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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 27 - Old & New Testament
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Isaiah 41,42
Israel Encouraged
1 "(C1)Listen to Me (C2)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples (C3)gain new strength;
(C4)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(C5)Let's come together for judgment.
2 "(C1)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He (C2)calls in righteousness to His (F1)feet?
He (C3)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (C4)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven (C5)chaff with his bow.
3 "He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been (F1)traversing with his feet.
4 "(C1)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
'(C2)I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. (C3)I am He.'"
5 The (C1)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (C2)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, "Be strong!"
7 So the (C1)craftsman encourages the (C2)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, "It is good";
And he fastens it with nails,
(C3)So that it will not totter.
8 "But you, Israel, (C1)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (C2)Abraham My (C3)friend,
9 You whom I have (F1)(C1)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its (C2)remotest parts,
And said to you, 'You are (C3)My servant,
I have (C4)chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 'Do not (C1)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, (C2)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous (C3)right hand.'
11 "Behold, (C1)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(C2)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 "(C1)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 "For I am the LORD your God (C1)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, '(C2)Do not fear, I will help you.'
14 "Do not fear, you (C1)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you," declares the LORD, "and (C2)your (F1)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 "Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(C1)You will thresh the (C2)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 "You will (C1)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (C2)rejoice in the LORD,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17 "The poor and needy are seeking (C1)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, (C2)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I (C3)will not abandon them.
18 "I will open (C1)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make (C2)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 "I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the (C1)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the (C1)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
20 So that (C1)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the (C2)hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 "(F1)Present your case," the LORD says.
"Bring forward your evidence,"
The (C1)King of Jacob says.
22 (C1)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (C2)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 (C1)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, (C2)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
24 Behold, (C1)you are less than nothing,
And (C2)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an (C3)abomination.
25 "I have put (C1)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon (F1)(C2)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay."
26 Who has (C1)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, "He is right!"?
There was (C2)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27 "(C1)Previously I said to Zion, 'Behold, here they are.'
And to Jerusalem, 'I will give a (C2)messenger of good news.'
28 "But (C1)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (C2)counselor (F1)among them
Who, if I ask, can (C3)give an answer.
29 "Behold, all of them are (F1)false;
Their (C1)works are (C2)nothing,
Their cast metal images are (C3)wind and emptiness.
God's Promise concerning His Servant
1 "(C1)Behold, My (C2)Servant, whom I (F1)uphold;
My (C3)chosen one in whom My (C4)soul delights.
I have put My (C5)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth (C6)justice to the (F2)nations.
2 "He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 "A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth (C1)justice.
4 "He will not be (C1)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the (C2)coastlands will wait expectantly for His (F1)law."
5 This is what God the LORD says, Who (C1)created the heavens and (C2)stretched them out,
Who spread out the (C3)earth and its (F1)offspring,
Who (C4)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
6 "I am the LORD, I have (C1)called You in righteousness,
I will also (C2)hold You by the hand and (C3)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a (C4)covenant to the people,
As a (C5)light to the nations,
7 To (C1)open blind eyes,
To (C2)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 "(C1)I am the LORD, that is (C2)My name;
I will not give My (C3)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 "Behold, the (C1)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare (C2)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you."
10 Sing to the LORD a (C1)new song,
Sing His praise from the (C2)end of the earth!
(C3)You who go down to the sea, and (C4)all that is in it;
You (C5)islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the (C1)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which (C2)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of (C3)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the (C4)mountains.
12 Let them (C1)give glory to the LORD
And declare His praise in the (C2)coastlands.
13 (C1)The LORD will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His (C2)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will (C3)prevail against His enemies.
The Blindness of the People
14 "(C1)I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 "I will (C1)lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will (C2)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 "I will (C1)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will (C2)turn darkness into light before them
And (C3)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (C4)not leave them undone."
17 They will be turned back and be (C1)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in (F1)idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
"You are our gods."
18 (C1)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My (C1)servant,
Or so deaf as My (C2)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is (F1)(C3)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?
20 (C1)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake
To make the Law (C1)great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are (C1)trapped in (F1)caves,
Or are (C2)hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, "Give them back!"
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they (C1)were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not (C2)obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the (C1)fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he (F1)(C2)paid no attention.
Romans 7
Chapter 7
Believers United to Christ
1 Or do you not know, (C1)brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the (F1)Law), that the (F1)Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?2 For (C1)the married woman is bound by law to her (F1)husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law (F2)concerning the husband.3 So then, if while her husband is alive she (F1)gives herself to another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she (F2)gives herself to another man.
4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were (C1)put to death (C2)in regard to the Law (C3)through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.5 For while we were (C1)in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were (C2)brought to light by the Law, were at work (C3)in (F1)the parts of our body to bear fruit for death.6 But now we have been (C1)released from the Law, having (C2)died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in (C3)newness of (C4)the (F1)Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
7 (C1)What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? (F1)(C2)Far from it! On the contrary, (C3)I would not have come to know sin except (F2)through the Law; for I would not have known about (F3)coveting if the Law had not said, "(C4)YOU SHALL NOT (F3)COVET."8 But sin, (C1)taking an opportunity (C2)through the commandment, produced in me (F1)coveting of every kind; for (C3)apart (F2)from the Law sin is dead.9 I was once alive apart (F1)from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died;10 and this commandment, which was (F1)(C1)to result in life, proved (F2)to result in death for me;11 for sin, (C1)taking an opportunity (C2)through the commandment, (C3)deceived me, and through it, killed me.12 (C1)So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? (F1)(C1)Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
The Conflict of Serving Two Masters
14 For we know that the Law is (C1)spiritual, but I am (C1)fleshly, (C2)sold (F1)(C3)into bondage to sin.15 For (C1)I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing (C2)what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate.16 However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with (C1)the Law, that the Law is good.17 But now, (C1)no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my (C1)flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.19 For (C1)the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.20 But if I do the very thing I do not want, (C1)I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then (C1)the (F1)principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.22 For I joyfully agree with the law of God (F1)in (C1)the inner person,23 but I see (C1)a different law in (F1)the parts of my body waging war against the (C2)law of my mind, and making me a prisoner (F2)of (C3)the law of sin, the law which is in (F3)my body's parts.24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from (F1)(C1)the body of this (C2)death?25 (C1)Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh (C2)the law of sin.
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