1 CHRONICLES 17

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The Lord’s Covenant with David  17:1 Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” 2 And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
    3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. 6 In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ 7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” 15 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. David’s Prayer16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 17 And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O Lord God! 18 And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. 19 For your servant’s sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. 20 There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. 23 And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, 24 and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 25 For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. 26 And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O Lord, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

1 CHRONICLES 18

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David Defeats His Enemies  18:1 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.
    2 And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
    3 David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.
    9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
    12 And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. David’s Administration14 So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. 15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and Shavsha was secretary; 17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were the chief officials in the service of the king.

PROVERBS 23

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23:1

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you, 2

and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite. 3

Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food. 4

Do not toil to acquire wealth;

be discerning enough to desist. 5

When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven. 6

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;

do not desire his delicacies, 7

for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you. 8

You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words. 9

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words. 10

Do not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless, 11

for their Redeemer is strong;

he will plead their cause against you. 12

Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge. 13

Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 14

If you strike him with the rod,

you will save his soul from Sheol. 15

My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad. 16

My inmost being will exult

when your lips speak what is right. 17

Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. 18

Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.
19

Hear, my son, and be wise,

and direct your heart in the way. 20

Be not among drunkards

or among gluttonous eaters of meat, 21

for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and slumber will clothe them with rags.
22

Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23

Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 24

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. 25

Let your father and mother be glad;

let her who bore you rejoice.
26

My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways. 27

For a prostitute is a deep pit;

an adulteress is a narrow well. 28

She lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.
29

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes? 30

Those who tarry long over wine;

those who go to try mixed wine. 31

Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly. 32

In the end it bites like a serpent

and stings like an adder. 33

Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter perverse things. 34

You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast. 35

“They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I must have another drink.”

EPHESIANS 5

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Walk in Love  5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
    3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”
    15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives and Husbands22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
    25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.