1 Chronicles 16

• 1. So they brought the Ark of God into the special tent David had prepared for it, and they sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
• 2. When he had finished, David blessed the people in the name of the LORD.
• 3. Then he gave a gift of food to every man and woman in Israel: a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins.
• 4. David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD by asking for his blessings and giving thanks and praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.
• 5. Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals. His assistants were Zechariah (the second), then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played the harps and lyres.
• 6. The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God's covenant.
• 7. That day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the LORD:
• 8. Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.
• 9. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles.
• 10. Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!
• 11. Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching.
• 12. Think of the wonderful works he has done, the miracles, and the judgments he handed down,
• 13. O children of Israel, God's servant, O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one.
• 14. He is the LORD our God. His rule is seen throughout the land.
• 15. He always stands by his covenant--the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
• 16. This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.
• 17. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to the people of Israel as a never-ending treaty:
• 18. "I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession."
• 19. He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
• 20. They wandered back and forth between nations, from one kingdom to another.
• 21. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:
• 22. "Do not touch these people I have chosen, and do not hurt my prophets."
• 23. Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
• 24. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
• 25. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be revered above all gods.
• 26. The gods of other nations are merely idols, but the LORD made the heavens!
• 27. Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty are in his dwelling.
• 28. O nations of the world, recognize the LORD, recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.
• 29. Give to the LORD the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him. Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.
• 30. Let all the earth tremble before him. The world is firmly established and cannot be shaken.
• 31. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! Tell all the nations that the LORD is king.
• 32. Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst forth with joy!
• 33. Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the LORD! For he is coming to judge the earth.
• 34. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
• 35. Cry out, "Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you."
• 36. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted "Amen!" and praised the LORD.
• 37. David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to minister regularly before the Ark of the LORD's covenant, doing whatever needed to be done each day.
• 38. This group included Obed-edom (son of Jeduthun), Hosah, and sixty-eight other Levites as gatekeepers.
• 39. Meanwhile, David stationed Zadok the priest and his fellow priests at the Tabernacle of the LORD on the hill of Gibeon, where they continued to minister before the LORD.
• 40. They sacrificed the regular burnt offerings to the LORD each morning and evening on the altar set aside for that purpose, obeying everything written in the law of the LORD, which he had given to Israel.
• 41. David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and the others chosen by name to give thanks to the LORD, "for his faithful love endures forever."
• 42. They used their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments to accompany the songs of praise to God. And the sons of Jeduthun were appointed as gatekeepers.
• 43. Then all the people returned to their homes, and David returned home to bless his family.

James 3

• 1. Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness.
• 2. We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way.
• 3. We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
• 4. And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong.
• 5. So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
• 6. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
• 7. People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish,
• 8. but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.
• 9. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God.
• 10. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
• 11. Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
• 12. Can you pick olives from a fig tree or figs from a grapevine? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty pool.
• 13. If you are wise and understand God's ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don't brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise!
• 14. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don't brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie.
• 15. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil.
• 16. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.
• 17. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere.
• 18. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

Obadiah 1

• 1. This is the vision that the Sovereign LORD revealed to Obadiah concerning the land of Edom. We have heard a message from the LORD that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, "Get ready, everyone! Let's assemble our armies and attack Edom!"
• 2. The LORD says, "I will cut you down to size among the nations, Edom; you will be small and despised.
• 3. You are proud because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. `Who can ever reach us way up here?' you ask boastfully. Don't fool yourselves!
• 4. Though you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down. I, the LORD, have spoken!
• 5. "If thieves came at night and robbed you, they would not take everything. Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. But your enemies will wipe you out completely!
• 6. Every nook and cranny of Edom will be searched and looted. Every treasure will be found and taken.
• 7. "All your allies will turn against you. They will help to chase you from your land. They will promise you peace, while plotting your destruction. Your trusted friends will set traps for you, and you won't even know about it.
• 8. At that time not a single wise person will be left in the whole land of Edom!" says the LORD. "For on the mountains of Edom I will destroy everyone who has wisdom and understanding.
• 9. The mightiest warriors of Teman will be terrified, and everyone on the mountains of Edom will be cut down in the slaughter.
• 10. "And why? Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel. Now you will be destroyed completely and filled with shame forever.
• 11. For you deserted your relatives in Israel during their time of greatest need. You stood aloof, refusing to lift a finger to help when foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem. You acted as though you were one of Israel's enemies.
• 12. "You shouldn't have done this! You shouldn't have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You shouldn't have rejoiced because they were suffering such misfortune. You shouldn't have crowed over them as they suffered these disasters.
• 13. You shouldn't have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity. You shouldn't have gloated over the destruction of your relatives, looting their homes and making yourselves rich at their expense.
• 14. You shouldn't have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. You shouldn't have captured the survivors, handing them over to their enemies in that terrible time of trouble.
• 15. "The day is near when I, the LORD, will judge the godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads.
• 16. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history, as though you had never even existed.
• 17. "But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance.
• 18. At that time Israel will be a raging fire, and Edom, a field of dry stubble. The fire will roar across the field, devouring everything and leaving no survivors in Edom. I, the LORD, have spoken!
• 19. "Then my people living in the Negev will occupy the mountains of Edom. Those living in the foothills of Judah will possess the Philistine plains and take over the fields of Ephraim and Samaria. And the people of Benjamin will occupy the land of Gilead.
• 20. The exiles of Israel will return to their land and occupy the Phoenician coast as far north as Zarephath. The captives from Jerusalem exiled in the north will return to their homeland and resettle the villages of the Negev.
• 21. Deliverers will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom. And the LORD himself will be king!"

New Living Translation: 325 of 365 days.