Daily Bible CEV May 08 Scroll

Paul in Corinth

Acts 18 Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, ²where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla ³and found out that they were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker too. So he stayed with them, and they worked together.

⁴Every Sabbath, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles and tried to win them over. ⁵But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, he spent all his time preaching to the Jews about Jesus the Messiah. ⁶Finally, they turned against him and insulted him. So he shook the dust from his clothes and told them, "Whatever happens to you will be your own fault! I am not to blame. From now on I am going to preach to the Gentiles."

⁷Paul then moved into the house of a man named Titius Justus, who worshiped God and lived next door to the meeting place. ⁸Crispus was the leader of the meeting place. He and everyone in his family put their faith in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard the message, and all the people who had faith in the Lord were baptized.

⁹One night, Paul had a vision, and in it the Lord said, ''Don't be afraid to keep on preaching. Don't stop! ¹⁰I am with you, and you won't be harmed. Many people in this city belong to me." ¹¹Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching God's message to the people.

¹²While Gallio was governor of Achaia, some of the Jewish leaders got together and grabbed Paul. They brought him into court ¹³and said, "This man is trying to make our people worship God in a way that is against our Law!"

¹⁴Even before Paul could speak, Gallio said, "If you were charging this man with a crime or some other wrong, I would have to listen to you. ¹⁵But since this concerns only words, names, and your own law, you will have to take care of it. I refuse to judge such matters." ¹⁶Then he sent them out of the court. ¹⁷The crowd grabbed Sosthenes, the Jewish leader, and beat him up in front of the court. But none of this mattered to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

¹⁸After Paul had stayed for a while with the Lord's followers in Corinth, he told them good-by and sailed on to Syria with Aquila and Priscilla. But before he left, he had his head shaved at Cenchreae because he had made a promise to God.

¹⁹The three of them arrived in Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He then went into the Jewish meeting place to talk with the people there. ²⁰They asked him to stay longer, but he refused. ²¹He told them good-by and said, "If God lets me, I will come back."

²²Paul sailed to Caesarea, where he greeted the church. Then he went on to Antioch. ²³After staying there for a while, he left and visited several places in Galatia and Phrygia. He helped the followers there to become stronger in their faith.

Apollos in Ephesus

²⁴A Jewish man named Apollos came to Ephesus. Apollos had been born in the city of Alexandria. He was a very good speaker and knew a lot about the Scriptures. ²⁵He also knew much about the Lord's Way, and he spoke about it with great excitement. What he taught about Jesus was right, but all he knew was John's message about baptism.

²⁶Apollos started speaking bravely in the Jewish meeting place. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to their home and helped him understand God's Way even better.

²⁷Apollos decided to travel through Achaia. So the Lord's followers wrote letters, encouraging the followers there to welcome him. After Apollos arrived in Achaia, he was a great help to everyone who had put their faith in the Lord Jesus because of God's kindness. ²⁸He got into fierce arguments with the Jewish people, and in public he used the Scriptures to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.

Abimelech Tries To Be King

Judges 9 Abimelech the son of Gideon went to Shechem. While there, he met with his mother's relatives ²and told them to say to the leaders of Shechem, "Do you think it would be good to have all seventy of Gideon's sons ruling us? Wouldn't you rather have just one man be king? Abimelech would make a good king, and he's related to us."

³Abimelech's uncles talked it over with the leaders of Shechem who agreed, "Yes, it would be better for one of our relatives to be king." ⁴Then they gave Abimelech seventy pieces of silver from the temple of their god Baal Berith.

Abimelech used the silver to hire a gang of rough soldiers who would do anything for money. ⁵Abimelech and his soldiers went to his father's home in Ophrah and brought out Gideon's other sons to a large rock, where they murdered all seventy. Gideon's youngest son Jotham hid from the soldiers, but he was the only one who escaped.

⁶The leaders of Shechem, including the priests and the military officers, met at the tree next to the sacred rock in Shechem to crown Abimelech king. ⁷Jotham heard what they were doing. So he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted down to the people who were there at the meeting:

Leaders of Shechem, listen to me,

and maybe God will listen to you.

⁸Once the trees searched for someone to be king;

they asked the olive tree, "Will you be our king?"

⁹

But the olive tree replied,

"My oil brings honor to people and gods.

I won't stop making oil,

just to have my branches wave above the other trees."

¹⁰Then they asked the fig tree, "Will you be our king?"

