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Daily Bible Reading
October 3 - Straight Thru the Bible
niv
Nahum 3
Chapter 3
Woe to Nineveh
1 Woe to the city of blood,(a)
full of lies,(b)
full of plunder,
never without victims!
2 The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
3 Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses(c)—
4 all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,(d)
who enslaved nations by her prostitution(e)
and peoples by her witchcraft.
5 "I am against(f) you," declares the
Lord
Almighty.
"I will lift your skirts(g) over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness(h)
and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth,(i)
I will treat you with contempt(j)
and make you a spectacle.(k)
7 All who see you will flee(l) from you and say,
‘Nineveh(m) is in ruins(n)—who will mourn for her?'(o)
Where can I find anyone to comfort(p) you?"
8 Are you better than(q) Thebes,(r)
situated on the Nile,(s)
with water around her?
The river was her defense,
the waters her wall.
9 Cush[a](t) and Egypt were her boundless strength;
Put(u) and Libya(v) were among her allies.
10 Yet she was taken captive(w)
and went into exile.
Her infants were dashed(x) to pieces
at every street corner.
Lots(y) were cast for her nobles,
and all her great men were put in chains.(z)
11 You too will become drunk;(aa)
you will go into hiding(ab)
and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are like fig trees
with their first ripe fruit;(ac)
when they are shaken,
the figs(ad) fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Look at your troops—
they are all weaklings.(ae)
The gates(af) of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has consumed the bars of your gates.(ag)
14 Draw water for the siege,(ah)
strengthen your defenses!(ai)
Work the clay,
tread the mortar,
repair the brickwork!
15 There the fire(aj) will consume you;
the sword(ak) will cut you down—
they will devour you like a swarm of locusts.
Multiply like grasshoppers,
multiply like locusts!(al)
16 You have increased the number of your merchants
till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky,
but like locusts(am) they strip the land
and then fly away.
17 Your guards are like locusts,(an)
your officials like swarms of locusts
that settle in the walls on a cold day—
but when the sun appears they fly away,
and no one knows where.
18 King of Assyria, your shepherds[b] slumber;(ao)
your nobles lie down to rest.(ap)
Your people are scattered(aq) on the mountains
with no one to gather them.
19 Nothing can heal you;(ar)
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands(as) at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?(at)
Habakkuk 1-3
Chapter 1
1 The prophecy(a) that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk's Complaint
2 How long,(b)
Lord
, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?(c)
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?(d)
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate(e) wrongdoing?(f)
Destruction and violence(g) are before me;
there is strife,(h) and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law(i) is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice(j) is perverted.(k)
The Lord's Answer
5 "Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.(l)
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.(m)
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a](n)
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth(o)
to seize dwellings not their own.(p)
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;(q)
they are a law to themselves
and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter(r) than leopards,
fiercer than wolves(s) at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9
they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners(t) like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.(u)
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps(v) they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind(w) and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god."(x)
Habakkuk's Second Complaint
12
Lord
, are you not from everlasting?(y)
My God, my Holy One,(z) you[c] will never die.(aa)
You,
Lord
, have appointed(ab) them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock,(ac) have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure(ad) to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.(ae)
Why then do you tolerate(af) the treacherous?(ag)
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?(ah)
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked(ai) foe pulls all of them up with hooks,(aj)
he catches them in his net,(ak)
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense(al) to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy?(am)
Chapter 2
1 I will stand at my watch(a)
and station myself on the ramparts;(b)
I will look to see what he will say(c) to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.[a](d)
The Lord's Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
"Write(e) down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald[b] may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;(f)
it speaks of the end(g)
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait(h) for it;
it[c] will certainly come
and will not delay.(i)
4 "See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person(j) will live by his faithfulness[d](k)—
5 indeed, wine(l) betrays him;
he is arrogant(m) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
and like death is never satisfied,(n)
he gathers to himself all the nations
and takes captive(o) all the peoples.
