Today’s Readings: Fri 9 Aug 2024

1 Chronicles 6–7:19

6:1The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, 5Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, 6Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, 7Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 8Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, 9Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, 10and Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). 11Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 12Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum, 13Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, 14Azariah fathered Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; 15and Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

16The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. 18The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. 20Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. 22The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, 26Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28The sons of Samuel: Joel his firstborn, the second Abijah. 29The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

31These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. 32They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. 33These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of Samuel, 34son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, 35son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, 36son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, 37son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, 38son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; 39and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, 40son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, 41son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, 42son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, 43son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. 44On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, 45son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, 46son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, 47son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. 48And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

49But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, 52Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.

54These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, 55to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, 56but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 58Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 59Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands; 60and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon, Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen.

61To the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. 62To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan. 63To the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 64So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands. 65They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities that are mentioned by name.

66And some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim. 67They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 68Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, 69Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, 70and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites.

71To the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands; 72and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 73Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands; 74out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 75Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands; 76and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. 77To the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands, 78and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, 79Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; 80and out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 81Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands.

7:1The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers’ houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. 3The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. 4And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers’ houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. 5Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy.

6The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. 7The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers’ houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. 8The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. 10The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. 12And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher.

13The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah.

14The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. 16And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. 18And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Luke 12:1–12

12:1In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

4“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Psalm 119:9–16

Beth

9How can a young man keep his way pure?By guarding it according to your word.10With my whole heart I seek you;let me not wander from your commandments!11I have stored up your word in my heart,that I might not sin against you.12Blessed are you, O LORD;teach me your statutes!13With my lips I declareall the rules of your mouth.14In the way of your testimonies I delightas much as in all riches.15I will meditate on your preceptsand fix my eyes on your ways.16I will delight in your statutes;I will not forget your word.

Proverbs 20:19–21

19Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.20If one curses his father or his mother,his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.21An inheritance gained hastily in the beginningwill not be blessed in the end.