the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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December 16 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 23
Chapter 23
The Two Immoral Sisters
1 The word of the Lord came to me again: 2 "Son of man, there were two women,(a) daughters of the same mother, 3 who acted like prostitutes in Egypt,(b) behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed. 4 The older one was named Oholah,[a] and her sister was Oholibah.[b] They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.
5 "Oholah acted like a prostitute even though she was Mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians:(c) warriors 6 dressed in blue, governors and prefects, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on steeds. 7 She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols. 8 She didn't give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt,(d) when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her. 9 Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers,(e) the Assyrians she lusted for. 10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. Since they executed judgment against her, she became notorious among women.
11 "Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.(f) 12 She lusted after the Assyrians:(g) governors and prefects, warriors splendidly dressed, horsemen riding on steeds, all of them desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path. 14 But she increased her promiscuity when she saw male figures carved on the wall,(h) images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion,(i) 15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers, a depiction of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. 16 At the sight of them[c] she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.(j) 17 Then the Babylonians came to her,(k) to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18 When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.(l) 19 Yet she multiplied her acts of promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth when she acted like a prostitute in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions. 21 So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your nipples to enjoy your youthful breasts.(m)
22 "Therefore Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans; Pekod, Shoa, and Koa;(n) and all the Assyrians with them—desirable young men, all of them governors and prefects, officers and administrators, all of them riding on horses. 24 They will come against you with an alliance of nations and with weapons, chariots, and[d] wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with shields, bucklers, and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards. 25 When I vent My jealous rage on you,(o) they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and your descendants will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your descendants will be consumed by fire. 26 They will strip off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.(p) 27 So I will put an end to your indecency and sexual immorality, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not look longingly at them or remember Egypt anymore.
28 "For this is what the Lord God says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will treat you with hatred, take all you have worked for, and leave you stark naked,(q) so that the shame of your debauchery will be exposed, both your indecency and promiscuity. 30 These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations,(r) defiling yourself with their idols. 31 You have followed the path of your sister, so I will put her cup in your hand."(s)
32 This is what the Lord God says:
You will drink your sister's cup,(t)
which is deep and wide.
You will be an object of[e] ridicule and scorn,
for it holds so much.(u)
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief,
with a cup of devastation and desolation,
the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You will drink it and drain it;
then you will gnaw its broken pieces,
and tear your breasts.
For I have spoken.
This is the declaration of the Lord
God
.
35 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: "Because you have forgotten Me(v) and cast Me behind your back,(w) you must bear the consequences of your indecency and promiscuity."
36 Then the Lord said to me: "Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah?(x) Then declare their detestable practices to them.(y) 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. They have even made the children they bore to Me pass through the fire as food for the idols.(z) 38 They also did this to Me: they defiled My sanctuary(aa) on that same day and profaned My Sabbaths.(ab) 39 On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it.(ac) Yes, that is what they did inside My house.
40 "In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes,(ad) and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.(ae) 41 You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it,(af) on which you had set My incense and oil. 42 The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards[f] from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women's hands and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they now have illicit sex with her, even her? 44 Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those obscene women. 45 But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses(ag) and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
46 "This is what the Lord God says: Summon[g] an assembly against them and consign them to terror and plunder.(ah) 47 The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords.(ai) They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses with fire. 48 So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your indecent behavior. 49 They will repay you for your indecency,(aj) and you will bear the consequences for your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh."
Isaiah 51
Chapter 51
Salvation for Zion
1 Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the
Lord
:
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain.
When I called him, he was only one;
I blessed him and made him many.(a)
3 For the
Lord
will comfort Zion;(b)
He will comfort all her waste places,
and He will make her wilderness like Eden,(c)
and her desert like the garden of the
Lord
.(d)
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.
4 Pay attention to Me, My people,
and listen to Me, My nation;
for instruction will come from Me,
and My justice for a light to the nations.(e)
I will bring it about quickly.
5 My righteousness is near,(f)
My salvation appears,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.(g)
The coastlands[a] will put their hope in Me,
and they will look to My strength.[b]
6 Look up to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and its inhabitants will die like gnats.[c](h)
But My salvation will last forever,(i)
and My righteousness will never be shattered.
7 Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is My instruction:(j)
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
8 For the moth will devour them like a garment,(k)
and the worm will eat them like wool.(l)
But My righteousness will last forever,
and My salvation for all generations.
9 Wake up, wake up!
Put on the strength of the
Lord
's power.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of long ago.
Wasn't it You who hacked Rahab to pieces,(m)
who pierced the sea monster?(n)
10 Wasn't it You who dried up the sea,(o)
the waters of the great deep,
who made the sea-bed into a road
for the redeemed to pass over?(p)
11 And the redeemed of the
Lord
will return(q)
and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy.
Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
12 I—I am the One who comforts you.
Who are you that you should fear man who dies,(r)
or a son of man who is given up like grass?(s)
13 But you have forgotten the
Lord
, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.(t)
You are in constant dread all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who has set himself to destroy.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?(u)
14 The prisoner[d] is soon to be set free;
he will not die and go to the Pit,
and his food will not be lacking.
15 For I am Yahweh your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar(v)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts.
16 I have put My words in your mouth,(w)
and covered you in the shadow of My hand,(x)
in order to plant[e] the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, "You are My people."
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself up!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk the cup of His fury(y)
from the hand of the
Lord
;
you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs—
the cup that causes people to stagger.
18 There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has raised;
there is no one to take hold of her hand
among all the offspring she has brought up.
19 These two things have happened to you:(z)
devastation and destruction,
famine and sword.
Who will grieve for you?
How can I[f] comfort you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net.
They are full of the
Lord
's fury,
the rebuke of your God.
21 So listen to this, afflicted
and drunken one—but not with wine.(aa)
22 This is what your Lord says—
Yahweh, even your God,
who defends His people(ab)—
"Look, I have removed
the cup of staggering from your hand;
that goblet, the cup of My fury.
You will never drink it again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you:(ac)
Lie down, so we can walk over you.
You made your back like the ground,
and like a street for those who walk on it.
Philippians 3
Chapter 3
Knowing Christ
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice(a) in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a protection for you.
2 Watch out for "dogs,"[a] watch out for evil(b) workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision,(c) the ones who serve by the Spirit(d) of God, boast in Christ Jesus,(e) and do not put confidence in the flesh— 4 although I once also had confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day;(f) of the nation of Israel,(g) of the tribe of Benjamin,(h) a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law,(i) a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal,(j) persecuting(k) the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law,(l) blameless.(m)
7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value(n) of knowing Christ(o) Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ(p) 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law,(q) but one that is through faith in Christ[b]—the righteousness from God based on faith.(r) 10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,(s) being conformed to His death,(t) 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
Reaching Forward to God's Goal
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold(u) of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not[c] consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind(v) and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly[d] call in Christ Jesus.(w) 15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal(x) this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross(y) of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory(z) is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious(aa) body,(ab) by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.
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