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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 23 - Old & New Testament
niv
Isaiah 32,33
The Kingdom of Righteousness
1 See, a king(a) will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.(b)
2 Each one will be like a shelter(c) from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,(d)
like streams of water(e) in the desert(f)
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,(g)
and the ears(h) of those who hear will listen.
4 The fearful heart will know and understand,(i)
and the stammering tongue(j) will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the fool(k) be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For fools speak folly,(l)
their hearts are bent on evil:(m)
They practice ungodliness(n)
and spread error(o) concerning the
Lord
;
the hungry they leave empty(p)
and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7 Scoundrels use wicked methods,(q)
they make up evil schemes(r)
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy(s) is just.(t)
8 But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deeds(u) they stand.(v)
The Women of Jerusalem
9 You women(w) who are so complacent,
rise up and listen(x) to me;
you daughters who feel secure,(y)
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year(z)
you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,(aa)
and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble,(ab) you complacent women;
shudder, you daughters who feel secure!(ac)
Strip off your fine clothes(ad)
and wrap yourselves in rags.(ae)
12 Beat your breasts(af) for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines(ag)
13 and for the land of my people,
a land overgrown with thorns and briers(ah)—
yes, mourn(ai) for all houses of merriment
and for this city of revelry.(aj)
14 The fortress(ak) will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;(al)
citadel and watchtower(am) will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys,(an) a pasture for flocks,(ao)
15 till the Spirit(ap) is poured on us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,(aq)
and the fertile field seems like a forest.(ar)
16 The
Lord
's justice(as) will dwell in the desert,(at)
his righteousness(au) live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness(av) will be peace;(aw)
its effect will be quietness and confidence(ax) forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful(ay) dwelling places,
in secure homes,(az)
in undisturbed places of rest.(ba)
19 Though hail(bb) flattens the forest(bc)
and the city is leveled(bd) completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
sowing(be) your seed by every stream,(bf)
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.(bg)
Distress and Help
1 Woe(a) to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;(b)
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.(c)
2
Lord
, be gracious(d) to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength(e) every morning,
our salvation(f) in time of distress.(g)
3 At the uproar of your army,(h) the peoples flee;(i)
when you rise up,(j) the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder,(k) O nations, is harvested(l) as by young locusts;(m)
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The
Lord
is exalted,(n) for he dwells on high;(o)
he will fill Zion with his justice(p) and righteousness.(q)
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation(r) and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear(s) of the
Lord
is the key to this treasure.[a](t)
7 Look, their brave men(u) cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys(v) of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted,
no travelers(w) are on the roads.(x)
The treaty is broken,(y)
its witnesses[b] are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries up(z) and wastes away,
Lebanon(aa) is ashamed and withers;(ab)
Sharon(ac) is like the Arabah,
and Bashan(ad) and Carmel(ae) drop their leaves.
10 "Now will I arise,(af)" says the
Lord
.
"Now will I be exalted;(ag)
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive(ah) chaff,
you give birth(ai) to straw;
your breath is a fire(aj) that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;(ak)
like cut thornbushes(al) they will be set ablaze.(am)"
13 You who are far away,(an) hear(ao) what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners(ap) in Zion are terrified;
trembling(aq) grips the godless:
"Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?(ar)
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"
15 Those who walk righteously(as)
and speak what is right,(at)
who reject gain from extortion(au)
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,(av)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes(aw) against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,(ax)
whose refuge(ay) will be the mountain fortress.(az)
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail(ba) them.
17 Your eyes will see the king(bb) in his beauty(bc)
and view a land that stretches afar.(bd)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:(be)
"Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?(bf)"
19 You will see those arrogant people(bg) no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.(bh)
20 Look on Zion,(bi) the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode,(bj) a tent(bk) that will not be moved;(bl)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the
Lord
will be our Mighty(bm) One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.(bn)
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship(bo) will sail them.
22 For the
Lord
is our judge,(bp)
the
Lord
is our lawgiver,(bq)
the
Lord
is our king;(br)
it is he who will save(bs) us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame(bt) will carry off plunder.(bu)
24 No one living in Zion will say, "I am ill";(bv)
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.(bw)
Romans 3
Chapter 3
God's Faithfulness
1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way!(a) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.(b)
3 What if some were unfaithful?(c) Will their unfaithfulness nullify God's faithfulness?(d) 4 Not at all! Let God be true,(e) and every human being a liar.(f) As it is written:
"So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge."[a](g)
5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly,(h) what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)(i) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?(j) 7 Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory,(k) why am I still condemned as a sinner?"(l) 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"?(m) Their condemnation is just!
No One Is Righteous
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?(n) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.(o) 10 As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."[b](p)
13 "Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."[c](q)
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."[d](r)
14
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."[e](s)
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16
ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know."[f](t)
18
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."[g](u)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says,(v) it says to those who are under the law,(w) so that every mouth may be silenced(x) and the whole world held accountable to God.(y) 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law;(z) rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.(aa)
Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God(ab) has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.(ac) 22 This righteousness(ad) is given through faith(ae) in[h] Jesus Christ(af) to all who believe.(ag) There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,(ah) 23 for all have sinned(ai) and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified(aj) freely by his grace(ak) through the redemption(al) that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i](am) through the shedding of his blood(an)—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished(ao)— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting?(ap) It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.(aq) 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,(ar) 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.(as) 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
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