¹¹

But the fig tree replied,

"I won't stop growing my delicious fruit,

just to have my branches wave above the other trees."

¹²Next they asked the grape vine, "Will you be our king?"

¹³

But the grape vine replied,

"My wine brings cheer to people and gods.

I won't stop making wine,

just to have my branches wave above the other trees."

¹⁴Finally, they went to the thornbush and asked,

"Will you be our king?"

¹⁵The thornbush replied,

"If you really want me to be your king,

then come into my shade and I will protect you.

But if you're deceiving me, I'll start a fire

that will spread out and destroy the cedars of Lebanon."

After Jotham had finished telling this story, he said:

^16-18My father Gideon risked his life for you when he fought to rescue you from the Midianites. Did you reward Gideon by being kind to his family? No, you did not! You attacked his family and killed all seventy of his sons on that rock.

And was it right to make Abimelech your king? He's merely the son of my father's slave girl. But just because he's your relative, you made him king of Shechem.

¹⁹So, you leaders of Shechem, if you treated Gideon and his family the way you should have, then I hope you and Abimelech will make each other very happy. ²⁰But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.

²¹Jotham ran off and went to live in the town of Beer, where he could be safe from his brother Abimelech.

Abimelech Destroys Shechem

²²Abimelech had been a military commander of Israel for three years, ^23-24when God decided to punish him and the leaders of Shechem for killing Gideon's seventy sons.

So God turned the leaders of Shechem against Abimelech. ²⁵Then they sent some men to hide on the hilltops and watch for Abimelech and his troops, while they sent others to rob everyone that went by on the road. But Abimelech found out what they were doing.

²⁶One day, Gaal son of Ebed went to live in Shechem. His brothers moved there too, and soon the leaders of Shechem started trusting him.

²⁷The time came for the grape harvest, and the people of Shechem went into their vineyards and picked the grapes. They put the grapes in their wine-pits and walked on them to squeeze out the juice in order to make wine. Then they went into the temple of their god and threw a big party. There was a lot of eating and drinking, and before long they were cursing Abimelech.

²⁸Gaal said:

Hamor was the founder of Shechem, and one of his descendants should be our ruler. But Abimelech's father was Gideon, so Abimelech isn't really one of us. He shouldn't be our king, and we shouldn't have to obey him or Zebul, who rules Shechem for him. ²⁹If I were the ruler of Shechem, I'd get rid of that Abimelech. I'd tell him, "Get yourself an even bigger army, and we will still defeat you."

³⁰Zebul was angry when he found out what Gaal had said. ³¹And so he sent some messengers to Abimelech. But they had to pretend to be doing something else, or they would not have been allowed to leave Shechem. Zebul told the messengers to say:

Gaal the son of Ebed has come to Shechem along with his brothers, and they have persuaded the people to let Gaal rule Shechem instead of you. ³²This is what I think you should do. Lead your army here during the night and hide in the fields. ³³Get up the next morning at sunrise and rush out of your hiding places to attack the town. Gaal and his followers will come out to fight you, but you will easily defeat them.

³⁴So one night, Abimelech led his soldiers to Shechem. He divided them into four groups, and they all hid near the town.

³⁵The next morning, Gaal went out and stood in the opening of the town gate. Abimelech and his soldiers left their hiding places, ³⁶and Gaal saw them. Zebul was standing there with Gaal, and Gaal remarked, "Zebul, that looks like a crowd of people coming down from the mountaintops."

"No," Zebul answered, "it's just the shadows of the mountains. It only looks like people moving."

³⁷"But Zebul, look over there," Gaal said. "There's a crowd coming down from the sacred mountain, and another group is coming along the road from the tree where people talk with the spirits of the dead."

³⁸Then Zebul replied, "What good is all of your bragging now? You were the one who said Abimelech shouldn't be the ruler of Shechem. Out there is the army that you made fun of. So go out and fight them!"

³⁹Gaal and the leaders of Shechem went out and fought Abimelech. ⁴⁰Soon the people of Shechem turned and ran back into the town. However, Abimelech and his troops were close behind and killed many of them along the way.

