April 30, 2025, Ezra 8:1-14 8  These are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:  2  Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.  3  Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men.  4  Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men.  5  Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men.  6  Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men.  7  Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men.  8  Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men.  9  Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men.  10  Of the sons of Ban...

April 29, 2025, Ezra 7:1-28 7  Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,  2  son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,  3  son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,  4  son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,  5  son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest—  6  this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the  Lord , the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the  Lord  his God was on him. 7  And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants.  8  And Ezra [ a ]  came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, w...

April 28, 2025, Ezra 6:19-22 19  On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover.  20  For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.  21  It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the  Lord , the God of Israel.  22  And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the  Lord  had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Israel allowed outsider to join them if they committed themselves to God. As I continue to read this book of the Bible, I think abo...

April 27, 2025, Ezra 6:13-18 13  Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered.  14  And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;  15  and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16  And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.  17  They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according t...

April 26, 2025, Ezra 6:1-12 6  Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored.  2  And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record.  3  In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits,  4  with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury.  5  And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put t...

April 25, 2025, Ezra 5:6-17 6  This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king.  7  They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace.  8  Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.  9  Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’  10  We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.  11  And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that...

April 24, 2025, Ezra 5:1-5 5  Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.  2  Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. 3  At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?”  4  They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?”  5  But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. In every generation, Go...

April 23, 2025, Ezra 4:17-24 17  The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now  18  the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me.  19  And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.  20  And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid.  21  Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me.  22  And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?” 23  Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum...

April 22, 2025, Ezra 4:7-16 7  In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.  8  Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:  9  Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites,  10  and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.  11  (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now  12  be it known to the king that the Jews who came up...

April 21, 2025, Ezra 4:1-6 4  Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the  Lord , the God of Israel,  2  they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.”  3  But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the  Lord , the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4  Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build  5  and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Dar...

April 20, 2025, Ezra 3:8-13 8  Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the  Lord .  9  And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers. 10  And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the  Lord , the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the  Lord , according to the directions of David king of Israel....

April 19, 2025, Ezra 3:1-7 3  When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.  2  Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.  3  They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the  Lord , burnt offerings morning and evening.  4  And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required,  5  and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the  Lord , and the offerings of everyon...

April 18, 2025, Ezra 2:1-70 2  Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.  2  They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:  3  the sons of Parosh, 2,172.  4  The sons of Shephatiah, 372.  5  The sons of Arah, 775.  6  The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812.  7  The sons of Elam, 1,254.  8  The sons of Zattu, 945.  9  The sons of Zaccai, 760.  10  The sons of Bani, 642.  11  The sons of Bebai, 623.  12  The sons of Azgad, 1,222.  13  The sons of Adonikam, 666.  14  The sons of Bigvai, 2,056.  15  The sons of...

April 17, 2025, Ezra 1:1-11 1  In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the  Lord  by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the  Lord  stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2  “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The  Lord , the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.   3  Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the  Lord , the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.   4  And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” 5  Then ...

April 16, 2025, 2 Kings 26:28-54 28  The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.  29  These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,  30  Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,  31  Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.  32  The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bore Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.  33  The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the descendants of Keturah. 34  Abraham fathered Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.  35  The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.  36  The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, and of Timna, Amalek.  37  The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. 38  The sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, ...

April 15, 2025, 2 Kings 26:1-27 1   Adam, Seth, Enosh;  2  Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared;  3  Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech;  4  Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 5  The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.  6  The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.  7  The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. 8  The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.  9  The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.  10  Cush fathered Nimrod. He was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 11  Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,  12  Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim. 13  Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,  14  and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,  15  the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,...