2 Chronicles 27

• 1. Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
• 2. He did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Uzziah, had done. But unlike him, Jotham did not enter the Temple of the LORD. Nevertheless, the people continued in their corrupt ways.
• 3. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate to the LORD's Temple and also did extensive rebuilding on the wall at the hill of Ophel.
• 4. He built towns in the hill country of Judah and constructed fortresses and towers in the wooded areas.
• 5. Jotham waged war against the Ammonites and conquered them. For the next three years, he received from them an annual tribute of 7,500 pounds of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley.
• 6. King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God.
• 7. The rest of the events of Jotham's reign, including his wars and other activities, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
• 8. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years.
• 9. When he died, he was buried in the City of David, and his son Ahaz became the next king.

2 Chronicles 28

• 1. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, as his ancestor David had done.
• 2. Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel and cast images for the worship of Baal.
• 3. He offered sacrifices in the valley of the son of Hinnom, even sacrificing his own sons in the fire. He imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations whom the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
• 4. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
• 5. That is why the LORD his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army.
• 6. In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel's king, killed 120,000 of Judah's troops because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
• 7. Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king's son; Azrikam, the king's palace commander; and Elkanah, the king's second-in-command.
• 8. The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and took tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.
• 9. But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there in Samaria when the army of Israel returned home. He went out to meet them and said, "The LORD, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah and let you defeat them. But you have gone too far, killing them without mercy, and all heaven is disturbed.
• 10. And now you are planning to make slaves of these people from Judah and Jerusalem. What about your own sins against the LORD your God?
• 11. Listen to me and return these captives you have taken, for they are your own relatives. Watch out, because now the LORD's fierce anger has been turned against you!"
• 12. Then some of the leaders of Israel--Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai--agreed with this and confronted the men returning from battle.
• 13. "You must not bring the prisoners here!" they declared. "We cannot afford to add to our sins and guilt. Our guilt is already great, and the LORD's fierce anger is already turned against Israel."
• 14. So the warriors released the prisoners and handed over the plunder in the sight of all the leaders and people.
• 15. Then the four men mentioned by name came forward and distributed clothes from the plunder to the prisoners who were naked. They provided clothing and sandals to wear, gave them enough food and drink, and dressed their wounds with olive oil. They put those who were weak on donkeys and took all the prisoners back to their own land--to Jericho, the city of palms. Then they returned to Samaria.
• 16. About that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help against his enemies.
• 17. The armies of Edom had again invaded Judah and taken captives.
• 18. And the Philistines had raided towns located in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev. They had already captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and the Philistines had occupied these towns.
• 19. The LORD was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the LORD.
• 20. So when King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria arrived, he oppressed King Ahaz instead of helping him.
• 21. Ahaz took valuable items from the LORD's Temple, the royal palace, and from the homes of his officials and gave them to the king of Assyria as tribute. But even this did not help him.
• 22. And when trouble came to King Ahaz, he became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
• 23. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, "These gods helped the kings of Aram, so they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them." But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Israel.
• 24. The king took the utensils from the Temple of God and broke them into pieces. He shut the doors of the LORD's Temple so that no one could worship there and then set up altars to pagan gods in every corner of Jerusalem.
• 25. He made pagan shrines in all the towns of Judah for offering sacrifices to other gods. In this way, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
• 26. The rest of the events of Ahaz's reign and all his dealings, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
• 27. When King Ahaz died, he was buried in Jerusalem but not in the royal cemetery. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.

Revelation 14

• 1. Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
• 2. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roaring of a great waterfall or the rolling of mighty thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.
• 3. This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. And no one could learn this song except those 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
• 4. For they are spiritually undefiled, pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
• 5. No falsehood can be charged against them; they are blameless.
• 6. And I saw another angel flying through the heavens, carrying the everlasting Good News to preach to the people who belong to this world--to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
• 7. "Fear God," he shouted. "Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all the springs of water."
• 8. Then another angel followed him through the skies, shouting, "Babylon is fallen--that great city is fallen--because she seduced the nations of the world and made them drink the wine of her passionate immorality."
• 9. Then a third angel followed them, shouting, "Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or the hand
• 10. must drink the wine of God's wrath. It is poured out undiluted into God's cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.
• 11. The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.
• 12. Let this encourage God's holy people to endure persecution patiently and remain firm to the end, obeying his commands and trusting in Jesus."
• 13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from all their toils and trials; for their good deeds follow them!"
• 14. Then I saw the Son of Man sitting on a white cloud. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
• 15. Then an angel came from the Temple and called out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, "Use the sickle, for the time has come for you to harvest; the crop is ripe on the earth."
• 16. So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.
• 17. After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
• 18. Then another angel, who has power to destroy the world with fire, shouted to the angel with the sickle, "Use your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are fully ripe for judgment."
• 19. So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God's wrath.
• 20. And the grapes were trodden in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse's bridle.

Zechariah 10

• 1. Ask the LORD for rain in the spring, and he will give it. It is the LORD who makes storm clouds that drop showers of rain so that every field becomes a lush pasture.
• 2. Household gods give false advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce comfortless falsehoods. So my people are wandering like lost sheep, without a shepherd to protect and guide them.
• 3. "My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the LORD Almighty has arrived to look after his flock of Judah; he will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.
• 4. From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and all the rulers.
• 5. They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the LORD is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the horsemen of the enemy.
• 6. "I will strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will reestablish them because I love them. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, who will hear their cries.
• 7. The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it all and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
• 8. When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few that are left, their population will grow again to its former size.
• 9. Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember me in distant lands. With their children, they will survive and come home again to Israel.
• 10. I will bring them back from Egypt and Assyria and resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon. There won't be enough room for them all!
• 11. They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back. And the waters of the Nile will become dry. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end.
• 12. I will make my people strong in my power, and they will go wherever they wish by my authority. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

New Living Translation: 357 of 365 days.