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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
November 8 - Old & New Testament
niv
Lamentations 1,2
1 [a]How deserted(a) lies the city,
once so full of people!(b)
How like a widow(c) is she,
who once was great(d) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.(e)
2 Bitterly she weeps(f) at night,
tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers(g)
there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed(h) her;
they have become her enemies.(i)
3 After affliction and harsh labor,
Judah has gone into exile.(j)
She dwells among the nations;
she finds no resting place.(k)
All who pursue her have overtaken her(l)
in the midst of her distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn,(m)
for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,(n)
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she is in bitter anguish.(o)
5 Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease.
The
Lord
has brought her grief(p)
because of her many sins.(q)
Her children have gone into exile,(r)
captive before the foe.(s)
6 All the splendor has departed
from Daughter Zion.(t)
Her princes are like deer
that find no pasture;
in weakness they have fled(u)
before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and wandering
Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
there was no one to help her.(v)
Her enemies looked at her
and laughed(w) at her destruction.
8 Jerusalem has sinned(x) greatly
and so has become unclean.(y)
All who honored her despise her,
for they have all seen her naked;(z)
she herself groans(aa)
and turns away.
9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts;
she did not consider her future.(ab)
Her fall(ac) was astounding;
there was none to comfort(ad) her.
"Look,
Lord
, on my affliction,(ae)
for the enemy has triumphed."
10 The enemy laid hands
on all her treasures;(af)
she saw pagan nations
enter her sanctuary(ag)—
those you had forbidden(ah)
to enter your assembly.
11 All her people groan(ai)
as they search for bread;(aj)
they barter their treasures for food
to keep themselves alive.
"Look,
Lord
, and consider,
for I am despised."
12 "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?(ak)
Look around and see.
Is any suffering like my suffering(al)
that was inflicted on me,
that the
Lord
brought on me
in the day of his fierce anger?(am)
13 "From on high he sent fire,
sent it down into my bones.(an)
He spread a net(ao) for my feet
and turned me back.
He made me desolate,(ap)
faint(aq) all the day long.
14 "My sins have been bound into a yoke[b];(ar)
by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands(as)
of those I cannot withstand.
15 "The Lord has rejected
all the warriors in my midst;(at)
he has summoned an army(au) against me
to[c] crush my young men.(av)
In his winepress(aw) the Lord has trampled(ax)
Virgin Daughter(ay) Judah.
16 "This is why I weep
and my eyes overflow with tears.(az)
No one is near to comfort(ba) me,
no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
because the enemy has prevailed."(bb)
17 Zion stretches out her hands,(bc)
but there is no one to comfort her.
The
Lord
has decreed for Jacob
that his neighbors become his foes;(bd)
Jerusalem has become
an unclean(be) thing(bf) among them.
18 "The
Lord
is righteous,(bg)
yet I rebelled(bh) against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
look on my suffering.(bi)
My young men and young women
have gone into exile.(bj)
19 "I called to my allies(bk)
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
perished(bl) in the city
while they searched for food
to keep themselves alive.
20 "See,
Lord
, how distressed(bm) I am!
I am in torment(bn) within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,(bo)
for I have been most rebellious.(bp)
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.(bq)
21 "People have heard my groaning,(br)
but there is no one to comfort me.(bs)
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
they rejoice(bt) at what you have done.
May you bring the day(bu) you have announced
so they may become like me.
22 "Let all their wickedness come before you;
deal with them
as you have dealt with me
because of all my sins.(bv)
My groans(bw) are many
and my heart is faint."
1 [a]How the Lord has covered Daughter Zion
with the cloud of his anger[b]!(a)
He has hurled down the splendor of Israel
from heaven to earth;
he has not remembered his footstool(b)
in the day of his anger.(c)
2 Without pity(d) the Lord has swallowed(e) up
all the dwellings of Jacob;
in his wrath he has torn down
the strongholds(f) of Daughter Judah.
He has brought her kingdom and its princes
down to the ground(g) in dishonor.
3 In fierce anger he has cut off
every horn[c][d](h) of Israel.
He has withdrawn his right hand(i)
at the approach of the enemy.
He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
that consumes everything around it.(j)
4 Like an enemy he has strung his bow;(k)
his right hand is ready.
Like a foe he has slain
all who were pleasing to the eye;(l)
he has poured out his wrath(m) like fire(n)
on the tent(o) of Daughter Zion.
5 The Lord is like an enemy;(p)
he has swallowed up Israel.
