Free Daily Bible Study Podcast

1 Chronicles 18 | James 5 | Jonah 2 | Luke 7

In many ways, Yahweh’s covenant with David that we read about yesterday in 1 Chronicles 17 is the heart of the theology of the books of Chronicles, but not only because Yahweh swears in this covenant to establish David’s kingdom forever. Additionally, it is David’s desire to build Yahweh a house of cedar—that is, a temple (1 Chron. 17:1–2)—that leads Yahweh to swear a covenantal oath to him in the first place. David’s preparations for the building of the temple will consume much of the remainder of this book.

Even though David does not himself build the temple, the Chronicler gives us extensive information about the temple’s construction that we have not previously read. After only a few stories of David’s great military victories, nearly half of the narrative of David’s life in 1 Chronicles focuses on David’s preparation for the temple’s construction and his reordering of Israel’s worship in 1 Chronicles 22–29. Specifically, we learn in the Chronicles that although Solomon will be the one to build the temple, it is David who makes virtually all the preparations.

And even in our reading from today in 1 Chronicles 18, the stories of David’s warfare aren’t provided for their own sake—instead, these stories serve as records of how David acquires the raw materials for building the temple through his victories in battle. So, David procures from the cities of Tibhath and Cun bronze with which Solomon would eventually make “the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze” (1 Chron. 18:8). Then, David dedicates to Yahweh (i.e., to the eventual construction of the temple of Yahweh) articles of gold, silver, and bronze that he gains from Hadadezer, king of Zobah-Hamath, as well as from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek (1 Chron. 18:10–11).

In the New Testament, Paul explains that the church is the temple of the great Son of David, Jesus Christ, where each believer is fitted together into a great structure, joined together with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone, so that the Spirit of God dwells within us corporately (Eph. 2:19–22). But, Paul also describes us as the captives whom Jesus Christ is bringing back from war in his triumphal procession, spreading the fragrance and knowledge of him wherever he leads us (2 Cor. 2:14–16). In other words, we are the precious materials that Jesus Christ has looted from the nations in his great victory over sin, death, and the devil, and he is using us to build up his temple so that he may dwell within us by his Spirit.

“Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in the triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Cor. 2:14)!

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 17 | James 4 | Jonah 1 | Luke 6

As we have seen already in our study of the Chronicles, this retelling of Israel’s history centers on the person of David. The heavy emphasis on David does not suggest that David himself is the high point in the history of Israel, so that everything following David’s life is downhill; rather, the emphasis on David points forward to the new David, the offspring of David—one of his own sons—whose kingdom would be established forever, as Yahweh promises here in 1 Chronicles 17:11–14.

Now, if you compare 1 Chronicles 17 side by side with 2 Samuel 7, you will see small variations in the wordings, but for the most part, this is an identical retelling of the story—except for one crucial detail. In 2 Samuel 7:14–15, the description of Yahweh’s covenant with David included a promise that Yahweh would chasten David’s son but that he would never withdraw his covenant love and faithfulness from David’s son completely: “When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.” In 1 Chronicles 17, however, only part of this statement is included: “I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you” (1 Chron. 17:13). Why?

The omission of this statement about Yahweh’s discipline lines up with what we have already seen of the Chronicler’s account of David—his interest is not compiling all the evidence necessary to build a case against David and his house, as in the books of Samuel and Kings. Rather, the emphasis here is on the future Davidic king who would not need to be disciplined for his iniquity. The Chronicler, therefore, isn’t revising history in order to whitewash David—rather, he is presenting David in such a way as to anticipate the great, final David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would know no sin (2 Cor. 5:21) and who would therefore need no discipline.

Nevertheless, both tellings of the story are essential. Where the narrative of Yahweh’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 foreshadowed the work that Jesus Christ came to do at the cross, where he was disciplined, beaten with rods, and hanged on a tree to die, bearing the curse for our iniquity, the theology of the Chronicles anticipates the eternal kingdom that Jesus would establish by the work of his life, death, and resurrection. Therefore, let us trust in the finished work of Jesus at the cross as we live daily in dependence on the kingdom that dwells in our midst now, even as we await the eternal kingdom that Jesus will usher in at his second coming.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 16 | James 3 | Obadiah 1 | Luke 5

As the festivities in worship grow during the settling of the ark of the covenant in the city of Jerusalem, we learn more about Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, three men whose names we find prominently featured in another book of the Bible: the Psalms. So, who are these men, what are their roles in the worship of God’s people, and what does that teach us for our own worship today?

