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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

September 15 - Old & New Testament
niv

 

Isaiah 11,12,13

The Branch From Jesse

1 A shoot(a) will come up from the stump(b) of Jesse;(c)
     from his roots a Branch(d) will bear fruit.(e)
2 The Spirit(f) of the Lord will rest on him—
     the Spirit of wisdom(g) and of understanding,
     the Spirit of counsel and of might,(h)
     the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
3 and he will delight in the fear(i) of the Lord .

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,(j)
     or decide by what he hears with his ears;(k)
4 but with righteousness(l) he will judge the needy,(m)
     with justice(n) he will give decisions for the poor(o) of the earth.
He will strike(p) the earth with the rod of his mouth;(q)
     with the breath(r) of his lips he will slay the wicked.(s)
5 Righteousness will be his belt(t)
     and faithfulness(u) the sash around his waist.(v)

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,(w)
     the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
     and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
     their young will lie down together,
     and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(x)
8 The infant(y) will play near the cobra's den,
     and the young child will put its hand into the viper's(z) nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy(aa)
     on all my holy mountain,(ab)
for the earth(ac) will be filled with the knowledge(ad) of the Lord
     as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day(ae) the Root of Jesse(af) will stand as a banner(ag) for the peoples; the nations(ah) will rally to him,(ai) and his resting place(aj) will be glorious.(ak) 11 In that day(al) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(am) of his people from Assyria,(an) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(ao) from Cush,[b](ap) from Elam,(aq) from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath(ar) and from the islands(as) of the Mediterranean.(at)

12 He will raise a banner(au) for the nations
     and gather(av) the exiles of Israel;(aw)
he will assemble the scattered people(ax) of Judah
     from the four quarters of the earth.(ay)
13 Ephraim's jealousy will vanish,
     and Judah's enemies[d] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
     nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(az)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(ba) to the west;
     together they will plunder the people to the east.(bb)
They will subdue Edom(bc) and Moab,(bd)
     and the Ammonites(be) will be subject to them.(bf)
15 The Lord will dry up(bg)
     the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(bh) he will sweep his hand(bi)
     over the Euphrates River.(bj)
He will break it up into seven streams
     so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(bk)
16 There will be a highway(bl) for the remnant(bm) of his people
     that is left from Assyria,(bn)
as there was for Israel
     when they came up from Egypt.(bo)

Songs of Praise

1 In that day(a) you will say:

"I will praise(b) you, Lord .
     Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away(c)
     and you have comforted(d) me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;(e)
     I will trust(f) and not be afraid.
The Lord , the Lord himself,(g) is my strength(h) and my defense[a];
     he has become my salvation.(i)"
3 With joy you will draw water(j)
     from the wells(k) of salvation.

4 In that day(l) you will say:

"Give praise to the Lord , proclaim his name;(m)
     make known among the nations(n) what he has done,
     and proclaim that his name is exalted.(o)
5 Sing(p) to the Lord , for he has done glorious things;(q)
     let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy,(r) people of Zion,
     for great(s) is the Holy One of Israel(t) among you.(u)"

A Prophecy Against Babylon

1 A prophecy(a) against Babylon(b) that Isaiah son of Amoz(c) saw:(d)

2 Raise a banner(e) on a bare hilltop,
     shout to them;
beckon to them
     to enter the gates(f) of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
     I have summoned my warriors(g) to carry out my wrath(h)
     those who rejoice(i) in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
     like that of a great multitude!(j)
Listen, an uproar(k) among the kingdoms,
     like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(l) is mustering(m)
     an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
     from the ends of the heavens(n)
the Lord and the weapons(o) of his wrath(p)
     to destroy(q) the whole country.

6 Wail,(r) for the day(s) of the Lord is near;
     it will come like destruction(t) from the Almighty.[a](u)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,(v)
     every heart will melt with fear.(w)
8 Terror(x) will seize them,
     pain and anguish will grip(y) them;
     they will writhe like a woman in labor.(z)
They will look aghast at each other,
     their faces aflame.(aa)

9 See, the day(ab) of the Lord is coming
     —a cruel(ac) day, with wrath(ad) and fierce anger(ae)
to make the land desolate
     and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
     will not show their light.(af)
The rising sun(ag) will be darkened(ah)
     and the moon will not give its light.(ai)
11 I will punish(aj) the world for its evil,
     the wicked(ak) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(al)
     and will humble(am) the pride of the ruthless.(an)
12 I will make people(ao) scarcer than pure gold,
     more rare than the gold of Ophir.(ap)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(aq)
     and the earth will shake(ar) from its place
at the wrath(as) of the Lord Almighty,
     in the day of his burning anger.(at)

14 Like a hunted(au) gazelle,
     like sheep without a shepherd,(av)
they will all return to their own people,
     they will flee(aw) to their native land.(ax)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
     all who are caught will fall(ay) by the sword.(az)
16 Their infants(ba) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
     their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(bb)

17 See, I will stir up(bc) against them the Medes,(bd)
     who do not care for silver
     and have no delight in gold.(be)
18 Their bows(bf) will strike down the young men;(bg)
     they will have no mercy(bh) on infants,
     nor will they look with compassion on children.(bi)
19 Babylon,(bj) the jewel of kingdoms,(bk)
     the pride and glory(bl) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(bm) by God
     like Sodom and Gomorrah.(bn)
20 She will never be inhabited(bo)
     or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(bp) will pitch their tents,
     there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(bq) will lie there,
     jackals(br) will fill her houses;
there the owls(bs) will dwell,
     and there the wild goats(bt) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(bu) will inhabit her strongholds,(bv)
     jackals(bw) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(bx)
     and her days will not be prolonged.(by)

Ephesians 2

Chapter 2

Made Alive in Christ

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(a) 2 in which you used to live(b) when you followed the ways of this world(c) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(d) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.(e) 3 All of us also lived among them at one time,(f) gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a](g) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us,(h) God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions(i)—it is by grace you have been saved.(j) 6 And God raised us up with Christ(k) and seated us with him(l) in the heavenly realms(m) in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,(n) expressed in his kindness(o) to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace(p) you have been saved,(q) through faith(r)—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works,(s) so that no one can boast.(t) 10 For we are God's handiwork,(u) created(v) in Christ Jesus to do good works,(w) which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

11 Therefore, remember that formerly(x) you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)(y) 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners(z) to the covenants of the promise,(aa) without hope(ab) and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once(ac) were far away have been brought near(ad) by the blood of Christ.(ae)

14 For he himself is our peace,(af) who has made the two groups one(ag) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh(ah) the law with its commands and regulations.(ai) His purpose was to create in himself one(aj) new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,(ak) by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace(al) to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.(am) 18 For through him we both have access(an) to the Father(ao) by one Spirit.(ap)

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,(aq) but fellow citizens(ar) with God's people and also members of his household,(as) 20 built(at) on the foundation(au) of the apostles and prophets,(av) with Christ Jesus himself(aw) as the chief cornerstone.(ax) 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple(ay) in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.(az)

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