At last, I finished reading Sirach

Thursday 2021.05.13

I began reading the books of the Apocrypha for the first time in March last year. From the beginning of March until mid-June, I covered the books of Tobit, 1 Esdras, and Judith in the Brenton LXX. That was followed by a nine-month hiatus, when I was reading only the OT and NT, before I resumed with the book of Wisdom in early March this year. This book took me almost the entire month of March and it was on 25Mar21 that I began reading the book of Sirach, a long book of 51 chapters. At last, after fifty long days, I finished reading Sirach 51 today.

Tomorrow, I wil begin reading the book of Baruch in the LXX Apocrypha.

For my OT reading today, I covered Jeremiah chapters 14 through 16 and Proverbs 9 through 11. I also read 1 Peter chapter 2 in the NT.

Summary:
Jeremiah 14:1 - 16:21 BBE
Proverbs 9:1 - 11:31 WEB
1 Peter 2:1 - 25 WNT
Sirach 51:1 - 30 LXX

Pushing ahead

Wednesday 2021.05.12

This morning, I pushed ahead with three more chapters from each of the two OT books I am reading, from Jeremiah 11 to 13 and Proverbs 6 to 8.

Having finished reading the Epistle of James in the NT yesterday, I went ahead with 1 Peter chapter one today. For my apocryphal reading I continued with the second last chapter of Sirach in the Brenton LXX.

Summary:
Jeremiah 11:1 - 13:27 BBE
Proverbs 6:1 - 8:36 WEB
1 Peter 1:1 - 25 WNT
Sirach 50:1 - 29 LXX

Finished reading the Epistle of James

Tuesday 2021.05.11

This morning's reading brings me to the end of the Epistle general of James chapter 5 in the NT. For my OT reading, I covered Jeremiah chapters 8 through 10, and Proverbs 3 through 5.

In the Apocrypha, I read chapter 49 of Sirach, leaving me with two more chapters to go before finishing the entire book.

Summary:
Jeremiah 8:1 - 10:25 BBE
Proverbs 3:1 - 5:23 WEB
James 5:1 - 20 WNT
Sirach 49:1 - 16 LXX

Moving on to the book of Proverbs

Monday 2021.05.10

After completing all 150 Psalms (plus Psalm 151 in LXX) over the past five weeks, I have finished reading 623 chapters out of a total of 924 chapters of the OT since I began reading on 14May20 last year. This works out to about 67% of the Old Testament in one year of reading.

This morning I began reading chapter one of Proverbs while continuing with Jeremiah chapters 6 and 7.

For my NT reading I covered the Epistle of James chapters 2 through 4, along with Sirach chapter 48 in the Apocrypha.

Summary:
Jeremiah 6:1 - 7:34 BBE
Proverbs 1:1 - 2:22 WEB
James 2:1 - 4:17 WNT
Sirach 48:1 - 25 LXX

Sunday afternoon readings at home

Sunday 2021.05.09

I read the scriptures today after lunch on a sunny Sunday afternoon. After covering Jeremiah chapter 5 in the OT, and Sirach chapter 47 in the Apocrypha, I proceeded to finish reading the last five Psalms from Psalm 146 to 150. The LXX has an additional Psalm 151 which carries a brief testimony of King David defeating Goliath.

There is a little bit of confusion in the way these last five Psalms are divided in the LXX compared to the Hebrew Masoretic text. While Psalm 145 LXX is actually Psalm 146 Masoretic, Psalm 146 LXX contains only the first eleven verses of Psalm 147 Masoretic, with Psalm 147 LXX carrying the remaining nine verses of Psalm 147:12 - 20 Masoretic.

From Psalm 148 onwards until Psalm 150, both LXX and Masoretic are synchronised. As mentioned above, the LXX ends with Psalm 151, a short Psalm of seven verses, not found in the masoretic texts.

