The Tower of Babel

(Genesis 11:1-9)
11:1 Now the whole earth had
one language and the same
words.2 And as people migrated
from the east, they found a plain in
the land of Shinar and settled
there. 3 And they said to one
another, Come, let us make bricks,
and burn them thoroughly. And
they had brick for stone, and
bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they
said, Come, let us build ourselves
a city and a tower with its top in
the heavens, and let us make a
name for ourselves, lest we be
dispersed over the face of the
whole earth. 5 And theLORD came
down to see the city and the tower,
which the children of man had
built. 6 And the LORD said, Behold,
they are one people, and they have
all one language, and this is only
the beginning of what they will do.
And nothing that they propose to
do will now be impossible for
them. 7 Come, let us go down and
there confuse their language, so
that they may not understand one
another's
speech. 8 So
the LORD dispersed
them
from
there over the face of all the earth,
and they left off building the
city. 9 Therefore its name was
called
Babel,
because
there
the LORD confused the language of
all the earth. And from there
the LORD dispersed them over the
face of all the earth.

David Kills Goliath

(1 Samuel 17:1-51)

17:1 Now
the
Philistines
gathered their armies for battle.
And they were gathered at Socoh,
which belongs to Judah, and
encamped between Socoh and
Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And
Saul and the men of Israel were
gathered, and encamped in the
Valley of Elah, and drew up in line
of
battle
against
the
Philistines. 3 And the Philistines
stood on the mountain on the one
side, and Israel stood on the
mountain on the other side, with a
valley between them. 4 And there
came out from the camp of the
Philistines a champion named
Goliath of Gath, whose height was
six cubits and a span.5 He had a
helmet of bronze on his head, and
he was armed with a coat of mail,
and the weight of the coat was five
thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And
he had bronze armor on his legs,
and a javelin of bronze slung
between his shoulders. 7 The shaft
of his spear was like a weaver's
beam, and his spear's head
weighed six hundred shekels of
iron. And his shield-bearer went
before him. 8 He stood and shouted
to the ranks of Israel, Why have
you come out to draw up for
battle? Am I not a Philistine, and
are you not servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves, and
let him come down to me. 9 If he is
able to fight with me and kill me,
then we will be your servants. But
if I prevail against him and kill him,
then you shall be our servants and
serve us.10 And the Philistine said,
I defy the ranks of Israel this day.
Give me a man, that we may fight

together. 11 When Saul and all

Israel heard these words of the
Philistine, they were dismayed and
greatly afraid.
12 Now David was the son of an
Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah,
named Jesse, who had eight sons.
In the days of Saul the man was
already old and advanced in
years. 13 The three oldest sons of
Jesse had followed Saul to the
battle. And the names of his three
sons who went to the battle were
Eliab the firstborn, and next to him
Abinadab,
and
the
third
Shammah.14 David
was
the
youngest. The three eldest followed
Saul, 15 but David went back and
forth from Saul to feed his father's
sheep at Bethlehem.16 For forty
days the Philistine came forward
and took his stand, morning and
evening.
17 And Jesse said to David his
son, Take for your brothers an
ephah of this parched grain, and
these ten loaves, and carry them
quickly to the camp to your
brothers. 18 Also take these ten
cheeses to the commander of their
thousand. See if your brothers are
well, and bring some token from
them.
19 Now Saul and they and all
the men of Israel were in the Valley
of
Elah,
fighting
with
the
Philistines. 20 And David rose early
in the morning and left the sheep
with a keeper and took the
provisions and went, as Jesse had
commanded him. And he came to
the encampment as the host was
going out to the battle line,
shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel

