Wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed

OT

 

7th Cycle.

  

NT

 

14th Cycle.

  

Sun 29Mar2026

Sat 28Feb2026

Ezra 1:1 - 10:44 (284 verses) WEB

Mark 3:1 - 4:41 (76 verses) KJV

Sun 01Mar2026

Nehemiah 1:1 - 9:38 (253 verses) NIV

Mark 5:1 - 6:56 (99 verses) NIV

Mon 02Mar2026

Nehemiah 10:1 - 13:31 (153 verses) WEB

Mark 7:1 - 8:38 (75 verses) KJV

Wed 04Mar2026

Mark 9:1 - 10:52 (102 verses) KJV

Sun 29Mar2026

Esther 1:1 - 10:3 (167 verses) NIV

Mark 11:1 - 16:20 (253 verses) NIV

WEB — World English Bible
KJV — King James Version
NIV — New International Version

Overall Progress
OT = 12,731 / 23,145 verses (55.0 %)
NT = 1,749 / 7,957 verses (22.0 %)

The recent month has seen me reading through the Old Testament books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. In the New Testament, I finished reading the Gospel according to Mark.

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Passage for Today

2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Nehemiah 1:2 — 4

 

King James Version

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My thoughts for today can be found in the links below —

• Three days and three nights (29Mar2026)
• Do not eat or drink for three days (07Nov2021)
• Eyes over evil, hands over heart (15Jul2020)
• It is in your hands, again (02Aug2020)

The Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and End

OT  6th Cycle.   NT  11th Cycle.   Mon 23Sep24

Wed 18Sep24

2 Chronicles 1:1 – 20:37 (430 verses) WEB

Thu 19Sep24

2 Chronicles 21: 1 – 36:23 (392 verses) WEB

Ezra 1:1 – 2:70 (82 verses) WEB

Fri 20Sep24

Ezra 3:1 – 10:44 (199 verses) WEB

Nehemiah 1:1 – 7:73 (197 verses) WEB

Revelation 1:1 – 12:17 (211 verses) WEB

Sat 21Sep24

Nehemiah 8:1 – 13:31 (209 verses) WEB

Esther 1:1 – 10:3 (167 verses) WEB

Revelation 13:1 – 22:21 (193 verses) WEB

Sun 22Sep24

Job 1:1 – 42:17 (1,070 verses) WEB

Mon 23Sep24

Psalm 1:1 – 41:13 (616 verses) WEB

WEB — World English Bible

Overall Progress
OT = 14,350 / 23,145 verses (62.00 %)
NT = 7,957 / 7,957 verses (100.00 %)

During a quiet retreat away from home over the past four days, I have managed to complete some long readings covering 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, and the Book of Revelation, the final book in the New Testament. Today, I went on to read Book I of Psalms (Psalm 1 to 41).

My overall reading progress has reached 62 percent of the Old Testament, with slightly more than three months left before the year ends for me to cover the remaining 38 percent of this Sixth Round of the OT. Meanwhile, I have finished reading my Eleventh Round of the NT.

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Passage for Today

Revelation 21:5 – 6 World English Bible

5 He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true.'
6 He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.

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My thoughts for today come from my readings of the Book of Revelation. They can be found in the links below —

• I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End (Dec2021)
• Amen, Faithful, True Witness, Head of God's Creation (Nov2020)
• Titles of God, Titles of Iesous (Nov2020)
• Worship Him who sits on the Throne (Aug2014)
• The Lamb took the scroll from the Right Hand of God (Sep2021)
• Keep the commandments of God and the Faith of Iesous (Dec2021)
• To him that overcometh (Mar2022)

If I perish . . .

OT  5th Cycle.   NT  10th Cycle.

Sun 28May23
Nehemiah 4:1 – 13:31 (343 verses) NKJV
Esther 1:1 – 10:3 (167 verses) NASB

NKJV — New King James Version
NASB — New American Standard Bible

Today is Pentecost Sunday in the Methodist Church Calendar. I arrived early in church and was able to read through ten chapters of the book of Nehemiah, from chapter four to chapter thirteen at the end of the book.

After worship service, I continued to read the entire book of Esther at home.

Tomorrow, I will embark on reading the book of Job, a long book of forty chapters, which I hope to finish reading over the remaining three days until the end of the month.

