the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 16 - Old & New Testament
csb
Psalms 81,82,83
Psalm 81
A Call to Obedience
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.(a)
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.(b)
2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,
the melodious lyre, and the harp.(c)
3 Blow the horn on the day of our feasts[a][b]
during the new moon(d)
and during the full moon.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
a judgment of the God of Jacob.(e)
5 He set it up as an ordinance for Joseph
when He went throughout[c] the land of Egypt.(f)
I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 "I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.(g)
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.(h)
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.(i)
8 Listen, My people, and I will admonish you.
Israel, if you would only listen to Me!(j)
9 There must not be a strange god among you;
you must not bow down to a foreign god.(k)
10 I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(l)
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.(m)
11 "But My people did not listen to Me;
Israel did not obey Me.(n)
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.(o)
13 If only My people would listen to Me
and Israel would follow My ways,(p)
14 I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes."(q)
15 Those who hate the
Lord
would pretend submission to Him;(r)
their doom would last forever.(s)
16 But He would feed Israel[d] with the best wheat.
"I would satisfy you with honey from the rock."(t)
Psalm 82
A Plea for Righteous Judgment
A psalm of Asaph.(a)
1 God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:[a](b)
2 "How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(c)
3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(d)
4 Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked."(e)
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(f)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(g)
6 I said, "You are gods;(h)
you are all sons of the Most High.(i)
7 However, you will die like men
and fall like any other ruler."(j)
8 Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to You.(k)
Psalm 83
Prayer against Enemies
A song. A psalm of Asaph.(a)
1 God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf, God; do not be idle.(b)
2 See how Your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate You have acted arrogantly.[a](c)
3 They devise clever schemes against Your people;
they conspire against Your treasured ones.(d)
4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation
so that Israel's name will no longer be remembered."(e)
5 For they have conspired with one mind;
they form an alliance[b] against You(f)—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,(g)
Moab and the Hagrites,(h)
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(i)
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.(j)
8 Even Assyria has joined them;
they lend support[c] to the sons of Lot.[d](k)
9 Deal with them as You did with Midian,(l)
as You did with Sisera
and Jabin at the Kishon River.(m)
10 They were destroyed at En-dor;
they became manure for the ground.(n)
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,(o)
and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,(p)
12 who said, "Let us seize God's pastures for ourselves."(q)
13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like straw before the wind.(r)
14 As fire burns a forest,
as a flame blazes through mountains,(s)
15 so pursue them with Your tempest
and terrify them with Your storm.(t)
16 Cover their faces with shame
so that they will seek Your name Yahweh.(u)
17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.(v)
18 May they know that You alone—
whose name is Yahweh—
are the Most High over all the earth.(w)
Revelation 8
Chapter 8
The Seventh Seal
1 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel's hand. 5 The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were rumblings of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
The First Trumpet
7 The first angel[a] blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The Second Trumpet
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea.(a) So a third of the sea became blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The Third Trumpet
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven.(b) It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.
The Fourth Trumpet
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.(c)
13 I looked again and heard an eagle[b] flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, "Woe!(d) Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!"
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