and the Philistines drew up for

battle, army against army. 22 And
David left the things in charge of
the keeper of the baggage and ran
to the ranks and went and greeted
his brothers. 23 As he talked with
them, behold, the champion, the
Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name,
came up out of the ranks of the
Philistines and spoke the same
words as before. And David heard
him.
24 All the men of Israel, when
they saw the man, fled from him
and were much afraid. 25 And the
men of Israel said, Have you seen
this man who has come up? Surely
he has come up to defy Israel. And
the king will enrich the man who
kills him with great riches and will
give him his daughter and make his
father's
house
free
in
Israel. 26 And David said to the
men who stood by him, What shall
be done for the man who kills this
Philistine and takes away the
reproach from Israel? For who is
this uncircumcised Philistine, that
he should defy the armies of the
living God? 27 And the people
answered him in the same way,
So shall it be done to the man who
kills him.
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother
heard when he spoke to the men.
And Eliab's anger was kindled
against David, and he said, Why
have you come down? And with
whom have you left those few
sheep in the wilderness? I know
your presumption and the evil of
your heart, for you have come
down to see the battle. 29 And
David said, What have I done

now?
Was
it
not
but
a
word? 30 And he turned away from
him toward another, and spoke in
the same way, and the people
answered him again as before.
31 When the words that David
spoke were heard, they repeated
them before Saul, and he sent for
him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let
no man's heart fail because of him.
Your servant will go and fight with
this Philistine.33 And Saul said to
David, You are not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with
him, for you are but a youth, and
he has been a man of war from his
youth. 34 But David said to Saul,
Your servant used to keep sheep
for his father. And when there
came a lion, or a bear, and took a
lamb from the flock, 35 I went after
him and struck him and delivered it
out of his mouth. And if he arose
against me, I caught him by his
beard and struck him and killed
him. 36 Your servant has struck
down both lions and bears, and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be
like one of them, for he has defied
the
armies
of
the
living
God. 37 And
David
said,
The LORD who delivered me from
the paw of the lion and from the
paw of the bear will deliver me
from the hand of this Philistine.
And Saul said to David, Go, and
the LORD be with you!
38 Then Saul clothed David with
his armor. He put a helmet of
bronze on his head and clothed him
with a coat of mail, 39 and David
strapped his sword over his armor.
And he tried in vain to go, for he
had not tested them. Then David

said to Saul, I cannot go with

these, for I have not tested them.
So David put them off. 40 Then he
took his staff in his hand and chose
five smooth stones from the brook
and put them in his shepherd's
pouch. His sling was in his hand,
and he approached the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine moved
forward and came near to David,
with his shield-bearer in front of
him. 42 And when the Philistine
looked
and
saw
David,
he
disdained him, for he was but a
youth, ruddy and handsome in
appearance. 43 And the Philistine
said to David, Am I a dog, that you
come to me with sticks? And the
Philistine cursed David by his
gods. 44 The Philistine said to
David, Come to me, and I will give
your flesh to the birds of the air
and
to
the
beasts
of
the
field. 45 Then David said to the
Philistine, You come to me with a
sword and with a spear and with a
javelin, but I come to you in the
name of the LORD of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom you
have
defied. 46 This
day
the LORD will deliver you into my
hand, and I will strike you down
and cut off your head. And I will
give the dead bodies of the host of
the Philistines this day to the birds
of the air and to the wild beasts of
the earth, that all the earth may
know that there is a God in
Israel, 47 and that all this assembly
may know that the LORD saves not
with sword and spear. For the
battle is the LORD's, and he will give
you into our hand.

When the Philistine arose

and came and drew near to meet
David, David ran quickly toward the
battle
line
to
meet
the
Philistine. 49 And David put his
hand in his bag and took out a
stone and slung it and struck the
Philistine on his forehead. The
stone sank into his forehead, and
he fell on his face to the ground.
50 So David prevailed over the
Philistine with a sling and with a
stone, and struck the Philistine and
killed him. There was no sword in
the hand of David. 51 Then David
ran and stood over the Philistine
and took his sword and drew it out
of its sheath and killed him and cut
off his head with it. When the
Philistines saw that their champion
was dead, they fled.
48

