Readings, Select

How Nave’s arranged it

• JUDAH' S DEFENSEGenesis 44:18–34
• JOSEPH REVEALING HIS IDENTITYGenesis 45:1–15
• THE DELIVERANCE OF THE ISRAELITES FROM PHARAOHExodus 14:5–30
• SONG OF MOSES WHEN PHARAOH AND HIS ARMY WERE OVERTHROWNExodus 15:1–19
• DAVID' S LAMENT OVER ABSALOM2 Samuel 18:19–33
• LIGHTS AND SHADOWSRuth 1:1–22
• ELIJAH' S MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION1 Kings 17:1–16
• ELISHA AND THE WIDOW' S OIL2 Kings 4:1–7
• NAAMAN THE LEPER2 Kings 5:1–14
• ESTHER' S TRIUMPHEsther 4:1–17Esther 7:1–10
• THE BREVITY OF LIFEJob 14:1–10
• NATURE' S TESTIMONYJob 28:1–28

The passages, in Bible order (55)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 44:18–34

   Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 44:18–341 voice

   “Thou art even as Pharaoh - As wise, as powerful, and as much to be dreaded as he. In the Asiatic countries, the reigning monarch is always considered to be the pattern of all perfection; and the highest honor that can be conferred on any person, is to resemble him to the monarch; as the monarch himself is likened, in the same complimentary way, to an angel of God. See 2Sa 14:17, 2Sa 14:18. Judah is the chief speaker here, because it was in consequence of his becoming surety for Benjamin that Jacob permitted him to accompany them to Egypt.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 44:18–34→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Genesis 45:1–15

   Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Exodus 14:5–30

   When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”

   ›Commentary on Exodus 14:5–301 voice

   “The people fled - This was a natural inference from the change of direction, which indicated a determination to escape from Egypt. Up to the time when that information reached Pharaoh both he and his people understood that the Israelites would return after keeping a festival in the district adjoining Etham. From Etham the intelligence would be forwarded by the commander of the garrison to Rameses in less than a day, and the cavalry, a highly-disciplined force, would be ready for immediate departure.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 14:5–30→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Exodus 15:1–19

   Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 15:1–191 voice

   “With the deliverance of Israel is associated the development of the national poetry, which finds its first and perfect expression in this magnificent hymn. It was sung by Moses and the people, an expression which evidently points to him as the author. That it was written at the time is an assertion expressly made in the text, and it is supported by the strongest internal evidence.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 15:1–19→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Ruth 1:1–22

   In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.

   ›Commentary on Ruth 1:1–222 voices

   “Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled,.... So that it appears that this history is of time and things after the affair of Micah, and of the concubine of the Levite, and of the war between Israel and Benjamin; for in those times there was no king nor judge in Israel; but to what time of the judges, and which government of theirs it belongs to, is not agreed on.

   “In the days when the Judges ruled - “Judged.” This note of time, like that in Rth 4:7; Jdg 18:1; Jdg 17:6, indicates that this Book was written after the rule of the judges had ceased. The genealogy Rth 4:17-22 points to the time of David as the earliest when the Book of Ruth could have been written. A famine - Caused probably by one of the hostile invasions recorded in the Book of Judges.

   Everything gathered on Ruth 1:1–22→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. 2 Samuel 18:19–33

   Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:19–331 voice

   Ahimaaz was a well-known runner 2Sa 18:27. Speed was a heroic virtue in those simple times (compare 2Sa 2:18). In Hezekiah’s reign 2Ch 30:6, 2Ch 30:10 we find an establishment of running post-men; and the same name (“runners”) is given Est 3:13 to the Persian posts, though at that time they rode on mules and camels. Bear tidings - The original word is used almost exclusively of bearing good tidings, and hence, is rendered in the Septuagint (though not always) εὐαγγίζεσθαι euangelizesthai 2Sa 4:10; 1Sa 31:9. In 2Sa 18:21, it is not “carry the good tidings,” but “tell,” simply “announce.”

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 18:19–33→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. 1 Kings 17:1–16

   Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 17:1–162 voices

   “Great is the virtue of fasting. Indeed, its military appearance is so beautiful that it delightfully attracts and elevates humans to heaven for fasting and for Christ: so powerful that it raises men up to heaven. And to use more human than divine examples, from the fasting mouth of Elijah a voice was uttered that closed heaven to the sacrilegious people of the Jews. For when Ahab, the king, had set up an altar to the idol, according to the words of the prophet, there was no rain for three years and six months upon the earth.

