the Week of Proper 5 / Ordinary 10
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 5 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 6-7
Chapter 6
Idolatrous Worship Denounced
1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2 "Son of man, set your face toward the (C1)mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them3 and say, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord (F1)GOD! This is what the Lord (F1)GOD says to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: "Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword against you, and (C1)I will destroy your high places.4 "So your (C1)altars will become deserted and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols.5 "I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your (C1)bones around your altars.6 "(F1)Everywhere you live, (C1)cities will be in ruins and the high places will be deserted, so that your altars will be in ruins and (F2)deserted, your (C2)idols will be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars will be cut down, and your works wiped out.7 "The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
8 "However, I will leave a (C1)remnant, in that you will have those who (C2)escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries.9 "Then those of you who escape will (C1)remember Me among the nations to which they will be taken captive, how I have (F1)(C2)been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which committed infidelity with their idols; and they will (C3)loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations.10 "Then they will know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them."'
11 "This is what the Lord (F1)GOD says: 'Clap your hands, (C1)stamp your foot and say, "(C2)Woe, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by the (C3)sword, famine, and plague!12 "Anyone who is (C1)far away will die by the plague, anyone who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who remains and is spared from these will die by the famine. So I will (C2)expend My wrath on them.13 "Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their (C1)dead are among their idols around their altars, on (C2)every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every leafy tree and under every massive oak with thick branches—the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols.14 "So through all their dwelling places I will (C1)stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; so they will know that I am the LORD."'"
Chapter 7
Punishment for Wickedness Foretold
1 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2 "And you, son of man, this is what the Lord (F1)GOD says to the land of Israel: 'An (C1)end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land.3 'Now the end is upon you, for I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and (F1)bring all your abominations upon you.4 'And My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will (F1)(C1)bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will (C2)know that I am the LORD!'
5 "This is what the Lord (F1)GOD says: 'A (C1)disaster, a unique disaster, behold, it is coming!6 'An end (F1)is coming; the end has come! It has (C1)awakened against you; behold, it has come!7 'Your (F1)doom has come to you, you inhabitant of the land. The (C1)time has come, the (C2)day is near—panic rather than joyful shouting on the mountains.8 'Now I will shortly (C1)pour out My wrath on you and expend My anger against you; I will (C2)judge you according to your ways and (F1)bring on you all your abominations.9 'My eye will have no pity nor will I spare you. I will (F1)repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, am striking.
10 'Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your (F1)doom has gone forth; the (C1)rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed.11 'Violence (F1)has grown into a rod of (C1)wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their (F2)people, none of their (C2)wealth, nor anything eminent among them.12 'The (C1)time has come, the day has arrived. Let neither the (C2)buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for (C3)wrath is against all their multitude.13 'Indeed, the seller will not (F1)(C1)regain (F2)what he sold as long as (F3)they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not (F4)be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his wrongdoing.
14 'They have (C1)blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all (F1)their multitude.15 'The (C1)sword is outside the city and the plague and the famine are within. Anyone who is in the field will die by the sword, while famine and the plague will consume those in the city.16 'Even when their survivors (C1)escape, they will be on the mountains like (C2)doves of the valleys, all of them (C3)moaning, each over his own wrongdoing.17 'All (C1)hands will hang limp, and all (F1)knees will drip with water.18 'They will (C1)put on sackcloth and (C2)shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces, and a (F1)(C3)bald patch on all their heads.19 'They will (C1)fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their (C2)silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their (F1)appetite, nor can they fill their stomachs, because their wrongdoing has become a cause of stumbling.
The Temple Profaned
20 'Moreover, they transformed the splendor of His jewels into pride, and (C1)they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them.21 'And I will hand it over to the (C1)foreigners as plunder, and to the wicked of the earth as spoils; and they will profane it.22 'I will also turn My (C1)face away from them, and they will profane My treasure; then robbers will enter and profane it.23 '(C1)Make the (F1)chain, for the land is full of (F2)(C2)bloody crimes, and the city is (C3)full of violence.24 'Therefore, I will bring the worst of the (C1)nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will also put an end to the (C2)pride of the strong ones, and their (C3)holy places will be profaned.25 'When anguish comes, they will seek (C1)peace, but there will be none.26 '(C1)Disaster will come upon disaster and (C2)rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a (C3)vision from a prophet, but the (C4)Law will be lost from the priest, and (C5)counsel from the elders.27 'The king will mourn, the prince will be (C1)clothed in horror, and the hands of the people of the land will (F1)tremble. I will deal with them because of their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the LORD.'"
Isaiah 40
Chapter 40
The Greatness of God
1 "(C1)Comfort, comfort My people," says your God.
2 "(C1)Speak (F1)kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her (F2)(C2)warfare has ended,
That her (F3)(C3)guilt has been removed,
That she has received of the LORD'S hand
(C4)Double for all her sins."
3 (C1)The voice of one calling out,
"(C2)Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make (F1)straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 "Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 (F1)Then the (C1)glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And (C2)all flesh will see it together;
For the (C3)mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Call out."
