the Fifth Week after Easter
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 23 - Bible-in-a-Year
nas
Ezekiel 34
Chapter 34
Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel
1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2 "Son of man, prophesy against the (C1)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to (F1)those shepherds, 'This is what the Lord (F2)GOD says: "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been (F3)(C2)feeding themselves! Should the shepherds not (F3)(C3)feed the flock?3 "You (C1)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you (C2)slaughter the fat sheep (F1)without feeding the flock.4 "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, (C1)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you (C2)searched for the lost; but with force and with violence you have (F1)dominated them.5 "They (C1)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (C2)food for every animal of the field and scattered.6 "My flock (C1)strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill; (C2)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was (C3)no one to search or seek for them."'"
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:8 "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "certainly, because My flock has become (C1)plunder, and My flock has become food for all the animals of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock,9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:10 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Behold, I am (C1)against the shepherds, and I will demand My (F1)sheep (F2)from them and make them (C2)stop tending sheep. So the shepherds will not (F3)feed themselves anymore, but I will (C3)save My sheep from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'"
The Restoration of Israel
11 For the Lord GOD says this: "Behold, I Myself will (C1)search for My sheep and look after them.12 "(C1)As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered (F1)sheep, so I will (C2)care for My (F1)sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a (C3)cloudy and gloomy day.13 "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will (C1)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the (C2)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.14 "I will feed them in a (C1)good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in (F1)(C2)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.15 "I Myself will (C1)feed My flock and I Myself will (F1)lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD.16 "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the (C1)fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will (C2)feed them with judgment.
17 "As for you, My flock, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I am going to (C1)judge between one (F1)sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats.18 'Is it too (C1)little a thing for you to feed in the good pasture, that you must trample with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or too little for you to drink the clear waters, that you must muddy the rest with your feet?19 'But as for My flock, they must eat what you trample with your feet, and drink what you muddy with your feet!'"
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says to them: "Behold, I, I Myself will also judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.21 "Since you push away with your side and shoulder, and (C1)gore all the (F1)weak with your horns until you have scattered them (F2)abroad,22 therefore, I will (C1)save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 "Then I will (C1)appoint over them one (C2)shepherd, My servant (C3)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd.24 "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant (C1)David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.
25 "And I will make a (C1)covenant of peace with them and (C2)eliminate harmful animals from the land, so that they may (C3)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.26 "I will make them and the places around My hill a (C1)blessing. And I will make (C2)showers fall in their season; they will be showers of (C3)blessing.27 "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be (C1)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have (C2)broken the bars of their yoke and have saved them from the hand of those who enslaved them.28 "They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the animals of the earth will not devour them; but they will (C1)live securely, and no one will make them afraid.29 "I will establish for them a (C1)renowned planting place, and they will (C2)not again be (F1)victims of famine in the land, and they will not (C3)endure the insults of the nations anymore.30 "Then they will know that (C1)I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord GOD.31 "As for you, My (C1)sheep, (F1)the (C2)sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God," declares the Lord GOD.
Isaiah 58
Chapter 58
Observances of Fasts
1 "(C1)Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their (C2)wrongdoing,
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 "Yet they (C1)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done (C2)righteousness
And (C3)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight (C4)in the nearness of God.
3 'Why have we (C1)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not (F1)notice?'
Behold, on the (C2)day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
4 "Behold, you fast for contention and (C1)strife, and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you have done today to (C2)make your voice heard on high!
5 "Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it for bowing (F1)one's head like a reed
And for spreading out (C1)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an (C2)acceptable day to the LORD?
6 "Is this not the fast that I choose:
To (C1)release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to (C2)let the oppressed go free,
And (C3)break every yoke?
7 "Is it not to (C1)break your bread (F1)with the hungry
And (C2)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the (C3)naked, to cover him;
And not to (C4)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 "Then your (C1)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (C2)recovery will spring up quickly;
And your (C3)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the (C4)LORD will be your rear guard.
9 "Then you will (C1)call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.'
If you (C2)remove the yoke from your midst,
The (F1)(C3)pointing of the finger and (C4)speaking wickedness,
10 And if you (C1)offer yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the (F1)need of the afflicted,
Then your (C2)light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
11 "And the (C1)LORD will continually guide you,
And (C2)satisfy your (F1)desire in scorched places,
And (C3)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a (C4)watered garden,
And like a (C5)spring of water whose waters do not (F2)fail.
12 "Those from among you will (C1)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will (C2)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the (C3)breach,
The restorer of the (F1)streets in which to dwell.
Keeping the Sabbath
13 "If, because of the Sabbath, you (C1)restrain your foot
From doing as you wish on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a (C2)pleasure, and the holy day of the LORD honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your (C3)own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And (C4)speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take (C1)delight in the LORD,
And I will make you ride (C2)on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the (C3)mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Luke 1:26-56
Chapter 1
26 Now in the sixth month the angel (C1)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named (C2)Nazareth,27 to (C1)a virgin (F1)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, (C2)of the (F2)descendants of David; and the virgin's name was (F3)Mary.28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord (F1)is with you."29 But she (C1)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was.30 And the angel said to her, "(C1)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you (C1)shall name Him Jesus.32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of (C1)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him (C2)the throne of His father David;33 (C1)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, (C2)and His kingdom will have no end."34 But Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I (F1)am a virgin?"35 The angel answered and said to her, "(C1)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (C2)the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also (C3)the (F1)holy Child will be called (C4)the Son of God.36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and (F1)she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month.37 "For (C1)nothing will be impossible with God."38 And Mary said, "Behold, the Lord's bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now (F1)at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to (C1)the hill country, to a city of Judah,40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was (C1)filled with the Holy Spirit.42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!43 "And (F1)how has it happened to me that the mother of (C1)my Lord would come to me?44 "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.45 "And (C1)blessed is she who (F1)believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her (F2)by the Lord."
Mary's Song: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said: "(C1)My soul (F1)(C2)exalts the Lord,
47 And (C1)my spirit has rejoiced in (C2)God my Savior.
48 "For (C1)He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
For behold, from now on all generations will (F1)call me (C2)blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 "(C1)And His mercy is to generation (F1)after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 "(C1)He has done (F1)mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the (F2)thoughts of their hearts.
52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (C1)exalted those who were humble.
53 "(C1)He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 "He has given help to His servant Israel,
(F1)In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (C1)Just as He spoke to our fathers,
(C2)To Abraham and his (F1)descendants forever."
56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.<
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995,2020 by The Lockman Foundation
