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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 1 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Nehemiah 1-2
Chapter 1
1 The words of Nehemiah(a) son of Hacaliah:
News from Jerusalem
During the month of Chislev[a](b) in the twentieth year,[b](c) when I was in the fortress city of Susa,(d) 2 Hanani,(e) one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant(f) that had survived the exile.(g) 3 They said to me, "The remnant in the province,(h) who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem's wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned down."(i)
Nehemiah's Prayer
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying(j) before the God of heaven.(k) 5 I said,(l)
Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him(m) and keep His commands,(n) 6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive(o) to hear Your servant's prayer that I now pray to You day and night(p) for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins[c] we have committed against You. Both I and my father's house have sinned.(q) 7 We have acted corruptly toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave Your servant Moses.(r) 8 Please remember what You commanded Your servant Moses: "If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.(s) 9 But if you return to Me and carefully observe My commands, even though your exiles were banished to the ends of the earth,[d] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have My name dwell."(t) 10 They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed them by Your great power and strong hand.(u) 11 Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive(v) to the prayer of Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success today,(w) and have compassion on him in the presence of this man.[e](x)
At the time, I was the king's cupbearer.(y)
Chapter 2
Nehemiah Sent to Jerusalem
1 During the month of Nisan[a] in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,(a) when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, "Why are you[b] sad, when you aren't sick? This is nothing but depression."[c](b)
I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should I[d] not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"(c)
4 Then the king asked me, "What is your request?"
So I prayed to the God of heaven(d) 5 and answered the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried,[e](e) so that I may rebuild it."(f)
6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you return?" So I gave him a definite time,(g) and it pleased the king to send me.
7 I also said to the king: "If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River,(h) so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.(i) 8 And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple's fortress,(j) the city wall, and the home where I will live."[f](k) The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.[g](l)
9 I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king's letters.(m) The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite(n) and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.(o)
Preparing to Rebuild the Walls
11 After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,(p) 12 I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn't tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took[h] was the one I was riding. 13 I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent's[i] Well and the Dung Gate,(q) and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.(r) 14 I went on to the Fountain Gate(s) and the King's Pool,(t) but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through. 15 So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate(u) and returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work. 17 So I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned down.(v) Come, let's rebuild Jerusalem's wall,(w) so that we will no longer be a disgrace." 18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me,(x) and what the king had said to me.
They said, "Let's start rebuilding," and they were encouraged[j] to do this good work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official,(y) and Geshem the Arab(z) heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, "What is this you're doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"
20 I gave them this reply, "The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem."(aa)
Psalms 96
Chapter 96
Psalm 96(a)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the
Lord
;
sing to the
Lord
, all the earth.(b)
2 Sing to Yahweh, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.(c)
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.(d)
4 For the
Lord
is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.(e)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the
Lord
made the heavens.(f)
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.(g)
7 Ascribe to the
Lord
, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the
Lord
glory and strength.(h)
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;(i)
bring an offering and enter His courts.(j)
9 Worship the
Lord
in the splendor of His holiness;(k)
tremble before Him, all the earth.(l)
10 Say among the nations: "The
Lord
reigns.(m)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(n)
He judges the peoples fairly."(o)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(p)
12 Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(q)
13 before the
Lord
, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.(r)
Revelation 1
Chapter 1
Prologue
1 The revelation of[a] Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves(a) what must quickly[b] take place.(b) He sent it and signified it[c] through His angel(c) to His slave John,(d) 2 who testified to God's word and to the testimony[d] about Jesus Christ,(e) in all he saw.[e] 3 The one who reads this is blessed,(f) and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep[f] what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!
4 John:
To the seven churches in Asia.
Grace and peace(g) to you from[g] the One who is, who was, and who is coming;(h) from the seven spirits[h](i) before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him who loves us and has set us free[i] from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom,[j] priests[k](j) to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.
7
Look! He is coming with the clouds,
(k)
and
every eye will see Him,
including those who pierced
[l]
Him.
And all the families of the earth
[m](l)[n]
will mourn over Him.
[o](m)[p]
This is certain. Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega,"(n) says the Lord God, "the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty."
John's Vision of the Risen Lord
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God's word and the testimony about Jesus.[q](o) 10 I was in the Spirit[r][s](p) on the Lord's day,[t] and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, "Write on a scroll[u] what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."
12 I turned to see whose voice(q) it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man,[v](r) dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow—and His eyes like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading[w] waters.(s) 16 He had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth,(t) and His face was shining like the sun at midday.[x]
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last,(u) 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this. 20 The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[y] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands[z] are the seven churches.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
