the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 12 - Old & New Testament
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Zechariah 13,14
God's People Cleansed
1 "On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.(a) 2 On that day"—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—"I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will remove the prophets[a] and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken falsely in the name of Yahweh. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.(b) 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak(c) in order to deceive. 5 He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased[b] me as a servant since my youth.(d) 6 If someone asks him: What are these wounds(e) on your chest?[c]—then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.
7 Sword, awake against My shepherd,
against the man who is My associate—
this is the declaration of the
Lord
of Hosts.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;(f)
I will also turn My hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
two-thirds[d] will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
9 I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
and I will answer them.
I will say: They are My people,
and they will say: Yahweh is our God."
The Lord's Triumph and Reign
1 A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle.(a) The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
3 Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.(b) 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(c) which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. 5 You will flee by My mountain valley,[a] for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled[b] from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.(d) Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with Him.[c](e)
6 On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight[d] will diminish.[e](f) 7 It will be a day known only to Yahweh,(g) without day or night, but there will be light at evening.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem,(h) half of it toward the eastern sea[f] and the other half toward the western sea,[g] in summer and winter alike. 9 On that day Yahweh will become King over all the earth(i)—Yahweh alone, and His name alone.(j) 10 All the land from Geba(k) to Rimmon(l) south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain[h] on its site from the Benjamin Gate(m) to the place of the First Gate,[i] to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.(n) 11 People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.
12 This will be the plague the Lord strikes all the peoples with, who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day a great panic from the Lord will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other. 14 Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.(o) 15 The same plague as the previous one will strike[j] the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.
16 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.(p) 17 Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, rain will not fall on them. 18 And if the people[k] of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the Lord inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.
20 On that day, the words
HOLY TO THE LORD
will be on the bells of the horses.(q) The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts. Everyone who sacrifices will come and take some of the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[l] in the house of the Lord of Hosts.
Revelation 3,4
The Letter to Sardis
1 "Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:
"The One who has the seven spirits of God(a) and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation[a] for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen[b] what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come[c] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.[d] 4 But you have a few people[e] in Sardis who have not defiled[f] their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. 5 In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life(b) but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Letter to Philadelphia
7 "Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
"The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens(c) says: 8 I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close. 9 Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you. (d) 10 Because you have kept My command to endure,[g] I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have,(e) so that no one takes your crown. 12 The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My new name. (f)
13 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Letter to Laodicea
14 "Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea:
"The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator [h](g) of God's creation says: 15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit[i] you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I'm rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,' and you don't know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed[j] and repent. 20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. 21 The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."
The Throne Room of Heaven
1 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit,[a](a) and a throne was set there in heaven.(b) One was seated on the throne, 3 and the One seated[b] looked like jasper[c] and carnelian[d] stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. 4 Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.(c) 6 Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures(d) covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle[e] and around the throne. 7 The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings;(e) they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop,[f] saying:
Holy, holy, holy,[g]
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:
11 Our Lord and God,[h]
You are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because You have created all things,
and because of Your will
they exist and were created.
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