2 Chronicles 5

• 1. When Solomon had finished all the work related to building the Temple of the LORD, he brought in the gifts dedicated by his father, King David, including all the silver and gold and all the utensils. These were stored in the treasuries of the Temple of God.
• 2. Solomon then summoned the leaders of all the tribes and families of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. They were to bring the Ark of the LORD's covenant from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion, to its new place in the Temple.
• 3. They all assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters in early autumn.
• 4. When all the leaders of Israel arrived, the Levites moved the Ark,
• 5. along with the special tent and all its sacred utensils. The Levitical priests carried them all up to the Temple.
• 6. King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen before the Ark in such numbers that no one could keep count!
• 7. Then the priests carried the Ark of the LORD's covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple--the Most Holy Place--and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
• 8. The cherubim spread their wings out over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles.
• 9. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the front entrance of the Temple's main room--the Holy Place--but not from outside it. They are still there to this day.
• 10. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel after they left Egypt.
• 11. Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day.
• 12. And the Levites who were musicians--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers--were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, harps, and lyres. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets.
• 13. The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the LORD with these words: "He is so good! His faithful love endures forever!" At that moment a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD.
• 14. The priests could not continue their work because the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of God.

1 John 4

• 1. Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
• 2. This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God.
• 3. If a prophet does not acknowledge Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist. You have heard that he is going to come into the world, and he is already here.
• 4. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
• 5. These people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them.
• 6. But we belong to God; that is why those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
• 7. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
• 8. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love.
• 9. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.
• 10. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
• 11. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
• 12. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.
• 13. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
• 14. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
• 15. All who proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
• 16. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
• 17. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.
• 18. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.
• 19. We love each other as a result of his loving us first.
• 20. If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen?
• 21. And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.

Nahum 3

• 1. How terrible it will be for Nineveh, the city of murder and lies! She is crammed with wealth to be plundered.
• 2. Listen! Hear the crack of the whips as the chariots rush forward against her. Wheels rumble, horses' hooves pound, and chariots clatter as they bump wildly through the streets.
• 3. See the flashing swords and glittering spears in the upraised arms of the cavalry! The dead are lying in the streets--dead bodies, heaps of bodies, everywhere. People stumble over them, scramble to their feet, and fall again.
• 4. All this because Nineveh, the beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She taught them all to worship her false gods, enchanting people everywhere.
• 5. "No wonder I am your enemy!" declares the LORD Almighty. "And now I will lift your skirts so all the earth will see your nakedness and shame.
• 6. I will cover you with filth and show the world how vile you really are.
• 7. All who see you will shrink back in horror and say, `Nineveh lies in utter ruin.' Yet no one anywhere will regret your destruction."
• 8. Are you any better than Thebes, surrounded by rivers, protected by water on all sides?
• 9. Ethiopia and the land of Egypt were the source of her strength, which seemed without limit. The nations of Put and Libya also helped and supported her.
• 10. Yet Thebes fell, and her people were led away as captives. Her babies were dashed to death against the stones of the streets. Soldiers cast lots to see who would get the Egyptian officers as servants. All their leaders were bound in chains.
• 11. And you, Nineveh, will also stagger like a drunkard. You will hide for fear of the attacking enemy.
• 12. All your fortresses will fall. They will be devoured like the ripe figs that fall into the mouths of those who shake the trees.
• 13. Your troops will be as weak and helpless as women. The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy and set on fire and burned.
• 14. Get ready for the siege! Store up water! Strengthen the defenses! Make bricks to repair the walls! Go into the pits to trample clay, and pack it into molds!
• 15. But in the middle of your preparations, the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down. The enemy will consume you like locusts, devouring everything they see. There will be no escape, even if you multiply like grasshoppers.
• 16. Merchants, as numerous as the stars, have filled your city with vast wealth. But like a swarm of locusts, they strip the land and then fly away.
• 17. Your princes and officials are also like locusts, crowding together in the hedges to survive the cold. But like locusts that fly away when the sun comes up to warm the earth, all of them will fly away and disappear.
• 18. O Assyrian king, your princes lie dead in the dust. Your people are scattered across the mountains. There is no longer a shepherd to gather them together.
• 19. There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your cruelty?

New Living Translation: 339 of 365 days.