⁴¹Abimelech stayed at Arumah, and Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

⁴²The next morning, the people of Shechem were getting ready to work in their fields as usual, but someone told Abimelech about it. ⁴³Abimelech divided his army into three groups and set up an ambush in the fields near Shechem. When the people came out of the town, he and his army rushed out from their hiding places and attacked. ⁴⁴Abimelech and the troops with him ran to the town gate and took control of it, while two other groups attacked and killed the people who were in the fields. ⁴⁵He and his troops fought in Shechem all day, until they had killed everyone in town. Then he and his men tore down the houses and buildings and scattered salt everywhere.

⁴⁶Earlier that day, the leaders of the temple of El Berith at Shechem had heard about the attack. So they went into the temple fortress, ⁴⁷but Abimelech found out where they were. ⁴⁸He led his troops to Mount Zalmon, where he took an ax and chopped off a tree branch. He lifted the branch onto his shoulder and shouted, "Hurry! Cut off a branch just as I did."

⁴⁹When they all had branches, they followed Abimelech back to Shechem. They piled the branches against the fortress and set them on fire, burning down the fortress and killing about one thousand men and women.

⁵⁰After destroying Shechem, Abimelech went to Thebez. He surrounded the town and captured it. ⁵¹But there was a tall fortress in the middle of the town, and the town leaders and everyone else went inside. Then they barred the gates and went up to the flat roof.

⁵²Abimelech and his army rushed to the fortress and tried to force their way inside. Abimelech himself was about to set the heavy wooden doors on fire, ⁵³when a woman on the roof dropped a large rock on his head and cracked his skull. ⁵⁴The soldier who carried his weapons was nearby, and Abimelech told him, "Take out your sword and kill me. I don't want people to say that I was killed by a woman!"

So the soldier ran his sword through Abimelech. ⁵⁵And when the Israelite soldiers saw that their leader was dead, they went back home.

⁵⁶That's how God punished Abimelech for killing his brothers and bringing shame on his father's family. ⁵⁷God also punished the people of Shechem for helping Abimelech. Everything happened just as Jotham's curse said it would.

The LORD Speaks

From Out of a Storm

Job 38 From out of a storm, the LORD said to Job:

²Why do you talk so much when you know so little?

Now get ready to face me!

Can you answer the questions I ask?

⁴How did I lay the foundation for the earth?

Were you there?

⁵Doubtless you know who decided its length and width.

⁶What supports the foundation? Who placed the cornerstone,

⁷

while morning stars sang, and angels rejoiced?

⁸When the ocean was born, I set its boundaries

⁹

and wrapped it in blankets of thickest fog.

¹⁰Then I built a wall around it, locked the gates, ¹¹and said,

"Your powerful waves stop here! They can go no farther."

Did You Ever Tell the Sun To Rise?

¹²Did you ever tell the sun to rise?

And did it obey?

¹³Did it take hold of the earth and shake out the wicked

like dust from a rug?

¹⁴Early dawn outlines the hills like stitches on clothing

or sketches on clay.

¹⁵But its light is too much for those who are evil,

and their power is broken.

¹⁶Job, have you ever walked on the ocean floor?

¹⁷Have you seen the gate to the world of the dead?

¹⁸

And how large is the earth? Tell me, if you know!

¹⁹Where is the home of light, and where does darkness live?

²⁰

Can you lead them home?

²¹I'm certain you must be able to, since you were already born

when I created everything.

²²Have you been to the places where I keep snow and hail,

²³

until I use them to punish and conquer nations?

²⁴From where does lightning leap, or the east wind blow?

²⁵

Who carves out a path for thunderstorms?

Who sends torrents of rain ²⁶on empty deserts

where no one lives?

²⁷Rain that changes barren land

to meadows green with grass.

²⁸Who is the father of the dew and of the rain?

²⁹Who gives birth to the sleet and the frost

³⁰

that fall in winter,

when streams and lakes freeze solid as a rock?

Can You Arrange Stars?

³¹Can you arrange stars in groups

such as Orion and the Pleiades?

³²Do you control the stars or set in place the Big Dipper

and the Little Dipper?

³³Do you know the laws that govern the heavens,

and can you make them rule the earth?

³⁴Can you order the clouds to send a downpour,

³⁵

or will lightning flash at your command?

³⁶Did you teach birds to know that rain or floods

are on their way?

³⁷Can you count the clouds or pour out their water

³⁸

on the dry, lumpy soil?

³⁹When lions are hungry, do you help them hunt?

⁴⁰

Do you send an animal into their den?

⁴¹And when starving young ravens cry out to me for food,

do you satisfy their hunger?

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.