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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
November 27 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Jeremiah 49-50
Chapter 49
Prophecies against Ammon
1 About the Ammonites,(a) this is what the Lord says:
Does Israel have no sons?
Is he without an heir?
Why then has Milcom[a][b] dispossessed Gad(b)
and his people settled in their cities?
2 Therefore look, the days are coming—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
when I will make the shout of battle(c) heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its villages will be burned down.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the
Lord
.
3 Wail, Heshbon,(d) for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth,(e) and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,[c]
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.(f)
4 Why do you brag about your valleys,
your flowing valley,[d]
you faithless daughter?
You who trust in your treasures
and boast, "Who can attack me?"
5 Look, I am about to bring terror on you(g)—
this is the declaration of
the Lord
God
of Hosts—
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each man headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
6 But after that, I will restore the fortunes[e] of the Ammonites.(h)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
Prophecies against Edom
7 About Edom, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?[f]
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?(i)
8 Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,(j)
for I will bring Esau's calamity on him
at the time I punish him.(k)
9 If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn't they leave some gleanings?(l)
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.(m)
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.(n)
He will try to hide himself, but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.
11 Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;
let your widows trust in Me.(o)
12 "For this is what the Lord says: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, for you must drink it too. 13 For by Myself I have sworn"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"Bozrah[g] will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will become ruins forever."(p)
14 I have heard a message from the
Lord
;
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
Assemble yourselves to come against her.
Rise up for war!
15 Look, I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,
despised among humanity.
16 As to the terror you cause,[h]
your presumptuous heart has deceived you.
You who live in the clefts of the rock,[i]
you who occupy the mountain summit,
though you elevate your nest like the eagle,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.(q)
17 "Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds.(r) 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,"(s) says the Lord , "no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.(t)
19 "Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets[j] of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me?(u) Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?"
20 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman:(v) The flock's little lambs will certainly be dragged away,(w) and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.(x) 22 Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.(y)
Prophecies against Damascus
23 About Damascus:(z)
Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,(aa)
for they have heard a bad report and are agitated;
in the sea there is anxiety that cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has become weak;
she has turned to run;
panic has gripped her.
Distress and labor pains have seized her
like a woman in labor.
25 How can the city of praise not be abandoned,(ab)
the town that brings Me joy?
26 Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the declaration of
the
Lord
of Hosts.(ac)
27 I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;
it will consume Ben-hadad's citadels.(ad)
Prophecies against Kedar and Hazor
28 About Kedar(ae) and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar,(af) Babylon's king, defeated, this is what the Lord says:
Rise up, go against Kedar,
and destroy the people of the east!
29 They will take their tents and their flocks
along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.
They will take their camels for themselves.
They will call out to them:
Terror is on every side!(ag)
30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,
residents of Hazor—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has drawn up a plan against you;
he has devised a strategy against you.
31 Rise up, go up against a nation at ease,
one living in security.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
They have no doors, not even a gate bar;
they live alone.(ah)
32 Their camels will become plunder,
and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.(ai)
I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,
those who shave their temples;
I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
33 Hazor will become a jackals' den,(aj)
a desolation forever.
No one will live there;
no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.(ak)
Prophecies against Elam
34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam[k] at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.(al) 35 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
I am about to shatter Elam's bow,(am)
the source[l] of their might.
36 I will bring the four winds against Elam
from the four corners of the heavens,
and I will scatter them to all these winds.
There will not be a nation
to which Elam's banished ones will not go.
37 I will devastate Elam before their enemies,
before those who want to take their lives.
I will bring disaster on them,
My burning anger.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
I will send the sword after them(an)
until I finish them off.
38 I will set My throne in Elam,
and I will destroy the king and officials from there.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
39 In the last days,
I will restore the fortunes[m] of Elam.(ao)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
Chapter 50
Prophecies against Babylon
1 The word the Lord spoke about Babylon,(a) the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 Announce to the nations;
proclaim and raise up a signal flag;(b)
proclaim, and hide nothing.
Say: Babylon is captured;
Bel(c) is put to shame;
Marduk is devastated;
her idols are put to shame;
her false gods, devastated.
3 For a nation from the north will come against her;(d)
it will make her land desolate.
