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Daily Bible Reading
November 17 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Jeremiah 29-30
Chapter 29
Message to the Exiles
1 Now these are the words of the (C1)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.2 (This was after King (C1)Jeconiah and the (C2)queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.)3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of (C1)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,4 "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have (C1)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:5 '(C1)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their (F1)produce.6 'Take (C1)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease.7 '(C1)Seek the (F1)prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and (C2)pray to the LORD in its behalf; for (F2)in its (F1)prosperity will be your (F1)prosperity.'8 "For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Do not let your (C1)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners (C2)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of (C3)your dreams which you dream.9 'For they (C1)prophesy falsely to you in My name; (C2)I have not sent them,' declares the LORD.
10 "For this is what the LORD says: 'When (C1)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My (C2)good word to you, to bring you back to this place.11 'For I know the (C1)plans that I (F1)have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for (F2)(C2)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a (C3)hope.12 'Then you will (C1)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will (C2)listen to you.13 'And you will (C1)seek Me and find Me when you (C2)search for Me with all your heart.14 'I will let Myself be (C1)found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will (C2)restore your fortunes and (C3)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will (C4)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'
15 "Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up (C1)prophets for us in Babylon'—16 for this is what the LORD says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did (C1)not go with you into exile—17 this is what the LORD of armies says: 'Behold, I am sending upon them the (C1)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like (C2)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.18 'I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will (C1)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a (C2)curse and an object of horror and (F1)(C3)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them,19 because they have (C1)not listened to My words,' declares the LORD, 'which I sent to them again and again by (C2)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,' declares the LORD.20 'You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have (C1)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are (C1)prophesying to you falsely in My name: "Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes.22 "Because of them a (C1)curse will be (F1)used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, 'May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon (C2)roasted in the fire,'23 because they (C1)acted (F1)foolishly in Israel, and (C2)committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and falsely (C3)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who (C4)knows, and a witness," declares the LORD.'"
24 Now you shall speak to (C1)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,25 "This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Because you have sent (C1)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to (C2)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,26 "The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the (F1)(C1)overseer of the house of the LORD for every (C2)insane person who (C3)prophesies, to (C4)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar.27 "So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of (C1)Anathoth who prophesies to you,28 seeing that he has (C1)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, '(F1)The exile will be (C2)long; (C3)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their (F2)produce'?"'"
29 Now (C1)Zephaniah the priest read this letter (F1)to Jeremiah the prophet.30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,31 "Send word to (C1)all the exiles, saying, 'This is what the LORD says concerning (C2)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: "Because Shemaiah has (C3)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has (C4)made you trust in a lie,"32 therefore this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am going to (C1)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his (F1)descendants; he will (C2)not have anyone living among this people, (C3)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people," declares the LORD, "because he has (C4)spoken falsely against the LORD."'"
Chapter 30
Liberation from Captivity Promised
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,2 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '(C1)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.3 'For behold, (C1)days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will (C2)restore the fortunes of My people (C3)Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, 'I will also (C4)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.'"
4 Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
5 "For this is what the LORD says: '(F1)I have heard a sound of (C1)terror,
Of fear, and there is no peace.
6 'Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his waist, (C1)as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
7 'Woe, for that (C1)day is great,
There is (C2)none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob's (C3)distress,
Yet he will be (C4)saved from it.
8 'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of armies, 'that I will (C1)break his yoke from (F1)their necks and will tear to pieces (F2)their (C2)restraints; and strangers will no longer (C3)make (F3)them their slaves.9 'But they shall serve the LORD their God and (C1)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 'And (C1)do not fear, Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD,
'And do not be dismayed, Israel;
For behold, I am going to save you (C2)from far away,
And your (F1)descendants from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and be (C3)at peace, without anxiety,
And (C4)no one will make him afraid.
11 'For (C1)I am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you;
For I will completely (C2)destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will (C3)not destroy you completely.
But I will (C4)discipline you fairly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.'
