the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 18 - Old & New Testament
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Jeremiah 1,2
1 The words of Jeremiah,(a) the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth(b) in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(c) son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim(d) son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(e) son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.(f)
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.(g)
6 But I protested, "Oh no, Lord, God ! Look, I don't know how to speak(h) since I am only a youth."(i)
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, "I am only a youth,"(j)
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.(k)
8 Do not be afraid of anyone,(l)
for I will be with you to deliver you.(m)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
9 Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth,(n) and told me:
I have now filled your mouth with My words.(o)
10 See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,(p)
to build and plant.(q)
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"(r)
I replied, "I see a branch of an almond tree."
12 The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it."(s) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, "What do you see?"
And I replied, "I see a boiling pot,(t) its lip tilted from the north to the south."
14 Then the Lord said to me, "Disaster will be poured out[a] from the north(u) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north."(v)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem's gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
16 "I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(w)
17 "Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(x) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city,(y) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(z) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(aa) since I am with you to rescue you."(ab)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
Israel Accused of Apostasy
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:
I remember the loyalty of your youth,(a)
your love as a bride—
how you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the
Lord
,(b)
the firstfruits of His harvest.(c)
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;(d)
disaster came on them."
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
4 Hear the word of the
Lord
, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the
Lord
says:
What fault did your fathers find in Me(e)
that they went so far from Me,
followed worthless idols,(f)
and became worthless themselves?(g)
6 They stopped asking, "Where is the
Lord
(h)
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,(i)
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[a]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?"
7 I brought you to a fertile land(j)
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled My land;(k)
you made My inheritance(l) detestable.
8 The priests quit asking, "Where is the
Lord
?"
The experts in the law no longer knew Me,(m)
and the rulers(n) rebelled against Me.
The prophets prophesied by[b] Baal(o)
and followed useless idols.(p)
9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
I will bring a case against your children's children.(q)
10 Cross over to Cyprus[c](r) and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar(s) and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?(t)
(But they were not gods!(u))
Yet My people have exchanged their[d] Glory
for useless idols.(v)
12 Be horrified at this, heavens;(w)
be shocked and utterly appalled.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
13 For My people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned Me,(x)
the fountain of living water,(y)
and dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.(z)
Consequences of Apostasy
14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?[e]
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;(aa)
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.(ab)
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes(ac)
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself(ad)
by abandoning the
Lord
your God
while He was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt(ae)
to drink the waters of the Nile?[f]
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria(af)
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?(ag)
19 Your own evil will discipline you;(ah)
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter(ai) it is
for you to abandon the
Lord
your God
and to have no fear of Me.
This is the declaration
of the Lord
God
of Hosts.
20 For long ago I[g] broke your yoke;(aj)
I[h] tore off your chains.
You insisted, "I will not serve!"
On every high hill
and under every green tree(ak)
you lie down like a prostitute.(al)
21 I planted you, a choice vine(am)
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?(an)
22 Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of soap,(ao)
the stain of your sin is still in front of Me.(ap)
This is the Lord
God
's declaration.
23 How can you protest, "I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals"?(aq)
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.(ar)
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24 a wild donkey(as) at home[i] in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become tired;
they will find her in her mating season.[j]
25 Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, "It's hopeless;(at)
I love strangers,(au)
and I will continue to follow them."
26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.(av)
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets(aw)
27 say to a tree, "You are my father,"
and to a stone, "You gave birth to me."
For they have turned their back to Me
and not their face,(ax)
yet in their time of disaster(ay) they beg,
"Rise up and save us!"
28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you(az)
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.
Judgment Deserved
29 Why do you bring a case against Me?(ba)
All of you have rebelled against Me.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
30 I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.(bb)
Your own sword has devoured your prophets(bc)
like a ravaging lion.
31 Evil generation,
pay attention to the word of the
Lord
!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?(bd)
Why do My people claim,
"We will go where we want;[k]
we will no longer come to You"?
32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry(be)
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet My people have forgotten Me(bf)
for countless days.
33 How skillfully you pursue love;
you also teach evil women your ways.
34 Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.(bg)
You did not catch them breaking and entering.(bh)
But in spite of all these things
35 you claim, "I am innocent.(bi)
His anger is sure to turn away from me."
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, "I have not sinned."(bj)
36 How unstable you are,(bk)
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt(bl)
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head(bm)
since the
Lord
has rejected those you trust;(bn)
you will not succeed even with their help.[l]
Acts 26
Chapter 26
Paul's Defense before Agrippa
1 Agrippa said to Paul, "It is permitted for you to speak for yourself."
Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 "I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that today I am going to make a defense before you about everything I am accused of by the Jews, 3 especially since you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 "All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem.(a) 5 They had previously known me for quite some time, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.(b) 6 And now I stand on trial for the hope(c) of the promise(d) made by God to our fathers, 7 the promise our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve Him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope.(e) 8 Why is it considered incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? 9 In fact, I myself supposed it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus the Nazarene.(f) 10 I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.(g) 11 In all the synagogues I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them.(h) I even pursued them to foreign cities since I was greatly enraged at them.
Paul's Account of His Conversion and Commission
12 "I was traveling to Damascus under(i) these circumstances with authority and a commission from the chief priests. 13 King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' [a](j)
15 "Then I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?'
"And the Lord replied: ‘I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen[b] and of what I will reveal to you.(k) 17 I will rescue you from the people and from the Gentiles. I now send you to them(l) 18 to open their eyes(m) so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that by faith in Me they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified.'(n)
19 "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 Instead, I preached to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.(o) 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple complex and were trying to kill me. 22 To this very day, I have obtained help that comes from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing else than what the prophets and Moses said would take place(p)— 23 that the Messiah must suffer, and that as the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles."(q)
Not Quite Persuaded
24 As he was making his defense this way, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, "You're out of your mind,(r) Paul! Too much study is driving you mad!"
25 But Paul replied, "I'm not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I'm speaking words of truth and good judgment.(s) 26 For the king knows about these matters. It is to him I am actually speaking boldly. For I am convinced that none of these things escapes his notice, since this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe."
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?"
29 "I wish before God," replied Paul, "that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains."(t)
30 So the king, the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them got up, 31 and when they had left they talked with each other and said, "This man is doing nothing that deserves death or chains."(u)
32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar."(v)
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