Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Kings 18:27 (New Living Translation) About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” Not quite. Note how Elijah describes […]

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1 Kings 3:16 (New Living Translation) Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. This is from the (hi)story of wise King Solomon and the two women with one live baby. Stop! Wait a minute! The (hi)story begins with two prostitutes bringing an argument to the King of Israel, […]

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1 Kings 12:15 (New Living Translation) So the king paid no attention to the people… Ooooops. This (hi)story doesn’t start well. And it doesn’t end well either. The king in this verse if Rehoboam. His rival is Jeroboam. The result was the ten northern tribes breaking away from the two southern tribes. The result was centuries […]

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1 Kings 11:14-16 (New Living Translation) 14 Then the Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom’s royal family, to be Solomon’s adversary. 15 Years before, David had defeated Edom. Joab, his army commander, had stayed to bury some of the Israelite soldiers who had died in battle. While there, they killed every […]

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1 Kings 10:9 (New Living Translation) Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness. The Queen of Sheba is speaking these words. She has […]

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1 Kings 8:48-49 (New Living Translation) 48 If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— 49 then hear their prayers […]

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1 Kings 20:26-27 (New Living Translation) 26 The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at Aphek. 27 Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and marched out for battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the […]

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1 Kings 8: (New Living Translation) 17 Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, 19 but you are not the […]

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1 Kings 6:11-13 (New Living Translation) 11 Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: 12 “Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. 13 I will live among the Israelites […]

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1 Kings 4:33 (New English Translation) He (Solomon) produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish. This rendering is from the New English Translation (NET). I like the way they […]

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