the First Week of Advent
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 23 - Old & New Testament
csb
Isaiah 32,33
The Righteous Kingdom Announced
1 Indeed, a king will reign righteously,
and rulers will rule justly.(a)
2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind,
a refuge from the rain,(b)
like streams of water(c) in a dry land
and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.(d)
4 The reckless mind will gain knowledge,
and the stammering tongue(e) will speak clearly and fluently.
5 A fool will no longer be called a noble,(f)
nor a scoundrel said to be important.
6 For a fool speaks foolishness
and his mind plots iniquity.
He lives in a godless way
and speaks falsely about the
Lord
.
He leaves the hungry empty
and deprives the thirsty of drink.(g)
7 The scoundrel's weapons are destructive;
he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies,
even when the poor says what is right.
8 But a noble person plans noble things;
he stands up for noble causes.
9 Stand up, you complacent women;(h)
listen to me.
Pay attention to what I say,
you overconfident daughters.
10 In a little more than a year
you overconfident ones will shudder,
for the vintage will fail
and the harvest will not come.
11 Shudder, you complacent ones;
tremble, you overconfident ones!
Strip yourselves bare(i)
and put sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts in mourning(j)
for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,(k)
13 for the ground of my people
growing thorns and briers,(l)
indeed, for every joyous house in the joyful city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken,
the busy city abandoned.
The hill and the watchtower will become
barren places forever,
the joy of wild donkeys,
and a pasture for flocks,
15 until the Spirit from heaven is poured out on us.(m)
Then the desert will become an orchard,
and the orchard will seem like a forest.(n)
16 Then justice will inhabit the wilderness,
and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.
17 The result of righteousness will be peace;(o)
the effect of righteousness
will be quiet confidence forever.
18 Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place,
in safe and secure dwellings.
19 But hail will level the forest,[a](p)
and the city will sink into the depths.(q)
20 Those who sow seed are happy
beside abundant waters;(r)
they let ox and donkey range freely.(s)
The Lord Rises Up
1 Woe, you destroyer never destroyed,
you traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.(a)
2
Lord
, be gracious to us! We wait for You.(b)
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.(c)
3 The peoples flee at the thunderous noise;(d)
the nations scatter when You rise in Your majesty.
4 Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;
people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
5 The
Lord
is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 There will be times of security for you—
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the
Lord
is Zion's treasure.(e)
7 Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.(f)
8 The highways are deserted;
travel has ceased.
An agreement has been broken,(g)
cities[a] despised,
and human life disregarded.
9 The land mourns and withers;(h)
Lebanon is ashamed and decayed.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 "Now I will rise up,"(i) says the
Lord
.
"Now I will lift Myself up.
Now I will be exalted.
11 You will conceive chaff;(j)
you will give birth to stubble.
Your breath is fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes,
like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.
13 You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near,(k) know My strength."
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the ungodly:
"Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire?(l)
Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?"
15 The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,(m)
who refuses gain from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots[b]
and shuts his eyes to avoid endorsing evil[c](n)—
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his refuge will be the rocky fortresses,
his food provided, his water assured.
17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;(o)
you will see a vast land.(p)
18 Your mind will meditate on the past terror:
"Where is the accountant?[d]
Where is the tribute collector?[e]
Where is the one who spied out our defenses?"[f]
19 You will no longer see the barbarians,
a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend—
who stammer in a language that is not understood.(q)
20 Look at Zion, the city of our festival times.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture,(r) a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up
nor will any of its cords be loosened.(s)
21 For the majestic One, our
Lord
, will be there,(t)
a place of rivers and broad streams
where ships that are rowed will not go,
and majestic vessels will not pass.(u)
22 For the
Lord
is our Judge,
the
Lord
is our lawgiver,(v)
the
Lord
is our King.
He will save us.(w)
23 Your ropes are slack;
they cannot hold the base of the mast
or spread out the flag.
Then abundant spoil will be divided,
the lame will plunder it,
24 and none there will say, "I am sick."
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven(x) their iniquity.(y)
Romans 3
Chapter 3
Paul Answers an Objection
1 So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted(a) with the spoken words of God.(b) 3 What then? If some did not believe,(c) will their unbelief cancel God's faithfulness? 4 Absolutely not!(d) God must be true, even if everyone is a liar,(e) as it is written:
That You may be justified in Your words
and triumph when You judge.
(f)[a]
5 But if our unrighteousness highlights[b] God's righteousness,(g) what are we to say?(h) I use a human argument:[c](i) Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? 6 Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world?(j) 7 But if by my lie God's truth is amplified to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?(k) 8 And why not say, just as some people slanderously claim we say, "Let us do what is evil so that good may come"?(l) Their condemnation is deserved!
The Whole World Guilty before God
9 What then? Are we any better?[d] Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews(m) and Gentiles[e](n) are all under sin,[f](o) 10 as it is written:[g]
There is no one righteous, not even one.
11
There is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12
All have turned away;
all alike have become useless.
There is no one who does what is good,
not even one.
(p)[h]
13
Their throat is an open grave;
they deceive with their tongues.
(q)[i]
Vipers' venom is under their lips.
(r)[j]
14
Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
(s)[k]
15
Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,
17
and the path of peace they have not known.
(t)[l]
18
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
(u)[m]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says(v) speaks to those who are subject to the law,[n](w) so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God's judgment.[o](x) 20 For no one will be justified[p] in His sight by the works of the law,(y) because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.(z)
God's Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed(aa)—attested by the Law and the Prophets[q](ab) 22 —that is, God's righteousness through faith(ac) in Jesus Christ,[r](ad) to all who believe,(ae) since there is no distinction.(af) 23 For all have sinned(ag) and fall short of the[s] glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace(ah) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.(ai) 25 God presented Him as a propitiation[t](aj) through faith in His blood,(ak) to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God(al) passed over the sins previously committed.(am) 26 God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous[u] the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
27 Where then is boasting?(an) It is excluded. By what kind of law?[v](ao) By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law[w] of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.(ap) 29 Or is God for Jews only?(aq) Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, 30 since there is one God(ar) who will justify the circumcised by faith(as) and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not!(at) On the contrary, we uphold the law.(au)
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