the Fourth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 5 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
Ezekiel 6-7
Chapter 6
Doom for the Mountains of Israel
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face(a) against the mountains(b) of Israel; prophesy against them(c) 3 and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord . This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys:(d) I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.(e) 4 Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars(f) will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.(g) 5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones(h) around your altars.(i) 6 Wherever you live,(j) the towns will be laid waste and the high places(k) demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols(l) smashed and ruined, your incense altars(m) broken down, and what you have made wiped out.(n) 7 Your people will fall slain(o) among you, and you will know that I am the Lord .(p)
8 "‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape(q) the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.(r) 9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember(s) me—how I have been grieved(t) by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.(u) They will loathe themselves for the evil(v) they have done and for all their detestable practices.(w) 10 And they will know that I am the Lord ;(x) I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.(y)
11 "‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out "Alas!" because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.(z) 12 One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath(aa) on them.(ab) 13 And they will know that I am the Lord , when their people lie slain among their idols(ac) around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak(ad)—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.(ae) 14 And I will stretch out my hand(af) against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah[a]—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord .(ag)'"
Chapter 7
The End Has Come
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:
"‘The end!(a) The end has come
upon the four corners(b) of the land!
3 The end is now upon you,
and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct(c)
and repay you for all your detestable practices.(d)
4 I will not look on you with pity;(e)
I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
"‘Then you will know that I am the Lord .'(f)
5 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"‘Disaster!(g) Unheard-of[a] disaster!
See, it comes!
6 The end(h) has come!
The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
See, it comes!
7 Doom has come upon you,
upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day(i) is near!(j)
There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
8 I am about to pour out my wrath(k) on you
and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.(l)
9 I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.(m)
I will repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.(n)
"‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.(o)
10 "‘See, the day!
See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
the rod(p) has budded,
arrogance has blossomed!
11 Violence(q) has arisen,[b]
a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
nothing of value.(r)
12 The time has come!
The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer(s) rejoice
nor the seller grieve,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.(t)
13 The seller will not recover
the property that was sold—
as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
will preserve their life.(u)
14 "‘They have blown the trumpet,(v)
they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
for my wrath(w) is on the whole crowd.
15 Outside is the sword;
inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
will die by the sword;
those in the city
will be devoured by famine and plague.(x)
16 The fugitives(y) who escape
will flee to the mountains.
Like doves(z) of the valleys,
they will all moan,
each for their own sins.(aa)
17 Every hand will go limp;(ab)
every leg will be wet with urine.(ac)
18 They will put on sackcloth(ad)
and be clothed with terror.(ae)
Every face will be covered with shame,
and every head will be shaved.(af)
19 "‘They will throw their silver into the streets,(ag)
and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
will not be able to deliver them
in the day of the
Lord
's wrath.(ah)
It will not satisfy(ai) their hunger
or fill their stomachs,
for it has caused them to stumble(aj) into sin.(ak)
20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
and used it to make(al) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;(am)
therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.(an)
21 I will give their wealth as plunder(ao) to foreigners
and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
who will defile it.(ap)
22 I will turn my face(aq) away from the people,
and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
and will defile it.(ar)
23 "‘Prepare chains!
For the land is full of bloodshed,(as)
and the city is full of violence.(at)
24 I will bring the most wicked of nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
and their sanctuaries(au) will be desecrated.(av)
25 When terror comes,
they will seek peace in vain.(aw)
26 Calamity upon calamity(ax) will come,
and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,(ay)
priestly instruction in the law will cease,
the counsel of the elders will come to an end.(az)
27 The king will mourn,
the prince will be clothed with despair,(ba)
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,(bb)
and by their own standards I will judge them.
"‘Then they will know that I am the Lord .(bc)'"
Isaiah 40
Chapter 40
Comfort for God's People
1 Comfort, comfort(a) my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly(b) to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service(c) has been completed,(d)
that her sin has been paid for,(e)
that she has received from the
Lord
's hand
double(f) for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
"In the wilderness prepare
the way(g) for the
Lord
[a];
make straight(h) in the desert
a highway for our God.[b](i)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,(j)
every mountain and hill(k) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(l)
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory(m) of the
Lord
will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.(n)
For the mouth of the
Lord
has spoken."(o)
6 A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All people are like grass,(p)
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers(q) and the flowers fall,
because the breath(r) of the
Lord
blows(s) on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers(t) fall,
but the word(u) of our God endures(v) forever.(w)"
9 You who bring good news(x) to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](y)
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"(z)
10 See, the Sovereign
Lord
comes(aa) with power,(ab)
and he rules(ac) with a mighty arm.(ad)
See, his reward(ae) is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(af)
He gathers the lambs in his arms(ag)
and carries them close to his heart;(ah)
he gently leads(ai) those that have young.(aj)
12 Who has measured the waters(ak) in the hollow of his hand,(al)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(am)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(an)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](ao) of the
Lord
,
or instruct the
Lord
as his counselor?(ap)
14 Whom did the
Lord
consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(aq)
or showed him the path of understanding?(ar)
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(as)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(at)
16 Lebanon(au) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(av) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(aw) are as nothing;(ax)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(ay)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(az)
To what image(ba) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(bb) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(bc) overlays it with gold(bd)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(be) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(bf) that will not topple.(bg)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(bh)
Has it not been told(bi) you from the beginning?(bj)
Have you not understood(bk) since the earth was founded?(bl)
22 He sits enthroned(bm) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(bn)
He stretches out the heavens(bo) like a canopy,(bp)
and spreads them out like a tent(bq) to live in.(br)
23 He brings princes(bs) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(bt)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(bu) in the ground,
than he blows(bv) on them and they wither,(bw)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(bx)
25 "To whom will you compare me?(by)
Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.(bz)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(ca)
Who created(cb) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(cc) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(cd)
not one of them is missing.(ce)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
"My way is hidden from the
Lord
;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?(cf)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(cg)
The
Lord
is the everlasting(ch) God,
the Creator(ci) of the ends of the earth.(cj)
He will not grow tired or weary,(ck)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(cl)
29 He gives strength(cm) to the weary(cn)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(co) stumble and fall;(cp)
31 but those who hope(cq) in the
Lord
will renew their strength.(cr)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(cs)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(ct)
Ephesians 2
Chapter 2
Made Alive in Christ
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(a) 2 in which you used to live(b) when you followed the ways of this world(c) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(d) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.(e) 3 All of us also lived among them at one time,(f) gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a](g) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us,(h) God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions(i)—it is by grace you have been saved.(j) 6 And God raised us up with Christ(k) and seated us with him(l) in the heavenly realms(m) in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,(n) expressed in his kindness(o) to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace(p) you have been saved,(q) through faith(r)—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works,(s) so that no one can boast.(t) 10 For we are God's handiwork,(u) created(v) in Christ Jesus to do good works,(w) which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ
11 Therefore, remember that formerly(x) you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)(y)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners(z) to the covenants of the promise,(aa) without hope(ab) and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once(ac) were far away have been brought near(ad) by the blood of Christ.(ae)
14 For he himself is our peace,(af) who has made the two groups one(ag) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh(ah) the law with its commands and regulations.(ai) His purpose was to create in himself one(aj) new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,(ak) by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace(al) to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.(am) 18 For through him we both have access(an) to the Father(ao) by one Spirit.(ap)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,(aq) but fellow citizens(ar) with God's people and also members of his household,(as) 20 built(at) on the foundation(au) of the apostles and prophets,(av) with Christ Jesus himself(aw) as the chief cornerstone.(ax) 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple(ay) in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.(az)
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