1 Chronicles 23, 1 peter 4, Micah 2, Luke 11

1 Chronicles 23,

1 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
 
2 He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.
 
3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.
 
4 David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the LORD and six thousand are to be officials and judges.
 
5 Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose."
 
6 David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
 
7 Belonging to the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
 
8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel-three in all.
 
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran-three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
 
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei-four in all.
 
11 Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.
 
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel-four in all.
 
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.
 
14 The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
 
15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
 
16 The descendants of Gershom: Shubael was the first.
 
17 The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
 
18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.
 
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
 
20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
 
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
 
22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
 
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth-three in all.
 
24 These were the descendants of Levi by their families-the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the LORD.
 
25 For David had said, "Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever,
 
26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service."
 
27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.
 
28 The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD : to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God.
 
29 They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.
 
30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening
 
31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.
 
32 And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the LORD.

1 peter 4,

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
 
2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
 
3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
 
4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.
 
5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
 
6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
 
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
 
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
 
9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
 
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
 
11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
 
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
 
13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
 
14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
 
15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
 
16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
 
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
 
18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
 
19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Micah 2,

1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
 
2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.
 
3 Therefore, the LORD says: "I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.
 
4 In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.' "
 
5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.
 
6 "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us."
 
7 Should it be said, O house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the LORD angry? Does he do such things?" "Do not my words do good to him whose ways are upright?
 
8 Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle.
 
9 You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever.
 
10 Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy.
 
11 If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people!
 
12 "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.
 
13 One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head."

Luke 11

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
 
2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
 
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
 
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' "
 
5 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
 
6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
 
7 "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.'
 
8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
 
9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
 
10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
 
11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
 
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
 
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
 
14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.
 
15 But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons."
 
16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
 
17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.
 
18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub.
 
19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
 
20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
 
21 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
 
22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.
 
23 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.
 
24 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'
 
25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
 
26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."
 
27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you."
 
28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
 
29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
 
30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
 
31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
 
32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.
 
33 "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
 
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.
 
35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
 
36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."
 
37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.
 
38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.
 
39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
 
40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?
 
41 But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
 
42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
 
43 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
 
44 "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."
 
45 One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."
 
46 Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
 
47 "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them.
 
48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
 
49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.'
 
50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,
 
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
 
52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
 
53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,
 
54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.