Heman, Asaph, and Ethan are Levites, so to understand their context, it is important to refresh our understanding of the three clans of Levi, formed from the descendants of Levi’s three sons: Gershon (sometimes spelled Gershom), Kohath, and Merari (Ex. 6:16; 1 Chron. 6:1, 16). Each of these clans had different roles in the transportation of the tabernacle: the Gershonites carried the fabrics (tent screens and coverings), the Kohathites carried the holy furniture, and the Merarites carried the frames, bars, pillars, bases, pegs, and cords (Num. 3–4).

These three men, then, are representatives for each clan. Heman is a Kohathite, a descendant of the rebellious Korah who opposed Moses in Numbers 16 (1 Chron. 6:33–38). Then, Asaph is a Gershonite (1 Chron. 6:39–43), and Ethan is a Merarite (1 Chron. 6:44–47). In 1 Chronicles 6, the chapter containing the genealogies of the Levites, Heman seems to be the leader, with Asaph at his right hand (1 Chron. 6:39) and Ethan on his left hand (1 Chron. 6:44). Then, in 1 Chronicles 15:16–17, David commands the Levites to appoint for themselves musicians, and these three men become the leading musicians for their respective clans. Finally, David appoints Asaph and the Gershonites to minister before the ark (1 Chron. 16:4, 37) and sends Heman and Ethan to sing at the high place in Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39, 41–42).1 These men were great worship leaders who all contributed songs that are still preserved for us in the Book of Psalms. Heman, the son of Korah, wrote Psalms 42, 44–49, 84, 85, 87, 88; Asaph wrote Psalms 50, 73–83; and Ethan—who also seems to go by the name of Jeduthun (1 Chron. 16:37–42, 25:1, 3, 6)—wrote Psalms 39, 62, 77, 89.2

Still today, we need worship leaders who will lead us in praising Jesus Christ. Worship leaders, however, are not merely musicians. These worship leaders wrote profoundly deep songs that ought to guide our own hymn-writing and serve as the criteria for selecting the songs we sing on a weekly basis. And more than that, our own worship ought to be steeped in the inspired lyrics of the Psalms. Let us therefore read psalms, preach psalms, and sing psalms as we exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, who declares himself the fulfillment of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44).

1 Although high places eventually became a place of idolatry and wickedness throughout the reigns of the later kings, Yahweh had neither forbidden high places nor appointed Jerusalem as the only place for his people to worship him during the days of David, or even during the early days of Solomon (1 Kgs. 3:3–4).

2 Probably. The different names makes this difficult to track, but 1 Kings 4:31 may identify Ethan as “Ethan the Ezrahite,” the name used in Psalm 89. All the other psalms in this list were written under the name Jeduthun.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 15 | James 2 | Amos 9 | Luke 4

As we start getting deeper into 1 Chronicles, we begin to see the ways that the Chronicler writes about the events from the books of Samuel and Kings from a different perspective and with a different goal. In 1 Chronicles 15, we see our first major retelling of a story—the entrance of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem—which provides two new pieces of information that change the tenor of the story from what we read in 2 Samuel 6.

First, the version of this story we read in 2 Samuel 6 exclusively emphasized the way that Yahweh had struck down Uzzah for reaching out to steady the ark, since the Israelites had brought the ark in on a cart pulled by oxen (2 Sam. 6:1–15). Now, we do find that same story recorded for us in 1 Chronicles 13:5–14; however, here in 1 Chronicles 15, after a brief acknowledgement of what happened with Uzzah (1 Chron. 15:13), we find entirely new material about the second (and successful) transportation of the ark into Jerusalem, when the Levites carry it according to Yahweh’s commandment from Numbers 4:1–15. Here, David insists that “no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever” (1 Chron. 15:2). These passages in 1 Chronicles 13 and 15 do point out David’s error in initially carrying the ark on a cart, but we also see his willingness to repent and lead the people of Israel according to the Mosaic law.

Second, David also commands that the Levites should sing and play loudly on musical instruments (1 Chron. 15:16–24, 28). David’s organization of the Levites (especially to play and sing music) is one of the significant emphases of this book (see 1 Chron. 23–26), despite the fact that we read nothing about David’s role in this in 1 and 2 Samuel. Furthermore, we read nothing whatsoever in the Mosaic law commanding that the Levites should play music, suggesting that this arrangement is something David himself instituted, acting as a new lawgiver, as discussed in yesterday’s meditation.