Solomon's Wisdom
(1 Kings 3:1-28)
3:1 Solomon made a marriage
alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.
He took Pharaoh's daughter and
brought her into the city of David
until he had finished building his
own house and the house of
the LORD and the wall around
Jerusalem. 2 The
people
were
sacrificing at the high places,
however, because no house had
yet been built for the name of
the LORD.
3 Solomon
loved
the LORD,
walking in the statutes of David his
father, only he sacrificed and made
offerings at the high places. 4 And
the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice
there, for that was the great high
place. Solomon used to offer a

thousand burnt offerings on that

altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORDappeared
to Solomon in a dream by night,
and God said, Ask what I shall give
you. 6 And Solomon said, You
have shown great and steadfast
love to your servant David my
father, because he walked before
you
in
faithfulness,
in
righteousness, and in uprightness
of heart toward you. And you have
kept for him this great and
steadfast love and have given him
a son to sit on his throne this
day. 7 And now, O LORD my God,
you have made your servant king
in place of David my father,
although I am but a little child. I do
not know how to go out or come
in. 8 And your servant is in the
midst of your people whom you
have chosen, a great people, too
many to be numbered or counted
for multitude. 9 Give your servant
therefore an understanding mind to
govern your people, that I may
discern between good and evil, for
who is able to govern this your
great people?
10 It pleased the Lord that
Solomon had asked this. 11 And
God said to him, Because you
have asked this, and have not
asked for yourself long life or riches
or the life of your enemies, but
have
asked
for
yourself
understanding to discern what is
right, 12 behold, I now do according
to your word. Behold, I give you a
wise and discerning mind, so that
none like you has been before you
and none like you shall arise after
you. 13 I give you also what you
have not asked, both riches and

honor, so that no other king shall

compare with you, all your
days. 14 And if you will walk in my
ways, keeping my statutes and my
commandments, as your father
David walked, then I will lengthen
your days.
15 And Solomon awoke, and
behold, it was a dream. Then he
came to Jerusalem and stood
before the ark of the covenant of
the Lord, and offered up burnt
offerings and peace offerings, and
made a feast for all his servants.
16 Then two prostitutes came to
the
king
and
stood
before
him.17 The one woman said, Oh,
my lord, this woman and I live in
the same house, and I gave birth to
a child while she was in the
house. 18 Then on the third day
after I gave birth, this woman also
gave birth. And we were alone.
There was no one else with us in
the house; only we two were in the
house.19 And this woman's son
died in the night, because she lay
on him. 20 And she arose at
midnight and took my son from
beside me, while your servant
slept, and laid him at her breast,
and laid her dead son at my
breast.21 When I rose in the
morning to nurse my child, behold,
he was dead. But when I looked at
him closely in the morning, behold,
he was not the child that I had
borne. 22 But the other woman
said, No, the living child is mine,
and the dead child is yours. The
first said, No, the dead child is
yours, and the living child is mine.
Thus they spoke before the king.

Then the king said, The one

says, This is my son that is alive,
and your son is dead; and the
other says, No; but your son is
dead, and my son is the living
one. 24 And the king said, Bring
me a sword. So a sword was
brought before the king. 25 And the
king said, Divide the living child in
two, and give half to the one and
half to the other. 26 Then the
woman whose son was alive said to
the king, because her heart
yearned for her son, Oh, my lord,
give her the living child, and by no
means put him to death. But the
other said, He shall be neither
mine
nor
yours;
divide
him.27 Then the king answered
and said, Give the living child to
the first woman, and by no means
put him to death; she is his
mother. 28 And all Israel heard of
the judgment that the king had
rendered, and they stood in awe of
the king, because they perceived
that the wisdom of God was in him
to do justice.
23

