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Thursday, May 2nd, 2024
the Fifth Week after Easter

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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

September 22 - Old & New Testament
niv

Jump to: Isaiah 30,31 • Romans 2

Isaiah 30,31

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Woe to the Obstinate Nation

¹ "Woe^(a) to the obstinate children,"^(b)
     declares the Lord ,
"to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
     forming an alliance,^(c) but not by my Spirit,
     heaping sin upon sin;
² who go down to Egypt^(d)
     without consulting^(e) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,^(f)
     to Egypt's shade for refuge.^(g)
³ But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame,
     Egypt's shade^(h) will bring you disgrace.⁽ⁱ⁾
⁴ Though they have officials in Zoan^(j)
     and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
⁵ everyone will be put to shame
     because of a people^(k) useless^(l) to them,
who bring neither help^(m) nor advantage,
     but only shame and disgrace.⁽ⁿ⁾"

⁶ A prophecy^(o) concerning the animals of the Negev:^(p)

Through a land of hardship and distress,^(q)
     of lions^(r) and lionesses,
     of adders and darting snakes,^(s)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys'^(t) backs,
     their treasures^(u) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
⁷      to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.^(v)
Therefore I call her
     Rahab^(w) the Do-Nothing.

⁸ Go now, write it on a tablet^(x) for them,
     inscribe it on a scroll,^(y)
that for the days to come
     it may be an everlasting witness.^(z)
⁹ For these are rebellious^(aa) people, deceitful^(ab) children,
     children unwilling to listen to the Lord 's instruction.^(ac)
¹⁰ They say to the seers,^(ad)
     "See no more visions^(ae)!"
and to the prophets,
     "Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,^(af)
     prophesy illusions.^(ag)
¹¹ Leave this way,^(ah)
     get off this path,
and stop confronting^(ai) us
     with the Holy One^(aj) of Israel!"

¹² Therefore this is what the Holy One^(ak) of Israel says:

"Because you have rejected this message,^(al)
     relied on oppression^(am)
     and depended on deceit,
¹³ this sin will become for you
     like a high wall,^(an) cracked and bulging,
     that collapses^(ao) suddenly,^(ap) in an instant.
¹⁴ It will break in pieces like pottery,^(aq)
     shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
     for taking coals from a hearth
     or scooping water out of a cistern."

¹⁵ This is what the Sovereign^(ar) Lord , the Holy One^(as) of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest^(at) is your salvation,
     in quietness and trust^(au) is your strength,
     but you would have none of it.^(av)
¹⁶ You said, ‘No, we will flee^(aw) on horses.'^(ax)
     Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.'
     Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
¹⁷ A thousand will flee
     at the threat of one;
at the threat of five^(ay)
     you will all flee^(az) away,
till you are left^(ba)
     like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
     like a banner^(bb) on a hill."

¹⁸ Yet the Lord longs^(bc) to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.^(bd)
For the Lord is a God of justice.^(be)
Blessed are all who wait for him!^(bf)

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.^(bg) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!^(bh) As soon as he hears, he will answer^(bi) you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread^(bj) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers^(bk) will be hidden^(bl) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice^(bm) behind you, saying, "This is the way;^(bn) walk in it." ²² Then you will desecrate your idols^(bo) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;^(bp) you will throw them away like a menstrual^(bq) cloth and say to them, "Away with you!^(br)"

²³ He will also send you rain^(bs) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich^(bt) and plentiful.^(bu) In that day^(bv) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.^(bw) ²⁴ The oxen^(bx) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder^(by) and mash, spread out with fork^(bz) and shovel. ²⁵ In the day of great slaughter,^(ca) when the towers^(cb) fall, streams of water will flow^(cc) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. ²⁶ The moon will shine like the sun,^(cd) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals^(ce) the wounds he inflicted.

