the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Daily Bible Reading
December 29 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 44-45
Chapter 44
The Prince's Privilege
1 The man then brought me back toward the sanctuary's outer gate that faced east, and it was closed. 2 The Lord said to me: "This gate will remain closed. It will not be opened, and no one will enter through it, because the Lord , the God of Israel, has entered through it.(a) Therefore it will remain closed. 3 The prince himself will sit in the gateway to eat a meal before the Lord .(b) He must enter by way of the portico(c) of the gate and go out the same way."
4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and the glory of the Lord filled His temple.(d) And I fell facedown.(e) 5 The Lord said to me: "Son of man, pay attention;(f) look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the Lord 's temple.(g) Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.
The Levites' Duties and Privileges
6 "Say to the rebellious people,(h) the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough(i) of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. 7 When you brought in foreigners,(j) uncircumcised in both heart and flesh,(k) to occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food—the fat and the blood. You[a] broke My covenant by all your detestable practices. 8 You have not kept charge of My holy things(l) but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.
9 "This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites. 10 Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from Me after their idols,(m) will bear the consequences of their sin.(n) 11 Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates(o) and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings(p) and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.(q) 12 Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath[b] against them"(r)—this is the declaration of the Lord God —"that they would bear the consequences of their sin. 13 They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests(s) or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed. 14 Yet I will make them responsible for the duties of the temple(t)—for all its work and everything done in it.
The Priests' Duties and Privileges
15 "But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok,(u) who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood." This is the declaration of the Lord God . 16 "They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary(v) and draw near to My table to serve Me.(w) They will keep My mandate. 17 When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments;(x) they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it. 18 They must wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists.(y) They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat. 19 Before they go out to the outer court,[c] to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes(z) so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.(aa)
20 "They may not shave their heads(ab) or let their hair grow long,(ac) but must carefully trim their hair. 21 No priest may drink wine before he enters the inner court.(ad) 22 He is not to marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel,(ae) or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They must teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and explain to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.(af)
24 "In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances.(ag) They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy.(ah) 25 A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled.(ai) However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister. 26 After he is cleansed, he is to count off seven days for himself.(aj) 27 On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court(ak) to minister in the sanctuary, he must present his sin offering." This is the declaration of the Lord God .
28 "This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance.(al) You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29 They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering,(am) and the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them.(an) 30 The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests.(ao) You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest(ap) so that a blessing may rest on your homes.(aq) 31 The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.(ar)
Chapter 45
The Sacred Portion of the Land
1 "When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance,(a) you must set aside a donation to the Lord , a holy portion of the land,(b) 8⅓ miles[a] long and 6⅔ miles[b] wide. This entire tract of land will be holy. 2 In this area there will be a square section[c] for the sanctuary, 875 by 875 feet,[d](c) with 87½ feet[e] of open space all around it. 3 From this holy portion,[f] you will measure off an area 8⅓ miles[g] long and 3⅓ miles[h] wide, in which the sanctuary, the most holy place,(d) will stand.[i] 4 It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the Lord .(e) It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary. 5 There will be another area 8⅓ miles[j] long and 3⅓ miles[k] wide for the Levites who minister in the temple;(f) it will be their possession for towns to live in.[l]
6 "As the property of the city, you must set aside an area 1⅔ of a mile[m] wide and 8⅓ miles[n] long, adjacent to the holy donation of land.(g) It will be for the whole house of Israel. 7 And the prince will have the area on each side of the holy donation of land and the city's property, adjacent to the holy donation and the city's property, stretching to the west on the west side and to the east on the east side.(h) Its length will correspond to one of the tribal portions from the western boundary to the eastern boundary. 8 This will be his land as a possession in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress My people(i) but give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
9 "This is what the Lord God says: You have gone too far,[o](j) princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression and do what is just and right.(k) Put an end to your evictions of My people." This is the declaration of the Lord God . 10 "You must have honest scales, an honest dry measure,[p] and an honest liquid measure.[q](l) 11 The dry measure[r] and the liquid measure[s] will be uniform, with the liquid measure containing 5½ gallons[t] and the dry measure holding half a bushel.[u] Their measurement will be a tenth of the standard larger capacity measure.[v] 12 The shekel will weigh 20 gerahs.(m) Your mina will equal 60 shekels.
