Bible Reading Plan

Ezekiel 23

Chapter 23

Oholah and Oholibah's Sin and Its Consequences

¹ The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,² "Son of man, there were ^(C1)two women, the daughters of one mother;³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They ^(C1)prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled.⁴ "Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵ "Oholah prostituted herself ^(F1)while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the ^(C1)Assyrians, her neighbors,⁶ who were clothed in purple, ^(C1)governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses.⁷ "She bestowed her ^(F1)obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest ^(F2)men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she ^(C1)defiled herself.⁸ "She did not abandon her obscene practices ^(C1)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth ^(F1)men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her.⁹ "Therefore, I handed her over to her ^(C1)lovers, to the ^(F1)Assyrians, after whom she lusted.¹⁰ "They ^(C1)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a ^(F1)subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ "Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was ^(C1)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were ^(F1)more than the prostitution of her sister.¹² "She lusted after the ^(F1)(C1)Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men.¹³ "And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took ^(F1)the same way.¹⁴ "So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men ^(C1)carved on the wall, images of the ^(C2)Chaldeans drawn in bright red,¹⁵ wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, ^(F1)like the ^(F2)Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.¹⁶ "And ^(F1)when she saw them she ^(C1)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.¹⁷ "And the ^(F1)(C1)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, ^(F2)she turned away from them in disgust.¹⁸ "She ^(C1)exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then ^(F1)I turned away from her in ^(C2)disgust, just as ^(F1)I had turned away from her ^(C3)sister in disgust.¹⁹ "Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt.²⁰ "She ^(C1)lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses.²¹ "So you longed for the ^(C1)outrageous sin of your youth, when ^(F1)the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

²² "Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: 'Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom ^(F2)you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:²³ the ^(F1)(C1)Babylonians and all the ^(C2)Chaldeans, ^(C3)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the ^(F2)(C4)Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and ^(F3)men of renown, all of them riding on horses.²⁴ 'And they will come against you with weapons, ^(C1)chariots, and ^(F1)wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, ^(F2)buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the ^(C2)judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs.²⁵ 'I will set My ^(C1)jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your ^(F1)survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your ^(C2)sons and your daughters; and your ^(F1)survivors will be consumed by the fire.²⁶ 'They will also ^(C1)strip you of your clothes and take away your ^(C2)beautiful jewelry.²⁷ 'So ^(C1)I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.'²⁸ "For this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you ^(C1)hate, to those from whom ^(F1)you turned away in disgust.²⁹ 'They will ^(C1)deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.³⁰ 'These things will be done to you because you have ^(C1)adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.³¹ 'You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put ^(C1)her cup in your hand.'³² "This is what the Lord GOD says:

'You will ^(C1)drink your sister's cup,
Which is deep and wide.
^(F1)You will be ^(C2)laughed at and held in derision;
Because it contains much.

³³ 'You will be filled with ^(C1)drunkenness and grief,
A cup of horror and desolation,
The cup of your sister Samaria.

³⁴ 'And you will ^(C1)drink it and drain it.
Then you will gnaw on its fragments
And tear your breasts;
for I have spoken,' declares the Lord GOD.

³⁶ Moreover, the LORD said to me, "Son of man, will you ^(C1)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then ^(C2)declare to them their abominations.³⁷ "For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, ^(C1)whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to ^(F1)them as food.³⁸ "Again, they have done this to Me: they have ^(C1)defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have ^(C2)profaned My Sabbaths.³⁹ "For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My ^(C1)sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

⁴⁰ "Furthermore, ^(F1)they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, ^(C1)put makeup on your eyes, and ^(C2)adorned yourselves with jewelry;⁴¹ and you sat on a splendid ^(C1)couch with a ^(C2)table arranged in front of it on which you had set My ^(C3)incense and My ^(C3)oil.⁴² "And the sound of a ^(F1)(C1)carefree multitude was with her; and ^(C2)heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put ^(C3)bracelets on ^(F2)the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ "Then I said concerning her who was ^(C1)worn out by adulteries, '^(F1)Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?'⁴⁴ "^(F1)But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.⁴⁵ "But they, righteous people, will ^(C1)judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶ "For this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to ^(C1)terror and plunder.⁴⁷ 'The contingent will ^(C1)stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and ^(C2)burn their houses with fire.⁴⁸ 'So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit ^(F1)outrageous sin as you have done.⁴⁹ 'Your outrageous conduct ^(F1)will be ^(C1)repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

Isaiah 51

Chapter 51

Israel Exhorted

¹ "^(C1)Listen to Me, you who ^(C2)pursue righteousness,
Who seek the LORD:
Look to the ^(C3)rock from which you were cut,
And to the ^(F1)quarry from which you were dug.

² "Look to ^(C1)Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he ^(C2)was only one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him."

³ Indeed, ^(C1)the LORD will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her ^(C2)ruins.
And He will make her ^(C3)wilderness like ^(C4)Eden,
And her desert like the ^(C5)garden of the LORD.
^(C6)Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.

⁴ "^(C1)Pay attention to Me, My people,
And listen to Me, My ^(F1)nation;
For a ^(C2)law will go out from Me,
And I will bring My ^(C3)justice as a ^(C4)light of the peoples.