Then (F1)he answered, "What shall I call out?"
(C1)All flesh is grass, and all its (F2)loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The (C1)grass withers, the flower fades,
(F1)When the (C2)breath of the LORD blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But (C1)the word of our God stands forever.
9 Go up on a (C1)high mountain,
Zion, messenger of (C2)good news,
Raise your voice forcefully,
Jerusalem, messenger of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the (C3)cities of Judah,
"(C4)Here is your God!"
10 Behold, the Lord (F1)GOD will come (C1)with might,
With His (C2)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His (C3)compensation is with Him,
And His reward before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will (C1)tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in the fold of His robe;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has (C1)measured the (F1)waters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a (F2)span,
And (F3)calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13 (C1)Who has (F1)directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His (C2)counselor has informed Him?
14 (C1)With whom did He consult and who (C2)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the (C1)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of (C2)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the (F1)islands like fine dust.
16 Even Lebanon is not enough to (F1)burn,
Nor its (C1)animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 (C1)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and (F1)meaningless.
18 (C1)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the (F1)(C1)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith (C2)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a (C1)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To (F1)prepare (F2)an idol that (C2)will not totter.
21 (C1)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood (C2)from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who (F1)sits above the (F2)(C1)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like (C2)grasshoppers,
Who (C3)stretches out the heavens like a (C4)curtain
And spreads them out like a (C5)tent to live in.
23 It is He who reduces (C1)rulers to nothing,
Who (C2)makes the judges of the earth (F1)meaningless.
24 (F1)Scarcely have they been planted,
(F1)Scarcely have they been sown,
(F1)Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the (C1)storm carries them away like stubble.
25 "(C1)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.
26 (C1)Raise your eyes on high
And see (C2)who has created these stars,
The (C3)One who brings out their (F1)multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the (C4)greatness of His might and the (F2)strength of His power,
(C5)Not one of them is missing.
27 (C1)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
"My way is (C2)hidden from the LORD,
And the (C3)justice due me (F1)escapes the notice of (C4)my God"?
28 (C1)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The (C2)Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is (C3)unsearchable.
29 He gives strength to the (C1)weary,
And to the one who lacks might He (C2)increases power.
30 Though (C1)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous (C2)young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who (F1)wait for the LORD
Will (C1)gain new strength;
They will (F2)(C2)mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Ephesians 2
Chapter 2
Made Alive in Christ
1 And (F1)you (F2)were (C1)dead (F3)in your offenses and sins,2 in which you (C1)previously walked according to the (F1)course of (C2)this world, according to (C3)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in (C4)the (F2)sons of disobedience.3 Among them (F1)we too all (C1)previously lived in (C2)the lusts of our flesh, (F2)indulging the desires of the flesh and of the (F3)mind, and were (C3)by nature (C4)children of wrath, (C5)just as the rest.4 But God, being (C1)rich in mercy, because of (C2)His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were (C1)dead (F1)in our wrongdoings, made us alive together (F2)with Christ ((C2)by grace you have been saved),6 and (C1)raised us up with Him, and (C2)seated us with Him in (C3)the heavenly places in (C4)Christ Jesus,7 so that in the ages to come He might show the (F1)boundless (C1)riches of His grace in (C2)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For (C1)by grace you have been saved (C2)through faith; and (F1)this is not of yourselves, it is (C3)the gift of God;9 (C1)not a result of works, so that (C2)no one may boast.10 For we are His workmanship, (C1)created in (C2)Christ Jesus for (C3)good works, which God (C4)prepared beforehand so that we would (C5)walk in them.
11 Therefore remember that (C1)previously (C2)you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "(C3)Uncircumcision" by the so-called "(C3)Circumcision" which is performed in the flesh by human hands—12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, (F1)(C1)excluded from (F2)the people of Israel, and strangers to (C2)the covenants of the promise, having (C3)no hope and (C4)without God in the world.13 But now in (C1)Christ Jesus you who (C2)previously were (C3)far away (F1)have (C3)been brought near (F2)(C4)by the blood of Christ.14 For He Himself is (C1)our peace, (C2)who made both groups into one and broke down the (F1)barrier of the dividing wall,15 (F1)by (C1)abolishing (F2)in His flesh the hostility, which is (C2)the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might (F3)(C3)make the two (C4)one new person, in this way establishing (C5)peace;16 and that He might (C1)reconcile them both in (C2)one body to God through the cross, (F1)by it having (C3)put to death the hostility.17 And (C1)He came and preached (C2)peace to you who were (C3)far away, and peace to those who were (C3)near;18 for through Him we both have (C1)our access in (C2)one Spirit to (C3)the Father.19 So then you are no longer (C1)strangers and foreigners, but you are (C2)fellow citizens with the (F1)saints, and are of (C3)God's household,20 having been (C1)built on (C2)the foundation of (C3)the apostles and prophets, (C4)Christ Jesus Himself being the (C5)cornerstone,21 (C1)in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into (C2)a holy (F1)temple in the Lord,22 in whom you also are being (C1)built together into a (C2)dwelling of God in the Spirit.
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