June 18
Jeremiah 27 & Acts 24
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Jeremiah 27

Chapter 27

27:1At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2"This is what the Lord said to me: Make chains and yoke bars for yourself and put them on your neck. 3Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through messengers who are coming to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. 4Command them to go to their masters, saying: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: This is what you must say to your masters: 5By My great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please. 6So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. 7All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him.
8"As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague"-this is the Lord's declaration-"until through him I have destroyed it. 9But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, 'Don't serve the king of Babylon!' 10for they prophesy a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. 11But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate it and reside in it." This is the Lord's declaration.
12I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah in the same way: "Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and live! 13Why should you and your people die by the sword, famine, or plague as the Lord has threatened against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? 14Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you, 'You must not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying a lie to you. 15'I have not sent them'-this is the Lord's declaration-'and they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore, I will banish you, and you will perish-you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.'"
16Then I spoke to the priests and all these people, saying, "This is what the Lord says: 'Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They are prophesying to you, claiming, "Look, very soon now the articles of the Lord's temple will be brought back from Babylon." They are prophesying a lie to you. 17Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin? 18If they are indeed prophets and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them intercede with the Lord of Hosts not to let the articles that remain in the Lord's temple, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem go to Babylon.' 19For this is what the Lord of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the water carts, and the rest of the articles that still remain in this city, 20those Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21Yes, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about the articles that remain in the temple of the Lord, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22'They will be brought to Babylon and will remain there until I attend to them again.' This is the Lord's declaration. 'Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.'"

Acts 24

Chapter 24

24:1After five days Ananias the high priest came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. These men presented their case against Paul to the governor. 2When he was called in, Tertullus began to accuse him and said: "Since we enjoy great peace because of you, and reforms are taking place for the benefit of this nation by your foresight, 3we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with utmost gratitude. 4However, so that I will not burden you any further, I beg you in your graciousness to give us a brief hearing. 5For we have found this man to be a plague, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the Roman world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes! 6He even tried to desecrate the temple, so we apprehended him [and wanted to judge him according to our law. 7But Lysias the commander came and took him from our hands with great force, 8commanding his accusers to come to you.] By examining him yourself you will be able to discern all these things we are accusing him of." 9The Jews also joined in the attack, alleging that these things were so.
10When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied: "Because I know you have been a judge of this nation for many years, I am glad to offer my defense in what concerns me. 11You are able to determine that it is no more than 12 days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. 12They didn't find me disputing with anyone or causing a disturbance among the crowd, either in the temple complex or in the synagogues or anywhere in the city. 13Neither can they provide evidence to you of what they now bring against me. 14But I confess this to you: I worship my fathers' God according to the Way, which they call a sect, believing all the things that are written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15And I have a hope in God, which these men themselves also accept, that there is going to be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the unrighteous. 16I always do my best to have a clear conscience toward God and men. 17After many years, I came to bring charitable gifts and offerings to my nation, 18and while I was doing this, some Jews from Asia found me ritually purified in the temple, without a crowd and without any uproar. 19It is they who ought to be here before you to bring charges, if they have anything against me. 20Either let these men here state what wrongdoing they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, 21or about this one statement I cried out while standing among them, 'Today I am being judged before you concerning the resurrection of the dead.'"
22Since Felix was accurately informed about the Way, he adjourned the hearing, saying, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case." 23He ordered that the centurion keep Paul under guard, though he could have some freedom, and that he should not prevent any of his friends from serving him.
24After some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and listened to him on the subject of faith in Christ Jesus. 25Now as he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and replied, "Leave for now, but when I find time I'll call for you." 26At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul. For this reason he sent for him quite often and conversed with him.
27After two years had passed, Felix received a successor, Porcius Festus, and because he wished to do a favor for the Jews, Felix left Paul in prison.

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