No one will be living in it—
both man and beast will escape.[a]
4 In those days and at that time—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
the Israelites and Judeans will come together,
weeping as they come,
and will seek the
Lord
their God.(e)
5 They will ask about Zion,
turning their faces to this road.
They will come and join themselves[b] to the
Lord
in an everlasting covenant(f) that will never be forgotten.
6 My people are lost sheep;(g)
their shepherds have led them astray,
guiding them the wrong way in the mountains.(h)
They have wandered from mountain to hill;
they have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who found them devoured them.
Their adversaries said, "We're not guilty;
instead, they have sinned against the
Lord
,
their righteous grazing land,(i)
the hope of their ancestors,(j) the
Lord
."
8 Escape from Babylon;(k)
depart from the Chaldeans' land.
Be like the rams that lead the flock.
9 For I will soon stir up and bring against Babylon
an assembly of great nations from the north country.
They will line up in battle formation against her;
from there she will be captured.
Their arrows will be like those of a skilled[c] warrior
who does not return empty-handed.
10 The Chaldeans will become plunder;
all Babylon's plunderers will be fully satisfied.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
11 Because you rejoice,
because you sing in triumph—
you who plundered My inheritance—
because you frolic like a young cow treading grain
and neigh like stallions,(l)
12 your mother will be utterly humiliated;
she who bore you will be put to shame.
Look! She will lag behind all[d] the nations—
a dry land, a wilderness,(m) an Arabah.
13 Because of the
Lord
's wrath,
she will not be inhabited;
she will become a desolation, every bit of her.
Everyone who passes through Babylon
will be horrified
and scoff because of all her wounds.(n)
14 Line up in battle formation around Babylon,
all you archers!
Shoot at her! Do not spare an arrow,
for she has sinned against the
Lord
.
15 Raise a war cry against her on every side!
She has thrown up her hands in surrender;
her defense towers have fallen;
her walls are demolished.(o)
Since this is the
Lord
's vengeance,(p)
take out your vengeance on her;
as she has done, do the same to her.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon
as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor's sword,(q)
each will turn to his own people,(r)
each will flee to his own land.
The Return of God's People
17 Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions.(s)
The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria;
the last one who crushed his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.(t)
18 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to punish the king of Babylon(u) and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 I will return Israel to his grazing land,
and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan;
he will be satisfied
in the hill country of Ephraim and of Gilead.(v)
20 In those days and at that time—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
one will search for Israel's guilt,
but there will be none,
and for Judah's sins,
but they will not be found,
for I will forgive(w) those I leave as a remnant.(x)
The Invasion of Babylon
21 "Go against the land of Merathaim,
and against those living in Pekod.
Put them to the sword;
completely destroy them—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
do everything I have commanded you.(y)
22 The sound of war is in the land(z)—
a great destruction.
23 How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and smashed!
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!(aa)
24 Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught,(ab)
but you did not even know it.
You were found and captured
because you fought against the
Lord
.
25 The
Lord
opened His armory
and brought out His weapons of wrath,(ac)
because it is a task of the Lord
God
of Hosts
in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the most distant places.[e]
Open her granaries;
pile her up like mounds of grain
and completely destroy her.
Leave her no survivors.
27 Put all her young bulls to the sword;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them, because their day has come,
the time of their punishment.(ad)
The Humiliation of Babylon
28 "There is a voice of fugitives and those who escape
from the land of Babylon
announcing in Zion the vengeance of the
Lord
our God,
the vengeance for His temple.(ae)
29 Summon the archers to Babylon,
all who string the bow;
camp all around her; let none escape.
Repay her according to her deeds;(af)
just as she has done, do the same to her,
for she has acted arrogantly against the
Lord
,
against the Holy One of Israel.(ag)
30 Therefore, her young men will fall
in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.(ah)
31 Look, I am against you, you arrogant one—
this is the declaration of
the Lord
God
of Hosts—
because your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
32 The arrogant will stumble and fall
with no one to pick him up.
I will set fire to his cities,
and it will consume everything around him."(ai)
The Desolation of Babylon
33 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Israelites and Judeans alike have been oppressed.
All their captors hold them fast;(aj)
they refuse to release them.
