the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 20 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 29-30
Chapter 29
A Prophecy of Egypt's Ruin
1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, turn your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all of Egypt.(a) 3 Speak to him and say: This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster[a](b) lying in the middle of his Nile,
who says, ‘My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.'
4 I will put hooks in your jaws(c)
and make the fish of your streams
cling to your scales.
I will haul you up
from the middle of your Nile,
and all the fish of your streams
will cling to your scales.
5 I will leave you in the desert,(d)
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open ground
and will not be taken away
or gathered for burial.(e)
I have given you
to the beasts of the earth
and the birds of the sky as food.(f)
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am Yahweh,
for they[b] have been a staff made of reed
to the house of Israel.
7 When Israel grasped you by the hand,
you splintered,(g) tearing all their shoulders;
when they leaned on you,
you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.[c]
8 "Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to bring a sword(h) against you and wipe out man and animal from you. 9 The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin.(i) Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you[d] said, ‘The Nile is my own; I made it,' 10 therefore, I am against you and your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a desolate waste from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it.(j) It will be uninhabited for 40 years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among[e] desolate lands, and its cities will be a desolation among[f] ruined cities(k) for 40 years. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them across the countries.(l)
13 "For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were dispersed.(m) 14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be an object of trust(n) for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their sin of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh."
Babylon Receives Egypt as Compensation
17 In the twenty-seventh year in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre.(o) Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it. 19 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,(p) who will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army's compensation. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as the pay he labored for, since they worked for Me." This is the declaration of the Lord God . 21 "In that day I will cause a horn to sprout(q) for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak out(r) among them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh."
Chapter 30
Egypt's Doom
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says:
Wail:(a) Woe for the day!
3 For a day is near;
a day belonging to the
Lord
is near.(b)
It will be a day of clouds,(c)
a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword will come against Egypt,
and there will be anguish in Cush
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is taken away,
and its foundations are torn down.
5 Cush, Put, and Lud,(d)
and all the various foreign troops,[a]
plus Libya[b] and the men of the covenant land[c]
will fall by the sword along with them.
6 This is what the
Lord
says:
Those who support Egypt will fall,
and its proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall within it by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord
God
.
7 They will be desolate
among[d] desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined[e] cities.(e)
8 They will know that I am Yahweh
when I set fire to Egypt(f)
and all its allies are shattered.
9 On that day, messengers will go out from Me in ships(g) to terrify confident Cush. Anguish will come over them on the day of Egypt's doom. For indeed it is coming."
10 This is what the Lord God says:
I will put an end to the hordes[f] of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He along with his people,
ruthless men from the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.(h)
12 I will make the streams dry
and sell the land into the hands of evil men.(i)
I will bring desolation
on the land and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.
13 This is what the Lord God says:
I will destroy the idols and put an end
to the false gods in Memphis.(j)
There will no longer be
a prince from the land of Egypt.
So I will instill fear in that land.
14 I will make Pathros(k) desolate,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgments on Thebes.
15 I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and will wipe out the crowds[g] of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.[h]
17 The young men of On[i] and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
and those cities[j] will go into captivity.
18 The day will be dark[k] in Tehaphnehes,
when I break the yoke of Egypt there
and its proud strength
comes to an end in the city.
A cloud(l) will cover Tehaphnehes,[l]
and its villages will go into captivity.
19 So I will execute judgments against Egypt,
and they will know that I am Yahweh.
Pharaoh's Power Broken
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 "Son of man, I have broken the arm(m) of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged—no medicine has been applied and no splint put on to bandage it so that it can grow strong enough to handle a sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Look! I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries.(n) 24 I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king and place My sword(o) in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him as a mortally wounded man. 25 I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king, but Pharaoh's arms will fall. They will know that I am Yahweh when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon's king and he wields it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries, they will know that I am Yahweh."
Isaiah 55
Chapter 55
Come to the Lord
1 "Come, everyone who is thirsty,(a)
come to the waters;
and you without money,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
2 Why do you spend money on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.[a]
3 Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,(b)
the promises assured to David.(c)
4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,(d)
a leader and commander for the peoples,(e)
5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,(f)
and nations who do not know you will run to you.(g)
For the
Lord
your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,(h)
has glorified you."(i)
6 Seek the
Lord
while He may be found;
call to Him while He is near.(j)
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;(k)
let him return to the
Lord
,
so He may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for He will freely forgive.(l)
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways."
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
9 "For as heaven is higher than earth,(m)
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,(n)
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do."(o)
12 You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.(p)
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;(q)
it will make a name for Yahweh(r)
as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
Colossians 2:20-3:17
Chapter 2
20 If you died with the Messiah(ah) to the elemental forces of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 "Don't handle, don't taste, don't touch"? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destroyed by being used up; they are commands and doctrines of men. 23 Although these have a reputation of wisdom(ai) by promoting ascetic practices, humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.[j](aj)
Chapter 3
The Life of the New Man
1 So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.(a) 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.(b) 3 For you have died,(c) and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your[a] life, is revealed,(d) then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.(e)
5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature:[b] sexual immorality, impurity,(f) lust,(g) evil desire, and greed,(h) which is idolatry.(i) 6 Because of these, God's wrath(j) comes on the disobedient,[c] 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living(k) in them. 8 But now you must also put away(l) all the following: anger,(m) wrath,(n) malice,(o) slander,(p) and filthy language from your mouth.(q) 9 Do not lie(r) to one another, since you have put off(s) the old self[d](t) with its practices 10 and have put on(u) the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your[e] Creator.(v) 11 In Christ[f] there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,[g] slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.(w)
The Christian Life
12 Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved,(x) put on heartfelt compassion, kindness,(y) humility,(z) gentleness,(aa) and patience,(ab) 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.(ac) 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called(ad) in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name(ae) of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
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