the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 18 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 25-26
Chapter 25
Judgment against Ammon
1 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, turn your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.(a) 3 Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God : This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, ‘Good!'(b) about My sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore I am about to give you to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture(c) for camels and Ammon a sheepfold. Then you will know that I am Yahweh."
6 For this is what the Lord God says: "Because you clapped your hands,(d) stamped your feet, and rejoiced over the land of Israel with wholehearted contempt, 7 therefore I am about to stretch out My hand against you(e) and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am Yahweh."
Judgment against Moab
8 This is what the Lord God says: "Because Moab and Seir said,(f) ‘Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,' 9 therefore I am about to expose Moab's flank beginning with its[a] frontier cities, the pride of the land: Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon,(g) and Kiriathaim. 10 I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the east as a possession, so that Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. 11 So I will execute judgments against Moab, and they will know that I am Yahweh."
Judgment against Edom
12 This is what the Lord God says: "Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah(h) and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them, 13 therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off both man and animal from it. I will make it a wasteland; they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan. 14 I will take My vengeance(i) on Edom through My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. So they will know My vengeance." This is the declaration of the Lord God .
Judgment against Philistia
15 This is what the Lord God says: "Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt,(j) destroying because of their ancient hatred, 16 therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am about to stretch out My hand against the Philistines,(k) cutting off the Cherethites and wiping out what remains of the coastal peoples.[b](l) 17 I will execute great vengeance against them with furious rebukes. They will know that I am Yahweh(m) when I take My vengeance on them."
Chapter 26
The Downfall of Tyre
1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, because Tyre(a) said about Jerusalem, ‘Good!(b) The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me. I will be filled now that she lies in ruins,' 3 therefore this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Tyre!(c) I will raise up many nations against you, just as the sea raises its waves. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and turn her into a bare rock. 5 She will become a place in the sea to spread nets, for I have spoken." This is the declaration of the Lord God . "She will become plunder for the nations,(d) 6 and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword.(e) Then they will know that I am Yahweh."
7 For this is what the Lord God says: "See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings,(f) against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast company of troops. 8 He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works against you,(g) and will build a ramp[a] and raise a wall of shields against you. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his iron tools. 10 His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots. 11 He will trample all your streets with the hooves of his horses.(h) He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will take your wealth as spoil and plunder your merchandise.(i) They will also demolish your walls and tear down your beautiful homes. Then they will throw your stones, timber, and soil into the water. 13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs,(j) and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard. 14 I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be a place to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, Yahweh, have spoken."(k) This is the declaration of the Lord God .
15 This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: "Won't the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall,(l) when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you? 16 All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones,(m) remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalled(n) at you. 17 Then they will lament(o) for you and say of you:
How you have perished, city of renown,
you who were populated from the seas![b]
She who was powerful on the sea,
she and all of her inhabitants
inflicted their terror.[c]
18 Now the coastlands tremble(p)
on the day of your downfall;
the islands in the sea
are alarmed by your demise."
19 For this is what the Lord God says: "When I make you a ruined city like other deserted cities, when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down to be with those who descend to the Pit,(q) to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the underworld[d] like[e] the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or display your splendor[f] in the land of the living.(r) 21 I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist.(s) You will be sought but will never be found again." This is the declaration of the Lord God .
Isaiah 53
Chapter 53
1 Who has believed what we have heard?[a]
And who has the arm of the
Lord
(a) been revealed to?(b)
2 He grew up before Him like a young plant(c)
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn't have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.(d)
3 He was despised and rejected by men,(e)
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.(f)
He was like someone people turned away from;[b]
He was despised, and we didn't value Him.
4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;(g)
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God,(h) and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,(i)
crushed because of our iniquities;(j)
punishment(k) for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.(l)
6 We all went astray like sheep;(m)
we all have turned to our own way;
and the
Lord
has punished Him
for[c] the iniquity(n) of us all.(o)
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.(p)
8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?[d]
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people's rebellion.
9 They[e] made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,(q)
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.(r)
10 Yet the
Lord
was pleased(s) to crush Him severely.[f](t)
When[g] You make Him a restitution offering,(u)
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the
Lord
's pleasure will be accomplished.(v)
11 He will see it[h] out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous(w) Servant(x) will justify many,(y)
and He will carry their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give Him[i] the many as a portion,
and He will receive[j] the mighty as spoil,
because He submitted Himself to death,(z)
and was counted among the rebels;(aa)
yet He bore the sin of many(ab)
and interceded for the rebels.(ac)
Colossians 1:1-23
Chapter 1
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will,(a) and Timothy(b) our[a] brother:
2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.[b]
Thanksgiving
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth,(c) the gospel 6 that has come to you. It is bearing fruit(d) and growing all over the world,(e) just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God's grace(f) in the truth.[c](g) 7 You learned this from Epaphras,(h) our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah(i) on your[d] behalf, 8 and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.(j)
Prayer for Spiritual Growth
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking(k) that you may be filled with the knowledge(l) of His will(m) in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,[e] 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work(n) and growing in the knowledge of God.(o) 11 May you be strengthened(p) with all power,(q) according to His glorious(r) might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you[f] to share in the saints'[g] inheritance in the light.(s) 13 He has rescued(t) us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom(u) of the Son(v) He loves.(w) 14 We have redemption,[h] the forgiveness of sins, in Him.
The Centrality of Christ
15 He is the image of the invisible God,(x)
the firstborn over all creation.[i](y)
16 For everything was created by Him,(z)
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.(aa)
17 He is before all things,(ab)
and by Him all things(ac) hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning,(ad)
the firstborn from the dead,(ae)
so that He might come to have
first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased to have
all His fullness(af) dwell in Him,(ag)
20 and through Him to reconcile
everything to Himself
by making peace(ah)
through the blood(ai) of His cross[j](aj)—
whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. 22 But now He has reconciled you by His physical body[k] through His death,(ak) to present you holy, faultless,(al) and blameless before Him(am)— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith(an) and are not shifted away from the hope(ao) of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation(ap) under heaven,(aq) and I, Paul,(ar) have become a servant of it.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
