the Third Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
July 13 - Old & New Testament
niv
Amos 1,2,3
1 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(a)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(b) when Uzziah(c) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(d) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(e)
2 He said:
"The
Lord
roars(f) from Zion
and thunders(g) from Jerusalem;(h)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel(i) withers."(j)
Judgment on Israel's Neighbors
3 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Damascus,(k)
even for four, I will not relent.(l)
Because she threshed Gilead
with sledges having iron teeth,
4 I will send fire(m) on the house of Hazael(n)
that will consume the fortresses(o) of Ben-Hadad.(p)
5 I will break down the gate(q) of Damascus;
I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(r)
The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(s)"
says the
Lord
.(t)
6 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Gaza,(u)
even for four, I will not relent.(v)
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,(w)
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8 I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(x)
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(y) against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines(z) are dead,"(aa)
says the Sovereign
Lord
.(ab)
9 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Tyre,(ac)
even for four, I will not relent.(ad)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(ae)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.(af)"
11 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Edom,(ag)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(ah)
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,(ai)
12 I will send fire on Teman(aj)
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(ak)"
13 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Ammon,(al)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(am) of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(an)
that will consume(ao) her fortresses
amid war cries(ap) on the day of battle,
amid violent winds(aq) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
he and his officials together,(ar)"
says the
Lord
.(as)
1 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Moab,(a)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(b)
the bones of Edom's king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a](c)
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries(d) and the blast of the trumpet.(e)
3 I will destroy her ruler(f)
and kill all her officials with him,"(g)
says the
Lord
.(h)
4 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Judah,(i)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(j) of the
Lord
and have not kept his decrees,(k)
because they have been led astray(l) by false gods,[b](m)
the gods[c] their ancestors followed,(n)
5 I will send fire(o) on Judah
that will consume the fortresses(p) of Jerusalem.(q)"
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.(r)
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.(s)
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.(t)
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.(u)
In the house of their god
they drink wine(v) taken as fines.(w)
9 "Yet I destroyed the Amorites(x) before them,
though they were tall(y) as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.(z)
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots(aa) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(ab)
and led(ac) you forty years in the wilderness(ad)
to give you the land of the Amorites.(ae)
11 "I also raised up prophets(af) from among your children
and Nazirites(ag) from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?"
declares the
Lord
.
12 "But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.(ah)
13 "Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(ai)
14 The swift will not escape,(aj)
the strong(ak) will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.(al)
15 The archer(am) will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman(an) will not save his life.(ao)
16 Even the bravest warriors(ap)
will flee naked on that day,"
declares the
Lord
.
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
1 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(a)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(b)
2 "You only have I chosen(c)
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(d) you
for all your sins.(e)"
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar(f) in the thicket
when it has no prey?(g)
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait(h) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet(i) sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster(j) comes to a city,
has not the
Lord
caused it?(k)
7 Surely the Sovereign
Lord
does nothing
without revealing his plan(l)
to his servants the prophets.(m)
8 The lion(n) has roared(o)—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign
Lord
has spoken—
who can but prophesy?(p)
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(q)
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
"Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(r)
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people."
10 "They do not know how to do right,(s)" declares the
Lord
,
"who store up in their fortresses(t)
what they have plundered(u) and looted."
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.(v)"
12 This is what the Lord says:
"As a shepherd rescues from the lion's(w) mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
with only the head of a bed
and a piece of fabric[a] from a couch.[b](x)"
13 "Hear this and testify(y) against the descendants of Jacob," declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 "On the day I punish(z) Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(aa)
the horns(ab) of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(ac)
along with the summer house;(ad)
the houses adorned with ivory(ae) will be destroyed
and the mansions(af) will be demolished,(ag)"
declares the
Lord
.(ah)
Acts 15:22-41
Chapter 15
22 Then the apostles and elders,(ae) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch(af) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,(ag) men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch,(ah) Syria(ai) and Cilicia:(aj)
Greetings.(ak)
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.(al) 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives(am) for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas(an) to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit(ao) and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.(ap) You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell.
30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas,(aq) who themselves were prophets,(ar) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace(as) to return to those who had sent them. [34] [d] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached(at) the word of the Lord.(au)
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns(av) where we preached the word of the Lord(aw) and see how they are doing." 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,(ax) with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them(ay) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas(az) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.(ba) 41 He went through Syria(bb) and Cilicia,(bc) strengthening the churches.(bd)
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