the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Daily Bible Reading
December 23 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 34
Chapter 34
The Shepherds and God's Flock
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them: This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves!(a) Shouldn't the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock.(b) 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost.(c) Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd;(d) they became food for all the wild animals(e) when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill.(f) They were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.
7 "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord . 8 As I live"—the declaration of the Lord God —"because My flock has become prey and food for every wild animal since they lack a shepherd, for My shepherds do not search for My flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than My flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord !
10 "This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds.(g) I will demand My flock from them[a] and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.
11 "For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them. 12 As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered(h) on a cloudy and dark day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will tend them with good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel's lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will tend My flock and let them lie down."(i) This is the declaration of the Lord God . 16 "I will seek the lost,(j) bring back the strays, bandage the injured,(k) and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy[b] the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.
17 "The Lord God says to you, My flock: I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and male goats.(l) 18 Isn't it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn't it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Yet My flock has to feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied.
20 "Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Since you have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them all over, 22 I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey for you. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will appoint over them a single shepherd, My servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd.(m) 24 I, Yahweh, will be their God, and My servant David(n) will be a prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken.
25 "I will make a covenant of peace(o) with them and eliminate dangerous animals(p) in the land, so that they may live securely(q) in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. 26 I will make them and the area around My hill(r) a blessing: I will send down showers in their season(s)—showers[c] of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am Yahweh when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslave them.(t) 28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild animals of the land will not consume them. They will live securely, and no one will frighten them. 29 I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture,[d] and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults of the nations.(u) 30 Then they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people."(v) This is the declaration of the Lord God . 31 "You are My flock, the human flock of My pasture, and I am your God." This is the declaration of the Lord God .(w)
Isaiah 58
Chapter 58
True Fasting
1 "Cry out loudly,[a] don't hold back!
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Tell My people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek Me day after day
and delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God."(a)
3 "Why have we fasted, but You have not seen?(b)
We have denied ourselves, but You haven't noticed!"[b]
"Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(c)
4 You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?(d)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the
Lord
?
6 Isn't the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(e)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(f)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(g)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(h)
and not to ignore[c] your own flesh and blood?(i)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(j)
Your righteousness will go before you,(k)
and the
Lord
's glory will be your rear guard.(l)
9 At that time, when you call, the
Lord
will answer;(m)
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.'
If you get rid of the yoke among you,[d]
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(n)
10 and if you offer yourself[e] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(o)
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The
Lord
will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden(p)
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.(q)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(r)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;[f](s)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 "If you keep from desecrating[g] the Sabbath,(t)
from doing whatever you want on My holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the
Lord
honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,(u)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much;[h]
14 then you will delight yourself in the
Lord
,(v)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(w)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob."
For the mouth of the
Lord
has spoken.(x)
Luke 1:26-56
Chapter 1
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel(x) was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,(y) 27 to a virgin engaged(z) to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.(aa) The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, "Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you."[i] 29 But she was deeply troubled(ab) by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her:
Do not be afraid, Mary,(ac)
for you have found favor with God.
31 Now listen:
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will call His name Jesus.(ad)
32 He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High,(ae)
and the Lord God will give Him
the throne of His father David.(af)
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob(ag) forever,
and His kingdom will have no end.(ah)
34 Mary asked the angel, "How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?"[j]
35 The angel replied to her:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,(ai)
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore, the holy One to be born
will be called the Son of God.(aj)
36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God."(ak)
38 "I am the Lord's slave,"[k] said Mary. "May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel left her.
Mary's Visit to Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40 where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped inside her,[l] and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.(al) 42 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry:
"You are the most blessed of women,
and your child will be blessed![m]
43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me![n] 45 She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!"
Mary's Praise
46 And Mary said:
My soul proclaims the greatness of[o] the Lord,(am)
47 and my spirit has rejoiced(an) in God my Savior,(ao)
48 because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,(ap)
49 because the Mighty One(aq)
has done great things for me,(ar)
and His name(as) is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation(at)
on those who fear Him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with His arm;(au)
He has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
52 He has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things(av)
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
mindful of His mercy,[p]
55 just as He spoke to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his descendants[q] forever.
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.
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