2 Chronicles 7

• 1. When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple.
• 2. The priests could not even enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it.
• 3. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying, "He is so good! His faithful love endures forever!"
• 4. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the LORD.
• 5. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple of God.
• 6. The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites who were singing, "His faithful love endures forever!" They accompanied the singing with music from the instruments King David had made for praising the LORD. On the other side of the Levites, the priests blew the trumpets, while all Israel stood.
• 7. Solomon then dedicated the central area of the courtyard in front of the LORD's Temple so they could present burnt offerings and the fat from peace offerings there. He did this because the bronze altar he had built could not handle all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrificial fat.
• 8. For the next seven days they celebrated the Festival of Shelters with huge crowds gathered from all the tribes of Israel. They came from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north, to the brook of Egypt in the south.
• 9. On the eighth day they had a closing ceremony, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the Festival of Shelters for seven days.
• 10. Then at the end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They were all joyful and happy because the LORD had been so good to David and Solomon and to his people Israel.
• 11. So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do.
• 12. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices.
• 13. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues among you.
• 14. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
• 15. I will listen to every prayer made in this place,
• 16. for I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be my home forever. My eyes and my heart will always be here.
• 17. "As for you, if you follow me as your father, David, did and obey all my commands, laws, and regulations,
• 18. then I will not let anyone take away your throne. This is the same promise I gave your father, David, when I said, `You will never fail to have a successor who rules over Israel.'
• 19. "But if you abandon me and disobey the laws and commands I have given you, and if you go and worship other gods,
• 20. then I will uproot the people of Israel from this land of mine that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have set apart to honor my name. I will make it a spectacle of contempt among the nations.
• 21. And though this Temple is impressive now, it will become an appalling sight to all who pass by. They will ask, `Why has the LORD done such terrible things to his land and to his Temple?'
• 22. And the answer will be, `Because his people abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead. That is why he brought all these disasters upon them.'"

2 John 1

• 1. This letter is from John the Elder. It is written to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth, as does everyone else who knows God's truth--
• 2. the truth that lives in us and will be in our hearts forever.
• 3. May grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God our Father and from Jesus Christ his Son, be with us who live in truth and love.
• 4. How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father.
• 5. And now I want to urge you, dear lady, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we had from the beginning.
• 6. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.
• 7. Many deceivers have gone out into the world. They do not believe that Jesus Christ came to earth in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.
• 8. Watch out, so that you do not lose the prize for which we have been working so hard. Be diligent so that you will receive your full reward.
• 9. For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son.
• 10. If someone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don't invite him into your house or encourage him in any way.
• 11. Anyone who encourages him becomes a partner in his evil work.
• 12. Well, I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to say it in a letter. For I hope to visit you soon and to talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.
• 13. Greetings from the children of your sister, chosen by God.

Habakkuk 2

• 1. I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the LORD will say to me and how he will answer my complaint.
• 2. Then the LORD said to me, "Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.
• 3. But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
• 4. "Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith.
• 5. Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They range far and wide, with their mouths opened as wide as death, but they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and peoples.
• 6. But the time is coming when all their captives will taunt them, saying, `You thieves! At last justice has caught up with you! Now you will get what you deserve for your oppression and extortion!'
• 7. Suddenly, your debtors will rise up in anger. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless.
• 8. You have plundered many nations; now they will plunder you. You murderers! You have filled the countryside with violence and all the cities, too.
• 9. "How terrible it will be for you who get rich by unjust means! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your families beyond the reach of danger.
• 10. But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.
• 11. The very stones in the walls of your houses cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
• 12. "How terrible it will be for you who build cities with money gained by murder and corruption!
• 13. Has not the LORD Almighty promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!
• 14. For the time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.
• 15. "How terrible it will be for you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so that you can gloat over their nakedness and shame.
• 16. But soon it will be your turn! Come, drink and be exposed! Drink from the cup of the LORD's judgment, and all your glory will be turned to shame.
• 17. You cut down the forests of Lebanon. Now you will be cut down! You terrified the wild animals you caught in your traps. Now terror will strike you because of your murder and violence in cities everywhere!
• 18. "What have you gained by worshiping all your man-made idols? How foolish to trust in something made by your own hands! What fools you are to believe such lies!
• 19. How terrible it will be for you who beg lifeless wooden idols to save you. You ask speechless stone images to tell you what to do. Can an idol speak for God? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.
• 20. But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him."

New Living Translation: 341 of 365 days.