the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 20 - Old & New Testament
csb
Isaiah 26,27
The Song of Judah
1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city.
Salvation is established as walls and ramparts.(a)
2 Open the gates
so a righteous nation can come in—
one that remains faithful.
3 You will keep the mind that is dependent on You
in perfect peace,(b)
for it is trusting in You.
4 Trust in the
Lord
forever,
because in Yah, the
Lord
, is an everlasting rock!(c)
5 For He has humbled those who live in lofty places—
an inaccessible city.(d)
He brings it down; He brings it down to the ground;
He throws it to the dust.
6 Feet trample it,
the feet of the humble,
the steps of the poor.
God's People Vindicated
7 The path of the righteous is level;(e)
You clear a straight path for the righteous.
8 Yes, Yahweh, we wait for You
in the path of Your judgments.
Our desire is for Your name and renown.(f)
9 I long for You in the night;(g)
yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks You,
for when Your judgments are in the land,
the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 But if the wicked man is shown favor,
he does not learn righteousness.
In a righteous land he acts unjustly
and does not see the majesty of the
Lord
.
11
Lord
, Your hand is lifted up to take action,
but they do not see it.
They will see Your zeal for Your people,
and they will be put to shame.
The fire for Your adversaries will consume them!
12
Lord
, You will establish peace for us,
for You have also done all our work for us.
13 Yahweh our God, lords other than You have ruled over us,
but we remember Your name alone.(h)
14 The dead do not live;
departed spirits do not rise up.
Indeed, You have visited and destroyed them;
You have wiped out all memory of them.(i)
15 You have added to the nation,
Lord
.(j)
You have added to the nation; You are honored.
You have expanded all the borders of the land.(k)
16
Lord
, they went to You in their distress;(l)
they poured out whispered prayers
because Your discipline fell on them.[a]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,(m)
so we were before You,
Lord
.
18 We became pregnant, we writhed in pain;
we gave birth to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
and the earth's inhabitants have not fallen.
19 Your dead will live; their bodies[b] will rise.(n)
Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!
For you will be covered with the morning dew,[c]
and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and close your doors behind you.
Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed.(o)
21 For look, the
Lord
is coming from His place(p)
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.(q)
The earth will reveal the blood shed on it
and will no longer conceal her slain.
Leviathan Slain
1 On that day the Lord with His harsh, great, and strong sword, will bring judgment on Leviathan,(a) the fleeing serpent—Leviathan, the twisting serpent. He will slay the monster that is in the sea.(b)
The Lord's Vineyard
2 On that day
sing about a desirable vineyard:(c)
3 I, Yahweh, watch over it;
I water it regularly.
I guard it night and day
so that no one disturbs it.
4 I am not angry,
but if it produces thorns and briers(d) for Me,
I will fight against it, trample it,
and burn it to the ground.
5 Or let it take hold of My strength;
let it make peace with Me—
make peace with Me.
6 In days to come, Jacob will take root.(e)
Israel will blossom and bloom(f)
and fill the whole world with fruit.
7 Did the
Lord
strike Israel
as He struck the one who struck Israel?(g)
Was he killed like those killed by Him?
8 You disputed with her
by banishing and driving her away.[a]
He removed her with His severe storm
on the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore Jacob's iniquity(h) will be purged in this way,
and the result of the removal of his sin will be this:(i)
when he makes all the altar stones
like crushed bits of chalk,
no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city will be deserted,
pastures abandoned and forsaken like a wilderness.
Calves will graze there,
and there they will spread out and strip its branches.
11 When its branches dry out, they will be broken off.
Women will come and make fires with them,
for they are not a people with understanding.(j)
Therefore their Maker(k) will not have compassion on them,
and their Creator will not be gracious to them.
12 On that day(l)
the
Lord
will thresh grain from the Euphrates River
as far as the Wadi of Egypt,(m)
and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.
13 On that day
a great trumpet(n) will be blown,
and those lost in the land of Assyria will come,
as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt;
and they will worship the
Lord
at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
Ephesians 6
Chapter 6
Children and Parents
1 Children, obey(a) your parents as you would the Lord,[a] because this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother , which is the first commandment[b] with a promise, 3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. [c](b)[d] 4 Fathers, don't stir up anger(c) in your children, but bring them up in the training(d) and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5 Slaves, obey your human[e] masters(e) with fear and trembling,(f) in the sincerity(g) of your heart, as to Christ. 6 Don't work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God's will(h) from your heart.[f] 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men,(i) 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening(j) them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism(k) with Him.(l)
Christian Warfare
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.(m) 11 Put on(n) the full armor(o) of God so that you can stand against the tactics[g] of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh(p) and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,(q) against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil(r) in the heavens.(s) 13 This is why you must take up the full armor(t) of God, so that you may be able to resist(u) in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand,(v) therefore,
with truth(w) like a belt around your waist,
righteousness(x) like armor on your chest,(y)
15 and your feet sandaled with readiness
for the gospel of peace.[h]
16 In every situation take the shield(z) of faith,(aa)
and with it you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.(ab)
17 Take the helmet(ac) of salvation,
and the sword(ad) of the Spirit,(ae)
which is God's word.
18 Pray(af) at all times in the Spirit(ag) with every prayer and request, and stay alert(ah) in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness(ai) the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador(aj) in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.
Paul's Farewell
21 Tychicus,(ak) our dearly loved brother and faithful servant[i] in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed. 22 I am sending him to you for this very reason, to let you know how we are and to encourage(al) your hearts.(am)
23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father(an) and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.[j][k]
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