Chariot of Fire
(2 Kings 1:1-2:25)
1:1 After the death of Ahab,
Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 Now Ahaziah fell through the
lattice in his upper chamber in
Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent
messengers, telling them, Go,
inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of
Ekron, whether I shall recover from
this sickness. 3 But the angel of
the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
Arise, go up to meet the
messengers of the king of Samaria,

and say to them, Is it because

there is no God in Israel that you
are going to inquire of Baal-zebub,
the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore
thus says the LORD, You shall not
come down from the bed to which
you have gone up, but you shall
surely die. So Elijah went.
5 The messengers returned to
the king, and he said to them,
Why have you returned? 6 And
they said to him, There came a
man to meet us, and said to us, Go
back to the king who sent you, and
say to him, Thus says theLORD, Is it
because there is no God in Israel
that you are sending to inquire of
Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
Therefore you shall not come down
from the bed to which you have
gone up, but you shall surely
die. 7 He said to them, What
kind of man was he who came to
meet you and told you these
things?8 They answered him, He
wore a garment of hair, with a belt
of leather about his waist. And he
said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
9 Then the king sent to him a
captain of fifty men with his fifty.
He went up to Elijah, who was
sitting on the top of a hill, and said
to him, O man of God, the king
says, Come down. 10 But Elijah
answered the captain of fifty, If I
am a man of God, let fire come
down from heaven and consume
you and your fifty. Then fire came
down from heaven and consumed
him and his fifty.
11 Again the king sent to him
another captain of fifty men with
his fifty. And he answered and said
to him, O man of God, this is the

king's
order,
Come
down
quickly! 12 But Elijah answered
them, If I am a man of God, let fire
come down from heaven and
consume you and your fifty. Then
the fire of God came down from
heaven and consumed him and his
fifty.
13 Again the king sent the
captain of a third fifty with his fifty.
And the third captain of fifty went
up and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah and entreated him, O
man of God, please let my life, and
the life of these fifty servants of
yours,
be
precious
in
your
sight. 14 Behold, fire came down
from heaven and consumed the
two former captains of fifty men
with their fifties, but now let my life
be precious in your sight. 15 Then
the angel of the LORD said to Elijah,
Go down with him; do not be
afraid of him. So he arose and
went down with him to the
king 16 and said to him, Thus says
the LORD, Because you have sent
messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekronis it
because there is no God in Israel to
inquire of his word?therefore you
shall not come down from the bed
to which you have gone up, but
you shall surely die.
17 So he died according to the
word of the LORD that Elijah had
spoken. Jehoram became king in
his place in the second year of
Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat,
king of Judah, because Ahaziah had
no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts
of Ahaziah that he did, are they not
written in the Book of the
Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

2:1 Now when the LORD was

about to take Elijah up to heaven
by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha
were
on
their
way
from
Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha,
Please stay here, for the LORD has
sent me as far as Bethel. But
Elisha said, As the LORD lives, and
as you yourself live, I will not leave
you. So they went down to
Bethel. 3 And the sons of the
prophets who were in Bethel came
out to Elisha and said to him, Do
you know that today the LORDwill
take away your master from over
you? And he said, Yes, I know it;
keep quiet.
4 Elijah said to him, Elisha,
please stay here, for the LORD has
sent me to Jericho. But he said,
As the LORD lives, and as you
yourself live, I will not leave you.
So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons
of the prophets who were at Jericho
drew near to Elisha and said to
him, Do you know that today
theLORD will take away your master
from over you? And he answered,
Yes, I know it; keep quiet.
6 Then
Elijah said to him,
Please stay here, for the LORD has
sent me to the Jordan. But he said,
As the LORD lives, and as you
yourself live, I will not leave you.
So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty
men of the sons of the prophets
also went and stood at some
distance from them, as they both
were
standing
by
the
Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak
and rolled it up and struck the
water, and the water was parted to
the one side and to the other, till

