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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 25 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
Ezekiel 37
Chapter 37
The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the Lord was on me,(a) and he brought me out by the Spirit(b) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;(c) it was full of bones.(d) 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "Sovereign Lord , you alone know.(e)"
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord !(f) 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life.(g) 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord .(h)'"
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath;(i) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds(j) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded(k) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.(l)
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'(m) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.(n) 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord ,(o) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.(p) 14 I will put my Spirit(q) in you and you will live, and I will settle(r) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord .(s)'"
One Nation Under One King
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites(t) associated with him.(u)' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.' 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.(v)
18 "When your people ask you, ‘Won't you tell us what you mean by this?'(w) 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.'(x) 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.(y) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.(z) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(aa) 23 They will no longer defile(ab) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b](ac) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.(ad)
24 "‘My servant David(ae) will be king(af) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.(ag) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.(ah) 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.(ai) They and their children and their children's children will live there forever,(aj) and David my servant will be their prince forever.(ak) 26 I will make a covenant of peace(al) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.(am) I will establish them and increase their numbers,(an) and I will put my sanctuary among them(ao) forever.(ap) 27 My dwelling place(aq) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.(ar) 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy,(as) when my sanctuary is among them forever.(at)'"
Isaiah 60
Chapter 60
The Glory of Zion
1 "Arise,(a) shine, for your light(b) has come,
and the glory(c) of the
Lord
rises upon you.
2 See, darkness(d) covers the earth
and thick darkness(e) is over the peoples,
but the
Lord
rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations(f) will come to your light,(g)
and kings(h) to the brightness of your dawn.
4 "Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble(i) and come to you;
your sons come from afar,(j)
and your daughters(k) are carried on the hip.(l)
5 Then you will look and be radiant,(m)
your heart will throb and swell with joy;(n)
the wealth(o) on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels(p) will cover your land,
young camels of Midian(q) and Ephah.(r)
And all from Sheba(s) will come,
bearing gold and incense(t)
and proclaiming the praise(u) of the
Lord
.
7 All Kedar's(v) flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings(w) on my altar,(x)
and I will adorn my glorious temple.(y)
8 "Who are these(z) that fly along like clouds,(aa)
like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands(ab) look to me;
in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[a](ac)
bringing(ad) your children from afar,
with their silver and gold,(ae)
to the honor(af) of the
Lord
your God,
the Holy One(ag) of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.(ah)
10 "Foreigners(ai) will rebuild your walls,
and their kings(aj) will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
in favor(ak) I will show you compassion.(al)
11 Your gates(am) will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations(an)—
their kings(ao) led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve(ap) you will perish;
it will be utterly ruined.(aq)
13 "The glory of Lebanon(ar) will come to you,
the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,(as)
to adorn my sanctuary;(at)
and I will glorify the place for my feet.(au)
14 The children of your oppressors(av) will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow down(aw) at your feet
and will call you the City(ax) of the
Lord
,
Zion(ay) of the Holy One(az) of Israel.
15 "Although you have been forsaken(ba) and hated,
with no one traveling(bb) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(bc)
and the joy(bd) of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed(be) at royal breasts.
Then you will know(bf) that I, the
Lord
, am your Savior,(bg)
your Redeemer,(bh) the Mighty One of Jacob.(bi)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,(bj)
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace(bk) your governor
and well-being your ruler.(bl)
18 No longer will violence(bm) be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction(bn) within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation(bo)
and your gates Praise.(bp)
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the
Lord
will be your everlasting light,(bq)
and your God will be your glory.(br)
20 Your sun(bs) will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the
Lord
will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow(bt) will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous(bu)
and they will possess(bv) the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,(bw)
the work of my hands,(bx)
for the display of my splendor.(by)
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.(bz)
I am the
Lord
;
in its time I will do this swiftly."(ca)
Luke 2:1-20
Chapter 2
The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus(a) issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(b) 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)(c) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem(d) the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him(e) and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel(f) of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.(g) I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior(h) has been born to you; he is the Messiah,(i) the Lord.(j) 12 This will be a sign(k) to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace(l) to those on whom his favor rests."
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.(m) 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.(n) 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God(o) for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