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Passage of the Day

15Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16‘Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.’
Esther 4:15 – 16  New International Version

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Today's passage from the Book of Esther reminds me of a post I wrote in my devotional blog two years ago, link below:

• Do not eat or drink for three days (November 2021)

Reading Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

OT  4th Cycle.    NT  8th Cycle.

Tuesday 27Sep22
Ezra 1:1 - 10:44 ASV (280 verses)
Nehemiah 1:1 - 13:31 ASV (406 verses)

Wednesday 28Sep22
Esther 1:1 - 10:3 ASV (166 verses)
Job 1:1 - 12:25 ASV (283 verses)

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I'm still in the midst of trying to catch up with my recent disruptions from Bible readings.

Yesterday, I finished reading through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. I continued with the book of Esther today, after which I went on to read the first twelve chapters of the book of Job.

Passage of the day

Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Esther 4:16  American Standard Version

Reading 124 chapters in 12 days

Sunday 20Mar2022
Esther 1:1 - 2:23 GNB (45 verses)

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Monday 21Mar2022
Esther 3:1 - 10:3 NWB (122 verses)
Job 1:1 - 12:25 ASV (284 verses)

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Tuesday 22Mar2022
Job 13:1 - 22:30 KJV (266 verses)

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Wednesday 23Mar2022
Job 23:1 - 37:24 WEB (374 verses)

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Thursday 24Mar2022
Job 38:1 - 42:17 WEB (146 verses)
Book 1 : Psalms 1 to 41
Psalm 1:1 -9:20 RBV (102 verses)

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Friday 25Mar2022
Book 1 : Psalms 1 to 41
Psalm 10:1 - 22:31 RBV (194 verses)

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Sunday 27Mar2022
Book 1 : Psalms 1 to 41
Psalm 23:1 - 25:22 RBV (38 verses)

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Tuesday 29Mar2022
Book 1 : Psalms 1 to 41
Psalm 26:1 - 37:40 RBV (217 verses)

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Wednesday 30Mar2022
Book 1 : Psalms 1 to 41
Psalm 38:1 - 41:13 RBV (65 verses)

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Thursday 31Mar2022
Book 2 : Psalms 42 to 72
Psalm 42:1 - 72:20 RBV (465 verses)

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I have been away from my desktop PC for the past twelve days (and still am!). I'll be returning home from my travelling in a couple of days' time.

having not updated my Bible reading blog for almost two weeks now, I decided to buy a simple spiral bound note nook to jot down details of my Bible reading log so that I won't lose track of them altogether.

So here I am today, writing down a summary of my OT reading progress on pen and paper

Since two Sundays ago, after completing the 5th Cycle of my NT reading, I have devoted all my daily Bible reading time to the OT.

I read throught all ten chapters of Esther on Sun 20Mar22 and Mon 21Mar22. this was followed by42 chapters of the Book of Job, completed by Thu 24Mar22.

Then, I proceeded to read Book 1 of the Psalms, covering Psalm 1 to 41. I finished it yesterday, Wed 30Mar22

This morning, being uncertain whether I have kept up with my target quota of 128 OT verses a day, I decided to read a much longer portion to catch up.

Today I have read through all thirty-one psalms from Book 2 (Psalm 42 to 72), covering a total of 465 verses.

Over the last 12 days, some of my longest readings were done on:

• 21Mar22 (284 verses),
• 23Mar22 (374 verses), and
• 31Mar22 (465 verses)

The days when I managed to read only small portions of the OT were:

• 20Mar22 (45 verses),
• 27Mar22 (38 verses), and
• 30Mar22 (65 verses)

Tomorrow, Fri 01Apr22, I will resume reading the NT, embarking on my 6th Cycle of the New Testament. I plan to complete this cycle in three months' time, by the end of June. To do so, I will have to continue my daily quota of 88 NT verses a day.

Meanwhile, my OT reading will continue with Book 3 (Psalm 73 to 89) of the Psalms. I hope to finish my current 3rd Cycle of the Old Testament by the end of June, at the same time as I finish my 6th NT Cycle.

God has given glory to His Servant Iesus

Monday 2021.11.08

Today in my Old Testament reading, I finished reading the remaining six chapters of the Book of Esther.

In the New Testament, I read chapters 3 to 5 of the Acts of the Apostles.

In Acts chapter 3 verses 13 and 21, Peter stated two undeniable facts about Iesus the Anointed One in his message to the people of Jerusalem who had gathered in Solomon's Porch in great amazement after seeing the crippled beggar of Beautiful Gate standing together with the apostles, completely healed.