For my NT reading today, I embarked on the Epistle of James chapter 1, a chapter that ends with a reminder that true religious piety is not found in much talking but instead, in good deeds such as visiting orphans and widows in times of their trouble, a piety described as "pure and undefiled" in the sight of God.

Summary:
Jeremiah 5:1 - 31 BBE
Psalm 145(146):1 - 10 LXX
Psalm 146:1 - 11 (147:1 - 11) LXX
Psalm 147:1 - 9 (147:12 - 20) LXX
Psalm 148:1 - 150:6 LXX
Psalm 151:1 - 7 only in LXX
James 1:1 - 27 WNT
Sirach 47:1 - 25 LXX

A late devotion on a rainy evening

Saturday 2021.05.08

My devotional readings today was delayed by some urgent tasks until after dinner time on a rainy evening. At last, I could sit down and read the scriptures with peace of mind. I managed to cover another two chapters of Jeremiah (3 and 4) followed by six Psalms (140 to 145) in the OT. There are five Psalms left, which I expect to finish reading in a couple of days' time.

For my NT reading, I finished the last two chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews, while the Apocryphal reading took me through chapter 46 of Sirach.

Tomorrow I will be starting on the Epistle of James in the NT.

Summary:
Jeremiah 3:1 - 4:31 BBE
Psalm 139(140):1 - 144(145):21 LXX
Hebrews 12:1 - 13:25 WNT
Sirach 46:1 - 20 LXX

A short sprint through three Psalms

Friday 2021.05.07

The Brenton LXX epub version on my mobile phone puts Psalm 137 -139 together under Psalm 136, so I decided to read through the three-in-one Psalm in one sitting. Although this is so, the LXX does not have Psalm 137 nor Psalm 138. Instead, Psalm 136 is followed by Psalm 139 (which is Psalm 140 in the Hebrew OT). So, my next reading tomorrow will proceed with Psalm 139(140).

This morning I have also read one chapter each from Jeremiah 2 in the OT, Hebrews 11 in the NT, and Sirach 45 in the Apocrypha.

Summary:
Jeremiah 2:1 - 37 ASV
Psalm 136(137):1 - 9 LXX
Psalm 136(138):1 - 8 LXX
Psalm 136(139):1 - 24 LXX
Hebrews 11:1 - 40 KJV
Sirach 45:1 - 26 LXX

A busy Thursday morning

Thursday 2021.05.06

This morning I had an early appointment with my doctor before breakfast to do a lipid profile test under fasting conditions. This was followed by some shopping for essential provisions at a couple of neighbourhood stores nearby. As a result, my devotional Bible reading is delayed until now, about half past eleven as I am typing this post now.

Yesterday I finished reading the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. Today I embark on chapter one of Jeremiah using the Bible in Basic English, along with Psalm 135(136) in the LXX.

Psalm 135(136) is an uplifting Psalm that is well suited for congregational responsive reading with its "call and response" structure. The response "His love endures forever" in each of the twenty-six verses has an uplifting ring when read aloud together in the assembly.

For my New Testament reading, I continued with Hebrews chapter 10 from Weymouth's New Testament. The Apocryphal reading for today is from Sirach chapter 44 in the Brenton LXX.

Summary:
Jeremiah 1:1 - 19 BBE
Psalm 135(136):1 - 26 LXX
Hebrews 10:1 - 38 WNT
Sirach 44:1 - 24 LXX

Short mid-week readings

Wednesday 2021.05.05

Today I couldn't cover many chapters because I was occupied with the urgent task of downloading backups of all my blogs (in xml format), removing the unecessary meta-data, and distilling all the posts into an html file that is readable in my browser. I had to do this after last week's nasty experience of having this entire blog locked and removed by Blogger which accused me of carrying out SPAM activities, which is not true at all.

Thankfully, it is restored to me now.

Well, I did manage to read Isaiah chapters 65 and 66 from J.N.Darby's Translation, along with Psalm 134 (Psalm 135) in the Brenton LXX, and also chapter 43 of the deuterocanonical book of Sirach LXX.

