Sound of Heaven: A 6-Day Devotional by Danny Gokey

Mandates for Men: Serve Others

Every Place

Radical Love

The Benefits of Shared Spiritual Goals: How Starting as Friends First Enhances Romantic Relationships

Protect Your Peace

Journey With Jesus 365

In Her Image: Character Study of the Proverbs 31 Woman

Don't Let Doubt Take You Out

Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch20" data-usfm="1KI.20">
 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria</div><div class="p">1Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. 2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, &#8220;This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3&#8216;Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">4The king of Israel answered, &#8220;Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.&#8221;</div><div class="p">5The messengers came again and said, &#8220;This is what Ben-Hadad says: &#8216;I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">7The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, &#8220;See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.&#8221;</div><div class="p">8The elders and the people all answered, &#8220;Don&#8217;t listen to him or agree to his demands.&#8221;</div><div class="p">9So he replied to Ben-Hadad&#8217;s messengers, &#8220;Tell my lord the king, &#8216;Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad.</div><div class="p">10Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: &#8220;May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.&#8221;</div><div class="p">11The king of Israel answered, &#8220;Tell him: &#8216;One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">12Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents,#20:12 Or in Sukkoth; also in verse 16 and he ordered his men: &#8220;Prepare to attack.&#8221; So they prepared to attack the city.</div><div class="s1">Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad</div><div class="p">13Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">14&#8220;But who will do this?&#8221; asked Ahab.</div><div class="p">The prophet replied, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;And who will start the battle?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">The prophet answered, &#8220;You will.&#8221;</div><div class="p">15So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first.</div><div class="p">Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, &#8220;Men are advancing from Samaria.&#8221;</div><div class="p">18He said, &#8220;If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.&#8221;</div><div class="p">19The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.</div><div class="p">22Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, &#8220;Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.&#8221;</div><div class="p">23Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, &#8220;Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. 24Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. 25You must also raise an army like the one you lost&#8212;horse for horse and chariot for chariot&#8212;so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they.&#8221; He agreed with them and acted accordingly.</div><div class="p">26The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.</div><div class="p">28The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">29For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.</div><div class="p">31His officials said to him, &#8220;Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.&#8221;</div><div class="p">32Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, &#8220;Your servant Ben-Hadad says: &#8216;Please let me live.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king answered, &#8220;Is he still alive? He is my brother.&#8221;</div><div class="p">33The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. &#8220;Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!&#8221; they said.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Go and get him,&#8221; the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot.</div><div class="p">34&#8220;I will return the cities my father took from your father,&#8221; Ben-Hadad offered. &#8220;You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Ahab said, &#8220;On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.&#8221; So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.</div><div class="s1">A Prophet Condemns Ahab</div><div class="p">35By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, &#8220;Strike me with your weapon,&#8221; but he refused.</div><div class="p">36So the prophet said, &#8220;Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.&#8221; And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.</div><div class="p">37The prophet found another man and said, &#8220;Strike me, please.&#8221; So the man struck him and wounded him. 38Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. 39As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, &#8220;Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, &#8216;Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent#20:39 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms of silver.&#8217; 40While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;That is your sentence,&#8221; the king of Israel said. &#8220;You have pronounced it yourself.&#8221;</div><div class="p">41Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42He said to the king, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;You have set free a man I had determined should die.#20:42 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 43Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch135" data-usfm="PSA.135">
 <div class="label">135</div><div class="cl">Psalm 135</div><div class="q1">1Praise the Lord.#135:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verses 3 and 21</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">Praise the name of the Lord;</div><div class="q2">praise him, you servants of the Lord,</div><div class="q1">2you who minister in the house of the Lord,</div><div class="q2">in the courts of the house of our God.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">3Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;</div><div class="q2">sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.</div><div class="q1">4For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,</div><div class="q2">Israel to be his treasured possession.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">5I know that the Lord is great,</div><div class="q2">that our Lord is greater than all gods.</div><div class="q1">6The Lord does whatever pleases him,</div><div class="q2">in the heavens and on the earth,</div><div class="q2">in the seas and all their depths.</div><div class="q1">7He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;</div><div class="q2">he sends lightning with the rain</div><div class="q2">and brings out the wind from his storehouses.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">8He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,</div><div class="q2">the firstborn of people and animals.</div><div class="q1">9He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,</div><div class="q2">against Pharaoh and all his servants.</div><div class="q1">10He struck down many nations</div><div class="q2">and killed mighty kings&#8212;</div><div class="q1">11Sihon king of the Amorites,</div><div class="q2">Og king of Bashan,</div><div class="q2">and all the kings of Canaan&#8212;</div><div class="q1">12and he gave their land as an inheritance,</div><div class="q2">an inheritance to his people Israel.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">13Your name, Lord, endures forever,</div><div class="q2">your renown, Lord, through all generations.</div><div class="q1">14For the Lord will vindicate his people</div><div class="q2">and have compassion on his servants.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">15The idols of the nations are silver and gold,</div><div class="q2">made by human hands.</div><div class="q1">16They have mouths, but cannot speak,</div><div class="q2">eyes, but cannot see.</div><div class="q1">17They have ears, but cannot hear,</div><div class="q2">nor is there breath in their mouths.</div><div class="q1">18Those who make them will be like them,</div><div class="q2">and so will all who trust in them.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">19All you Israelites, praise the Lord;</div><div class="q2">house of Aaron, praise the Lord;</div><div class="q1">20house of Levi, praise the Lord;</div><div class="q2">you who fear him, praise the Lord.</div><div class="q1">21Praise be to the Lord from Zion,</div><div class="q2">to him who dwells in Jerusalem.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">Praise the Lord.</div>
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New International Version

