the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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December 24 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 35-36
Chapter 35
A Prophecy against Edom
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, turn your face toward Mount Seir(a) and prophesy against it. 3 Say to it: This is what the Lord God says:
Look! I am against you, Mount Seir.
I will stretch out My hand against you
and make you a desolate waste.(b)
4 I will turn your cities into ruins,
and you will become a desolation.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
5 "Because you maintained an ancient hatred(c) and handed over the Israelites to the power of the sword in the time of their disaster, the time of final punishment,(d) 6 therefore, as I live"—this is the declaration of the Lord God —"I will destine you for bloodshed, and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.(e) 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.(f) 8 I will fill its mountains with the slain;(g) those slain by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation; your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
10 "Because you said, ‘These two nations and two lands will be mine, and we will possess them'—though the Lord was there(h)— 11 therefore, as I live"—the declaration of the Lord God —"I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them. I will make Myself known among them[a] when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have heard all the blasphemies you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate. They have been given to us to devour!' 13 You boasted against Me(i) with your mouth, and spoke many words against Me. I heard it Myself!
14 "This is what the Lord God says: While the whole world rejoices, I will make you a desolation. 15 Just as you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it became a desolation, so I will deal with you: you will become a desolation, Mount Seir, and so will all Edom in its entirety. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.
Chapter 36
Restoration of Israel's Mountains
1 "Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord .(a) 2 This is what the Lord God says: Because the enemy has said about you, ‘Good!(b) The ancient heights(c) have become our possession,' 3 therefore, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people's gossip and slander,(d) 4 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God . This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder(e) and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.
5 "This is what the Lord God says: Certainly in My burning zeal I speak against the rest of the nations and all of Edom,(f) who took[a] My land as their own possession with wholehearted rejoicing and utter contempt(g) so that its pastureland became[b] plunder. 6 Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I speak in My burning zeal(h) because you have endured the insults of the nations. 7 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I swear[c] that the nations all around you will endure their own insults.(i)
8 "You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches(j) and bear your fruit for My people Israel, since their arrival is near. 9 Look! I am on your side; I will turn toward you,(k) and you will be tilled and sown. 10 I will fill you with people, with the whole house of Israel in its entirety.(l) The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will fill you with people and animals,(m) and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.(n) 12 I will cause people, My people Israel, to walk on you; they will possess you,(o) and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of their children.
13 "This is what the Lord God says: Because people are saying to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of children,'(p) 14 therefore, you will no longer devour men and deprive your nation of children."[d] This is the declaration of the Lord God . 15 "I will no longer allow the insults of the nations to be heard against you, and you will not have to endure the reproach of the peoples anymore;(q) you will no longer cause your nation to stumble."[e] This is the declaration of the Lord God .
Restoration of Israel's People
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 "Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions.(r) Their behavior before Me was like menstrual impurity.(s) 18 So I poured out My wrath(t) on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19 I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries.(u) I judged them according to their conduct and actions.(v) 20 When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name,(w) because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.' 21 Then I had concern for My holy name,(x) which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
22 "Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act,(y) house of Israel, but for My holy name,(z) which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh"—the declaration of the Lord God —"when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.(aa)
24 "For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.(ab) 25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.(ac) I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.(ad) 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;(ae) I will remove your heart of stone[f] and give you a heart of flesh.(af) 27 I will place My Spirit within you(ag) and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.(ah) 28 Then you will live in the land that I gave your fathers;(ai) you will be My people, and I will be your God.(aj) 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and will not bring famine on you.(ak) 30 I will also make the fruit of the trees and the produce of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine.
31 "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good,(al) and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.(am) 32 It is not for your sake that I will act"(an)—the declaration of the Lord God —"let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel!
33 "This is what the Lord God says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.(ao) 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 35 Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden.(ap) The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, Yahweh, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Yahweh, have spoken and I will do it.(aq)
37 "This is what the Lord God says: I will respond to the house of Israel and do this for them:(ar) I will multiply them in number like a flock.[g] 38 So the ruined cities will be filled with a flock of people, just as the flock of sheep for sacrifice(as) is filled[h] in Jerusalem during its appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am Yahweh."
Isaiah 59
Chapter 59
Sin and Redemption
1 Indeed, the
Lord
's hand is not too short to save,(a)
and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(b) have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have made Him hide His face from you(c)
so that He does not listen.(d)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4 No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.(e)
5 They hatch viper's eggs
and weave spider's webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7 Their feet run after evil,(f)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(g)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(h)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(i)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(j)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10 We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.(k)
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11 We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.(l)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before You,(m)
and our sins testify against us.(n)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(o)
13 transgression and deception against the
Lord
,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The
Lord
saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
16 He saw that there was no man—
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;(p)
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on His head;(q)
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and He wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.(r)
18 So He will repay according to their deeds:(s)
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and He will repay the coastlands.
19 They will fear the name of Yahweh in the west
and His glory in the east;(t)
for He will come like a rushing stream(u)
driven by the wind of the
Lord
.
20 "The Redeemer(v) will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression."(w)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
21 "As for Me, this is My covenant with them,"(x) says the Lord : "My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth,(y) will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children, or from the mouth of your children's children, from now on and forever," says the Lord .
Luke 1:57-80
Chapter 1
57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. 58 Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her His great mercy,[r](aw) and they rejoiced with her.
59 When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day,(ax) they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But his mother responded, "No! He will be called John."(ay)
61 Then they said to her, "None of your relatives has that name." 62 So they motioned to his father(az) to find out what he wanted him to be called. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote:
HIS NAME IS JOHN.
And they were all amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened(ba) and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard about him(bb) took it to heart, saying, "What then will this child become?" For, indeed, the Lord's hand was with him.
Zechariah's Prophecy
67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit(bc) and prophesied:(bd)
68 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,(be)
because He has visited
and provided redemption for His people.(bf)
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation[s] for us(bg)
in the house of His servant David,(bh)
70 just as He spoke by the mouth
of His holy prophets in ancient times;(bi)
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the clutches[t] of those who hate us.
72 He has dealt mercifully with our fathers(bj)
and remembered His holy covenant(bk)—
73 the oath that He swore to our father Abraham.(bl)
He has given us the privilege,
74 since we have been rescued
from our enemies' clutches,[u]
to serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness
in His presence all our days.
76 And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,(bm)
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,(bn)
77 to give His people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.(bo)
78 Because of our God's merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high(bp) will visit us
79 to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,(bq)
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 The child grew up and became spiritually strong,(br) and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
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