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Daily Bible Reading
December 24 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Ezekiel 35-36
Chapter 35
Prophecy against Mount Seir
1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2 "Son of man, set your face against (C1)Mount Seir, and prophesy against it3 and say to it, 'This is what the Lord (F1)GOD says: "Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir,
And I will (C1)reach out with My hand against you
And make you a (C2)desolation and a waste.
4 "I will (C1)turn your cities to ruins,
And you will become a desolation.
Then you will know that I am the LORD.
10 "Since you have (C1)said, 'These two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess (F1)them,' although the (C2)LORD was there,11 therefore as I live," declares the Lord GOD, "I will deal with you (C1)according to your anger and according to your envy which you displayed because of your hatred for them; so I will (C2)make Myself known among them when I judge you.12 "Then you will know (F1)that I, the LORD, have heard all your insults which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel saying, 'They are desolate; they have been (C1)given to us as food.'13 "And you have (F1)(C1)spoken arrogantly against Me and have multiplied your words against Me; (C2)I Myself have heard it."14 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "As all the (C1)earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation.15 "As you (C1)rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, (C2)so I will do to you. You will be a (C3)desolation, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD."'
Chapter 36
The Mountains of Israel to Be Blessed
1 "Now you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.2 'This is what the Lord (F1)GOD says: "Since the enemy has spoken against you, 'Aha!' and, 'The everlasting (F2)(C1)heights have become our possession,'3 therefore prophesy and say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "(F1)For good reason they have made you (C1)desolate and harassed you from every side, so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations; and you have been taken up in the (F2)(C2)talk and the rumor of the people."'"4 'Therefore, you (C1)mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the abandoned cities which have become (C2)plunder and an object of ridicule to the rest of the nations which are all around—5 therefore the Lord GOD says this: "Certainly in the fire of My (C1)jealousy I have spoken against the (C2)rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who (F1)appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted (C3)joy and with contempt of soul, in order to make its pastureland plunder."6 'Therefore prophesy in regard to the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, "This is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My wrath because you have (C1)endured the insults of the nations.'7 "Therefore the Lord GOD says this: 'I have (F1)sworn that the nations that are around you will certainly endure their insults themselves.8 'But as for you, mountains of Israel, you will (F1)(C1)grow your branches and bear fruit for My people Israel; for they are about to come.9 'For, behold, I am for you, and I will (C1)turn to you, and you will be (C2)cultivated and sown.10 'And I will multiply people on you, (C1)all the house of Israel, all of it; and the (C2)cities will be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt.11 'I will multiply on you people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will populate you as you were (C1)previously, and treat you (C2)better than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am the LORD.12 'Yes, I will have (C1)people—My people Israel—walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their (C2)inheritance and never again (C3)bereave them of children.'
13 "The Lord GOD says this: 'Since they say to you, "You are a (C1)devourer of people and have bereaved your nation of children,"14 for that reason you will no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children,' declares the Lord GOD.15 "I will not let you hear (C1)insults from the nations anymore, nor will you suffer (C2)disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you make your nation (C3)stumble any longer," declares the Lord GOD.'"
16 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they (C1)defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like (C2)the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.18 "Therefore I (C1)poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols.19 "I also (C1)scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the lands. (C2)According to their ways and their deeds I judged them.20 "When they came to the nations where they went, they (C1)profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, 'These are the (C2)people of the LORD, yet they have left His land.'21 "But I had (F1)concern for My (C1)holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.
Israel to Be Renewed for His Name's Sake
22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "It is (C1)not for your sake, house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.23 "And I will (C1)vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the (C2)nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I show Myself holy among you in their sight.24 "For I will (C1)take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land.25 "Then I will (C1)sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your (C2)filthiness and from all your (C3)idols.26 "Moreover, I will give you a (C1)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the (C2)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27 "And I will (C1)put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and (F1)follow My ordinances.28 "And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be (C1)My people, and I will be your God.29 "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I (C1)will not (F1)bring a famine on you.30 "Instead, I will (C1)multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.31 "Then you will (C1)remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your wrongdoings and your abominations.32 "I am not doing this (C1)for your sake," declares the Lord GOD; "let that be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated for your ways, house of Israel!"