6 "Will not all of them taunt(p) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,
"‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(q)
How long must this go on?'
7 Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
Then you will become their prey.(r)
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
the peoples who are left will plunder you.(s)
For you have shed human blood;(t)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(u)
9 "Woe to him who builds(v) his house by unjust gain,(w)
setting his nest(x) on high
to escape the clutches of ruin!
10 You have plotted the ruin(y) of many peoples,
shaming(z) your own house and forfeiting your life.
11 The stones(aa) of the wall will cry out,
and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.
12 "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed(ab)
and establishes a town by injustice!
13 Has not the
Lord
Almighty determined
that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire,(ac)
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?(ad)
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory(ae) of the
Lord
as the waters cover the sea.(af)
15 "Woe to him who gives drink(ag) to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
16 You will be filled with shame(ah) instead of glory.(ai)
Now it is your turn! Drink(aj) and let your nakedness be exposed[e]!(ak)
The cup(al) from the
Lord
's right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory.
17 The violence(am) you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
and your destruction of animals will terrify you.(an)
For you have shed human blood;(ao)
you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
18 "Of what value(ap) is an idol(aq) carved by a craftsman?
Or an image(ar) that teaches lies?
For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.(as)
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!'
Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!'(at)
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;(au)
there is no breath in it."(av)
20 The
Lord
is in his holy temple;(aw)
let all the earth be silent(ax) before him.
Chapter 3
Habakkuk's Prayer
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.[a](a)
2
Lord
, I have heard(b) of your fame;
I stand in awe(c) of your deeds,
Lord
.(d)
Repeat(e) them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.(f)
3 God came from Teman,(g)
the Holy One(h) from Mount Paran.[b](i)
His glory covered the heavens(j)
and his praise filled the earth.(k)
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;(l)
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power(m) was hidden.
5 Plague(n) went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled(o)
and the age-old hills(p) collapsed(q)—
but he marches on forever.(r)
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midian(s) in anguish.(t)
8 Were you angry with the rivers,(u)
Lord
?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea(v)
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?(w)
9 You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.(x)
You split the earth with rivers;
10
the mountains saw you and writhed.(y)
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared(z)
and lifted its waves(aa) on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still(ab) in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,(ac)
at the lightning(ad) of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed(ae) the nations.
13 You came out(af) to deliver(ag) your people,
to save your anointed(ah) one.
You crushed(ai) the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,(aj)
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched(ak) who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea(al) with your horses,
churning the great waters.(am)
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.(an)
Yet I will wait patiently(ao) for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,(ap)
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,(aq)
18 yet I will rejoice in the
Lord
,(ar)
I will be joyful in God my Savior.(as)
19 The Sovereign
Lord
is my strength;(at)
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.(au)
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
Zephaniah 1:1-13
Chapter 1
1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah(a) son of Amon(b) king of Judah:
Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord
2 "I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,"(c)
declares the
Lord
.
3 "I will sweep away both man and beast;(d)
I will sweep away the birds in the sky(e)
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble."[a]
"When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,"(f)
declares the
Lord
,(g)
4 "I will stretch out my hand(h) against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(i)
the very names of the idolatrous priests(j)—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,(k)
those who bow down and swear by the
Lord
and who also swear by Molek,[b](l)
6 those who turn back from following(m) the
Lord
and neither seek(n) the
Lord
nor inquire(o) of him."
7 Be silent(p) before the Sovereign
Lord
,
for the day of the
Lord
(q) is near.
The
Lord
has prepared a sacrifice;(r)
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8 "On the day of the
Lord
's sacrifice
I will punish(s) the officials
and the king's sons(t)
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c](u)
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.(v)
10 "On that day,(w)"
declares the
Lord
,
"a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(x)
wailing(y) from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(z) you who live in the market district[d];
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.(aa)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,(ab)
who are like wine left on its dregs,(ac)
who think, ‘The
Lord
will do nothing,(ad)
either good or bad.'(ae)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(af)
their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink the wine."(ag)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