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="p">29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, &#8220;Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, &#8216;A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.&#8217; 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p">32Then John gave this testimony: &#8220;I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, &#8216;The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.&#8217; 34I have seen and I testify that this is God&#8217;s Chosen One.&#8221;#1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.</div><div class="s1">John&#8217;s Disciples Follow Jesus</div><div class="p">35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, &#8220;Look, the Lamb of God!&#8221;</div><div class="p">37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, &#8220;What do you want?&#8221;</div><div class="p">They said, &#8220;Rabbi&#8221; (which means &#8220;Teacher&#8221;), &#8220;where are you staying?&#8221;</div><div class="p">39 &#8220;Come,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;and you will see.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.</div><div class="p">40Andrew, Simon Peter&#8217;s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, &#8220;We have found the Messiah&#8221; (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.</div><div class="p">Jesus looked at him and said, &#8220;You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas&#8221; (which, when translated, is Peter#1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.).</div><div class="s1">Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael</div><div class="p">43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, &#8220;Follow me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, &#8220;We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote&#8212;Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.&#8221;</div><div class="p">46&#8220;Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?&#8221; Nathanael asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Come and see,&#8221; said Philip.</div><div class="p">47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, &#8220;Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.&#8221;</div><div class="p">48&#8220;How do you know me?&#8221; Nathanael asked.</div><div class="p">Jesus answered, &#8220;I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.&#8221;</div><div class="p">49Then Nathanael declared, &#8220;Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p">50Jesus said, &#8220;You believe#1:50 Or Do you believe&#8230;? because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.&#8221; 51He then added, &#8220;Very truly I tell you,#1:51 The Greek is plural. you#1:51 The Greek is plural. will see &#8216;heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on&#8217;#1:51 Gen. 28:12 the Son of Man.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="p">1What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces#4:3 Or under the basic principles of the world. 4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.#4:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, &#8220;Abba,#4:6 Aramaic for Father Father.&#8221; 7So you are no longer a slave, but God&#8217;s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Concern for the Galatians</div><div class="p">8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God&#8212;or rather are known by God&#8212;how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces#4:9 Or principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.</div><div class="p">12I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, 14and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?</div><div class="p">17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!</div>
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