the First Week of Advent
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 12 - Old & New Testament
niv
Micah 4,5
The Mountain of the Lord(a)
1 In the last days
the mountain(b) of the
Lord
's temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(c)
and peoples will stream to it.(d)
2 Many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord
,(e)
to the temple of the God of Jacob.(f)
He will teach us(g) his ways,(h)
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law(i) will go out from Zion,
the word of the
Lord
from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(j)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(k)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war(l) anymore.(m)
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,(n)
and no one will make them afraid,(o)
for the
Lord
Almighty has spoken.(p)
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,(q)
but we will walk in the name of the
Lord
our God for ever and ever.(r)
The Lord's Plan
6 "In that day," declares the Lord ,
"I will gather the lame;(s)
I will assemble the exiles(t)
and those I have brought to grief.(u)
7 I will make the lame my remnant,(v)
those driven away a strong nation.(w)
The
Lord
will rule over them in Mount Zion(x)
from that day and forever.(y)
8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
stronghold[a] of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored(z) to you;
kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.(aa)"
9 Why do you now cry aloud—
have you no king[b](ab)?
Has your ruler[c] perished,
that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?(ac)
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;(ad)
there you will be rescued.
There the
Lord
will redeem(ae) you
out of the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations
are gathered against you.
They say, "Let her be defiled,
let our eyes gloat(af) over Zion!"
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the
Lord
;
they do not understand his plan,(ag)
that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 "Rise and thresh,(ah) Daughter Zion,
for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
and you will break to pieces many nations."(ai)
You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the
Lord
,(aj)
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
1 [a]Marshal your troops now, city of troops,
for a siege is laid against us.
They will strike Israel's ruler
on the cheek(a) with a rod.
2 "But you, Bethlehem(b) Ephrathah,(c)
though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler(d) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,(e)
from ancient times."(f)
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned(g)
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock(h)
in the strength of the
Lord
,
in the majesty of the name of the
Lord
his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness(i)
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace(j)
when the Assyrians invade(k) our land
and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
even eight commanders,(l)
6 who will rule[c] the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod(m) with drawn sword.[d](n)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
when they invade our land
and march across our borders.(o)
7 The remnant(p) of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew(q) from the
Lord
,
like showers on the grass,(r)
which do not wait for anyone
or depend on man.
8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,(s)
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which mauls and mangles(t) as it goes,
and no one can rescue.(u)
9 Your hand will be lifted up(v) in triumph over your enemies,
and all your foes will be destroyed.
10 "In that day," declares the Lord ,
"I will destroy your horses from among you
and demolish your chariots.(w)
11 I will destroy the cities(x) of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.(y)
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.(z)
13 I will destroy your idols(aa)
and your sacred stones from among you;(ab)
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.(ac)
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[e](ad)
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance(ae) in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me."
Acts 21:18-40
Chapter 21
18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,(z) and all the elders(aa) were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles(ab) through his ministry.(ac)
20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous(ad) for the law.(ae) 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,(af) telling them not to circumcise their children(ag) or live according to our customs.(ah) 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.(ai) 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites(aj) and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.(ak) Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."(al)
26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.(am)
Paul Arrested
27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,(an) 28 shouting, "Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place."(ao) 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus(ap) the Ephesian(aq) in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,(ar) they dragged him(as) from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.(at)
33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound(au) with two(av) chains.(aw) Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,(ax) and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(ay) 35 When Paul reached the steps,(az) the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Get rid of him!"(ba)
Paul Speaks to the Crowd(bb)
37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,(bc) he asked the commander, "May I say something to you?"
"Do you speak Greek?" he replied. 38 "Aren't you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness(bd) some time ago?"(be)
39 Paul answered, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus(bf) in Cilicia,(bg) a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people."
40 After receiving the commander's permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned(bh) to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic[a]:(bi)
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