the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 7 - Old & New Testament
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Isaiah 1,2
1 The vision(a) concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah(b) son of Amoz saw during the reigns[a][b] of Uzziah,(c) Jotham,(d) Ahaz,(e) and Hezekiah,(f) kings of Judah.(g)
Judah on Trial
2 Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth,(h)
for the
Lord
has spoken:
"I have raised children[c] and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against Me.(i)
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master's feeding trough,
but Israel does not know;
My people do not understand."(j)
4 Oh sinful nation,
people weighed down with iniquity,(k)
brood of evildoers,(l)
depraved children![d]
They have abandoned(m) the
Lord
;
they have despised(n) the Holy One of Israel;(o)
they have turned their backs on Him.
5 Why do you want more beatings?
Why do you keep on rebelling?
The whole head is hurt,
and the whole heart is sick.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,(p)
no spot is uninjured(q)—
wounds, welts, and festering sores
not cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.
7 Your land is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;(r)
foreigners devour your fields
before your very eyes—
a desolation demolished by foreigners.
8 Daughter Zion(s) is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
9 If the
Lord
of Hosts(t)
had not left us a few survivors,(u)
we would be like Sodom,
we would resemble Gomorrah.(v)
10 Hear the word of the
Lord
,(w)
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(x)
11 "What are all your sacrifices to Me?"
asks the
Lord
.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.(y)
12 When you come to appear before Me,
who requires this from you—
this trampling of My courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings.(z)
Your incense is detestable to Me.
New Moons and Sabbaths,(aa)
and the calling of solemn assemblies(ab)—
I cannot stand iniquity(ac) with a festival.
14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am tired of putting up with them.
15 When you lift up your hands in prayer,(ad)
I will refuse to look at you;
even if you offer countless prayers,
I will not listen.(ae)
Your hands are covered with blood.(af)
Purification of Jerusalem
16 "Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.(ag)
Remove your evil deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil.(ah)
17 Learn to do what is good.
Seek justice.(ai)
Correct the oppressor.[e]
Defend the rights of the fatherless.
Plead the widow's cause.
18 "Come, let us discuss this,"(aj)
says the
Lord
.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;(ak)
though they are as red as crimson,
they will be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land.(al)
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword."(am)
For the mouth of the
Lord
has spoken.(an)
21 The faithful city—
what an adulteress[f] she has become!
She was once full of justice.
Righteousness once dwelt in her—
but now, murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,[g]
your beer[h] is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.(ao)
They all love graft
and chase after bribes.(ap)
They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,
and the widow's case never comes before them.(aq)
24 Therefore the Lord
God
of Hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I will gain satisfaction from My foes;
I will take revenge against My enemies.(ar)
25 I will turn My hand against you(as)
and will burn away your dross[i] completely;[j]
I will remove all your impurities.(at)
26 I will restore your judges(au) to what they once were,[k]
and your advisers to their former state.[l]
Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,(av)
a Faithful City."
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice,
her repentant ones by righteousness.(aw)
28 But both rebels and sinners will be destroyed,
and those who abandon the
Lord
will perish.
29 Indeed, they[m] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you desired,(ax)
and you will be embarrassed because of the gardens
you have chosen.(ay)
30 For you will become like an oak
whose leaves are withered,
and like a garden without water.(az)
31 The strong one will become tinder,
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,(ba)
with no one to quench the flames.(bb)
The City of Peace
1 The vision that Isaiah(a) son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In(b) the last days(c)
the mountain of the
Lord
's house(d) will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,(e)
3 and many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord
,
to the house of the God of Jacob.(f)
He will teach us about His ways
so that we may walk in His paths."
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the
Lord
from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will turn their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.(g)
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will never again train for war.(h)
The Day of the Lord
5 House of Jacob,
come and let us walk in the
Lord
's light.(i)
6 For You have abandoned(j) Your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of divination from the East
and of fortune-tellers(k) like the Philistines.(l)
They are in league[a] with foreigners.
7 Their[b][c] land is full of silver and gold,
and there is no limit to their treasures;
their land is full of horses,
and there is no limit to their chariots.(m)
8 Their land is full of idols;(n)
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.(o)
9 So humanity is brought low,
and man is humbled.
Do not forgive them!(p)
10 Go into the rocks(q)
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the
Lord
(r)
and from His majestic splendor.(s)
11 Human pride[d] will be humbled,(t)
and the loftiness of men will be brought low;
the
Lord
alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For a day belonging to the
Lord
of Hosts is coming
against all that is proud and lofty,(u)
against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,(v)
lofty and lifted up,
against all the oaks of Bashan,(w)
14 against all the high mountains,(x)
against all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower,(y)
against every fortified wall,
16 against every ship of Tarshish,(z)
and against every splendid sea vessel.
17 So human pride will be brought low,
and the loftiness of men will be humbled;
the
Lord
alone will be exalted on that day.(aa)
18 The idols will vanish completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks(ab)
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the
Lord
and from His majestic splendor,
when He rises to terrify the earth.(ac)
20 On that day people will throw
their silver and gold idols,(ad)
which they made to worship,
to the moles and the bats.
21 They will go into the caves of the rocks
and the crevices in the cliffs,
away from the terror of the
Lord
and from His majestic splendor,(ae)
when He rises to terrify the earth.
22 Put no more trust in man,
who has only the breath in his nostrils.(af)
What is he really worth?
2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Chapter 11
16 I repeat: No one should consider me a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool, so I too may boast a little. 17 What I say in this matter[f] of boasting, I don't speak as the Lord would, but foolishly. 18 Since many boast in an unspiritual way,[g] I will also boast. 19 For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools!(w) 20 In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone devours(x) you, if someone captures you, if someone dominates you, or if someone hits(y) you in the face. 21 I say this to our shame: We have been weak.
But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare:
22 Are they Hebrews?(z) So am I.
Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham?(aa) So am I.
23 Are they servants of Christ?
I'm talking like a madman—I'm a better one:
with far more labors,
many more imprisonments,
far worse beatings, near death[h] many times.
24 Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews.(ab)
25 Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans.(ac)
Once I was stoned by my enemies.[i](ad)
Three times I was shipwrecked.(ae)
I have spent a night and a day
in the open sea.
26 On frequent journeys, I faced
dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers,(af)
dangers from my own people,(ag)
dangers from the Gentiles,
dangers in the city,
dangers in the open country,
dangers on the sea,
and dangers among false brothers;
27 labor and hardship,
many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst,
often without food, cold, and lacking clothing.(ah)
28 Not to mention[j] other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my care for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble,(ai) and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. 31 The God and Father(aj) of the Lord Jesus, who is praised forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus,(ak) the governor under King Aretas[k] guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me, 33 so I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.(al)
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