the Fifth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 9 - Old & New Testament
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Zechariah 5,6,7,8
The Flying Scroll
1 Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying (C1)scroll.2 And he said to me, "(C1)What do you see?" And I said, "I see a flying scroll; its length is (F1)twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits."3 Then he said to me, "This is the (C1)curse that is going forth over the face of the entire (F1)land; everyone who (C2)steals certainly will be purged away according to (F2)the writing on one side, and everyone who (C3)swears falsely will be purged away according to (F2)the writing on the other side.4 "I will (C1)make it go forth," declares the LORD of armies, "and it will (C2)enter the house of the (C3)thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and (C4)destroy it with its timber and stones."
5 Then (C1)the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, "Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth."6 And I said, "What is it?" Then he said, "This is the (F1)(C1)ephah going forth." Again he said, "This is their (F2)appearance in all the (F3)land.7 And behold, a lead cover was lifted up." He continued, "And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah."8 Then he said, "This is (C1)Wickedness!" And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its (F1)opening.9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the (C1)stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.10 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, "Where are they taking the ephah?"11 Then he said to me, "To build a (F1)temple for her in the land of (C1)Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal."
The Four Chariots
1 Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, (C1)four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.2 With the first chariot were (C1)red horses, with the second chariot (C2)black horses,3 with the third chariot (C1)white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong (C2)spotted horses.4 So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, "(C1)What are these, my lord?"5 The angel replied to me, "These are the (C1)four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth,6 with one of which the black horses are going out to the (C1)north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the (C2)south country."7 When the strong ones went out, they (F1)were eager to go to (F2)(C1)patrol the earth. And He said, "Go, (F2)patrol the earth." So they (F3)patrolled the earth.8 Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, "See, those who are going to the land of the north have (F1)(C1)appeased My wrath in the land of the north."
9 The (C1)word of the LORD also came to me, saying,10 "(C1)Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.
The Symbolic Crowns
11 "Also take silver and gold, make an ornate (C1)crown, and set it on the head of (C2)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.12 "Then say to him, 'The LORD of armies says this: "Behold, there is a Man whose name is (F1)(C1)Branch, for He will (F2)(C2)branch out from where He is; and He will (C3)build the temple of the LORD.13 "Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will (C1)bear the majesty and sit and (C2)rule on His throne. So He will be a (C3)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two (F1)offices."'14 "Now the (C1)crown will become a reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and (F1)Hen the son of Zephaniah.15 "(C1)Those who are far away will come and (F1)build the temple of the LORD." Then you will (C2)know that the LORD of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely (C3)obey (F2)the LORD your God.1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is (C1)Chislev.2 Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and (F1)their men to (F2)(C1)seek the favor of the LORD,3 speaking to the (C1)priests who belong to the house of the LORD of armies, and to the prophets, saying, "Shall I weep in the (C2)fifth month (F1)and fast, as I have done these many years?"4 Then the word of the LORD of armies came to me, saying,5 "Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months (F1)these (C1)seventy years, was it actually for (C2)Me that you fasted?6 'And when you eat and drink, (F1)do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?7 'Are these not the words which the LORD (C1)proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and (C2)carefree along with its cities around it, and the (F1)(C3)Negev and the (F2)foothills were inhabited?'"
8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,9 "This is what the LORD of armies has said: '(C1)Dispense true justice and practice (C2)kindness and compassion each to his brother;10 and (C1)do not oppress the widow or the (F1)orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do (C2)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.'11 "But they (C1)refused to pay attention, and (F1)(C2)turned a stubborn shoulder and (F2)(C3)plugged their ears from hearing.12 "They also made their (C1)hearts as hard as (C2)a diamond (F1)so that they could not hear the Law and the (C3)words which the LORD of armies had sent by His Spirit through the (C4)former prophets; therefore great (C5)wrath came from the LORD of armies.13 "And just as (C1)He called and they would not listen, so (C2)they called and I would not listen," says the LORD of armies;14 "but I (F1)(C1)scattered them with a (C2)storm wind among all the nations whom they did not know. So the land was (C3)desolated behind them (F2)so that (C4)no one went back and forth, since they (C5)made the pleasant land desolate."
The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion
1 Then the word of the LORD of armies came, saying,2 "The LORD of armies says this: 'I am (C1)exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.'3 "The LORD says this: 'I will return to Zion and (C1)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of (C2)Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of armies will be called the Holy Mountain.'4 "The LORD of armies says this: '(C1)Old men and old women will again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each person with his staff in his hand because of (F1)age.5 'And the public squares of the city will be filled with (C1)boys and girls playing in its squares.'6 "The LORD of armies says this: 'If it is (C1)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be (C2)too difficult in My sight?' declares the LORD of armies.7 "The LORD of armies says this: 'Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the (F1)(C1)east and from the land of the (F2)west;8 and I will (C1)bring them back and they will (C2)live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be (C3)My people, and I will be their God in (F1)truth and righteousness.'
