GN-DBRP_279 2CH.32 ECC.8 MAT.21.1-27

2CHRONICLES 32:
Following that special Passover, the people went home and destroyed all the pagan shrines. And a good summary of chapter 31 is the last verse:

2Chr. 31:21 He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

ECCLESIASTES 8:
Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes included quite a variety of Solomon’s proverbs, including:

Ecc. 7:5 GNT It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.
20 There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.

MATTHEW 21a:
The first will be last, the last first. I think we will be amazed at the justice of God’s rewards. And in some sense, we all will receive “a fair day’s pay.” The meaning of that parable was matched and furthered by the story of the mother of James and John and what Jesus said to them.

GNT Translation note:
Mat. 21:1 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of [us//the] disciples on ahead
16 So they asked Jesus, “Do you hear what they are saying?” “Indeed I do,” answered Jesus. “Haven't you ever read this scripture [when the writer said to God]? ‘You have trained children and babies to offer perfect praise.’”

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 21:21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you [fully believe//have faith] and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.
22 You can pray for anything, and if you [fully believe//have faith], you will receive it.”

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NL-DBRP_279 2CH.32 ECC.8 MAT.21.1-27

2CHRONICLES 32:
Following that special Passover, the people went home and destroyed all the pagan shrines. And a good summary of chapter 31 is the last verse:

2Chr. 31:21 He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

ECCLESIASTES 8:
Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes included quite a variety of Solomon’s proverbs, including:

Ecc. 7:5 GNT It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.
20 There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.

MATTHEW 21a:
The first will be last, the last first. I think we will be amazed at the justice of God’s rewards. And in some sense, we all will receive “a fair day’s pay.” The meaning of that parable was matched and furthered by the story of the mother of James and John and what Jesus said to them.

GNT Translation note:
Mat. 21:1 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of [us//the] disciples on ahead
16 So they asked Jesus, “Do you hear what they are saying?” “Indeed I do,” answered Jesus. “Haven't you ever read this scripture [when the writer said to God]? ‘You have trained children and babies to offer perfect praise.’”

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 21:21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you [fully believe//have faith] and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 
22 You can pray for anything, and if you [fully believe//have faith], you will receive it.”

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DayStarters_066 LUK.9.28-62

Re-release of the New Testament reading from GN series edition 55.

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GN-DBRP_278 2CH.31 ECC.7 MAT.20

2CHRONICLES 31:
A sign of how far Judah and Israel had wandered from the Lord was that even the Passover was not celebrated. When Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover celebration, it was the start of a real revival.

ECCLESIASTES 7:
I find it interesting that Solomon would say that everything has been decided beforehand. GNT certainly implied Who it was who decided beforehand, but NLT makes that explicit:

Ecc. 6:10 NLT Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

Not about the issue of destiny, but about another key point presented in chapter 6, I think that Solomon would have taken back some of his words if he could have listened to what Jesus taught in yesterday’s reading in Matthew.

MATTHEW 20:
In yesterday’s reading, Jesus taught how evil divorce is, He blessed children (because they are so close to the kingdom of God), and He taught about the difficulty for rich people in this world to enter the Kingdom of God. And at the end of chapter 19, he gave that promise that all missionaries love, the one about the eternal rewards that will be given to those who leave their families and possessions for the Kingdom of God.

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 20:7 ‘No one hired us,’ they answered. ‘Well, then, you go and work in [my//the] vineyard,’ he told them.
16 And Jesus concluded, “[Even so, at the end//So] those who are [now] last will be first, and those who are first will be last.”
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took [us,] the twelve disciples[,] aside and spoke to [us//them] privately, as [we//they] walked along.
18 “Listen,” he told [us//them], “we are going up to Jerusalem, where [I,] the Son of Man[,] will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn [me//him] to death
19 and then hand [me//him] over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of [me//him], whip [me//him], and crucify [me//him]; but three days later [I//he] will be raised to life.”
22 “You don't know what you are asking for,” Jesus answered the [two] sons. “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
28 [For even [I,] the Son of Man,//like the Son of Man, who] did not come to be served, but to serve and to give [my//his] life to redeem many people.”
32 Jesus stopped and called [to] them [to come and then asked them,//.] “What do you want me to do for you?” [0//he asked them.]