He has swallowed up all her palaces
and destroyed her strongholds.(q)
He has multiplied mourning and lamentation(r)
for Daughter Judah.(s)
6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;
he has destroyed(t) his place of meeting.(u)
The
Lord
has made Zion forget
her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths;(v)
in his fierce anger he has spurned
both king and priest.(w)
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
and abandoned his sanctuary.(x)
He has given the walls of her palaces(y)
into the hands of the enemy;
they have raised a shout in the house of the
Lord
as on the day of an appointed festival.(z)
8 The
Lord
determined to tear down
the wall around Daughter Zion.(aa)
He stretched out a measuring line(ab)
and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts(ac) and walls lament;
together they wasted away.(ad)
9 Her gates(ae) have sunk into the ground;
their bars(af) he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled(ag) among the nations,
the law(ah) is no more,
and her prophets(ai) no longer find
visions(aj) from the
Lord
.
10 The elders of Daughter Zion
sit on the ground in silence;(ak)
they have sprinkled dust(al) on their heads(am)
and put on sackcloth.(an)
The young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.(ao)
11 My eyes fail from weeping,(ap)
I am in torment within(aq);
my heart(ar) is poured out(as) on the ground
because my people are destroyed,(at)
because children and infants faint(au)
in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
"Where is bread and wine?"(av)
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away(aw)
in their mothers' arms.(ax)
13 What can I say for you?(ay)
With what can I compare you,
Daughter(az) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
that I may comfort you,
Virgin Daughter Zion?(ba)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.(bb)
Who can heal you?
14 The visions of your prophets
were false(bc) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
to ward off your captivity.(bd)
The prophecies they gave you
were false and misleading.(be)
15 All who pass your way
clap their hands at you;(bf)
they scoff(bg) and shake their heads(bh)
at Daughter Jerusalem:(bi)
"Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,(bj)
the joy of the whole earth?"(bk)
16 All your enemies open their mouths
wide against you;(bl)
they scoff and gnash their teeth(bm)
and say, "We have swallowed her up.(bn)
This is the day we have waited for;
we have lived to see it."(bo)
17 The
Lord
has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled(bp) his word,
which he decreed long ago.(bq)
He has overthrown you without pity,(br)
he has let the enemy gloat over you,(bs)
he has exalted the horn[e] of your foes.(bt)
18 The hearts of the people
cry out to the Lord.(bu)
You walls of Daughter Zion,(bv)
let your tears(bw) flow like a river
day and night;(bx)
give yourself no relief,
your eyes no rest.(by)
19 Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart(bz) like water
in the presence of the Lord.(ca)
Lift up your hands(cb) to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint(cc) from hunger
at every street corner.
20 "Look,
Lord
, and consider:
Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,(cd)
the children they have cared for?(ce)
Should priest and prophet be killed(cf)
in the sanctuary of the Lord?(cg)
21 "Young and old lie together
in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
have fallen by the sword.(ch)
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
you have slaughtered them without pity.(ci)
22 "As you summon to a feast day,
so you summoned against me terrors(cj) on every side.
In the day of the
Lord
's anger
no one escaped(ck) or survived;
those I cared for and reared(cl)
my enemy has destroyed."
Hebrews 12
Chapter 12
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run(a) with perseverance(b) the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus,(c) the pioneer(d) and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,(e) scorning its shame,(f) and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.(g) 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary(h) and lose heart.
God Disciplines His Children
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.(i) 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart(j) when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,(k)
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."[a](l)
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.(m) For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline(n)—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits(o) and live!(p) 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.(q) 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace(r) for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.(s) 13 "Make level paths for your feet,"[b](t) so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.(u)
Warning and Encouragement
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone(v) and to be holy;(w) without holiness no one will see the Lord.(x) 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God(y) and that no bitter root(z) grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral,(aa) or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.(ab) 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears,(ac) he could not change what he had done.
The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;(ad) 19 to a trumpet blast(ae) or to such a voice speaking words(af) that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,(ag) 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death."[c](ah) 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."[d](ai)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion,(aj) to the city(ak) of the living God,(al) the heavenly Jerusalem.(am) You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn,(an) whose names are written in heaven.(ao) You have come to God, the Judge of all,(ap) to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,(aq) 24 to Jesus the mediator(ar) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood(as) that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.(at)
25 See to it that you do not refuse(au) him who speaks.(av) If they did not escape when they refused him who warned(aw) them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?(ax) 26 At that time his voice shook the earth,(ay) but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."[e](az) 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken(ba)—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,(bb) let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,(bc) 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."[f](bd)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
