Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

My God, I adore and thank your loving and wise Providence, manifested on every page of Sacred Scripture. You have always been close to sinful and erring humanity, and have indicated the way and given hope. Amid the shadows of error and corruption, you kindled the light of your truth; amid universal corruption, you are the Just One; amid so much idolatry, humanity in every corner of the earth has cultivated a sincere worship of you.
Let my reading today increase my trust in your goodness, your mercy, and your unfailing faithfulness.

Today's chapters are 2 Chronicles 27-29.

The story of the prophet Oded and his challenge to the victorious northern army is noteworthy. He castigates the soldiers, warning them that, though the Judean army had been delivered over because of their infidelity to God, the victors risked God's wrath because of their exploitation of their southern kinsmen. The leaders' response is noble.

After the reign of the wicked Ahaz in the south, his own noble son Hezekiah comes to the throne, and the Chronicler details for us the "things left out" concerning the reconsecration of the Temple after its desecration by Hezekiah's father.

Start reading here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.