9 "The LORD of armies says this: 'Let your hands be (C1)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the (C2)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of armies was laid, so that the temple might be built.10 'For before those days there was (C1)no wage for man nor any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no (F1)(C2)peace because of (F2)his enemies, and I (C3)sent all the people against one another.11 'But now I will (C1)not (F1)treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' declares the LORD of armies.12 'For there will be (C1)the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their (C2)dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people (C3)all these things as an inheritance.13 'And it will come about that just as you were a (C1)curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a (C2)blessing. Do not fear; let your (C3)hands be strong.'
14 "For this is what the LORD of armies says: 'Just as I (C1)determined to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,' says the LORD of armies, 'and I have not (C2)relented,15 so I have again determined in these days to (C1)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. (C2)Do not fear!16 'These are the things which you shall do: speak the (C1)truth to one another; (C2)judge with truth and judgment for peace at your (F1)gates.17 'Also let none of you (C1)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love (F1)(C2)perjury; for all these things are what I (C3)hate,' declares the LORD."
18 Then the word of the LORD of armies came to me, saying,19 "The LORD of armies says this: 'The fast of the (C1)fourth, the fast of the (C2)fifth, the fast of the (C3)seventh, and the fast of the (C4)tenth months will become (C5)joy, jubilation, and (F1)cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so (C6)love truth and peace.'
20 "The LORD of armies says this: 'It will yet turn out that (C1)peoples will come, that is, the inhabitants of many cities.21 'The inhabitants of one city will go to another, saying, "Let's go at once to (C1)plead for the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of armies; (F1)I also will go."22 'So (C1)many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of armies in Jerusalem, and to (C2)plead for the favor of the LORD.'23 "The LORD of armies says this: 'In those days ten people from all the (F1)nations will (F2)(C1)grasp the (F3)garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"
Jude 1
Chapter 1
The Warnings of History to the Ungodly
1 (F1)(C1)Jude, a (C2)bond-servant of Jesus Christ and brother of (F2)James,
3 (C1)Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our (C2)common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you (C3)contend earnestly for (C4)the faith that was once for all time (C5)handed down to (C6)the (F1)saints.4 For certain people have (C1)crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand (F1)(C2)marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn (C3)the grace of our God into (C4)indecent behavior and (C5)deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to (C1)remind you, though (C2)you know everything once and for all, that (F1)the Lord, (C3)after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, (F2)subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.6 And (C1)angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has (C2)kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day,7 just as (C1)Sodom and Gomorrah and the (C2)cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and (C3)went after (F1)strange flesh, are exhibited as an (F2)(C4)example in undergoing the (C5)punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, (C1)defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic (F1)majesties.9 But (C1)Michael (C2)the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about (C3)the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, "(C4)The Lord rebuke you!"10 But (C1)these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and (C2)all the things that they know by instinct, (C1)like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.11 Woe to them! For they have gone (C1)the way of Cain, and for pay (F1)they have given themselves up to (C2)the error of Balaam, and (C3)perished in the rebellion of Korah.12 These are the ones who are (F1)hidden reefs (C1)in your love feasts when they feast with you (C2)without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; (C3)clouds without water, (C4)carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, (F2)doubly dead, (C5)uprooted;13 (C1)wild waves of the sea, churning up (C2)their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, (C3)for whom the (F1)gloom of darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these people that (C1)Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "(C2)Behold, the Lord has come with (F1)many thousands of His holy ones,15 (C1)to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which (C2)ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."16 These are (C1)grumblers, finding fault, (C2)following after their own lusts; (F1)they speak (C3)arrogantly, flattering people (C4)for the sake of gaining an advantage.
Keep Yourselves in the Love of God
17 But you, (C1)beloved, (C2)ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by (C3)the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,18 that they were saying to you, "(C1)In the last time there will be mockers, (C2)following after their own ungodly lusts."19 These are the ones who cause divisions, (F1)(C1)worldly-minded, (F2)devoid of the Spirit.20 But you, (C1)beloved, (C2)building yourselves up on your most holy (C1)faith, (C3)praying in the Holy Spirit,21 keep yourselves in the love of God, (C1)looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting;23 save others, (C1)snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, (C2)hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
24 (C1)Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to (C2)make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with (C3)great joy,25 to the (C1)only (C2)God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, (C3)be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority (C4)before all time and now and (F1)forever. Amen.
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