The People's Contribution to the Sacrifices
13 "This is the contribution you are to offer: Three quarts[w] from five bushels[x] of wheat and[y] three quarts from five bushels of barley. 14 The quota of oil in liquid measures[z] will be one percent of every[aa] cor. The cor equals 10 liquid measures or one standard larger capacity measure,[ab] since 10 liquid measures equal one standard larger capacity measure. 15 And the quota from the flock is one animal out of every 200 from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings, to make atonement for the people."(n) This is the declaration of the Lord God . 16 "All the people of the land must take part in this contribution for the prince in Israel. 17 Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed times of the house of Israel—will be the prince's responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.
18 "This is what the Lord God says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you are to take a young, unblemished bull and purify the sanctuary. 19 The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering and apply it to the temple doorposts, the four corners of the altar's ledge, and the doorposts of the gate to the inner court.(o) 20 You must do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for everyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance.(p) In this way you will make atonement for the temple.
21 "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you are to celebrate the Passover, a festival of seven days during which unleavened bread will be eaten.(q) 22 On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering on behalf of himself and all the people of the land. 23 During the seven days of the festival, he will provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord on each of the seven days, along with a male goat each day for a sin offering. 24 He will also provide a grain offering of half a bushel[ac] per bull and half a bushel per ram, along with a gallon[ad] of oil for every half bushel. 25 At the festival that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,[ae](r) he will provide the same things for seven days—the same sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.
Isaiah 64
Chapter 64
1 [a]If only You would tear the heavens open
and come down,(a)
so that mountains would quake at Your presence(b)—
2 [b]as fire kindles the brushwood,
and fire causes water to boil—
to make Your name known to Your enemies,
so that nations will tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome works(c)
that we did not expect,
You came down,(d)
and the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened,
no eye has seen any God except You,
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.(e)
5 You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember You in Your ways.
But we have sinned, and You were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[c]
6 All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[d] garment;(f)
all of us wither like a leaf,(g)
and our iniquities(h) carry us away like the wind.
7 No one calls on Your name,
striving to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us(i)
and made us melt because of[e][f] our iniquity.
8 Yet
Lord
, You are our Father;(j)
we are the clay, and You are our potter;
we all are the work of Your hands.(k)
9
Lord
, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.(l)
Please look—all of us are Your people!
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.(m)
11 Our holy and beautiful[g] temple,
where our fathers praised You,
has been burned with fire,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.(n)
12
Lord
, after all this, will You restrain Yourself?
Will You keep silent and afflict severely?(o)
Luke 4:1-30
Chapter 4
The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus(a) returned from the Jordan,(b) full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over,[a] He was hungry. 3 The Devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
4 But Jesus answered him, "It is written: Man must not live on bread alone. " [b](c)[c]
5 So he took Him up[d] and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The Devil said to Him, "I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me,(d) and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 If You, then, will worship me,[e] all will be Yours."
8 And Jesus answered him,[f] "It is written:
Worship the Lord your God,
and serve
(e)
Him only.
"
[g]
9 So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you,
(f)[h]
11 and
they will support you with their hands,
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.
"(g)[i]
12 And Jesus answered him, "It is said: Do not test the Lord your God. " (h)[j]
13 After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.
Ministry in Galilee
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,(i) and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.(j) 15 He was teaching in their synagogues,(k) being acclaimed[k] by everyone.
Rejection at Nazareth
16 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.(l) As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day(m) and stood up to read.(n) 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:
18
The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because He has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me
[l]
to proclaim freedom
[m]
to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,
19
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
[n](o)[o]
20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.(p) And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled."
22 They were all speaking well of Him[p] and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"(q)
23 Then He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb[q] to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we've heard that took place in Capernaum,(r) do here in Your hometown also.'"
24 He also said, "I assure you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown.(s) 25 But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah's days,(t) when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them—but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 And in the prophet Elisha's time, there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, yet not one of them was healed[r] —only Naaman the Syrian." (u)
28 When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. 29 They got up, drove Him out of town,(v) and brought Him to the edge[s] of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl Him over the cliff. 30 But He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.(w)
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