the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 14 - Old & New Testament
csb
Nahum 1,2,3
1 The oracle concerning Nineveh.(a) The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
God's Vengeance
2 The
Lord
is a jealous and avenging God;
the
Lord
takes vengeance
and is fierce in[a] wrath.
The
Lord
takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.(b)
3 The
Lord
is slow to anger but great in power;
the
Lord
will never leave the guilty unpunished.(c)
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea so that it dries up,
and He makes all the rivers run dry.(d)
Bashan and Carmel wither;(e)
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before Him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles[b][c] at His presence—
the world and all who live in it.(f)
6 Who can withstand His indignation?
Who can endure His burning anger?(g)
His wrath is poured out like fire,
even rocks are shattered before Him.
Destruction of Nineveh
7 The
Lord
is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
He cares for those who take refuge(h) in Him.
8 But He will completely destroy Nineveh[d]
with an overwhelming flood,(i)
and He will chase His enemies into darkness.
9 Whatever you[e] plot against the
Lord
,
He will bring it to complete destruction;(j)
oppression will not rise up a second time.
10 For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,(k)
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.[f]
11 One has gone out from you,[g]
who plots evil against Yahweh,
and is a wicked counselor.
Promise of Judah's Deliverance
12 This is what the Lord says:
Though they are strong[h] and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he[i] will pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,[j](l)
I will afflict you no longer.(m)
13 For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.
The Assyrian King's Demise
14 The Lord has issued an order concerning you:
There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.[k](n)
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;(o)
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.
15 [l]Look to the mountains—
the feet of one bringing good news(p)
and proclaiming peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.
Attack against Nineveh
1 One who scatters is coming up against you.
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace[a] yourself!
Summon all your strength!(a)
2 For the
Lord
will restore the majesty of Jacob,
yes,[b] the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their vine branches.(b)
3 The shields of his[c] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.(c)
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
5 He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
6 The river gates are opened,
and the palace erodes away.(d)
7 Beauty[d] is stripped,[e]
she is carried away;
her ladies-in-waiting moan
like the sound of doves,(e)
and beat their breasts.
8 Nineveh has been like a pool of water
from her first days,[f]
but they are fleeing.
"Stop! Stop!" they cry,
but no one turns back.
9 "Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!"
There is no end to the treasure,
an abundance of every precious thing.(f)
10 Desolation, decimation, devastation!
Hearts melt,(g)
knees tremble,
loins shake,
every face grows pale!(h)
11 Where is the lions' lair,(i)
or the feeding ground of the young lions,
where the lion and lioness prowled,
and the lion's cub,
with nothing to frighten them away?(j)
12 The lion mauled whatever its cubs needed
and strangled prey for its lionesses.
It filled up its dens with the kill,
and its lairs with mauled prey.(k)
13 Beware, I am against you.(l)
This is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
I will make your chariots go up in smoke[g]
and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.
Nineveh's Downfall
1 Woe to the city of blood,(a)
totally deceitful,
full of plunder,
never without prey.(b)
2 The crack of the whip
and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and jolting chariot!(c)
3 Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end(d)—
they stumble over their dead.
4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who betrays nations by her prostitution
and clans by her witchcraft,(e)
5 I am against you.(f)
This is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
I will lift your skirts over your face
and display your nakedness to nations,
your shame to kingdoms.(g)
6 I will throw filth on you
and treat you with contempt;
I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,
"Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her?"
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
8 Are you better than Thebes[a](h)
that sat along the Nile
with water surrounding her,
whose rampart was the sea,
the river[b][c] her wall?
9 Cush and Egypt were her endless source of strength;
Put and Libya were among her[d] allies.
10 Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity.
Her children were also dashed to pieces(i)
at the head of every street.
They cast lots for her dignitaries,(j)
and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 You[e] also will become drunk;
you will hide yourself.[f]
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are fig trees
with figs that ripened first;
when shaken, they fall—
right into the mouth of the eater!
13 Look, your troops are like women among you;
the gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies.
Fire will devour the bars of your gates.
14 Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick-mold!
15 The fire will devour you there;
the sword will cut you down.
It will devour you like the young locust.(k)
Multiply yourselves like the young locust,
multiply like the swarming locust!
16 You have made your merchants(l)
more numerous than the stars of the sky.
The young locust strips[g] the land
and flies away.
17 Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
which settle on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they take off,
and no one knows where they are.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
your officers sleep.
Your people are scattered across the mountains
with no one to gather them together.(m)
19 There is no remedy for your injury;
your wound is severe.(n)
All who hear the news about you
will clap their hands because of you,
for who has not experienced
your constant cruelty?
Acts 23:1-15
Chapter 23
1 1 Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience(a) until this day." 2 But the high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.(b) 3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?"(c)
4 And those standing nearby said, "Do you dare revile God's high priest?"
5 "I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest," replied Paul. "For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people. "(d)[a] 6 When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees!(e) I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!"(f) 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection,(g) and no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.
9 The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees'(h) party got up and argued vehemently: "We find nothing evil in this man.(i) What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"[b](j) 10 When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, rescue him from them, and bring him into the barracks.(k)
The Plot against Paul
11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, "Have courage! For as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." (l)
12 When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse: neither to eat nor to drink until they had killed Paul.(m) 13 There were more than 40 who had formed this plot. 14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won't eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you[c] as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. However, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him."(n)
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