For my New Testament reading, I covered only Hebrews chapter 9 using the King James Version.

Summary:
Isaiah 65:1 - 66:24 JND
Psalm 134(135):1 - 21 LXX
Hebrews 9:1 - 28 KJV
Sirach 43:1 - 33 LXX

Another step forward

Tuesday 2021.05.04

Isaiah 64:1 - 12 JND
Psalm 131(132):1 - 133(134):3 LXX
Hebrews 8:1 - 13 WNT
Sirach 42:1 - 25 LXX

A slow start to a new week

Monday 2021.05.03

Isaiah 63:1 - 19 JND
Psalm 129(130):1 - 130(131):3 LXX
Hebrews 7:1 - 28 WNT
Sirach 41:1 - 24 LXX

A sprint through six Psalms

Sunday 2021.05.02

Isaiah 61:1 - 62:12 JND
Psalm 123(124):1 - 128(129):8 LXX
Hebrews 6:1 - 20 WNT
Sirach 40:1 - 30 LXX

Labour Day readings

Saturday 2021.05.01

Isaiah 60:1 - 22 JND
Psalm 119(120):1 - 122(123):4 LXX
Hebrews 5:1 - 14 WNT
Sirach 39:1 - 35 LXX

A very long Psalm today

Friday 2021.04.30

Isaiah 59:1 - 21 JND
Psalm 118(119):1 - 176 LXX
Hebrews 4:1 - 16 KJV
Sirach 38:1 - 34 LXX

A steady Thursday pace

Thursday 2021.04.29

Isaiah 57:1 - 58:14 JND
Psalm 113(114):1 - 117(118):29 LXX
Hebrews 3:1 - 19 WNT
Sirach 36:1 - 37:31 LXX

Two chapters of Isaiah, a big leap in Psalms, beginning Hebrews

Wednesday 2021.04.28

Isaiah 55:1 - 56:12 ASV
Psalm 104(105):1 - 105(106):48 LXX
Psalm 106(107):1 - 112(113):9 LXX
Hebrews 1:1 - 2:18 KJV
Sirach 35:1 - 20 LXX

Tuesday 27Apr21

Tuesday 2021.04.27

Isaiah 54:1 - 17 JND
Psalm 101(102):1 - 103(104):35 LXX
Titus 2:1 - 3:15 WNT
Philemon 1:1 - 25 WNT
Sirach 34:1 - 26 LXX

JND = J.N.Darby's Translation
ASV = American Standard Version
LXX = Septuagint Brenton
WNT = Weymouth New Testament
KJV = King James Version

Monday 26Apr21

Monday 2021.04.26

Isaiah 50:1 - 53:12 JND
Psalm 97(98):1 - 100(101):8 LXX
Titus 1:1 - 16 WNT
Sirach 33:1 - 31 LXX

JND = J.N.Darby's Translation
ASV = American Standard Version
LXX = Septuagint Brenton
WNT = Weymouth New Testament
KJV = King James Version

Sunday 25Apr21

Sunday 2021.04.25

Isaiah 46:1 - 49:26 JND
Psalm 93(94):1 - 96(97):12 LXX
2 Timothy 3:1 - 4:22 WNT
Sirach 32:1 - 24 LXX

JND = J.N.Darby's Translation
ASV = American Standard Version
LXX = Septuagint Brenton
WNT = Weymouth New Testament
KJV = King James Version

Saturday 24Apr21

Saturday 2021.04.24

Isaiah 43:1 - 45:25 JND
Psalm 89(90):1 - 92(93):5 LXX
2 Timothy 2:1 - 26 WNT
Sirach 31:1 - 31 LXX

JND = J.N.Darby's Translation
ASV = American Standard Version
LXX = Septuagint Brenton
WNT = Weymouth New Testament
KJV = King James Version