34 Their Redeemer is strong;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.
He will fervently plead their case(ak)
so that He might bring rest to the earth
but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.(al)
35 A sword is over the Chaldeans—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
against those who live in Babylon,
against her officials, and against her sages.
36 A sword is against the diviners,
and they will act foolishly.
A sword is against her heroic warriors,
and they will be terrified.
37 A sword is against his horses and chariots
and against all the foreigners among them,(am)
and they will be like women.(an)
A sword is against her treasuries,
and they will be plundered.
38 A drought will come on her waters,
and they will be dried up.
For it is a land of carved images,
and they go mad because of terrifying things.[f](ao)
39 Therefore, desert creatures[g] will live with hyenas,
and ostriches will also live in her.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in through all generations.(ap)
40 Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring towns(aq)—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
so no one will live there;
no human being will even stay in it
as a temporary resident.(ar)
The Conquest of Babylon
41 Look! A people comes from the north.
A great nation and many kings will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.(as)
42 They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea,(at)
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Babylon.
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands fall helpless.
Distress has seized him—
pain, like a woman in labor.(au)
44 "Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets[h](av) of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. Indeed, I will chase Babylon[i] away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like Me? Who will summon Me? Who is the shepherd who can stand against Me?"
45 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock's little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them. 46 At the sound of Babylon's conquest the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.(aw)
Psalms 143
Chapter 143
Psalm 143
A Cry for Help
A Davidic psalm.
1
Lord
, hear my prayer.
In Your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in Your righteousness answer me.(a)
2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment,(b)
for no one alive is righteous in Your sight.(c)
3 For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing me to the ground,
making me live in darkness
like those long dead.(d)
4 My spirit is weak within me;
my heart is overcome with dismay.(e)
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all You have done;
I reflect on the work of Your hands.(f)
6 I spread out my hands to You;
I am like parched land before You.(g)
7 Answer me quickly,
Lord
;
my spirit fails.(h)
Don't hide Your face from me,
or I will be like those
going down to the Pit.(i)
8 Let me experience
Your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in You.(j)
Reveal to me the way I should go
because I long for You.(k)
9 Rescue me from my enemies,
Lord
;
I come to You for protection.[a](l)
10 Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God.(m)
May Your gracious Spirit
lead me on level ground.(n)
11 Because of Your name, Yahweh,
let me live.
In Your righteousness deliver me from trouble,(o)
12 and in Your faithful love destroy my enemies.
Wipe out all those who attack me,
for I am Your servant.(p)
Galatians 2
Chapter 2
Paul Defends His Gospel at Jerusalem
1 Then after 14 years I went up again(a) to Jerusalem with Barnabas,(b) taking Titus(c) along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation(d) and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles—but privately to those recognized as leaders—so that I might not be running, or have run the race, in vain. 3 But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 This issue arose because of false brothers(e) smuggled in, who came in secretly to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even an hour, so that the truth(f) of the gospel would be preserved for you.
6 Now from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism[a](g))—they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised,(h) just as Peter(i) was for the circumcised, 8 since the One at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James,(j) Cephas,(k) and John,(l) recognized as pillars,(m) acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor,(n) which I made every effort to do.
Freedom from the Law
11 But when Cephas[b] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned.[c] 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews(o) joined his hypocrisy,(p) so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas[d] in front of everyone, "If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile(q) and not like a Jew,(r) how can you compel Gentiles to live(s) like Jews?"[e]
15 We who are Jews by birth and not "Gentile sinners" 16 know that no one is justified by the works of the law(t) but by faith in Jesus Christ.[f] And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ[g] and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will[h] be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be "sinners" while seeking to be justified by Christ,(u) is Christ then a promoter[i](v) of sin? Absolutely not!(w) 18 If I rebuild(x) the system[j] I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.(y) 19 For through the law I have died to the law,(z) so that I might live for God.(aa) I have been crucified with Christ[k] 20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.(ab) The life I now live in the body,[l] I live by faith in the Son of God,(ac) who loved(ad) me(ae) and gave Himself(af) for me.(ag) 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law,(ah) then Christ died(ai) for nothing.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
