the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
November 6 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Jeremiah 7-8
Chapter 7
False Trust in the Temple
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord : 2 "Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord (a) and there call out this word: Hear the word of the Lord , all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord .
3 "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds,(b) and I will allow you to live in this place. 4 Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord . 5 Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,[a](c) 6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow(d) and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, 7 I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors(e) long ago and forever. 8 But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.
9 "Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?(f) 10 Then do you come and stand before Me in this house(g) called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts'? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers(h) in your view? Yes, I too have seen it."(i)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
Shiloh As a Warning
12 "But return to My place that was at Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first.(j) See what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel. 13 Now, because you have done all these things"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and because I have spoken to you time and time again[b] but you wouldn't listen,(k) and I have called to you, but you wouldn't answer,(l) 14 what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that is called by My name(m)—the house in which you trust—the place that I gave you and your ancestors. 15 I will drive you from My presence, just as I drove out all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.(n)
Do Not Pray for Judah
16 "As for you, do not pray for these people.(o) Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg Me,(p) for I will not listen to you.(q) 17 Don't you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,[c](r) and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke Me to anger. 19 But are they really provoking Me?"(s) This is the Lord 's declaration. "Isn't it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?"
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: "Look, My anger—My burning wrath—is about to be poured out on this place,(t) on man and beast, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched."(u)
Obedience Over Sacrifice
21 This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,(v) 22 for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them(w) or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.(x) 24 Yet they didn't listen or pay attention(y) but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.(z) 25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent all My servants the prophets(aa) to you time and time again.[d](ab) 26 However, they wouldn't listen to Me or pay attention but became obstinate;[e](ac) they did more evil than their ancestors.(ad)
A Lament for Disobedient Judah
27 "When you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you. 28 You must therefore declare to them: This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the Lord their God and would not accept discipline. Truth[f] has perished—it has disappeared from their mouths. 29 Cut off the hair of your sacred vow[g](ae) and throw it away. Raise up a dirge on the barren heights,(af) for the Lord has rejected and abandoned the generation under His wrath.(ag)
30 "For the Judeans have done what is evil in My sight." This is the Lord 's declaration. "They have set up their detestable things(ah) in the house that is called by My name and defiled it.(ai) 31 They have built the high places of Topheth[h](aj) in the Valley of Hinnom[i](ak) in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire,(al) a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.[j]
32 "Therefore, take note! Days are coming"(am)—the Lord 's declaration—"when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.(an) Topheth will become a cemetery,[k] because there will be no other burial place. 33 The corpses of these people will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.(ao) 34 I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride,(ap) for the land will become a desolate waste.(aq)
Chapter 8
Death over Life
1 "At that time"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves. 2 They will be exposed(a) to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host,(b) which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil.(c) 3 Death will be chosen over life(d) by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them." This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
4 "You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says:
Do people fall and not get up again?(e)
If they turn away, do they not return?
5 Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;(f)
they refuse to return.(g)
6 I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done?'
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle.(h)
7 Even the stork in the sky
knows her seasons.
The turtledove, swallow, and crane[a]
are aware of their migration,
but My people do not know
the requirements of the
Lord
.(i)
Punishment for Judah's Leaders
8 "How can you claim, ‘We are wise;
the law of the
Lord
is with us'?
In fact, the lying pen of scribes(j)
has produced falsehood.
9 The wise will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed and snared.
They have rejected the word of the
Lord
,
so what wisdom do they really have?
10 Therefore, I will give(k) their wives to other men,
their fields to new occupants,
for from the least to the greatest,
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
11 They have treated superficially the brokenness
of My dear[b] people,
claiming, ‘Peace, peace,'
when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren't at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,"(l)
says the
Lord
.
13 I will gather them and bring them to an end.[c](m)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
There will be no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and even the leaf will wither.
Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.
God's People Unrepentant
14 Why are we just sitting here?
Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities
and perish there,[d]
for the
Lord
our God has destroyed[e] us.
He has given us poisoned water to drink,(n)
because we have sinned against the
Lord
.
15 We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing, but there was only terror.(o)
16 From Dan the snorting of horses is heard.
At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,(p)
the whole land quakes.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and all its residents.
17 Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,
poisonous vipers(q) that cannot be charmed.(r)
They will bite you.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
Lament over Judah
18 My joy has flown away;
grief has settled on me.
My heart is sick.(s)
19 Listen—the cry of my dear[f] people
from a far away land,
"Is the
Lord
no longer in Zion,(t)
her King not within her?"
Why have they provoked me to anger
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign idols?(u)
20 Harvest has passed, summer has ended,
but we have not been saved.
21 I am broken by the brokenness
of my dear[g] people.(v)
I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?(w)
Is there no physician there?
So why has the healing of my dear[h] people
not come about?
Psalms 122
Chapter 122
Psalm 122
A Prayer for Jerusalem
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the
Lord
."(a)
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(b)—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly joined together,(c)
4 where the tribes, Yahweh's tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.(d)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(e))
5 There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(f)
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May those who love you prosper;(g)
7 may there be peace within your walls,
prosperity within your fortresses."(h)
8 Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, "Peace be with you."(i)
9 Because of the house of the
Lord
our God,
I will seek your good.(j)
2 Timothy 2
Chapter 2
Be Strong in Grace
1 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace(a) that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you have heard from me(b) in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful(c) men who will be able to teach others also.
3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.(d) 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops.(e) 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead(f) and descended from David. This is according to my gospel. 9 I suffer for it to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God's message is not bound. 10 This is why I endure(g) all things for the elect:(h) so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.(i) 11 This saying is trustworthy:(j)
For if we have died with Him,(k)
we will also live with Him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign(l) with Him;
if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful,
for He cannot deny Himself.
An Approved Worker
14 Remind them of these things, charging them before God[a] not to fight about words;(m) this is in no way profitable and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.(n) 16 But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness.(o) 17 And their word will spread like gangrene; Hymenaeus(p) and Philetus are among them. 18 They have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place,(q) and are overturning the faith of some.(r) 19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, having this inscription:(s)
The Lord knows those who are His,
(t)[b] and
Everyone who names the name(u) of the Lord
must turn away from unrighteousness.(v)
20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver bowls,(w) but also those of wood and clay, some for honorable[c] use, some for dishonorable.[d](x) 21 So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable,[e] he will be a special[f] instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.(y)
22 Flee(z) from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,(aa) along with those who call on the Lord(ab) from a pure heart. 23 But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they breed quarrels. 24 The Lord's(ac) slave must not quarrel,(ad) but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach,[g] and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness.(ae) Perhaps God will grant them repentance(af) leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil's trap,(ag) having been captured by him to do his will.(ah)
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