Daily Bible CEV June 12 Scroll

Personal Greetings

Romans 16 I have good things to say about Phoebe, who is a leader in the church at Cenchreae. ²Welcome her in a way that is proper for someone who has faith in the Lord and is one of God's own people. Help her in any way you can. After all, she has proved to be a respected leader for many others, including me.

³Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila. They have not only served Christ Jesus together with me, ⁴but they have even risked their lives for me. I am grateful for them and so are all the Gentile churches. ⁵Greet the church that meets in their home.

Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first person in Asia to have faith in Christ.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked so hard for you.

⁷Greet my relatives Andronicus and Junias, who were in jail with me. They are highly respected by the apostles and were followers of Christ before I was.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend whose faith is in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, who serves Christ along with us.

Greet my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, a faithful servant of Christ.

Greet Aristobulus and his family.

¹¹Greet Herodion, who is a relative of mine.

Greet Narcissus and the others in his family, who have faith in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work hard for the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis. She also works hard for the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, that special servant of the Lord, and greet his mother, who has been like a mother to me.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, and Hermas, as well as our friends who are with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all of God's people who are with them.

¹⁶Be sure to give each other a warm greeting.

All of Christ's churches greet you.

¹⁷My friends, I beg you to watch out for anyone who causes trouble and divides the church by refusing to do what all of you were taught. Stay away from them! ¹⁸They want to serve themselves and not Christ the Lord. Their flattery and fancy talk fool people who don't know any better. ¹⁹I am glad that everyone knows how well you obey the Lord. But still, I want you to understand what is good and not have anything to do with evil. ²⁰Then God, who gives peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. I pray that our Lord Jesus will be kind to you.

²¹Timothy, who works with me, sends his greetings, and so do my relatives, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater.

²²I, Tertius, also send my greetings. I am a follower of the Lord, and I wrote this letter.

^23-24Gaius welcomes me and the whole church into his home, and he sends his greetings.

Erastus, the city treasurer, and our dear friend Quartus send their greetings too.

Paul's Closing Prayer

²⁵Praise God! He can make you strong by means of my good news, which is the message about Jesus Christ. For ages and ages this message was kept secret, ²⁶but now at last it has been told. The eternal God commanded his prophets to write about the good news, so that all nations would obey and have faith. ²⁷And now, because of Jesus Christ, we can praise the only wise God forever! Amen.

David Finds Out about Saul's Death

2 Samuel 1 Saul was dead.

Meanwhile, David had defeated the Amalekites and returned to Ziklag. ²Three days later, a soldier came from Saul's army. His clothes were torn, and dirt was on his head. He went to David and knelt down in front of him.

³David asked, "Where did you come from?"

The man answered, "From Israel's army. I barely escaped with my life."

⁴"Who won the battle?" David asked.

The man said, "Our army turned and ran, but many were wounded and died. Even King Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."

⁵David asked, "How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?"

⁶The young man replied:

I was on Mount Gilboa and saw King Saul leaning on his spear. The enemy's war chariots and cavalry were closing in on him. ⁷When he turned around and saw me, he called me over. I went and asked what he wanted.

⁸Saul asked me, "Who are you?"

"An Amalekite," I answered.

⁹Then he said, "Kill me! I'm dying, and I'm in terrible pain."

¹⁰So I killed him. I knew he was too badly wounded to live much longer. Then I took his crown and his arm-band, and I brought them to you, Your Majesty. Here they are.

¹¹Right away, David and his soldiers tore their clothes in sorrow. ¹²They cried all day long and would not eat anything. Everyone was sad because Saul, his son Jonathan, and many of the LORD's people had been killed in the battle.

¹³David asked the young man, "Where is your home?"

The man replied, "My father is an Amalekite, but we live in Israel."

^14-16David said to him, "Why weren't you afraid to kill the LORD's chosen king? And you even told what you did. It's your own fault that you're going to die!"

Then David told one of his soldiers, "Come here and kill this man!"

David Sings in Memory of Saul

¹⁷David sang a song in memory of Saul and Jonathan, ¹⁸and he ordered his men to teach the song to everyone in Judah. He called it "The Song of the Bow," and it can be found in The Book of Jashar. This is the song:

¹⁹Israel, your famous hero lies dead on the hills,

and your mighty warriors have fallen!

²⁰Don't tell it in Gath or spread the news

on the streets of Ashkelon.

The godless Philistine women will be happy

and jump for joy.

²¹Don't let dew or rain fall on the hills of Gilboa.

Don't let its fields grow offerings for God.

There the warriors' shields were smeared with mud,

and Saul's own shield was left unpolished.

²²The arrows of Jonathan struck, and warriors died.

The sword of Saul cut the enemy apart.

²³It was easy to love Saul and Jonathan.

Together in life, together in death,

they were faster than eagles and stronger than lions.

²⁴Women of Israel, cry for Saul.

He brought you fine red cloth

and jewelry made of gold.

²⁵Our warriors have fallen in the heat of battle,

and Jonathan lies dead on the hills of Gilboa.

²⁶Jonathan, I miss you most! I loved you like a brother.

You were truly loyal to me,

more faithful than a wife to her husband.

²⁷Our warriors have fallen,

and their weapons are destroyed.

Psalm 72
[By Solomon.]
A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King

¹Please help the king to be honest and fair

just like you, our God.

²Let him be honest and fair with all your people,

especially the poor.

³Let peace and justice rule every mountain and hill.

⁴Let the king defend the poor, rescue the homeless,

and crush everyone who hurts them.

⁵Let the king live forever like the sun and the moon.

⁶Let him be as helpful as rain

that refreshes the meadows and the ground.

⁷Let the king be fair with everyone,

and let there be peace

until the moon falls from the sky.

⁸Let his kingdom reach from sea to sea,

from the Euphrates River across all the earth.

⁹Force the desert tribes to accept his rule,

and make his enemies crawl in the dirt.

¹⁰Force the rulers of Tarshish and of the islands

to pay taxes to him.

Make the kings of Sheba and of Seba bring gifts.

¹¹

Make other rulers bow down and all nations serve him.

¹²Do this because the king rescues the homeless

when they cry out,

and he helps everyone who is poor and in need.

¹³The king has pity on the weak and the helpless

and protects those in need.

¹⁴He cares when they hurt,

and he saves them from cruel and violent deaths.

¹⁵Long live the king! Give him gold from Sheba.

Always pray for the king and praise him each day.

¹⁶Let cities overflow with food

and hills be covered with grain,

just like Mount Lebanon.

Let the people in the cities prosper like wild flowers.

¹⁷May the glory of the king shine brightly forever

like the sun in the sky.

Let him make nations prosper and learn to praise him.

¹⁸LORD God of Israel, we praise you.

Only you can work miracles.

¹⁹We will always praise your glorious name.

Let your glory be seen everywhere on earth.

Amen and amen.

²⁰This ends the prayers of David, the son of Jesse.

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.