the Fifth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 7 - Old & New Testament
niv
Isaiah 1,2
1 The vision(a) concerning Judah and Jerusalem(b) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw(c) during the reigns of Uzziah,(d) Jotham,(e) Ahaz(f) and Hezekiah,(g) kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!(h)
For the
Lord
has spoken:(i)
"I reared children(j) and brought them up,
but they have rebelled(k) against me.
3 The ox knows(l) its master,
the donkey its owner's manger,(m)
but Israel does not know,(n)
my people do not understand.(o)"
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,(p)
a brood of evildoers,(q)
children given to corruption!(r)
They have forsaken(s) the
Lord
;
they have spurned the Holy One(t) of Israel
and turned their backs(u) on him.
5 Why should you be beaten(v) anymore?
Why do you persist(w) in rebellion?(x)
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart(y) afflicted.(z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head(aa)
there is no soundness(ab)—
only wounds and welts(ac)
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged(ad)
or soothed with olive oil.(ae)
7 Your country is desolate,(af)
your cities burned with fire;(ag)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners(ah)
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.(ai)
8 Daughter Zion(aj) is left(ak)
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut(al) in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the
Lord
Almighty
had left us some survivors,(am)
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.(an)
10 Hear the word of the
Lord
,(ao)
you rulers of Sodom;(ap)
listen to the instruction(aq) of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(ar)
11 "The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the
Lord
.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;(as)
I have no pleasure(at)
in the blood of bulls(au) and lambs and goats.(av)
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,(aw)
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!(ax)
Your incense(ay) is detestable(az) to me.
New Moons,(ba) Sabbaths and convocations(bb)—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon(bc) feasts and your appointed festivals(bd)
I hate with all my being.(be)
They have become a burden to me;(bf)
I am weary(bg) of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands(bh) in prayer,
I hide(bi) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.(bj)
Your hands(bk) are full of blood!(bl)
16 Wash(bm) and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(bn)
stop doing wrong.(bo)
17 Learn to do right;(bp) seek justice.(bq)
Defend the oppressed.[a](br)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(bs)
plead the case of the widow.(bt)
18 "Come now, let us settle the matter,"(bu)
says the
Lord
.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;(bv)
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.(bw)
19 If you are willing and obedient,(bx)
you will eat the good things of the land;(by)
20 but if you resist and rebel,(bz)
you will be devoured by the sword."(ca)
For the mouth of the
Lord
has spoken.(cb)
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!(cc)
She once was full of justice;
righteousness(cd) used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!(ce)
22 Your silver has become dross,(cf)
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,(cg)
partners with thieves;(ch)
they all love bribes(ci)
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.(cj)
24 Therefore the Lord, the
Lord
Almighty,
the Mighty One(ck) of Israel, declares:
"Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge(cl) myself on my enemies.(cm)
25 I will turn my hand against you;[b](cn)
I will thoroughly purge(co) away your dross(cp)
and remove all your impurities.(cq)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,(cr)
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called(cs)
the City of Righteousness,(ct)
the Faithful City.(cu)"
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent(cv) ones with righteousness.(cw)
28 But rebels and sinners(cx) will both be broken,
and those who forsake(cy) the
Lord
will perish.(cz)
29 "You will be ashamed(da) because of the sacred oaks(db)
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens(dc)
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,(dd)
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.(de)"
The Mountain of the Lord (a)
1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:(b)
2 In the last days(c)
the mountain(d) of the
Lord
's temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;(e)
it will be exalted(f) above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.(g)
3 Many peoples(h) will come and say,
"Come, let us go(i) up to the mountain(j) of the
Lord
,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law(k) will go out from Zion,
the word of the
Lord
from Jerusalem.(l)
4 He will judge(m) between the nations
and will settle disputes(n) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(o)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,(p)
nor will they train for war anymore.
5 Come, descendants of Jacob,(q)
let us walk in the light(r) of the
Lord
.
The Day of the Lord
6 You,
Lord
, have abandoned(s) your people,
the descendants of Jacob.(t)
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divination(u) like the Philistines(v)
and embrace(w) pagan customs.(x)
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;(y)
there is no end to their treasures.(z)
Their land is full of horses;(aa)
there is no end to their chariots.(ab)
8 Their land is full of idols;(ac)
they bow down(ad) to the work of their hands,(ae)
to what their fingers(af) have made.
9 So people will be brought low(ag)
and everyone humbled(ah)—
do not forgive them.[a](ai)
10 Go into the rocks, hide(aj) in the ground
from the fearful presence of the
Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!(ak)
11 The eyes of the arrogant(al) will be humbled(am)
and human pride(an) brought low;(ao)
the
Lord
alone will be exalted(ap) in that day.(aq)
12 The
Lord
Almighty has a day(ar) in store
for all the proud(as) and lofty,(at)
for all that is exalted(au)
(and they will be humbled),(av)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,(aw) tall and lofty,(ax)
and all the oaks of Bashan,(ay)
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,(az)
15 for every lofty tower(ba)
and every fortified wall,(bb)
16 for every trading ship[b](bc)
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low(bd)
and human pride humbled;(be)
the
Lord
alone will be exalted in that day,(bf)
18
and the idols(bg) will totally disappear.(bh)
19 People will flee to caves(bi) in the rocks
and to holes in the ground(bj)
from the fearful presence(bk) of the
Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(bl)
when he rises to shake the earth.(bm)
20 In that day(bn) people will throw away
to the moles and bats(bo)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,(bp)
which they made to worship.(bq)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks(br)
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the
Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(bs)
when he rises(bt) to shake the earth.(bu)
22 Stop trusting in mere humans,(bv)
who have but a breath(bw) in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?(bx)
2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Chapter 11
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool.(ac) But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would,(ad) but as a fool.(ae) 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does,(af) I too will boast.(ag) 19 You gladly put up with(ah) fools since you are so wise!(ai) 20 In fact, you even put up with(aj) anyone who enslaves you(ak) or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak(al) for that!
Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.(am) 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I.(an) Are they Israelites? So am I.(ao) Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.(ap) 23 Are they servants of Christ?(aq) (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder,(ar) been in prison more frequently,(as) been flogged more severely,(at) and been exposed to death again and again.(au) 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes(av) minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods,(aw) once I was pelted with stones,(ax) three times I was shipwrecked,(ay) I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews,(az) in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city,(ba) in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.(bb) 27 I have labored and toiled(bc) and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;(bd) I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.(be) 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?(bf) Who is led into sin,(bg) and I do not inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast(bh) of the things that show my weakness.(bi) 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever,(bj) knows(bk) that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me.(bl) 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.(bm)
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