The first fact is that the God of their ancestors has given glory to Iesus the Anointed One, whom Peter referred to as God's Servant, "His Servant Iesus".

The second fact is that, after his resurrection and ascension, Iesus the Anointed One must remain in heaven until the end of times when all creation will be renewed.

Acts 3:13 GNB Good News Bible

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has given divine glory to his Servant Jesus. . . .

Acts 3:21 GNB

He must remain in heaven until the time comes for all things to be made new, as God announced through his holy prophets who lived long ago.

Brothers and Sisters, let us hold fast to these two facts about our Lord Iesus: that God Almighty has glorified His Servant Iesus, and that Iesus must remain in heaven until the time of renewal.

Today I have read a total of seventy-six verses from the Old Testament and a hundred and five verses from the New Testament. Tomorrow I will go on to read the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament while I continue with chapter 6 of the Acts of the Apostles.

Today's Passages:
Esther 5:1 - 10:3 NRSV (76 verses)
Acts 3:1 - 5:42 GNB(105 verses)

If I perish, I perish

Sunday 2021.11.07

This morning I read the first four chapters of the Book of Esther and two chapters from the Acts of the Apostles.

In Esther chapter 2, we read that Hadassah was an orphan girl who lost her parents when she was small. She was brought up by her cousin Mordecai ben Jair ben Shimei ben Kish of the tribe of Benjamin.

Hadassah was also called Esther.

When Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, Mordecai and Esther were taken captive to Babylon, and after it was conquered by the Persians, they lived in the citadel of Susa during the reign of King Xerxes.

Subsequently, Esther was chosen by King Xerxes to replace the deposed Queen Vashti. At last, the poor Jewish orphan girl Hadassah has risen to become Queen Esther of the Persian Empire. It must have been a dream come true.

One day, the dream turned into a nightmare.

An evil nobleman called Haman son of Hamedatha was offended by Mordecai's refusal to kneel and bow to him at the King's gate. Haman convinced the King to issue an edict on the First Month 13th day (one day before Passover of the Jews) to all provinces in the empire that all Jews, young and old, men, women, and children, must be killed on the Twelfth month 13th day. That year was the Twelfth Year of the reign of King Xerxes.

Mordecai desperately urged Queen Esther to appeal to King Xerxes to withdraw this evil edict. However, King Xerxes has not summoned Queen Esther to see him for the past thirty days and by law, anyone who appeared in the presence of the King without his order would be executed if the King was not pleased.

Queen Esther was in great danger.

If she sought an audience with the King, she might die. If she didn't, all the Jews in exile in the empire would die. In Esther chapter four verse fifteen, we read:

Esther 4:15 - 16 NIV New International Version

15Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16‘Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.’

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One. Let us put our trust in God Almighty just like Queen Esther did. If necessary, let us fast and pray when facing difficult, and even dangerous circumstances.

Today I have read a total of seventy-seven verses from the Old Testament and seventy-three verses from the New Testament.

Tomorrow I will continue reading chapter 5 of the Book of Esther and chapter 3 from the Acts of the Apostles.

Today's Passages:
Esther 1:1 - 4:17 NIV (77 verses)
Acts 1:1 - 2:47 KJV (73 verses)

Saturday 20Mar21

Saturday 2021.03.20

2 Kings 11:1 - 13:25 BBE
Esther 2:1 - 3:15 JND
Esther 4:1 - 10:3 KJV
1 Corinthians 2:1 - 16 WNT
1 Corinthians 3:1 - 23 KJV
Wisdom 12:1 - 27 LXX

BBE = Bible in Basic English
JND = J.N.Darby's Translation
WNT = Weymouth New Testament
LXX = Septuagint Brenton

Friday 19Mar21

Friday 2021.03.19

2 Kings 8:1 - 29 BBE
2 Kings 9:1 - 10:36 ASV
Nehemiah 12:1 - 13:31 WEB
Esther 1:1 - 22 KJV
Romans 14:1 - 16:27 WNT
1 Corinthians 1:1 - 31 KJV
Wisdom 11:1 - 26 LXX

BBE = Bible in Basic English
ASV = American Standard Version
WEB = World English Bible
KJV = King James Version
WNT = Weymouth New Testament
LXX = Septuagint Brenton