1 Chronicles 28, 2 peter 2, Micah 5, Luke 14

1 Chronicles 28,

1 David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.
 
2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.
 
3 But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'
 
4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.
 
5 Of all my sons-and the LORD has given me many-he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
 
6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
 
7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
 
8 "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
 
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
 
10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."
 
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement.
 
12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things.
 
13 He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service.
 
14 He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service:
 
15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand;
 
16 the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables;
 
17 the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish;
 
18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
 
19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."
 
20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.
 
21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command."

2 peter 2,

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves.
 
2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
 
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
 
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
 
5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
 
6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
 
7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
 
8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)-
 
9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
 
10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
 
11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
 
12 But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
 
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
 
14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed-an accursed brood!
 
15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
 
16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey-a beast without speech-who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
 
17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
 
18 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
 
19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity-for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
 
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
 
21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
 
22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

Micah 5,

1 Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.
 
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
 
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
 
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
 
5 And he will be their peace. When the Assyrian invades our land and marches through our fortresses, we will raise against him seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.
 
6 They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into our borders.
 
7 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.
 
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue.
 
9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.
 
10 "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots.
 
11 I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.
 
12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.
 
13 I will destroy your carved images and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands.
 
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles and demolish your cities.
 
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me."

Luke 14

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
 
2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.
 
3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"
 
4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.
 
5 Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"
 
6 And they had nothing to say.
 
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
 
8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
 
9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
 
10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.
 
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
 
12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
 
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
 
14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
 
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
 
16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
 
17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
 
18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
 
19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
 
20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
 
21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
 
22 " 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
 
23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
 
24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
 
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
 
26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple.
 
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
 
28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
 
29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
 
30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
 
31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
 
32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
 
33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
 
34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
 
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."