Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 5

Birth of the King in Bethlehem

¹ "^(F1)Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;
^(F2)They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will ^(C1)strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

² "^(F1)But as for ^(C1)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From ^(C2)you One will come forth for Me to be ^(C3)ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are ^(C4)from long ago,
From the days of eternity."

³ Therefore He will ^(C1)give them up until the time
When she ^(C2)who is in labor has given birth.
Then the ^(C3)remainder of His kinsmen
Will return to the sons of Israel.

⁴ And He will arise and ^(C1)shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will ^(F1)remain,
Because ^(F2)at that time He will be great
To the ^(C2)ends of the earth.

⁵ This One ^(C1)will be our peace.
When the ^(C2)Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our ^(F1)citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of people.

⁶ They will ^(C1)shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of ^(C2)Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will ^(C3)rescue us from the Assyrian
When he invades our land,
And when he tramples our territory.

⁷ Then the ^(C1)remnant of Jacob
Will be among many peoples
Like ^(C2)dew from the LORD,
Like ^(C3)showers on vegetation
That do not wait for man,
Or delay for ^(F1)mankind.

⁸ The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
^(C1)Like a lion among the animals of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Which, if he passes through,
^(C2)Tramples and ^(C3)tears,
And there is ^(C4)no one who can rescue.

⁹ Your hand will be ^(C1)lifted up against your adversaries,
And all your enemies will be eliminated.

¹⁰ "And it will be on that day," declares the LORD,
"^(C1)That I will eliminate your ^(C2)horses from among you,
And destroy your chariots.

¹¹ "I will also eliminate the ^(C1)cities of your land,
And tear down all your ^(C2)fortifications.

¹² "I will eliminate ^(C1)sorceries from your hand,
And you will have no fortune-tellers.

¹³ "^(C1)I will eliminate your carved images
And your memorial stones from among you,
So that you will no longer bow down
To the work of your hands.

¹⁴ "I will uproot your ^(F1)(C1)Asherim from among you,
And destroy your cities.

¹⁵ "And I will ^(C1)execute vengeance in anger and wrath
On the nations which have not obeyed."

Chapter 6

God's Indictment of His People

¹ Hear now what the LORD is saying,
"Arise, plead your case ^(F1)before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.

² "Listen, you mountains, to the indictment by the LORD,
And you enduring ^(C1)foundations of the earth,
Because the ^(C2)LORD has a case against His people;
And He will dispute with Israel.

³ "^(C1)My people, ^(C2)what have I done to you,
And ^(C3)how have I wearied you? Answer Me.

⁴ "Indeed, I ^(C1)brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I ^(C2)redeemed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you ^(C3)Moses, Aaron, and ^(C4)Miriam.

⁵ "My people, remember now
What ^(C1)Balak king of Moab planned
And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
And what happened from ^(C2)Shittim to ^(C3)Gilgal,
^(F1)So that you might know the ^(C4)righteous acts of the LORD."

What God Requires of Mankind

^6 (C1)With what shall I come to the LORD
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with ^(C2)burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?

⁷ Does the LORD take pleasure in ^(C1)thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of ^(F1)oil?
Shall I give Him my ^(C2)firstborn for my wrongdoings,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

⁸ He has ^(C1)told you, mortal one, what is good;
And ^(C2)what does the LORD require of you
But to ^(C3)do justice, to ^(C4)love ^(F1)kindness,
And to walk ^(F2)(C5)humbly with your God?

⁹ The voice of the LORD will call to the city—
And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:
"^(F1)Hear, you tribe. Who has designated ^(F2)its time?

¹⁰ "Is there still a person in the wicked house,
Along with treasures of ^(C1)wickedness,
And a ^(F1)(C2)short measure that is cursed?

¹¹ "Can I justify dishonest ^(C1)balances,
And a bag of fraudulent weights?

¹² "For the rich people of ^(F1)the city are full of ^(C1)violence,
Her residents speak ^(C2)lies,
And their ^(C3)tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

¹³ "So also I will make you ^(C1)sick, striking you down,
^(C2)Making you desolate because of your sins.

¹⁴ "You will eat, but you will ^(C1)not be satisfied,
And your filth will be in your midst.
You will try to remove valuables for safekeeping,
But you will ^(C2)not save it all,
And what you do save I will turn over to the sword.

¹⁵ "You will sow but you will ^(C1)not harvest.
You will tread the olive press but will not anoint yourself with oil;
And tread out sweet wine, but you will ^(C2)not drink any wine.

¹⁶ "The statutes of ^(C1)Omri
And every work of the house of ^(C2)Ahab are maintained,
And you ^(C3)walk by their plans.
Therefore I will give you up for ^(C4)destruction,
And ^(F1)your inhabitants for ^(F2)(C5)derision,
And you will suffer the ^(C6)taunting of My people."

Chapter 7

The Prophet Acknowledges Injustice

¹ Woe to me! For I am
Like harvests of summer fruit, like gleanings of ^(C1)grapes.
There is not a cluster of grapes left to eat,
Nor an ^(C2)early fig, which ^(F1)I crave.

² The ^(F1)godly person has ^(C1)perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among mankind.
All of them lie in wait for ^(C2)bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a ^(C3)net.

