the Fourth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 10 - Old & New Testament
niv
Zechariah 9,10
Judgment on Israel's Enemies
1 A prophecy:(a)
The word of the
Lord
is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus(b)—
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the
Lord
—[a]
2 and on Hamath(c) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(d) and Sidon,(e) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(f)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(g) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(h)
5 Ashkelon(i) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(j) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(k)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(l)
8 But I will encamp(m) at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.(n)
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.(o)
The Coming of Zion's King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!(p)
Shout,(q) Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,(r)
righteous and victorious,(s)
lowly and riding on a donkey,(t)
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(u)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.(v)
He will proclaim peace(w) to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth.(x)
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant(y) with you,
I will free your prisoners(z) from the waterless pit.(aa)
12 Return to your fortress,(ab) you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice(ac) as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow(ad)
and fill it with Ephraim.(ae)
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,(af)
and make you like a warrior's sword.(ag)
The Lord Will Appear
14 Then the
Lord
will appear over them;(ah)
his arrow will flash like lightning.(ai)
The Sovereign
Lord
will sound the trumpet;(aj)
he will march in the storms(ak) of the south,
15
and the
Lord
Almighty will shield(al) them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.(am)
They will drink and roar as with wine;(an)
they will be full like a bowl(ao)
used for sprinkling[c] the corners(ap) of the altar.
16 The
Lord
their God will save his people on that day(aq)
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.(ar)
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
The Lord Will Care for Judah
1 Ask the
Lord
for rain in the springtime;
it is the
Lord
who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain(a) to all people,
and plants of the field(b) to everyone.
2 The idols(c) speak deceitfully,
diviners(d) see visions that lie;
they tell dreams(e) that are false,
they give comfort in vain.(f)
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(g)
3 "My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;(h)
for the
Lord
Almighty will care
for his flock, the people of Judah,
and make them like a proud horse in battle.(i)
4 From Judah will come the cornerstone,(j)
from him the tent peg,(k)
from him the battle bow,(l)
from him every ruler.
5 Together they[a] will be like warriors in battle
trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.(m)
They will fight because the
Lord
is with them,
and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.(n)
6 "I will strengthen(o) Judah
and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion(p) on them.(q)
They will be as though
I had not rejected them,
for I am the
Lord
their God
and I will answer(r) them.
7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.(s)
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice(t) in the
Lord
.
8 I will signal(u) for them
and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
they will be as numerous(v) as before.
9 Though I scatter them among the peoples,
yet in distant lands they will remember me.(w)
They and their children will survive,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.(x)
I will bring them to Gilead(y) and Lebanon,
and there will not be room(z) enough for them.
11 They will pass through the sea of trouble;
the surging sea will be subdued
and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.(aa)
Assyria's pride(ab) will be brought down
and Egypt's scepter(ac) will pass away.(ad)
12 I will strengthen(ae) them in the
Lord
and in his name they will live securely,(af)"
declares the
Lord
.
Revelation 1
Chapter 1
Prologue
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave(a) him to show his servants what must soon take place.(b) He made it known by sending his angel(c) to his servant John,(d) 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God(e) and the testimony of Jesus Christ.(f) 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,(g) because the time is near.(h)
Greetings and Doxology
4 John,
To the seven churches(i) in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you(j) from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,(k) and from the seven spirits[a](l) before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,(m) the firstborn from the dead,(n) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.(o)
To him who loves us(p) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,(q) 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests(r) to serve his God and Father(s)—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.(t)
7 "Look, he is coming with the clouds,"[b](u)
and "every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him";(v)
and all peoples on earth "will mourn(w) because of him."[c]
So shall it be! Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega,"(x) says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come,(y) the Almighty."(z)
John's Vision of Christ
9 I, John,(aa) your brother and companion in the suffering(ab) and kingdom(ac) and patient endurance(ad) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God(ae) and the testimony of Jesus.(af) 10 On the Lord's Day(ag) I was in the Spirit,(ah) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,(ai) 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see(aj) and send it to the seven churches:(ak) to Ephesus,(al) Smyrna,(am) Pergamum,(an) Thyatira,(ao) Sardis,(ap) Philadelphia(aq) and Laodicea."(ar)
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,(as) 13 and among the lampstands(at) was someone like a son of man,[d](au) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet(av) and with a golden sash around his chest.(aw) 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.(ax) 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,(ay) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.(az) 16 In his right hand he held seven stars,(ba) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.(bb) His face was like the sun(bc) shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet(bd) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me(be) and said: "Do not be afraid.(bf) I am the First and the Last.(bg) 18 I am the Living One; I was dead,(bh) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!(bi) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.(bj)
19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen,(bk) what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand(bl) and of the seven golden lampstands(bm) is this: The seven stars are the angels[e] of the seven churches,(bn) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.(bo)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