   “The name Elijah means “Yahweh is my God.” It is expressive of the truth which his whole life preached. The two words rendered “Tishbite” and “inhabitant” are in the original (setting aside the vowel points) “exactly alike.” The meaning consequently must either be “Elijah the stranger, of the strangers of Gilead,” or (more probably) “Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbi of Gilead.” Of Tishbi in Gilead there is no further trace in Scripture; it is to be distinguished from another Tishbi in Galilee.

   Everything gathered on 1 Kings 17:1–16→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. 2 Kings 4:1–7

   Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 4:1–71 voice

   “The creditor is come ... - The Law of Moses, like the Athenian and the Roman law, recognized servitude for debt, and allowed that pledging of the debtor’s person, which, in a rude state of society, is regarded as the safest and the most natural security (see the marginal reference). In the present case it would seem that, so long as the debtor lived, the creditor had not enforced his right over his sons, but now on his death he claimed their services, to which he was by law entitled.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 4:1–7→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. 2 Kings 5:1–14

   Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 5:1–141 voice

   “By him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria - An Assyrian monarch had pushed his conquests as far as Syria exactly at this period, bringing into subjection all the kings of these parts. But Syria revolted after a few years and once more made herself independent. It was probably in this war of independence that Naaman had distinguished himself. But he was a leper - leprosy admitted of various kinds and degrees Lev. 13; 14 Some of the lighter forms would not incapacitate a man from discharging the duties of a courtier and warrior.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 5:1–14→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Esther 4:1–17

    When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.

    ›Commentary on Esther 4:1–171 voice

    “Mordecai rent his clothes - He gave every demonstration of the most poignant and oppressive grief. Nor did he hide this from the city; and the Greek says that he uttered these words aloud: Αιρεται εθνος μηδεν ηδικηκος, A people are going to be destroyed, who have done no evil!

    Everything gathered on Esther 4:1–17→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Esther 7:1–10

    So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen,

    ›Commentary on Esther 7:1–101 voice

    “So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. Or, "to drink with her" (e), that is, wine; for in the next verse it is called a banquet of wine; so they did according to the invitation the queen had given them, Est 5:8. (e) לשתות "ut biberent", V. L. Tigurine version; "ad bibendum", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Vatablus.

    Everything gathered on Esther 7:1–10→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Job 14:1–10

    “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.

    ›Commentary on Job 14:1–101 voice

    “Man that is born of a woman - See the notes at Job 13:28. The object of Job in these verses, is to show the frailty and feebleness of man. He, therefore, dwells on many circumstances adapted to this, and this is one of the most stirring and beautiful. He alludes to the delicacy and feebleness, of the female sex, and says that the offspring of one so frail must himself be frail; the child of one so feeble must himself be feeble.

    Everything gathered on Job 14:1–10→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Job 28:1–28

    “Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

    ›Commentary on Job 28:1–281 voice

    “Surely there is a vein for silver - Margin, “mine” Coverdale renders this, “There are places where silver is molten.” Prof. Lee renders it, “There is an outlet for the silver,” and supposes it means the coming out or separation of the silver from the earthy particles by which it is surrounded in the ore, not the coming out from the mine.

    Everything gathered on Job 28:1–28→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Job 38:1

    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

    ›Commentary on Job 38:12 voices

    “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,.... As soon as Elihu had done speaking, who saw the tempest rising, and gave hints of it, Job 37:2; and hastened to finish his discourse. This was raised to give notice of the Lord being about to appear, and to display his majesty, and to command reverence and attention. The Targum calls it the whirlwind of distress, as it might be to Job; and a representation of the distressed and disturbed state and condition in which he was.

    “Then the Lord answered Job - This speech is addressed particularly to Job, not only because he is the principal personage referred to in the book, but particularly because he had indulged in language of murmuring and complaint. God designed to bring him to a proper state of mind before he appeared openly for his vindication.

    Everything gathered on Job 38:1→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Job 39:1

    “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?

    ›Commentary on Job 39:12 voices

    “Knowest thou the time when the wild goats bring forth in the rocks, or hast thou observed the hinds when they calve? 36. The southern part of the world calls birds, which inhabit the streams of the Nile, 'ibices.' But the eastern and western quarters term small quadrupeds, 'ibices,' whose custom also it is to bring forth in the rocks, because they know not how to dwell except in the rocks. And if they ever fall down, even from the lofty tops of the mountains, they catch themselves without hurt on their own horns.

    “Knowest thou, the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? - That is, the particular season when the mountain goats bring forth their young. Of domestic animals - the sheep, the tame goat, etc., the habits would be fuIly understood. But the question here relates to the animals that roamed at large on inaccessible cliffs; that were buried in deep forests; that were far from the dwellings and observation of people; and the meaning is, that there were many facts in regard to such points of Natural History which Job could not explain.

    Everything gathered on Job 39:1→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Psalms 1:1

    Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

    Verse page →Original language →