the Fifth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 1 - Old & New Testament
niv
Isaiah 50,51,52
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
1 This is what the Lord says:
"Where is your mother's certificate of divorce(a)
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sell(b) you?
Because of your sins(c) you were sold;(d)
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?(e)
Was my arm too short(f) to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength(g) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(h) I dry up the sea,(i)
I turn rivers into a desert;(j)
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness(k)
and make sackcloth(l) its covering."
4 The Sovereign
Lord
(m) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(n)
to know the word that sustains the weary.(o)
He wakens me morning by morning,(p)
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(q)
5 The Sovereign
Lord
(r) has opened my ears;(s)
I have not been rebellious,(t)
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat(u) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(v)
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.(w)
7 Because the Sovereign
Lord
(x) helps(y) me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(z)
and I know I will not be put to shame.(aa)
8 He who vindicates(ab) me is near.(ac)
Who then will bring charges against me?(ad)
Let us face each other!(ae)
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign
Lord
(af) who helps(ag) me.
Who will condemn(ah) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths(ai) will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears(aj) the
Lord
and obeys(ak) the word of his servant?(al)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,(am)
trust(an) in the name of the
Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(ao)
go, walk in the light of your fires(ap)
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(aq)
You will lie down in torment.(ar)
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
1 "Listen(a) to me, you who pursue righteousness(b)
and who seek(c) the
Lord
:
Look to the rock(d) from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,(e) your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.(f)
3 The
Lord
will surely comfort(g) Zion(h)
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(i)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(j)
her wastelands(k) like the garden of the
Lord
.
Joy and gladness(l) will be found in her,
thanksgiving(m) and the sound of singing.
4 "Listen to me, my people;(n)
hear me,(o) my nation:
Instruction(p) will go out from me;
my justice(q) will become a light to the nations.(r)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation(s) is on the way,(t)
and my arm(u) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(v) will look to me
and wait in hope(w) for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(x)
the earth will wear out like a garment(y)
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(z) will last forever,(aa)
my righteousness will never fail.(ab)
7 "Hear me, you who know what is right,(ac)
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(ad)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.(ae)
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(af)
the worm(ag) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(ah)
my salvation through all generations."
9 Awake, awake,(ai) arm(aj) of the
Lord
,
clothe yourself with strength!(ak)
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.(al)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(am) to pieces,
who pierced that monster(an) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(ao)
the waters of the great deep,(ap)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(aq)
so that the redeemed(ar) might cross over?
11 Those the
Lord
has rescued(as) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(at)
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(au) will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(av)
12 "I, even I, am he who comforts(aw) you.
Who are you that you fear(ax) mere mortals,(ay)
human beings who are but grass,(az)
13 that you forget(ba) the
Lord
your Maker,(bb)
who stretches out the heavens(bc)
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror(bd) every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?(be)
14
The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;(bf)
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.(bg)
15 For I am the
Lord
your God,
who stirs up the sea(bh) so that its waves roar(bi)—
the
Lord
Almighty(bj) is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth(bk)
and covered you with the shadow of my hand(bl)—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,(bm)
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.(bn)'"
The Cup of the Lord's Wrath
17 Awake, awake!(bo)
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the
Lord
the cup(bp) of his wrath,(bq)
you who have drained to its dregs(br)
the goblet that makes people stagger.(bs)
18 Among all the children(bt) she bore
there was none to guide her;(bu)
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.(bv)
19 These double calamities(bw) have come upon you—
who can comfort you?(bx)—
ruin and destruction,(by) famine(bz) and sword(ca)—
who can[a] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,(cb)
like antelope caught in a net.(cc)
They are filled with the wrath(cd) of the
Lord
,
with the rebuke(ce) of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(cf) one,
made drunk,(cg) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign
Lord
says,
your God, who defends(ch) his people:
"See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup(ci) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(cj)
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate(ck) that we may walk(cl) on you.'
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on."(cm)
1 Awake, awake,(a) Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!(b)
Put on your garments of splendor,(c)
Jerusalem, the holy city.(d)
The uncircumcised(e) and defiled(f)
will not enter you again.(g)
2 Shake off your dust;(h)
rise up,(i) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,(j)
Daughter Zion,(k) now a captive.
3 For this is what the Lord says:
"You were sold for nothing,(l)
and without money(m) you will be redeemed.(n)"
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"At first my people went down to Egypt(o) to live;
lately, Assyria(p) has oppressed them.
5 "And now what do I have here?" declares the Lord .
"For my people have been taken away for nothing,
and those who rule them mock,[a]"
declares the
Lord
.
"And all day long
my name is constantly blasphemed.(q)
6 Therefore my people will know(r) my name;(s)
therefore in that day(t) they will know
that it is I who foretold(u) it.
Yes, it is I."
7 How beautiful on the mountains(v)
are the feet of those who bring good news,(w)
who proclaim peace,(x)
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"(y)
8 Listen! Your watchmen(z) lift up their voices;(aa)
together they shout for joy.(ab)
When the
Lord
returns(ac) to Zion,(ad)
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy(ae) together,
you ruins(af) of Jerusalem,
for the
Lord
has comforted(ag) his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.(ah)
10 The
Lord
will lay bare his holy arm(ai)
in the sight of all the nations,(aj)
and all the ends of the earth(ak) will see
the salvation(al) of our God.
11 Depart,(am) depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!(an)
Come out from it and be pure,(ao)
you who carry the articles(ap) of the
Lord
's house.
12 But you will not leave in haste(aq)
or go in flight;
for the
Lord
will go before you,(ar)
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(as)
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
13 See, my servant(at) will act wisely[b];
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(au)
14 Just as there were many who were appalled(av) at him[c]—
his appearance was so disfigured(aw) beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness(ax)—
15 so he will sprinkle(ay) many nations,[d]
and kings(az) will shut their mouths(ba) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.(bb)
Romans 9:16-33
Chapter 9
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy.(af) 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."[g](ag) 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(ah)
19 One of you will say to me:(ai) "Then why does God still blame us?(aj) For who is able to resist his will?"(ak) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(al) "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(am) ‘Why did you make me like this?'"[h](an) 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?(ao)
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(ap) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(aq) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(ar) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(as)— 24 even us, whom he also called,(at) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(au) 25 As he says in Hosea:
"I will call them ‘my people' who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one' who is not my loved one,"[i](av)
26 and,
"In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,'
there they will be called ‘children of the living God.'"[j](aw)
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
"Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,(ax)
only the remnant will be saved.(ay)
28 For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality."[k](az)
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:
"Unless the Lord Almighty(ba)
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah."[l](bb)
Israel's Unbelief
30 What then shall we say?(bc) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;(bd) 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,(be) have not attained their goal.(bf) 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.(bg) 33 As it is written:
"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."[m](bh)
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