³ As for evil, both hands do it ^(C1)well.
The leader asks for a ^(C2)bribe, also the judge,
And the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul;
So they plot it together.

⁴ The best of them is like a ^(C1)thorn bush,
The most upright like a ^(C2)thorn hedge.
The day ^(F1)when you post your watchmen,
Your ^(C3)punishment is coming.
Then their ^(C4)confusion will occur.

⁵ Do not ^(C1)trust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a close friend.
Guard ^(F1)your lips
From her who lies ^(F2)in your arms.

⁶ For ^(C1)son disavows father,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
^(C2)A person's enemies are the people of his own household.

God Is the Source of Salvation and Light

⁷ But as for me, I will ^(C1)be on the watch for the LORD;
I will ^(C2)wait for the God of my salvation.
My ^(C3)God will hear me.

^8 (C1)Do not rejoice over me, ^(C2)enemy of mine.
Though I fall I will ^(C3)rise;
Though I live in darkness, the LORD is a ^(C4)light for me.

⁹ I will endure the rage of the LORD
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He ^(C1)pleads my case and executes justice for me.
He will bring me out to the ^(C2)light,
And I will look at His ^(F1)(C3)righteousness.

¹⁰ Then my enemy will see,
And shame will cover her who ^(C1)said to me,
"Where is the LORD your God?"
My eyes will look at her;
^(F1)At that time she will ^(F2)be ^(C2)trampled down
Like mud of the streets.

¹¹ It will be a day for ^(C1)building your walls.
On that day your boundary will be extended.

¹² It will be a day when ^(F1)they will ^(C1)come to you
From Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
From Egypt even to the Euphrates River,
Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

¹³ And the earth will become a ^(C1)wasteland because of her inhabitants,
On account of the ^(C2)fruit of their deeds.

^14 (C1)Shepherd Your people with Your ^(C2)scepter,
The flock of Your ^(F1)possession
Which lives by itself in the woodland,
In the midst of ^(F2)a fruitful field.
Let them feed in ^(C3)Bashan and Gilead
^(C4)As in the days of old.

¹⁵ "As in the days when you went out from the land of Egypt,
I will show ^(F1)(C1)you miracles."

¹⁶ Nations ^(C1)will see and be ashamed
Of all their might.
They will ^(C2)put their hand on their mouth,
Their ears will be deaf.

¹⁷ They will ^(C1)lick up dust like a snake,
Like ^(F1)(C2)reptiles of the earth.
They will come ^(C3)trembling out of their ^(F2)fortresses;
To the LORD our God they will come in ^(C4)trepidation,
And they will be afraid of You.

¹⁸ Who is a God like You, who ^(C1)pardons wrongdoing
And passes over a rebellious act of the ^(C2)remnant of His ^(F1)possession?
He does not ^(C3)retain His anger forever,
Because He ^(C4)delights in mercy.

¹⁹ He will again take pity on us;
^(C1)He will trample on our wrongdoings.
Yes, You will ^(C2)cast all ^(F1)their sins
Into the depths of the sea.

²⁰ You will give ^(F1)(C1)truth to Jacob
And favor to Abraham,
Which You ^(C2)swore to our forefathers
From the days of old.

Chapter 2

The Overthrow of Nineveh

^1 (F1)The one who ^(C1)scatters has come up against ^(F2)you.
Keep watch over the fortress, watch the road;
^(F3)Bind up your waist, ^(F4)summon all your strength.

² For the LORD will restore the ^(C1)splendor of Jacob
^(C2)Like the splendor of Israel,
Even though destroyers have laid waste to them
And ^(C3)ruined their vines.

³ The shields of ^(F1)his warriors are dyed red,
The warriors are dressed in ^(C1)scarlet,
The chariots are fitted with ^(F2)flashing steel
^(F3)When he is prepared to march,
And the juniper ^(C2)spears are brandished.

⁴ The ^(C1)chariots drive wildly in the streets,
They rush around in the ^(F1)public squares;
Their appearance is like torches,
They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.

⁵ He remembers his ^(C1)officers;
They ^(C2)stumble in their advance,
They hurry to her wall,
And the ^(F1)mantelet is set up.

⁶ The gates of the rivers are opened
And the palace sways back and forth.

⁷ It is set:
She is stripped, she is led away,
And her slave women are ^(C1)sobbing like the sound of doves,
^(C2)Beating their ^(F1)breasts.

⁸ Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,
Yet they are fleeing;
"Stop, stop,"
But ^(C1)no one turns back.

⁹ Plunder the silver,
Plunder the ^(C1)gold!
For there is no end to the treasure—
Wealth from every kind of desirable object.

¹⁰ She is ^(C1)emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste!
^(C2)Hearts are melting and knees wobbling!
Also trembling is in ^(F1)the entire body,
And all their ^(C3)faces have become pale!

¹¹ Where is the den of the lions
And the feeding place of the ^(C1)young lions,
Where the lion, lioness, and lion's cub went
With nothing to disturb them?

¹² The lion tore enough for his cubs,
^(F1)Killed enough prey for his lionesses,
And filled his lairs with prey
And his dens with torn flesh.

¹³ "Behold, ^(C1)I am against you," declares the LORD of armies. "I will ^(C2)burn up her chariots in smoke, and a sword will devour your young lions; I will ^(C3)eliminate your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard."