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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
August 22 - Straight Thru the Bible
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Isaiah 66
Chapter 66
Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration
1 This is what the Lord says:
Heaven(a) is My throne,(b)
and earth is My footstool.(c)
What house could you possibly build for Me?
And what place could be My home?(d)
2 My hand made all these things,
and so they all came into being.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
I will look favorably on this kind of person:
one who is humble,(e) submissive[a] in spirit,(f)
and trembles at My word.
3 One slaughters an ox, one kills a man;
one sacrifices a lamb, one breaks a dog's neck;
one offers a grain offering, one offers pig's blood;
one offers incense, one praises an idol—
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their detestable practices.(g)
4 So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they didn't hear;
they did what was evil in My sight
and chose what I didn't delight in.(h)
5 You who tremble at His word,(i)
hear the word of the
Lord
:(j)
"Your brothers who hate and exclude you
because of Me have said,(k)
‘Let the
Lord
be glorified
so that we can see your joy!'
But they will be put to shame."(l)
6 A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple—
the voice of the
Lord
,
paying back His enemies what they deserve!(m)
7 Before Zion was in labor, she gave birth;
before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
8 Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her sons.
9 "Will I bring a baby to the point of birth
and not deliver it?"
says the
Lord
;
"or will I who deliver, close the womb?"
says your God.
10 Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.(n)
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her—
11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast
and drink deeply and delight yourselves
from her glorious breasts.
12 For this is what the Lord says:
I will make peace flow to her like a river,(o)
and the wealth[b] of nations like a flood;(p)
you will nurse and be carried on her hip(q)
and bounced on her lap.
13 As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,(r)
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You will see, you will rejoice,
and you[c] will flourish like grass;(s)
then the
Lord
's power will be revealed to His servants,
but He will show His wrath against His enemies.
15 Look, the
Lord
will come with fire(t)—
His chariots are like the whirlwind(u)—
to execute His anger with fury
and His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the
Lord
will execute judgment
on all flesh(v) with His fiery sword,
and many will be slain by the
Lord
.
17 "Those who dedicate and purify themselves to enter the groves(w) following their leader,[d] eating meat from pigs, vermin, and rats, will perish together."
This is the Lord 's declaration.
18 "Knowing[e] their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages;(x) they will come and see My glory. 19 I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put,[f] Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan,(y) and the islands far away—who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. And they will proclaim My glory among the nations.(z) 20 They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,"(aa) says the Lord , "just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord . 21 I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,"(ab) says the Lord .
22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth,(ac)
which I will make,
will endure before Me"—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
"so your offspring and your name will endure.
23 All mankind will come to worship Me
from one New Moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another,"
says the
Lord
.
24 "As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me;(ad) for their worm(ae) will never die, their fire will never go out,(af) and they will be a horror to all mankind."(ag)
Jeremiah 1:1-2:25
Chapter 1
1 The words of Jeremiah,(a) the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth(b) in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(c) son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim(d) son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(e) son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.(f)
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.(g)
6 But I protested, "Oh no, Lord, God ! Look, I don't know how to speak(h) since I am only a youth."(i)
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, "I am only a youth,"(j)
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.(k)
8 Do not be afraid of anyone,(l)
for I will be with you to deliver you.(m)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
9 Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth,(n) and told me:
I have now filled your mouth with My words.(o)
10 See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,(p)
to build and plant.(q)
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"(r)
I replied, "I see a branch of an almond tree."
12 The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it."(s) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, "What do you see?"
And I replied, "I see a boiling pot,(t) its lip tilted from the north to the south."
14 Then the Lord said to me, "Disaster will be poured out[a] from the north(u) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north."(v)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem's gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
16 "I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(w)
17 "Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(x) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city,(y) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(z) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(aa) since I am with you to rescue you."(ab)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
Chapter 2
Israel Accused of Apostasy
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:
I remember the loyalty of your youth,(a)
your love as a bride—
how you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the
Lord
,(b)
the firstfruits of His harvest.(c)
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;(d)
disaster came on them."
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
4 Hear the word of the
Lord
, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the
Lord
says:
What fault did your fathers find in Me(e)
that they went so far from Me,
followed worthless idols,(f)
and became worthless themselves?(g)
6 They stopped asking, "Where is the
Lord
(h)
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,(i)
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[a]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?"
7 I brought you to a fertile land(j)
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled My land;(k)
you made My inheritance(l) detestable.
8 The priests quit asking, "Where is the
Lord
?"
The experts in the law no longer knew Me,(m)
and the rulers(n) rebelled against Me.
The prophets prophesied by[b] Baal(o)
and followed useless idols.(p)
9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
I will bring a case against your children's children.(q)
10 Cross over to Cyprus[c](r) and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar(s) and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?(t)
(But they were not gods!(u))
Yet My people have exchanged their[d] Glory
for useless idols.(v)
12 Be horrified at this, heavens;(w)
be shocked and utterly appalled.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
13 For My people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned Me,(x)
the fountain of living water,(y)
and dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.(z)
Consequences of Apostasy
14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?[e]
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;(aa)
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.(ab)
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes(ac)
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself(ad)
by abandoning the
Lord
your God
while He was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt(ae)
to drink the waters of the Nile?[f]
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria(af)
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?(ag)
19 Your own evil will discipline you;(ah)
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter(ai) it is
for you to abandon the
Lord
your God
and to have no fear of Me.
This is the declaration
of the Lord
God
of Hosts.
20 For long ago I[g] broke your yoke;(aj)
I[h] tore off your chains.
You insisted, "I will not serve!"
On every high hill
and under every green tree(ak)
you lie down like a prostitute.(al)
21 I planted you, a choice vine(am)
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?(an)
22 Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of soap,(ao)
the stain of your sin is still in front of Me.(ap)
This is the Lord
God
's declaration.
23 How can you protest, "I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals"?(aq)
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.(ar)
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24 a wild donkey(as) at home[i] in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become tired;
they will find her in her mating season.[j]
25 Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, "It's hopeless;(at)
I love strangers,(au)
and I will continue to follow them."
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
