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Best podcasts about many hebrew

Latest podcast episodes about many hebrew

Carefully Examining the Text

“It is not only the shortest psalm in the collection but also the shortest chapter in the Bible” Alter, 414; Longman, 398.  It is 27 words in the NASB and 28 in the ESV. In Hebrew it is only 17 words. “Many Hebrew mss.attach it to Ps. 116….Other Hebrew mss. join the psalm to Ps. 118” Allen, 117.The basic structure of a song of praise is simple. It begins with a call to praise (vs. 1). Then the word translated for or because introduces the reason for praise (lines 1 and 2 of vs. 2). Last, there is a final call to praise (line 3 of vs. 2).“Underlying this invitation is the conviction that the God of Israel is the God who rules the world” McCann, 1150.117:1 Praise the LORD, all nations- Other psalms, like Psalm 96:3, speak of praising God among the nations, but here all the nations and all peoples are called to praise God- Alter, 414. Laud Him, all peoples!- “This verb appears to be an Aramaic word for ‘praise, laud'; and unless it was also Hebrew but not used much in the psalms, it may indicate that the Psalmist chose it to address the nations since Aramaic was spoken in the non-Israelite world and became the dominant language at the time of captivity” Ross, 435. The word is used 11 times in the OT: I Chron. 16:35; Pss. 63:3; 65:7; 89:9; 106:47; 117:1; 145:4; 147:12; Prov. 29:11; Ecc.  4:2; 8:15.117:2 God's lovingkindness is described as ‘great.' The word ‘great' can refer to victory on the battlefield. For example, it is used twice in Exodus 17:11 in the description of Israel's battle with Amalek. Also see the word in military contexts in I Sam. 2:9; II Sam. 1:23; 11:23. The word is used for the flood waters prevailing- Gen. 7:18-20 – our iniquities prevailing- Ps. 65:3- God's blessings- Gen. 49:26- His lovingkindness- Ps. 103:11. “The Hebrew root is often used to indicate the power of a military conquer. Here it also affirms that God conquers the world, but that God does so by the power of His faithful love” McCann, 1150. God's lovingkindness has triumphed; it has prevailed.  Lovingkindness and truth are accompanied by each other in Ex. 34:6; Ps. 25:10; 36:5; 40:10; 57:10; 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; 92:2; 98:3; 100:5; 108:4; 115:1; 138:2 And the truth of the LORD is everlasting- The emphasis of the second line can be summed up by saying that God's plans and promises are as fresh and intact now as on the day that they were made; and they will remain so” Kidner, 412. His love and truth know ‘neither measure nor end” Allen, 118.God's lovingkindness and truth were dramatically demonstrated in the exodus and the events surrounding it. God revealed Himself to Moses as “abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). “Their history was a monument to the greatness of His loyal love, for it was full of instances of loving, protecting, delivering, pardoning grace” Allen, 118. As Israel sang Psalm 117 at Passover, they remembered God's lovingkindness and truth in the exodus. God's dealing with Israel are a cause for universal praise among all nations and an attraction to all nations to worship such a God. Psalm 117 and JesusThe crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate display of the LORD's lovinkindness and truth. In the cross, God's lovingkindness and truth have triumphed, prevailed, and conquered the ruthless enemies of sin and death. The cross serves as a call for all nations to worship Him (John 12:32; Phil. 2:5-11; Rev. 5:8-14). Interestingly, as brief as Psalm 117 is, it is quoted in the New Testament. In Romans 15:8-12 Paul quotes from several OT passages (Rom. 15:9/ Psalm 18:49; Rom. 15:10/ Deut. 32:43; Rom. 15:11/Psalm 117:1; Rom. 15:12/Isaiah 11:10) to show God's desire has always

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
December 24: Psalm 144; Job 33; Isaiah 56–57; Revelation 15