⁵ "My ^(C1)righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My ^(C2)arms will judge the peoples;
The ^(C3)coastlands will wait for Me,
And they will wait expectantly for My ^(C4)arm.

⁶ "^(C1)Raise your eyes to the sky,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the ^(C2)sky will vanish like smoke,
And the ^(C2)earth will wear out like a garment
And its inhabitants will die ^(F1)in the same way.
But My ^(C3)salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not fail.

⁷ "^(C1)Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
A people in whose ^(C2)heart is My Law;
Do not fear the ^(C3)taunting of ^(F1)people,
Nor be terrified of their abuses.

⁸ "For the ^(C1)moth will eat them like a garment;
Yes, the ^(C2)moth will eat them like wool.
But My ^(C3)righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation to all generations."

^9 (C1)Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD;
Awake as in the ^(C2)days of old, the generations of long ago.
^(C3)Was it not You who cut ^(F1)Rahab in pieces,
Who pierced the ^(C4)dragon?

¹⁰ Was it not You who ^(C1)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the ^(C2)redeemed to cross over?

¹¹ And the ^(C1)redeemed of the LORD will return
And come to Zion with joyful shouting,
And ^(C2)everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And ^(C3)sorrow and sighing will flee away.

¹² "I, I Myself, am He who ^(C1)comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of ^(F1)(C2)mortal man,
And of a son of man who is made like ^(C3)grass,

¹³ That you have ^(C1)forgotten the LORD your Maker,
Who ^(C2)stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you ^(C3)fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
And where is the rage of the ^(C4)oppressor?

^17 (C1)Pull yourself up! Pull yourself up! Arise, Jerusalem!
You who have ^(C2)drunk from the LORD'S hand the cup of His anger;
The ^(F1)chalice of staggering you have drunk to the dregs.

¹⁸ There is ^(C1)no one to guide her among all the sons to whom she has given birth,
Nor is there anyone to take her by the hand among all the sons she has raised.

¹⁹ These two things have happened to you;
Who will mourn for you?
The ^(C1)devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
How shall I comfort you?

²⁰ Your sons have fainted,
They ^(C1)lie helpless at the head of every street,
Like an ^(C2)antelope in a net,
Full of the wrath of the LORD,
The ^(C3)rebuke of your God.

²¹ Therefore, listen to this, you ^(C1)afflicted,
Who are ^(C2)drunk, but not with wine:

²² This is what your Lord, the LORD, your God
Who ^(C1)contends for His people says:
"Behold, I have taken from your hand the ^(C2)cup of staggering,
The ^(F1)chalice of My anger;
You will never drink it again.

²³ "I will ^(C1)put it into the hand of your tormentors,
Who have said to ^(F1)you, '^(C2)Lie down so that we may walk over you.'
You have also made your back like the ground,
And like the street for those who walk over it."

Philippians 3

Chapter 3

The Goal of Life

¹ Finally, my brothers and sisters, ^(C1)rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.

² Beware of the ^(C1)dogs, beware of the ^(C2)evil workers, beware of the ^(F1)false circumcision;³ for ^(C1)we are the true ^(F1)circumcision, who ^(C2)worship in the Spirit of God and take ^(C3)pride in ^(C4)Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh,⁴ although ^(C1)I myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason:^5 (C1)circumcised the eighth day, of the ^(C2)nation of Israel, of the ^(C3)tribe of Benjamin, a ^(C2)Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, ^(C4)a Pharisee;⁶ as to zeal, ^(C1)a persecutor of the church; as to the ^(C2)righteousness which is in the Law, found ^(C3)blameless.

⁷ But ^(C1)whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ.⁸ More than that, I count all things to be loss ^(F1)in view of the surpassing value of ^(F2)(C1)knowing ^(C2)Christ Jesus my Lord, ^(F1)for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ,⁹ and may be found in Him, not having ^(C1)a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, ^(C2)the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,¹⁰ that I may ^(C1)know Him and ^(C2)the power of His resurrection and ^(F1)(C3)the fellowship of His sufferings, being ^(C4)conformed to His death;¹¹ if somehow I may ^(C1)attain to the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already ^(F1)(C1)grasped it all or have already ^(C2)become perfect, but I press on if I may also ^(C3)take hold of that ^(F2)for which I ^(C4)was even taken hold of by ^(C5)Christ Jesus.¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: ^(C1)forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴ I ^(C1)press on toward the goal for the prize of the ^(C2)upward call of God in ^(C3)Christ Jesus.¹⁵ Therefore, all who are ^(F1)(C1)mature, let's have this attitude; and if in anything you have a ^(C2)different attitude, ^(C3)God will reveal that to you as well;¹⁶ however, let's keep ^(F1)(C1)living by that same standard to which we have attained.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, ^(C1)join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the ^(C2)pattern you have in us.¹⁸ For ^(C1)many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I ^(C2)weep, that they are the enemies of ^(C3)the cross of Christ,¹⁹ whose end is destruction, whose god is their ^(F1)(C1)appetite, and whose ^(C2)glory is in their shame, who ^(C3)have their minds on earthly things.²⁰ For ^(C1)our ^(F1)citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly ^(C2)wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;²¹ who will ^(C1)transform the body of our lowly condition into ^(C2)conformity with ^(F1)His ^(C3)glorious body, ^(C4)by the exertion of the power that He has even to ^(C5)subject all things to Himself.