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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 12 - Old & New Testament
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Micah 4,5
The Lord's Rule from Restored Zion
1 In the last days(a)
the mountain of the
Lord
's house(b)
will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will stream to it,(c)
2 and many nations will come and say,(d)
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord
,(e)
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about His ways(f)
so we may walk in His paths."
For instruction will go out of Zion(g)
and the word of the
Lord
from Jerusalem.
3 He will settle disputes among many peoples(h)
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows,
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
4 But each man will sit under his grapevine(i)
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.(j)
For the mouth of the
Lord
(k) of Hosts
has promised this.
5 Though all the peoples each walk
in the name of their gods,(l)
we will walk(m) in the name of Yahweh our God
forever and ever.(n)
6 On that day—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,(o)
those I have injured.
7 I will make the lame into a remnant,(p)
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the
Lord
will rule over them(q) in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
8 And you, watchtower for the flock,(r)
fortified hill[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former rule(s) will come to you,
sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.
From Exile to Victory
9 Now, why are you shouting loudly?(t)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished(u)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and cry out,[b](v) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city(w)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;(x)
there the
Lord
will redeem you(y)
from the power of your enemies!
11 Many nations have now assembled against you;(z)
they say, "Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion."
12 But they do not know the
Lord
's intentions(aa)
or understand His plan,
that He has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Rise and thresh,(ab) Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze,
so you can crush many peoples.(ac)
Then you[c] will set apart their plunder(ad)
to the
Lord
for destruction,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
From Defeated Ruler to Conquering King
1 [a]Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge(a) of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.
2 [b]Bethlehem Ephrathah,(b)
you are small among the clans of Judah;
One will come from you(c)
to be ruler over Israel for Me.(d)
His origin[c] is from antiquity,(e)
from eternity.[d]
3 Therefore, He will abandon them(f) until the time
when she who is in labor(g) has given birth;
then the rest of His brothers(h) will return
to the people of Israel.(i)
4 He will stand and shepherd them(j)
in the strength of Yahweh,
in the majestic name of Yahweh His God.
They will live securely,
for then His greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.(k)
5 He will be their peace.(l)
When Assyria invades our land,(m)
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
6 They will shepherd(n) the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(o) with a drawn blade.[e]
So He will rescue us(p) from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.
The Glorious and Purified Remnant
7 Then the remnant of Jacob(q)
will be among many peoples
like dew from the
Lord
,(r)
like showers on the grass,(s)
which do not wait for anyone
or linger for mankind.
8 Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among the nations, among many peoples,
like a lion among animals of the forest,(t)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples(u) and tears(v) as it passes through,
and there is no one to rescue them.(w)
9 Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries,(x)
and all your enemies will be destroyed.
10 In that day—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
I will remove your horses from you(y)
and wreck your chariots.
11 I will remove the cities of your land(z)
and tear down all your fortresses.(aa)
12 I will remove sorceries from your hands,(ab)
and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.
13 I will remove your carved images(ac)
and sacred pillars from you
so that you will not bow down again
to the work of your hands.
14 I will pull up the Asherah poles(ad) from among you(ae)
and demolish your cities.[f]
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath(af)
against the nations that have not obeyed Me.
Acts 21:18-40
Chapter 21
18 The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.(l) 19 After greeting them, he related in detail what God did among the Gentiles through his ministry.(m)
20 When they heard it, they glorified God and said, "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous(n) for the law. 21 But they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, by telling them not to circumcise their children or to walk in our customs.(o) 22 So what is to be done?[a] They will certainly hear that you've come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have obligated themselves with a vow. 24 Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law.(p) 25 With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision that[b] they should keep themselves from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality."
The Riot in the Temple Complex
26 Then the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering for each of them would be made.(q) 27 As the seven days were about to end, the Jews from Asia saw him in the temple complex, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him,(r) 28 shouting, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What's more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has profaned this holy place."(s) 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple complex.[c](t)
30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple complex, and at once the gates were shut.(u) 31 As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. 32 Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander came up, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains.(v) He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the mob were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks.(w) 35 When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the mob's violence, 36 for the mass of people followed, yelling, "Take him away!"(x)
Paul's Defense before the Jerusalem Mob
37 As he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, "Am I allowed to say something to you?"
He replied, "Do you know Greek? 38 Aren't you the Egyptian who raised a rebellion some time ago and led 4,000 Assassins[d][e] into the wilderness?"(y)
39 Paul said, "I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia,(z) a citizen of an important city.[f] Now I ask you, let me speak to the people."
40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language:(aa)
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