Day One

[Pro 21:1 ESV] {1} The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Day Two

[2Ch 36:5-23 ESV] {5} Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. {6} Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. {7} Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. {8} Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. {9} Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. {10} In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. {11} Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. {12} He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. {13} He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. {14} All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem. {15} The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. {16} But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. {17} Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. {18} And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. {19} And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. {20} He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, {21} to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. {22} Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: {23} “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

[Jer 25:1-14 ESV] {1} The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), {2} which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: {3} “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. {4} You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, {5} saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. {6} Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ {7} Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm. {8} “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, {9} behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. {10} Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. {11} This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. {12} Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. {13} I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. {14} For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

[Jer 29:10-14 ESV] {10} “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. {11} For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. {12} Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. {13} You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. {14} I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

[Dan 5:17-31 ESV] {17} Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. {18} O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. {19} And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. {20} But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. {21} He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. {22} And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, {23} but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. {24} “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. {25} And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. {26} This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; {27} Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; {28} Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” {29} Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. {30} That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. {31} And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

[Dan 6:1-3 ESV] {1} It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; {2} and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. {3} Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

[Dan 6:28 ESV] {28} So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

[Isa 44:24-28 ESV] {24} Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, {25} who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, {26} who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; {27} who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’; {28} who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

[Isa 45:1-13 ESV] {1} Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: {2} “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, {3} I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. {4} For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. {5} I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, {6} that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. {7} I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. {8} “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it. {9} “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? {10} Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’” {11} Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: “Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? {12} I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. {13} I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.

Day Three

[Neh 7:1-73 ESV] {1} Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, {2} I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. {3} And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” {4} The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. {5} Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it: {6} These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. {7} They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: {8} the sons of Parosh, 2,172. {9} The sons of Shephatiah, 372. {10} The sons of Arah, 652. {11} The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. {12} The sons of Elam, 1,254. {13} The sons of Zattu, 845. {14} The sons of Zaccai, 760. {15} The sons of Binnui, 648. {16} The sons of Bebai, 628. {17} The sons of Azgad, 2,322. {18} The sons of Adonikam, 667. {19} The sons of Bigvai, 2,067. {20} The sons of Adin, 655. {21} The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. {22} The sons of Hashum, 328. {23} The sons of Bezai, 324. {24} The sons of Hariph, 112. {25} The sons of Gibeon, 95. {26} The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188. {27} The men of Anathoth, 128. {28} The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42. {29} The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. {30} The men of Ramah and Geba, 621. {31} The men of Michmas, 122. {32} The men of Bethel and Ai, 123. {33} The men of the other Nebo, 52. {34} The sons of the other Elam, 1,254. {35} The sons of Harim, 320. {36} The sons of Jericho, 345. {37} The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721. {38} The sons of Senaah, 3,930. {39} The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973. {40} The sons of Immer, 1,052. {41} The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. {42} The sons of Harim, 1,017. {43} The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74. {44} The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148. {45} The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138. {46} The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, {47} the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, {48} the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, {49} the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, {50} the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, {51} the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, {52} the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim, {53} the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, {54} the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, {55} the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, {56} the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha. {57} The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, {58} the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, {59} the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon. {60} All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392. {61} The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: {62} the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. {63} Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). {64} These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. {65} The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise. {66} The whole assembly together was 42,360, {67} besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. {68} Their horses were 736, their mules 245, {69} their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720. {70} Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests’ garments and 500 minas of silver. {71} And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. {72} And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests’ garments. {73} So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns. And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.

Day Four

 (None)

Day Five

[Lev 23:39-44 ESV] {39} “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. {40} And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. {41} You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. {42} You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, {43} that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” {44} Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the LORD.

[Psa 137:1-6 ESV] {1} By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. {2} On the willows there we hung up our lyres. {3} For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” {4} How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? {5} If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! {6} Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!

[Psa 126:1-6 ESV] {1} A Song of Ascents. When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. {2} Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” {3} The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. {4} Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! {5} Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! {6} He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.