12 "For this is what the LORD says:
'Your broken limb is irreparable,
And your (C1)wound is incurable.
13 'There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
(C1)No recovery for you.
14 'All your (C1)lovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have (C2)wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the (C3)punishment of a (C4)cruel one,
Because your (C5)wrongdoing is great,
And your (C6)sins are numerous.
15 'Why do you cry out over your injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your wrongdoing is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.
16 'Therefore all who (C1)devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, (C2)will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will become plunder,
And all who plunder you I will turn into plunder.
17 'For I will (F1)restore you to (F2)(C1)health
And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD,
'Because they have called you an (C2)outcast, saying:
"It is Zion; no one (F3)cares for her."'
Restoration of Jacob
18 "This is what the LORD says:
'Behold, I will (C1)restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And (C2)have compassion on his dwellings;
And the (C3)city will be rebuilt on its ruins,
And the (C4)palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 'From them will come a (C1)song of thanksgiving
And the voices of those who (F1)(C2)celebrate;
And I will (C3)multiply them and they will not decrease;
I will (C4)honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 '(F1)Their children also will be as before,
And (F2)their congregation will be (C1)established before Me;
And I will punish all (F2)their oppressors.
21 '(F1)Their (C1)leader shall be one of them,
And (F1)their ruler will come out from (F1)their midst;
And I will (C2)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For (F2)who would dare to risk his life to (C3)approach Me?' declares the LORD.
22 'You shall be (C1)My people,
And I will be your God.'"
23 Behold, the (C1)tempest of the LORD!
Wrath has gone forth,
A (F1)sweeping tempest;
It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
24 The (C1)fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
Until He has performed and accomplished
The intent of His heart.
In the (C2)latter days you will understand this.
Psalms 133
Chapter 133
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (C1)brothers to live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious (C1)oil on the head,
Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron's beard,
The oil which ran down upon the (C2)edge of his robes.
3 It is like the (C1)dew of (C2)Hermon
Coming down upon the (C3)mountains of Zion;
For the LORD (C4)commanded the blessing there—(C5)life forever.
James 5
Chapter 5
Misuse of Riches
1 (C1)Come now, (C2)you rich people, (C3)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.2 (C1)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.3 Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will (F1)serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is (C1)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!4 Behold, (C1)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and (C2)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of (C3)the Lord (F1)of armies.5 You have (F1)(C1)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have (F2)fattened your hearts in (C2)a day of slaughter.6 You have condemned and (F1)(C1)put to death (C2)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.
Exhortation
7 Therefore be patient, (C1)brothers and sisters, (C2)until the coming of the Lord. (C3)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until (F1)it gets (C4)the early and late rains.8 (C1)You too be patient; (C2)strengthen your hearts, for (C3)the coming of the Lord is (C4)near.9 (C1)Do not (F1)complain, (C2)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, (C3)the Judge is standing (F2)(C4)right at the (F3)door.10 As an example, (C1)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take (C2)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.11 We count those (C1)blessed who endured. You have heard of (C2)the (F1)endurance of Job and have seen (C3)the (F2)outcome of the Lord's dealings, that (C4)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12 But above all, (C1)my brothers and sisters, (C2)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but (F1)your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.
13 Is anyone among you (C1)suffering? (C2)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to (C3)sing praises.14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for (C1)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, (F1)(C2)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;15 and the (C1)prayer of faith will (F1)(C2)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will (C3)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, (F2)they will be forgiven him.16 Therefore, (C1)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be (C2)healed. (C3)A (F1)prayer of a righteous person, when it is (F2)brought about, can accomplish much.17 Elijah was (C1)a man with a nature like ours, and (C2)he prayed (F1)earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for (C3)three years and six months.18 Then he (C1)prayed again, and (C2)the sky (F1)poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers and sisters, (C1)if anyone among you strays from (C2)the truth and someone turns him back,20 let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will (C1)save his soul from death and (C2)cover a multitude of sins.
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