33 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "On the day that I cleanse you from all your wrongdoings, I will populate the (C1)cities, and the (C2)places of ruins will be rebuilt.34 "The desolated land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by.35 "And they will say, 'This desolated land has become like the (C1)Garden of Eden; and the waste, desolated and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.'36 "Then the nations around you that are left will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolated; I, the LORD, have spoken, and I (C1)will do it."
37 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "This too I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their people like a flock.38 "Like the (C1)flock (F1)for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with (C2)flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."'"
Isaiah 59
Chapter 59
Separation from God
1 Behold, (C1)the LORD'S hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
(C2)Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
2 But your (C1)wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His (F1)face from you so that He does (C2)not hear.
3 For your (C1)hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with wrongdoing;
Your lips have spoken (C2)deceit,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 (C1)No one sues righteously and (C2)no one pleads (F1)honestly.
They (C3)trust in confusion and speak lies;
They (C4)conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
5 They hatch vipers' eggs and (C1)weave the spider's web;
The one who eats of their eggs dies,
And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.
6 Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they (C1)cover themselves with their works;
Their (C2)works are works of wrongdoing,
And an (C3)act of violence is in their (F1)hands.
7 (C1)Their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed innocent blood;
(C2)Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing,
Devastation and destruction are in their paths.
8 They do not know the (C1)way of peace,
And there is (C2)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
(C3)Whoever walks on (F1)them does not know peace.
A Confession of Wickedness
9 Therefore (C1)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not reach us;
We (C2)hope for light, but there is darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We (C1)grope for the wall like people who are blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We (C2)stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are (C3)like the dead.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (C1)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (C2)justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (C1)wrongful acts have multiplied before You,
And our (C2)sins have testified against us;
For our wrongful acts are with us,
And (F1)we know our wrongdoings:
13 (F1)Offending and (C1)denying the LORD,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking (C2)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and (C3)uttering lying words from the heart.
14 (C1)Justice is turned back,
And (C2)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
And one who turns aside from evil (C1)makes himself a prey.
Now the LORD saw,
And it was (F1)displeasing in His sight (C2)that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was (C1)no one,
And was amazed that there was not one to intercede;
Then His (C2)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on (C1)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a (C2)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on (C3)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with (C4)zeal as a cloak.
18 (C1)According to their deeds, (F1)so will He repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, (F2)retribution to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will (F3)deal (F2)retribution.
19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the (C1)west
And His glory from the (C2)rising of the sun,
For He will (C3)come like a (F1)rushing stream
Which the wind of the LORD drives.
20 "A (C1)Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob who (C2)turn from wrongdoing," declares the LORD.
21 "As for Me, this is My (C1)covenant with them," says the LORD: "My (C2)Spirit who is upon you, and My (C3)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your (F1)offspring, nor from the mouth of your (F1)offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever."
Luke 1:57-80
Chapter 1
57 Now the time (F1)had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had (F1)(C1)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (C1)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, (F1)after his father.60 And yet his mother responded and said, "No indeed; but (C1)he shall be called John."61 And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."62 And they (F1)(C1)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote (F1)as follows, "(C1)His name is John." And they were all amazed.64 (C1)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God.65 And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in (C1)the entire hill country of Judea.66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For indeed (C1)the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah's Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah (C1)was filled with the Holy Spirit and (C2)prophesied, saying:
68 "(C1)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (C2)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (C1)horn of salvation for us
In the house of (C2)His servant David—
70 (C1)Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (C2)from ancient times—
71 (F1)(C1)Salvation (C2)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (C1)To show mercy to our fathers,
(C2)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (C1)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
75 (C1)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 "And you, child, also will be called the (C1)prophet of (C2)the Most High;
For you will go on (C3)before the Lord to (C4)prepare His ways;
77 To give His people the knowledge of salvation
(F1)By (C1)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (C1)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (C1)To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (C2)way of peace."
80 (C1)Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995,2020 by The Lockman Foundation