the two of them could go over on

dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah
said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do
for you, before I am taken from
you. And Elisha said, Please let
there be a double portion of your
spirit on me. 10 And he said, You
have asked a hard thing; yet, if you
see me as I am being taken from
you, it shall be so for you, but if
you do not see me, it shall not be
so. 11 And as they still went on
and talked, behold, chariots of fire
and horses of fire separated the
two of them. And Elijah went up by
a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And
Elisha saw it and he cried, My
father, my father! The chariots of
Israel and its horsemen! And he
saw him no more.
Then he took hold of his own
clothes and tore them in two
pieces.13 And he took up the cloak
of Elijah that had fallen from him
and went back and stood on the
bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took
the cloak of Elijah that had fallen
from him and struck the water,
saying, Where is theLORD, the God
of Elijah? And when he had struck
the water, the water was parted to
the one side and to the other, and
Elisha went over.
15 Now when the sons of the
prophets who were at Jericho saw
him opposite them, they said, The
spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And
they came to meet him and bowed
to the ground before him. 16 And
they said to him, Behold now,
there are with your servants fifty
strong men. Please let them go and
seek your master. It may be that

the Spirit of the LORD has caught

him up and cast him upon some
mountain or into some valley. And
he
said,
You
shall
not
send. 17 But when they urged him
till he was ashamed, he said,
Send. They sent therefore fifty
men. And for three days they
sought him but did not find
him. 18 And they came back to him
while he was staying at Jericho, and
he said to them, Did I not say to
you, Do not go?
19 Now the men of the city said
to Elisha, Behold, the situation of
this city is pleasant, as my lord
sees, but the water is bad, and the
land is unfruitful. 20 He said,
Bring me a new bowl, and put salt
in it. So they brought it to
him. 21 Then he went to the spring
of water and threw salt in it and
said, Thus says the LORD, I have
healed this water; from now on
neither death nor miscarriage shall
come from it. 22 So the water has
been healed to this day, according
to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 He went up from there to
Bethel, and while he was going up
on the way, some small boys came
out of the city and jeered at him,
saying, Go up, you baldhead! Go
up, you baldhead! 24 And he
turned around, and when he saw
them, he cursed them in the name
of the LORD. And two she-bears
came out of the woods and tore
forty-two of the boys. 25 From there
he went on to Mount Carmel, and
from there he returned to Samaria.

Ezekiel's Vision

(Ezekiel 37:1-14)
37:1 The hand of the LORD was
upon me, and he brought me out in
the Spirit of the LORD and set me
down in the middle of the valley; it
was full of bones. 2 And he led me
around among them, and behold,
there were very many on the
surface of the valley, and behold,
they were very dry. 3 And he said to
me, Son of man, can these bones
live? And I answered, O Lord GOD,
you know. 4 Then he said to me,
Prophesy over these bones, and
say to them, O dry bones, hear the
word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the
Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I
will cause breath to enter you, and
you shall live.6 And I will lay sinews
upon you, and will cause flesh to
come upon you, and cover you with
skin, and put breath in you, and
you shall live, and you shall know
that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was
commanded. And as I prophesied,
there was a sound, and behold, a
rattling, and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. 8 And I
looked, and behold, there were
sinews on them, and flesh had
come upon them, and skin had
covered them. But there was no
breath in them. 9 Then he said to
me, Prophesy to the breath;
prophesy, son of man, and say to
the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD:
Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe on these slain,
that they may live. 10 So I
prophesied as he commanded me,
and the breath came into them,

and they lived and stood on their

feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, Son of
man, these bones are the whole
house of Israel. Behold, they say,
Our bones are dried up, and our
hope is lost; we are indeed cut
off. 12 Therefore prophesy, and say
to them, Thus says the LordGOD:
Behold, I will open your graves and
raise you from your graves, O my
people. And I will bring you into the
land of Israel. 13 And you shall

know that I am the LORD, when I

open your graves, and raise you
from
your
graves,
O
my
people. 14 And I will put my Spirit
within you, and you shall live, and I
will place you in your own land.
Then you shall know that I am
the LORD; I have spoken, and I will
do it, declares the LORD.