²⁷ See, the Name^(cf) of the Lord comes from afar,
     with burning anger^(cg) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,^(ch)
     and his tongue is a consuming fire.^(ci)
²⁸ His breath^(cj) is like a rushing torrent,^(ck)
     rising up to the neck.^(cl)
He shakes the nations in the sieve^(cm) of destruction;
     he places in the jaws of the peoples
     a bit^(cn) that leads them astray.
²⁹ And you will sing
     as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;^(co)
your hearts will rejoice^(cp)
     as when people playing pipes^(cq) go up
to the mountain^(cr) of the Lord ,
     to the Rock^(cs) of Israel.
³⁰ The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice^(ct)
     and will make them see his arm^(cu) coming down
with raging anger^(cv) and consuming fire,^(cw)
     with cloudburst, thunderstorm^(cx) and hail.^(cy)
³¹ The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;^(cz)
     with his rod he will strike^(da) them down.
³² Every stroke the Lord lays on them
     with his punishing club^(db)
will be to the music of timbrels^(dc) and harps,
     as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.^(dd)
³³ Topheth^(de) has long been prepared;
     it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
     with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath^(df) of the Lord ,
     like a stream of burning sulfur,^(dg)
     sets it ablaze.^(dh)

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

¹ Woe^(a) to those who go down to Egypt^(b) for help,
     who rely on horses,^(c)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots^(d)
     and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One^(e) of Israel,
     or seek help from the Lord .^(f)
² Yet he too is wise^(g) and can bring disaster;^(h)
     he does not take back his words.⁽ⁱ⁾
He will rise up against that wicked nation,^(j)
     against those who help evildoers.
³ But the Egyptians^(k) are mere mortals and not God;^(l)
     their horses^(m) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,⁽ⁿ⁾
     those who help will stumble,
     those who are helped^(o) will fall;
     all will perish together.^(p)

⁴ This is what the Lord says to me:

"As a lion^(q) growls,
     a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds^(r)
     is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
     or disturbed by their clamor^(s)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down^(t)
     to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
⁵ Like birds hovering^(u) overhead,
     the Lord Almighty will shield^(v) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver^(w) it,
     he will ‘pass over'^(x) it and will rescue it."

⁶ Return,^(y) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted^(z) against. ⁷ For in that day^(aa) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold^(ab) your sinful hands have made.^(ac)

⁸ "Assyria^(ad) will fall by no human sword;
     a sword, not of mortals, will devour^(ae) them.
They will flee before the sword
     and their young men will be put to forced labor.^(af)
⁹ Their stronghold^(ag) will fall because of terror;
     at the sight of the battle standard^(ah) their commanders will panic,^(ai)"
declares the Lord ,
     whose fire^(aj) is in Zion,
     whose furnace^(ak) is in Jerusalem.

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Romans 2

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Chapter 2 God's Righteous Judgment

¹ You, therefore, have no excuse,^(a) you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.^(b) ² Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches^(c) of his kindness,^(d) forbearance^(e) and patience,^(f) not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?^(g)

⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath^(h), when his righteous judgment⁽ⁱ⁾ will be revealed. ⁶ God "will repay each person according to what they have done."^[a]^(j) ⁷ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor^(k) and immortality,^(l) he will give eternal life.^(m) ⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,⁽ⁿ⁾ there will be wrath and anger.^(o) ⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:^(p) first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;^(q) ¹⁰ but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.^(r) ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.^(s)

¹² All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law^(t) will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey^(u) the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴ (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,^(v) they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) ¹⁶ This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets^(w) through Jesus Christ,^(x) as my gospel^(y) declares.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;^(z) ¹⁸ if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹ if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?^(aa) ²² You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?^(ab) ²³ You who boast in the law,^(ac) do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴ As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."^[b]^(ad)

²⁵ Circumcision has value if you observe the law,^(ae) but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.^(af) ²⁶ So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements,^(ag) will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?^(ah) ²⁷ The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you^(ai) who, even though you have the^[c] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,^(aj) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.^(ak) ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,^(al) by the Spirit,^(am) not by the written code.^(an) Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God.^(ao)