This story, then, reflects a critical principle for understanding Christian worship in the light of Jesus. We do believe that Jesus has fulfilled and therefore abolished certain aspects of worship (e.g., the sacrificial system) and also that Jesus has commanded the continuance of other aspects of worship (e.g., singing, but also prayer and the reading and preaching of God’s word). Jesus’ reformation of worship, then, is not about getting rid of the “bad” and replacing it with “good,” but rather about fulfilling what merely pointed forward to him and then continuing all that still serves a purpose. As we gather weekly, we worship our great Messiah with the elements he himself has established for us.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 13–14 | James 1 | Amos 8 | Luke 3

Thus far, the author of 1 Chronicles has not only reviewed the entire history of the people of Israel, but he has also reshaped it around the person of David—not to exalt David himself, but to point forward to the coming of a new David. We looked yesterday at the way this new David would be a new kind of military leader, and today we will begin to look at the way this new David will reform Israel’s worship.

At the beginning of 1 Chronicles 13, David consults with all his leaders, saying to the assembly, “If it seems good to you and from the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul” (1 Chron. 13:2–3). Essentially, David is here establishing a special feast for all the people of Israel. The law of Moses commanded that the men of Israel should appear before Yahweh three times a year for specific feasts (Ex. 34:23; Deut. 16:16), but David now adds a new feast and calls all Israel together. David here acts as a new lawgiver.

But while acting as a new lawgiver is remarkable in itself, the following verse is even more surprising: “All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people” (1 Chron. 13:4). Recall the theme verse from Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25). The judges had utterly failed to reform Yahweh’s people from their idolatry, but here, under the leadership of David, it is the true worship of Yahweh that is right in the eyes of the people.

Now, Chronicles has already acknowledged that the reforms of the first David will not last and that Judah will eventually go into exile in Babylon (1 Chron. 9:1). Therefore, this depiction of David once again points forward to what only the new David will be able to do—he alone will act as the new lawgiver to fulfill in himself the old system of worship and to install, in its place, pure worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). And still today, as we gather together week after week in worship, we look forward to the day when we will be gathered together to the great Son of David once and for all. Then, our eyes will be made forever right in our resurrected bodies so that we will seek nothing but God himself for all eternity. O Lord, haste the day!

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 11–12 | Hebrews 13 | Amos 7 | Luke 2

In today’s reading from 1 Chronicles 11 and 12, we arrive at the story of David himself. Everything up to this point has revisited the story leading up to David or has looked beyond him, but here we come at last to the main attraction: the great King David. In many ways, it seems at first that we are simply reading more lists of names just like the genealogies of the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles, but this list of names documents David’s warriors rather than his descendants. So, we read about David’s mighty men in 1 Chronicles 11:10–47, as well as the divisions of troops in 1 Chronicles 12. Still, these chapters represent more than simple rosters of military personnel—the description of David’s army transcends the description of merely human militaries in two ways.

First, the chief warrior of David’s thirty mighty men, Amasai, speaks with a prophetic oracle about David in a way that goes beyond merely human leadership: “Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said, ‘We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! For your God helps you’” (1 Chron. 12:18). David is more than an ancient near-eastern warrior king—he is the covenantal, anointed shepherd of Yahweh’s people, Israel (1 Chron. 11:1–3). Where Yahweh has been the king of Israel thus far (aside from the reign of Saul, briefly mentioned in 1 Chronicles 10), we see him now knitting his people to a human king. And in doing so, Yahweh paves the way to unite his people eternally with another human king who arises from the line of David—Yahweh’s own Son, Jesus Christ.

Second, the Chronicler describes the vast numbers of people who join up with David in terms that go beyond merely human warriors: “For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God” (1 Chron. 12:22). Again, we are seeing something here that expands beyond a simple band of warriors in the desert. Remember, we have already met the commander of the army of God in Joshua 5:13–15, and that commander was himself Yahweh, as evidenced by the fact that Joshua fell down at his feet to worship him (Josh. 5:14). Now, however, it is David who is described as the commander of the army of God.