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 20:16“[Even so, at the end,//So] those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where [I,] the Son of Man[,] will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence [me/him] to die. 19Then they will hand [me/him] over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day [I/he] will be raised from the dead.”
28 For even [I,] the Son of Man came not to be served[,] but to serve others and to give [my/his] life as a ransom for many.”
32When Jesus heard them, he stopped and [said/called], “What do you want me to do for you?”

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NL-DBRP_278 2CH.31 ECC.7 MAT.20

2CHRONICLES 31:
A sign of how far Judah and Israel had wandered from the Lord was that even the Passover was not celebrated. When Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover celebration, it was the start of a real revival.

ECCLESIASTES 7:
I find it interesting that Solomon would say that everything has been decided beforehand. GNT certainly implied Who it was who decided beforehand, but NLT makes that explicit:

Ecc. 6:10 NLT Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

Not about the issue of destiny, but about another key point presented in chapter 6, I think that Solomon would have taken back some of his words if he could have listened to what Jesus taught in yesterday’s reading in Matthew.

MATTHEW 20:
In yesterday’s reading, Jesus taught how evil divorce is, He blessed children (because they are so close to the kingdom of God), and He taught about the difficulty for rich people in this world to enter the Kingdom of God. And at the end of chapter 19, he gave that promise that all missionaries love, the one about the eternal rewards that will be given to those who leave their families and possessions for the Kingdom of God.

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 20:7 ‘No one hired us,’ they answered. ‘Well, then, you go and work in [my//the] vineyard,’ he told them.
16 And Jesus concluded, “[Even so, at the end//So] those who are [now] last will be first, and those who are first will be last.”
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took [us,] the twelve disciples[,] aside and spoke to [us//them] privately, as [we//they] walked along.
18 “Listen,” he told [us//them], “we are going up to Jerusalem, where [I,] the Son of Man[,] will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn [me//him] to death
19 and then hand [me//him] over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of [me//him], whip [me//him], and crucify [me//him]; but three days later [I//he] will be raised to life.”
22 “You don't know what you are asking for,” Jesus answered the [two] sons. “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
28 [For even [I,] the Son of Man,//like the Son of Man, who] did not come to be served, but to serve and to give [my//his] life to redeem many people.” 
32 Jesus stopped and called [to] them [to come and then asked them,//.] “What do you want me to do for you?” [0//he asked them.]

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 20:16“[Even so, at the end,//So] those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where [I,] the Son of Man[,] will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence [me/him] to die. 19Then they will hand [me/him] over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day [I/he] will be raised from the dead.”
28 For even [I,] the Son of Man came not to be served[,] but to serve others and to give [my/his] life as a ransom for many.”
32When Jesus heard them, he stopped and [said/called], “What do you want me to do for you?”

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DayStarters_065 LUK.9.1-36

Re-release of the New Testament reading from GN series edition 54.

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GN-DBRP_277 2CH.30 ECC.6 MAT.19

2CHRONICLES 30:
Hezekiah led a wonderful spiritual revival which included the reopening and cleansing of the temple and the resumption of sacrifices. And he wasted no time in doing those things.

ECCLESIASTES 6:
Solomon gave wonderful conclusions about happiness in yesterday’s reading. And he also observed that we leave the world as naked and empty-handed as when we came into the world.

MATTHEW 19:
Yesterday’s portion of Matthew 18 included the important parable about the king and the forgiven servant who did not forgive the debt of his fellow servant.

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 19:13 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and to pray for them, but [we//the] disciples scolded the people.
25 When [we//the] disciples heard this, [we//they] were completely amazed [and asked]. “Who, then, can be saved?” [0//they asked.]  
26 Jesus looked straight at [us//them] and answered, “This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible.”
28 Jesus said to [us//them], “You can be sure that when [I,//the] Son of Man [sit on my//sits on his] glorious throne in the New Age, then you twelve followers of mine will also sit on thrones, to rule the twelve tribes of Israel.

NLT Translation note:
Mat. 19:15 And [before he left//0] he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them [0//before he left].

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