2 Chronicles 11

• 1. When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the armies of Judah and Benjamin--180,000 select troops--to fight against the army of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself.
• 2. But the LORD said to Shemaiah, the man of God,
• 3. "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin:
• 4. `This is what the LORD says: Do not fight against your relatives. Go back home, for what has happened is my doing!'" So they obeyed the message of the LORD and did not fight against Jeroboam.
• 5. Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and fortified various cities for the defense of Judah.
• 6. He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
• 7. Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,
• 8. Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
• 9. Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
• 10. Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These became the fortified cities of Judah and Benjamin.
• 11. Rehoboam strengthened their defenses and stationed commanders in them. In each of them, he stored supplies of food, olive oil, and wine.
• 12. He also put shields and spears in these towns as a further safety measure. So only Judah and Benjamin remained under his control.
• 13. But all the priests and Levites living among the northern tribes of Israel sided with Rehoboam.
• 14. The Levites even abandoned their homes and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the LORD as priests.
• 15. Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made.
• 16. From all over Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
• 17. This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon and earnestly sought to obey the LORD as they had done during the reigns of David and Solomon.
• 18. Rehoboam married his cousin Mahalath, the daughter of David's son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab. (Eliab was one of David's brothers, a son of Jesse.)
• 19. Mahalath had three sons--Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
• 20. Later Rehoboam married another cousin, Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. Maacah gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
• 21. Rehoboam loved Maacah more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and they gave birth to twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
• 22. Rehoboam made Maacah's son Abijah chief among the princes, making it clear that he would be the next king.
• 23. Rehoboam also wisely gave responsibilities to his other sons and stationed them in the fortified cities throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin. He provided them with generous provisions and arranged for each of them to have several wives.

2 Chronicles 12

• 1. But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel followed him in this sin.
• 2. Because they were unfaithful to the LORD, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign.
• 3. He came with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.
• 4. Shishak conquered Judah's fortified cities and then advanced to attack Jerusalem.
• 5. The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah's leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, "This is what the LORD says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak."
• 6. The king and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is right in doing this to us!"
• 7. When the LORD saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: "Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem.
• 8. But they will become his subjects, so that they can learn how much better it is to serve me than to serve earthly rulers."
• 9. So King Shishak of Egypt came to Jerusalem and took away all the treasures of the Temple of the LORD and of the royal palace, including all of Solomon's gold shields.
• 10. King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields and entrusted them to the care of the captain of his bodyguard.
• 11. Whenever the king went to the Temple of the LORD, the guards would carry them along and then return them to the guardroom.
• 12. Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD's anger was turned aside, and he did not destroy him completely. And there was still goodness in the land of Judah.
• 13. King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, a woman from Ammon.
• 14. But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the LORD with all his heart.
• 15. The rest of the events of Rehoboam's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Shemaiah the Prophet and in The Record of Iddo the Seer, which are part of the genealogical record. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other.
• 16. When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king.

Revelation 2

• 1. "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
• 2. "I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don't tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.
• 3. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
• 4. But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first!
• 5. Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and work as you did at first. If you don't, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.
• 6. But there is this about you that is good: You hate the deeds of the immoral Nicolaitans, just as I do.
• 7. "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious will eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
• 8. "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who died and is alive:
• 9. "I know about your suffering and your poverty--but you are rich! I know the slander of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they really aren't because theirs is a synagogue of Satan.
• 10. Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The Devil will throw some of you into prison and put you to the test. You will be persecuted for 'ten days.' Remain faithful even when facing death, and I will give you the crown of life.
• 11. "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be hurt by the second death.
• 12. "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one who has a sharp two-edged sword:
• 13. "I know that you live in the city where that great throne of Satan is located, and yet you have remained loyal to me. And you refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan's followers.
• 14. And yet I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you who are like Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to worship idols by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.
• 15. In the same way, you have some Nicolaitans among you--people who follow the same teaching and commit the same sins.
• 16. Repent, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
• 17. "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious will eat of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.
• 18. "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are bright like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
• 19. "I know all the things you do--your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
• 20. But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman--that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet--to lead my servants astray. She is encouraging them to worship idols, eat food offered to idols, and commit sexual sin.
• 21. I gave her time to repent, but she would not turn away from her immorality.
• 22. Therefore, I will throw her upon a sickbed, and she will suffer greatly with all who commit adultery with her, unless they turn away from all their evil deeds.
• 23. I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
• 24. But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching ('deeper truths,' as they call them--depths of Satan, really). I will ask nothing more of you
• 25. except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.
• 26. "To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, I will give authority over all the nations.
• 27. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.
• 28. They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
• 29. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Zephaniah 3

• 1. How terrible it will be for rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime.
• 2. It proudly refuses to listen even to the voice of the LORD. No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the LORD or draw near to its God.
• 3. Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims--out for everything they can get. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
• 4. Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God's laws.
• 5. But the LORD is still there in the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day his justice is more evident, but no one takes notice--the wicked know no shame.
• 6. "I have wiped out many nations, devastating their fortress walls and towers. Their cities are now deserted; their streets are in silent ruin. There are no survivors to even tell what happened.
• 7. I thought, `Surely they will have reverence for me now! Surely they will listen to my warnings, so I won't need to strike again.' But no; however much I punish them, they continue their evil practices from dawn till dusk and dusk till dawn."
• 8. So now the LORD says: "Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations. For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them. All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy.
• 9. "On that day I will purify the lips of all people, so that everyone will be able to worship the LORD together.
• 10. My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings.
• 11. And then you will no longer need to be ashamed of yourselves, for you will no longer be rebels against me. I will remove all the proud and arrogant people from among you. There will be no pride on my holy mountain.
• 12. Those who are left will be the lowly and the humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the LORD.
• 13. The people of Israel who survive will do no wrong to each other, never telling lies or deceiving one another. They will live peaceful lives, lying down to sleep in safety; there will be no one to make them afraid."
• 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
• 15. For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will fear disaster no more.
• 16. On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, "Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid!
• 17. For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song."
• 18. "I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more.
• 19. And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and renown to my former exiles, who have been mocked and shamed.
• 20. On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction among all the nations of the earth. They will praise you as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

New Living Translation: 345 of 365 days.