Here too, these comparisons are not meant to exalt David beyond an appropriate level. Instead, they are meant to point forward to a new David, the Son of David, who genuinely is knit to his people covenantally and who does command all the armies of Yahweh. This new David will certainly be more than a military leader, but not less.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 9–10 | Hebrews 12 | Amos 6 | Luke 1:39–80

While the bulk of 1 Chronicles will follow the story of David, the first ten chapters look back to the days far before David as well as look forward to the days long after his death. In 1 Chronicles 9 and 10, then, we read the genealogy of the exiles of Judah who return from Babylon after the Davidic dynasty comes to an end, as well as the story of Saul, who immediately precedes David on Israel’s throne. Today, we will look at two main points the writer is highlighting in these stories.

First, the author of the Chronicles wants to draw our attention to the lack of faith that existed from beginning to end during the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah. So, in 1 Chronicles 9:1, we read this: “And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith.” And then, at the end of the brief account of Saul’s life in 1 Chronicles 10:13, we read very similar words: “So Saul died for his breach of faith.” In other words, the same problems that disqualified Saul were also the problems that eventually disqualified the people of Judah from remaining in the Promised Land.

Second, by ending this section of genealogies with a look beyond David after the exile and a look before David in the life of Saul, the Chronicler presents David as the hinge on which the entire story of the Old Testament swings. In 1 Chronicles, David is presented as the epitome of faithful kings. He will expand the kingdom of God in the Promised Land through warfare, establish the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem for a permanent dwelling place, and reorder the worship of Yahweh’s people by assigning new roles to the Levites and by preparing for the construction of the temple under Solomon. Furthermore, while we will read in 1 Chronicles 21 about his sin in requiring a census, we will not read of his other failures that we read about in 1 and 2 Samuel—neither his failure to discipline those around him nor his sin with Bathsheba.

The point of all this, however, is not actually to point to David himself but rather to point beyond David to the Son of David who would come. That David would not only lead his people beyond their longstanding breaches of faith, but that David would be the fulfillment of every promise, shadow, and covenant. That David would expand the kingdom of God through his sinless life, death, and resurrection; he would establish a new temple where God would dwell with his people by the Holy Spirit; and he would reorder true worship in spirit and in truth. That David—the Lord Jesus Christ—is himself the point of all the laws, stories, and genealogies, not only of the Old Testament, but of the entire Bible.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 7–8 | Hebrews 11 | Amos 5 | Luke 1:1–38

As 1 Chronicles lays out the genealogies of each tribe of Israel one by one, we see Judah and Simeon (the southernmost tribes) in 1 Chronicles 4; Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (the easternmost tribes) in 1 Chronicles 5; Levi in 1 Chronicles 6; and then Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher in 1 Chronicles 7. Curiously, the genealogies of the tribes of Zebulun and Dan are not included. What are we to make of this exclusion?

On the one hand, we don’t have much information to go on. Zebulun and Dan are both members of the northern kingdom of Israel that is eventually conquered by the Assyrians, but so are the tribes of Simeon, Reuben, Gad, Manasseh, Issachar, Naphtali, Ephraim, and Asher, and each of those tribes does receive a genealogy in these early chapters of Chronicles. Any hypothesis about what might be happening here should be held lightly because of our lack of information.

On the other hand, the exclusion of Dan in particular may have some precedent, since Dan is associated with an unusually large degree of idolatry in the stories we have read so far. For example, it is the tribe of Dan who hires the Levite named Jonathan away from Micah in Judges 18—one of the stories leading up to the wicked crime of the Benjaminite city of Gibeah in Judges 19. Furthermore, when the Danites eventually settle into the city of Laish and rename that city Dan, we read that they set up carved images for themselves to worship (Judg. 18:29–31). Then, when Jeroboam leads the ten northern tribes of Israel in rebellion against Rehoboam and the two southern tribes of Judah, the city of Dan becomes one of the places where Jeroboam sets up golden calves for the Israelites to worship (1 Kgs. 12:29–30). Additionally, the prophet Amos singles out the tribe of Dan to associate with “the Guilt of Samaria”—that is, with idolatry (Amos 8:14). Even more curiously, when the book of Revelation prophesies the sealing of groups of twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel in Revelation 7, that list of tribes includes Zebulun but does not include Dan (Rev. 7:5–8).

