the Fifth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 9 - Old & New Testament
niv
Isaiah 5,6
The Song of the Vineyard
1 I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:(a)
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.(b)
He built a watchtower(c) in it
and cut out a winepress(d) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.(e)
3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.(f)
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?(g)
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?(h)
5 Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;(i)
I will break down its wall,(j)
and it will be trampled.(k)
6 I will make it a wasteland,(l)
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns(m) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain(n) on it."
7 The vineyard(o) of the
Lord
Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,(p) but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness,(q) but heard cries of distress.(r)
Woes and Judgments
8 Woe(s) to you who add house to house
and join field to field(t)
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9 The Lord Almighty(u) has declared in my hearing:(v)
"Surely the great houses will become desolate,(w)
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;
a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain."(x)
11 Woe(y) to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.(z)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes(aa) and timbrels(ab) and wine,
but they have no regard(ac) for the deeds of the
Lord
,
no respect for the work of his hands.(ad)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(ae)
for lack of understanding;(af)
those of high rank(ag) will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.(ah)
14 Therefore Death(ai) expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;(aj)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.(ak)
15 So people will be brought low(al)
and everyone humbled,(am)
the eyes of the arrogant(an) humbled.
16 But the
Lord
Almighty will be exalted(ao) by his justice,(ap)
and the holy God will be proved holy(aq) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(ar)
lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe(as) to those who draw sin along with cords(at) of deceit,
and wickedness(au) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, "Let God hurry;
let him hasten(av) his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(aw) of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it."(ax)
20 Woe(ay) to those who call evil good(az)
and good evil,(ba)
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,(bb)
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.(bc)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(bd)
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(be)
and champions at mixing drinks,(bf)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(bg)
but deny justice(bh) to the innocent.(bi)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(bj) lick up straw(bk)
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(bl)
and their flowers blow away like dust;(bm)
for they have rejected the law of the
Lord
Almighty
and spurned the word(bn) of the Holy One(bo) of Israel.
25 Therefore the
Lord
's anger(bp) burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(bq)
and the dead bodies(br) are like refuse(bs) in the streets.(bt)
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(bu)
his hand is still upraised.(bv)
26 He lifts up a banner(bw) for the distant nations,
he whistles(bx) for those at the ends of the earth.(by)
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(bz) or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(ca) is loosened at the waist,(cb)
not a sandal strap is broken.(cc)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(cd)
all their bows(ce) are strung;
their horses' hooves(cf) seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(cg)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(ch)
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(ci) their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.(cj)
30 In that day(ck) they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.(cl)
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness(cm) and distress;(cn)
even the sun will be darkened(co) by clouds.
Isaiah's Commission
1 In the year that King Uzziah(a) died,(b) I saw the Lord,(c) high and exalted,(d) seated on a throne;(e) and the train of his robe(f) filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim,(g) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,(h) and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy(i), holy is the
Lord
Almighty;(j)
the whole earth(k) is full of his glory."(l)
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.(m)
5 "Woe(n) to me!" I cried. "I am ruined!(o) For I am a man of unclean lips,(p) and I live among a people of unclean lips,(q) and my eyes have seen(r) the King,(s) the Lord Almighty."(t)
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal(u) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips;(v) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.(w)"
8 Then I heard the voice(x) of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?(y) And who will go for us?(z)"
And I said, "Here am I.(aa) Send me!"
9 He said, "Go(ab) and tell this people:
"‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'(ac)
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;(ad)
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a](ae)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,(af)
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."(ag)
11 Then I said, "For how long, Lord?"(ah)
And he answered:
"Until the cities lie ruined(ai)
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted(aj)
and the fields ruined and ravaged,(ak)
12 until the
Lord
has sent everyone far away(al)
and the land is utterly forsaken.(am)
13 And though a tenth remains(an) in the land,
it will again be laid waste.(ao)
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps(ap) when they are cut down,
so the holy(aq) seed will be the stump in the land."(ar)
2 Corinthians 13
Chapter 13
Final Warnings
1 This will be my third visit to you.(a) "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."[a](b) 2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent:(c) On my return I will not spare(d) those who sinned earlier(e) or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.(f) He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness,(g) yet he lives by God's power.(h) Likewise, we are weak(i) in him, yet by God's power we will live with him(j) in our dealing with you.
5 Examine yourselves(k) to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.(l) Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you(m)—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak(n) but you are strong;(o) and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.(p) 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh(q) in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.(r)
Final Greetings
11 Finally, brothers and sisters,(s) rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.(t) And the God of love(u) and peace(v) will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.(w) 13 All God's people here send their greetings.(x)
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,(y) and the love of God,(z) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit(aa) be with you all.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
