the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 11 - Old & New Testament
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Zechariah 11,12
Israel's Shepherds: Good and Bad
1 Open your gates, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.(a)
2 Wail, cypress,(b) for the cedar has fallen;
the glorious trees are destroyed!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,(c)
for the stately forest has fallen!
3 Listen to the wail(d) of the shepherds,
for their glory is destroyed.
Listen to the roar of young lions,(e)
for the thickets of the Jordan(f) are[a] destroyed.
4 Yahweh my God says this: "Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished.(g) Those who sell them say: Praise the Lord because I have become rich! Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land"—this is the Lord 's declaration. "Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them."(h)
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the afflicted of the flock.[b] I took two staffs, calling one Favor(i) and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 Then I said, "I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is going astray go astray; let the rest devour each other's flesh." 10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. 11 It was annulled on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock[c] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord . 12 Then I said to them, "If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." So they weighed my wages, 30 pieces of silver.(j)
13 "Throw it to the potter,"[d] the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord , to the potter.[e](k) 14 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord also said to me: "Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are going astray, and he will not seek the lost[f] or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy,[g] but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep(l) and tear off their hooves.
17 Woe to the worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock!(m)
May a sword strike[h] his arm
and his right eye!
May his arm wither away
and his right eye go completely blind!"
Judah's Security
1 An Oracle
The word of the
Lord
concerning Israel.
A declaration of the
Lord
,
who stretched out the heavens,(a)
laid the foundation of the earth,(b)
and formed the spirit of man within him.
2 "Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering(c) for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.(d) 4 On that day"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.(e) I will keep a watchful eye on(f) the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Hosts, their God. 6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David's house and the glory of Jerusalem's residents may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord , before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 "Then I will pour out a spirit[a](g) of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at[b] Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.(h) 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan's[c](i) house by itself and their women by themselves; 13 the family of Levi's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei[d](j) by itself and their women by themselves; 14 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.
Revelation 2
Chapter 2
The Letter to Ephesus
1 "Write to the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus:
"The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you[b] and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor(a) the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in[c] God's paradise. (b)
The Letter to Smyrna
8 "Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
"The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says: 9 I know your[d] affliction and poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Don't be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have affliction for 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown[e] of life.
11 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor will never be harmed by the second death. (c)
The Letter to Pergamum
12 "Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum:
"The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword(d) says: 13 I know[f] where you live—where Satan's throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me,[g] even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block[h] in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.[i] 15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[j] 16 Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. [k](e) I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name(f) is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
The Letter to Thyatira
18 "Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira:
"The Son of God, the One whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze,[l] says: 19 I know your works—your love, faithfulness,[m] service, and endurance. Your last works are greater than the first. 20 But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives My slaves to commit sexual immorality[n] and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.[o] 22 Look! I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her[p] practices. 23 I will kill her children with the plague.[q](g) Then all the churches will know that I am the One who examines minds[r] and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who haven't known the deep things[s] of Satan—as they say—I do not put any other burden on you. 25 But hold on to what you have until I come.(h) 26 The one who is victorious and keeps My works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations—
27
and he will shepherd
[t](i)
them with an iron scepter;
he will shatter them like pottery
(j)[u]—
just as I have received this from My Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. (k)
29 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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