the First Week of Advent
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 17 - Old & New Testament
csb
Isaiah 17,18,19
An Oracle against Damascus
1 An oracle(a) against Damascus:(b)
Look, Damascus is no longer a city.
It has become a ruined heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
they will be places for flocks.
They will lie down without fear.
3 The fortress disappears from Ephraim,(c)
and a kingdom from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites.
This is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
Judgment against Israel
4 On that day
the splendor of Jacob will fade,
and his healthy body[a] will become emaciated.(d)
5 It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain—
his arm harvesting the heads of grain—
and as if one had gleaned heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.(e)
6 Only gleanings will be left in Israel,(f)
as if an olive tree had been beaten—
two or three berries at the very top of the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches.
This is the declaration of the
Lord
,
the God of Israel.
7 On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.(g) 8 They will not look to the altars(h) they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars(i) they made with their fingers.
9 On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops[b]
that were abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
and you have failed to remember
the rock of your strength;(j)
therefore you will plant beautiful plants
and set out cuttings from exotic vines.
11 On the day that you plant,
you will help them to grow,
and in the morning
you will help your seed to sprout,
but the harvest will vanish
on the day of disease and incurable pain.
Judgment against the Nations
12 Ah! The roar of many peoples—
they roar like the roaring of the seas.
The raging of the nations—
they rage like the raging of mighty waters.(k)
13 The nations rage like the raging of many waters.(l)
He rebukes them, and they flee far away,(m)
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills(n)
and like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14 In the evening—sudden terror!
Before morning—it is gone!
This is the fate of those who plunder us
and the lot of those who ravage us.
The Lord's Message to Cush
1 Ah! The land of buzzing insect wings[a]
beyond the rivers of Cush(a)
2 sends couriers by sea,
in reed vessels on the waters.
Go, swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared far and near,
a powerful nation with a strange language,[b]
whose land is divided by rivers.
3 All you inhabitants of the world
and you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet sounds, listen!
4 For, the Lord said to me:
I will quietly look out from My place,
like shimmering heat in sunshine,
like a rain cloud in harvest heat.
5 For before the harvest, when the blossoming is over
and the blossom becomes a ripening grape,
He will cut off the shoots with a pruning knife,
and tear away and remove the branches.
6 They will all be left for the birds of prey on the hills
and for the wild animals of the land.
The birds will spend the summer on them,
and all the animals, the winter on them.
7 At that time a gift will be brought to Yahweh of Hosts from[c] a people tall and smooth-skinned,(b) a people feared far and near, a powerful nation with a strange language, whose land is divided by rivers—to Mount Zion, the place of the name of Yahweh of Hosts.
An Oracle against Egypt
1 An oracle(a) against Egypt:(b)
Look, the
Lord
rides on a swift cloud(c)
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt's idols will tremble before Him,(d)
and Egypt's heart will melt within it.(e)
2 I will provoke Egypt against Egypt;
each will fight against his brother(f)
and each against his friend,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom.(g)
3 Egypt's spirit will be disturbed within it,
and I will frustrate its plans.
Then they will seek idols, ghosts,
spirits of the dead, and spiritists.(h)
4 I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters,(i)
and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord
God
of Hosts.
5 The waters of the sea will dry up,
and the river will be parched and dry.
6 The channels will stink;
they will dwindle, and Egypt's canals will be parched.
Reed and rush will die.[a]
7 The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,
and all the cultivated areas of the Nile
will wither, blow away, and vanish.
8 Then the fishermen will mourn.
All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,
and those who spread nets on the water will shrivel up.
9 Those who work with flax will be dismayed;(j)
the combers and weavers will turn pale.[b]
10 Egypt's weavers[c] will be dejected;
all her wage earners will be demoralized.
11 The princes of Zoan are complete fools;(k)
Pharaoh's wisest advisers give stupid advice!
How can you say to Pharaoh,
"I am one[d] of the wise,
a student of eastern[e] kings"?
12 Where then are your wise men?
Let them tell you and reveal
what the
Lord
of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have been fools;
the princes of Memphis are deceived.(l)
Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.
14 The
Lord
has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
15 No head or tail, palm or reed,(m)
will be able to do anything for Egypt.
Egypt Will Know the Lord
16 On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Hosts when He raises it against her. 17 The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Hosts has planned(n) against it.
18 On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the Lord of Hosts. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun.[f][g]
19 On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border.(o) 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them.(p) 21 The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings;(q) they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a highway(r) from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.
24 On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing within the land. 25 The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, "Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork,(s) and Israel My inheritance are blessed."(t)
Ephesians 4
Chapter 4
Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ
1 Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord,(a) urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility(b) and gentleness, with patience,(c) accepting[a](d) one another in love,(e) 3 diligently keeping the unity(f) of the Spirit(g) with the peace(h) that binds us. 4 There is one body and one Spirit(i)—just as you were called to one hope[b](j) at your calling— 5 one Lord,(k) one faith,(l) one baptism, 6 one God(m) and Father(n) of all, who is above all and through all and in all.(o)
7 Now grace was given to each one of us(p) according to the measure of the Messiah's gift. 8 For it says:
When He ascended
(q)
on high,
He took prisoners into captivity;
[c]
He gave gifts to people.
(r)[d]
9 But what does "He ascended" mean except that He[e] descended to the lower parts of the earth?[f](s) 10 The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens,(t) that He might fill[g] all things.(u) 11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,(v) 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son,(w) growing into a mature man with a stature(x) measured by Christ's fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,(y) by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head(z)—Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together(aa) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth(ab) of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Living the New Life
17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity(ac) with a desire for more and more.[h]
20 But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, 21 assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth(ad) is in Jesus. 22 You took off[i](ae) your former way of life,(af) the old self[j](ag) that is corrupted by deceitful desires; 23 you are being renewed[k] in the spirit(ah) of your minds; 24 you put on[l](ai) the new self, the one created(aj) according to God's likeness(ak) in righteousness and purity of the truth.
25 Since you put away(al) lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, (am)[m] because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin. (an)[n] Don't let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don't give the Devil an opportunity. 28 The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share(ao) with anyone in need. 29 No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,[o] so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don't grieve God's Holy Spirit.(ap) You were sealed by Him[p] for the day of redemption.(aq) 31 All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind(ar) and compassionate(as) to one another, forgiving(at) one another, just as God also forgave you[q] in Christ.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
