.
• 15. This is the account of the forced labor that Solomon conscripted to build the LORD's Temple, the royal palace, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
• 16. (The king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon.
• 17. So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon,
• 18. Baalath, and Tamar in the desert, within his land.
• 19. He built towns as supply centers and constructed cities where his chariots and horses could be kept. He built to his heart's content in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout the entire realm.
• 20. There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
• 21. These were descendants of the nations that Israel had not completely destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve in the labor force to this day.
• 22. But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers.
• 23. He also appointed 550 of them to supervise the various projects.
• 24. After Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh's daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her, he constructed the Millo.
• 25. Three times each year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD on the altar he had built. He also burned incense to the LORD. And so he finished the work of building the Temple.
• 26. Later King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea.
• 27. Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon's men.
• 28. They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons of gold.

Ephesians 6

• 1. Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.
• 2. "Honor your father and mother." This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise.
• 3. And this is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, "you will live a long life, full of blessing."
• 4. And now a word to you fathers. Don't make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord.
• 5. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.
• 6. Work hard, but not just to please your masters when they are watching. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.
• 7. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
• 8. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
• 9. And in the same way, you masters must treat your slaves right. Don't threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
• 10. A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power.
• 11. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.
• 12. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
• 13. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.
• 14. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.
• 15. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared.
• 16. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.
• 17. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
• 18. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
• 19. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words as I boldly explain God's secret plan that the Good News is for the Gentiles, too.
• 20. I am in chains now for preaching this message as God's ambassador. But pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
• 21. Tychicus, a much loved brother and faithful helper in the Lord's work, will tell you all about how I am getting along.
• 22. I am sending him to you for just this purpose. He will let you know how we are, and he will encourage you.
• 23. May God give you peace, dear brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 24. May God's grace be upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ezekiel 39

• 1. "Son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am your enemy, O Gog, ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal.
• 2. I will turn you and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north.
• 3. I will knock your weapons from your hands and leave you helpless.
• 4. You and all your vast hordes will die on the mountains. I will give you as food to the vultures and wild animals.
• 5. You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 6. And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
• 7. "Thus, I will make known my holy name among my people of Israel. I will not let it be desecrated anymore. And the nations, too, will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
• 8. That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign LORD. Everything will happen just as I have declared it.
• 9. "Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years!
• 10. They will need nothing else for their fires. They won't need to cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all they need. They will take plunder from those who planned to plunder them, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 11. "And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. The path of those who travel there will be blocked by this burial ground, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog's Hordes.
• 12. It will take seven months for the people of Israel to cleanse the land by burying the bodies.
• 13. Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 14. At the end of the seven months, special crews will be appointed to search the land for any skeletons and to bury them, so the land will be made clean again.
• 15. Whenever some bones are found, a marker will be set up beside them so the burial crews will see them and take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog's Hordes.
• 16. (There will be a town there named Hamonah--which means `horde.') And so the land will finally be cleansed.
• 17. "And now, son of man, call all the birds and wild animals, says the Sovereign LORD. Say to them: Gather together for my great sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel, and there eat the flesh and drink the blood!
• 18. Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and fat young bulls of Bashan!
• 19. Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted; drink blood until you are drunk. This is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you.
• 20. Feast at my banquet table--feast on horses, riders, and valiant warriors, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 21. "Thus, I will demonstrate my glory among the nations. Everyone will see the punishment I have inflicted on them and the power I have demonstrated.
• 22. And from that time on the people of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.
• 23. The nations will then know why Israel was sent away to exile--it was punishment for sin, for they acted in treachery against their God. Therefore, I turned my back on them and let their enemies destroy them.
• 24. I turned my face away and punished them in proportion to the vileness of their sins.
• 25. "So now the Sovereign LORD says: I will end the captivity of my people; I will have mercy on Israel, for I am jealous for my holy reputation!
• 26. They will accept responsibility for their past shame and treachery against me after they come home to live in peace and safety in their own land. And then no one will bother them or make them afraid.
• 27. When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, my holiness will be displayed to the nations.
• 28. Then my people will know that I am the LORD their God--responsible for sending them away to exile and responsible for bringing them home. I will leave none of my people behind.
• 29. And I will never again turn my back on them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon them, says the Sovereign LORD."

New Living Translation: 279 of 365 days.