2 Kings 3

• 1. Ahab's son Joram began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years.
• 2. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but he was not as wicked as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up.
• 3. Nevertheless he continued in the sins of idolatry that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to commit.
• 4. King Mesha of Moab and his people were sheep breeders. They used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.
• 5. But after Ahab's death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
• 6. So King Joram mustered the army of Israel and marched from Samaria.
• 7. On the way, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you help me fight him?" And Jehoshaphat replied, "Why, of course! You and I are brothers, and my troops are yours to command. Even my horses are at your service."
• 8. Then Jehoshaphat asked, "What route will we take?We will attack from the wilderness of Edom," Joram replied.
• 9. The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their pack animals.
• 10. "What should we do?" the king of Israel cried out. "The LORD has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us."
• 11. But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD with us? If there is, we can ask the LORD what to do." One of King Joram's officers replied, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah's personal assistant. "
• 12. Jehoshaphat said, "Then the LORD will speak through him." So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom went to consult with Elisha.
• 13. "I want no part of you," Elisha said to the king of Israel. "Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!" But King Joram said, "No! For it was the LORD who called us three kings here to be destroyed by the king of Moab!"
• 14. Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I would not bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah.
• 15. Now bring me someone who can play the harp." While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha,
• 16. and he said, "This is what the LORD says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water!
• 17. You will see neither wind nor rain, says the LORD, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and for your cattle and your other animals.
• 18. But this is only a simple thing for the LORD, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab!
• 19. You will conquer the best of their cities, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones."
• 20. And sure enough, the next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.
• 21. Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who could fight, young and old, and stationed themselves along their border.
• 22. But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it look as red as blood.
• 23. "It's blood!" the Moabites exclaimed. "The three armies have attacked and killed each other! Let's go and collect the plunder!"
• 24. When they arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked the Moabites, who turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went.
• 25. They destroyed the cities, covered their good land with stones, stopped up the springs, and cut down the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth was left, but even that came under attack.
• 26. When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led seven hundred of his warriors in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed to escape.
• 27. So he took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. As a result, the anger against Israel was great, so they withdrew and returned to their own land.

2 Thessalonians 3

• 1. Finally, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.
• 2. Pray, too, that we will be saved from wicked and evil people, for not everyone believes in the Lord.
• 3. But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one.
• 4. And we are confident in the Lord that you are practicing the things we commanded you, and that you always will.
• 5. May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.
• 6. And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and doesn't follow the tradition of hard work we gave you.
• 7. For you know that you ought to follow our example. We were never lazy when we were with you.
• 8. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
• 9. It wasn't that we didn't have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.
• 10. Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: "Whoever does not work should not eat."
• 11. Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people's business.
• 12. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we appeal to such people--no, we command them: Settle down and get to work. Earn your own living.
• 13. And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
• 14. Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed.
• 15. Don't think of them as enemies, but speak to them as you would to a Christian who needs to be warned.
• 16. May the Lord of peace himself always give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all.
• 17. Now here is my greeting, which I write with my own hand--PAUL. I do this at the end of all my letters to prove that they really are from me.
• 18. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Daniel 7

• 1. Earlier, during the first year of King Belshazzar's reign in Babylon, Daniel had a dream and saw visions as he lay in his bed. He wrote the dream down, and this is what he saw.
• 2. In my vision that night, I, Daniel, saw a great storm churning the surface of a great sea, with strong winds blowing from every direction.
• 3. Then four huge beasts came up out of the water, each different from the others.
• 4. The first beast was like a lion with eagles' wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off, and it was left standing with its two hind feet on the ground, like a human being. And a human mind was given to it.
• 5. Then I saw a second beast, and it looked like a bear. It was rearing up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And I heard a voice saying to it, "Get up! Devour many people!"
• 6. Then the third of these strange beasts appeared, and it looked like a leopard. It had four wings like birds' wings on its back, and it had four heads. Great authority was given to this beast.
• 7. Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast, terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled what was left beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns.
• 8. As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them. Three of the first horns were wrenched out, roots and all, to make room for it. This little horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that was boasting arrogantly.
• 9. I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient One sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like whitest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire,
• 10. and a river of fire flowed from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him, and a hundred million stood to attend him. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.
• 11. I continued to watch because I could hear the little horn's boastful speech. I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire.
• 12. As for the other three beasts, their authority was taken from them, but they were allowed to live for a while longer.
• 13. As my vision continued that night, I saw someone who looked like a man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.
• 14. He was given authority, honor, and royal power over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal--it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
• 15. I, Daniel, was troubled by all I had seen, and my visions terrified me.
• 16. So I approached one of those standing beside the throne and asked him what it all meant. He explained it to me like this:
• 17. "These four huge beasts represent four kingdoms that will arise from the earth.
• 18. But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever."
• 19. Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, the one so different from the others and so terrifying. It devoured and crushed its victims with iron teeth and bronze claws, and it trampled what was left beneath its feet.
• 20. I also asked about the ten horns on the fourth beast's head and the little horn that came up afterward and destroyed three of the other horns. This was the horn that seemed greater than the others and had human eyes and a mouth that was boasting arrogantly.
• 21. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and was defeating them,
• 22. until the Ancient One came and judged in favor of the holy people of the Most High. Then the time arrived for the holy people to take over the kingdom.
• 23. Then he said to me, "This fourth beast is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling everything in its path.
• 24. Its ten horns are ten kings that will rule that empire. Then another king will arise, different from the other ten, who will subdue three of them.
• 25. He will defy the Most High and wear down the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.
• 26. "But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power will be taken away and completely destroyed.
• 27. Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. They will rule forever, and all rulers will serve and obey them."
• 28. That was the end of the vision. I, Daniel, was terrified by my thoughts and my face was pale with fear, but I kept these things to myself.

New Living Translation: 295 of 365 days.