What this suggests—and again, we must make our conclusions tentatively—is that Dan specifically is excluded from the list of tribes because of the tribe’s deep idolatry. Because the restoration of true worship is one of the main focuses of the Chronicles, excluding Dan may serve as a unique punishment for the most idolatrous tribe. On the whole, these written genealogies confront us with the necessity of repentance—even as we prepare to see how the new David will establish perfect worship among God’s people forever. Let us therefore seek Jesus, the Son of David, so that we may rejoice that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 5–6 | Hebrews 10 | Amos 4 | Psalms 148, 149 & 150

A central focal point of the books of Chronicles is the reestablishment of true worship in Israel. So, where most of the tribes of Israel get only a handful of verses to recount their genealogies, the tribe of Levi receives an entire chapter to recount its lineages in 1 Chronicles 6. But again, the way the Chronicler retells the story of Levi both emphasizes what we have already read and reshapes that story in significant, surprising ways.

Many elements in 1 Chronicles 6, then, are simply mentioned in passing to remind us of some aspect of the Levites that Moses established back in the first five books of the Bible. Still, we are reminded here of the three major clans in the tribe of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (1 Chron. 6:1, 16, 61–81). Furthermore, we read a brief summary about the sacrificial system in 1 Chronicles 6:49: “But 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.” Then, over the next four verses in 1 Chronicles 6:50–53, we read about the sons of Aaron who carried on the work of offering sacrifices from generation to generation.

And yet, the Levites who served as musicians in the house of Yahweh garner far more attention in this chapter, taking up eighteen verses in 1 Chronicles 6:31–48—and all this despite the fact that we have read nothing up to this point about musicians among the Levites. Why, then, the sudden emphasis here? The answer is simple: David. Although we read nothing about it in 1 and 2 Samuel, we read extensively in 1 Chronicles about the ways that David restructures the roles of the Levites: “These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there” (1 Chron. 6:31). We read very little about the way Moses shaped the duties of the Levites in worship here in Chronicles, but we will read more and more about the way David reshapes it.

The point, though, is not to surface interesting historical tidbits that were not included in 1 and 2 Samuel. Rather, the point is to present a picture of David that will foreshadow what the greater Son of David will eventually become. That new, ultimate David will transform the worship of Yahweh’s people as he establishes his kingdom forever on this earth—even more dramatically than Moses had done. We will read much more about the worship reforms of David, but this element regarding the Levites uses a re-telling of the first David’s history to set up a much more sweeping picture of the new David to come.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Chronicles 3–4 | Hebrews 9 | Amos 3 | Psalms 146–147

Because 1 Chronicles represents a re-telling of the story of the people of God up to this point, David plays a critical, central role right from the very beginning. After one chapter to sum up the genealogy from Adam to Abraham, and then from Abraham to Jacob, the author of 1 Chronicles shifts immediately to the genealogy leading up to David in 1 Chronicles 2. In today’s reading from 1 Chronicles 3, then, the narrator lists out the descendants from David. Then, in 1 Chronicles 4, the tribe of Judah becomes the first tribe whose genealogy is recorded in this book.

Now, there isn’t much narrative drama or tension in the genealogies here if we read them on their own, isolated from the rest of the story of the Bible. On the other hand, when we compare the re-telling of Israel’s history here with the histories we have already read, we start to find some interesting tidbits. For example, consider how much of the story of the Bible up to this point centered upon Moses, and yet, we do not encounter the name of Moses at all in the books of Chronicles until 1 Chronicles 6, when his name shows up twice in the genealogies, mentioned almost in passing. After that, his name shows up only a sprinkling of times, and typically in reference to the law—for example, “as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD” (1 Chron. 15:15).

But whereas the story of Moses dominated the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy, David is the one who takes center stage early and often in the books of Chronicles. In fact, the only place in the books of Chronicles where the name of Moses does play a significant role is in 1 Chronicles 23, where we read about how David reshapes the worship established through the word of Moses. Even where Moses is significant, he is overshadowed by David.

What we are starting to see right from the outset of the Chronicles, then, is that the way forward for Israel’s future has less to do with strict law-keeping and more to do with a new Davidic figure who would appear. Of course, Yahweh had promised David explicitly that he would establish David’s throne forever (2 Sam. 7:16), and Chronicles is written to reflect that reality. Israel was never able to redeem herself through observance of the law, so that the nation will need a Savior who can secure redemption for her, on her behalf—a king in the line of David. Even in the genealogies, this promise begins to unfold, and as we will see as we continue to read through the Chronicles, David’s story will take an even greater role to point forward to the Root of David and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ himself (Rev. 5:5).

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.