Daily Devotions · August 27
Reading for August 27
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Jeremiah 52 · Revelation 1 · Psalm 143–144
Jeremiah 52 · Revelation 1 · Psalm 143–144, Berean Standard Bible
Jeremiah 52
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2 And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it. 5 And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 6 By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food. 7 Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah, 8 but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him. 9 The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on Zedekiah. 10 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon, where he kept him in custody until his dying day. 12 On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building. 14 And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields. 17 Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and drink offering bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the Sea, the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands that King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure. 21 Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits in circumference; each was hollow, four fingers thick. 22 The bronze capital atop one pillar was five cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23 Each capital had ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, and a total of a hundred pomegranates were above the surrounding network. 24 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25 Of those still in the city, he took a court official who had been appointed over the men of war, as well as seven trusted royal advisers. He also took the scribe of the captain of the army, who had enlisted the people of the land, and sixty men who were found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land. 28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; 29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; 30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away 745 Jews. So in all, 4,600 people were taken away. 31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life. 34 And the king of Babylon provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life, until the day of his death.
Revelation 1
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near. 4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, 6 who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty. 9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest. 14 The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Therefore write down the things you have seen, the things that are, and the things that will happen after this. 20 This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Psalm 143
A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me. 2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You. 3 For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead. 4 My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah 7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit. 8 Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul. 9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; I flee to You for refuge. 10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. 12 And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.
Psalm 144
Of David. Blessed be the LORD, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. 2 He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. 3 O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him? 4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. 5 Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke. 6 Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them. 7 Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners, 8 whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful. 9 I will sing to You a new song, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will make music to You— 10 to Him who gives victory to kings, who frees His servant David from the deadly sword. 11 Set me free and rescue me from the grasp of foreigners, whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful. 12 Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters like corner pillars carved to adorn a palace. 13 Our storehouses will be full, supplying all manner of produce; our flocks will bring forth thousands, tens of thousands in our fields. 14 Our oxen will bear great loads. There will be no breach in the walls, no going into captivity, and no cry of lament in our streets. 15 Blessed are the people of whom this is so; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
Added to your journal. Go to journal
Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.