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2023 11:48


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 144 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 33 Job 33 (Listen) Elihu Rebukes Job 33   “But now, hear my speech, O Job,    and listen to all my words.2   Behold, I open my mouth;    the tongue in my mouth speaks.3   My words declare the uprightness of my heart,    and what my lips know they speak sincerely.4   The Spirit of God has made me,    and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.5   Answer me, if you can;    set your words in order before me; take your stand.6   Behold, I am toward God as you are;    I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.7   Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;    my pressure will not be heavy upon you. 8   “Surely you have spoken in my ears,    and I have heard the sound of your words.9   You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression;    I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.10   Behold, he finds occasions against me,    he counts me as his enemy,11   he puts my feet in the stocks    and watches all my paths.' 12   “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,    for God is greater than man.13   Why do you contend against him,    saying, ‘He will answer none of man's1 words'?214   For God speaks in one way,    and in two, though man does not perceive it.15   In a dream, in a vision of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,    while they slumber on their beds,16   then he opens the ears of men    and terrifies3 them with warnings,17   that he may turn man aside from his deed    and conceal pride from a man;18   he keeps back his soul from the pit,    his life from perishing by the sword. 19   “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed    and with continual strife in his bones,20   so that his life loathes bread,    and his appetite the choicest food.21   His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,    and his bones that were not seen stick out.22   His soul draws near the pit,    and his life to those who bring death.23   If there be for him an angel,    a mediator, one of the thousand,    to declare to man what is right for him,24   and he is merciful to him, and says,    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;    I have found a ransom;25   let his flesh become fresh with youth;    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor';26   then man4 prays to God, and he accepts him;    he sees his face with a shout of joy,  and he restores to man his righteousness.27     He sings before men and says:  ‘I sinned and perverted what was right,    and it was not repaid to me.28   He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,    and my life shall look upon the light.' 29   “Behold, God does all these things,    twice, three times, with a man,30   to bring back his soul from the pit,    that he may be lighted with the light of life.31   Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;    be silent, and I will speak.32   If you have any words, answer me;    speak, for I desire to justify you.33   If not, listen to me;    be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Footnotes [1] 33:13 Hebrew his [2] 33:13 Or He will not answer for any of his own words [3] 33:16 Or seals [4] 33:26 Hebrew he (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 56–57 Isaiah 56–57 (Listen) Salvation for Foreigners 56   Thus says the LORD:  “Keep justice, and do righteousness,  for soon my salvation will come,    and my righteousness be revealed.2   Blessed is the man who does this,    and the son of man who holds it fast,  who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3   Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,    “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;  and let not the eunuch say,    “Behold, I am a dry tree.”4   For thus says the LORD:  “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,    who choose the things that please me    and hold fast my covenant,5   I will give in my house and within my walls    a monument and a name    better than sons and daughters;  I will give them an everlasting name    that shall not be cut off. 6   “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,    to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,    and to be his servants,  everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,    and holds fast my covenant—7   these I will bring to my holy mountain,    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;  their burnt offerings and their sacrifices    will be accepted on my altar;  for my house shall be called a house of prayer    for all peoples.”8   The Lord GOD,    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,  “I will gather yet others to him    besides those already gathered.” Israel's Irresponsible Leaders 9   All you beasts of the field, come to devour—    all you beasts in the forest.10   His watchmen are blind;    they are all without knowledge;  they are all silent dogs;    they cannot bark,  dreaming, lying down,    loving to slumber.11   The dogs have a mighty appetite;    they never have enough.  But they are shepherds who have no understanding;    they have all turned to their own way,    each to his own gain, one and all.12   “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;    let us fill ourselves with strong drink;  and tomorrow will be like this day,    great beyond measure.” Israel's Futile Idolatry 57   The righteous man perishes,    and no one lays it to heart;  devout men are taken away,    while no one understands.  For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;2     he enters into peace;  they rest in their beds    who walk in their uprightness.3   But you, draw near,    sons of the sorceress,    offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.4   Whom are you mocking?    Against whom do you open your mouth wide    and stick out your tongue?  Are you not children of transgression,    the offspring of deceit,5   you who burn with lust among the oaks,1    under every green tree,  who slaughter your children in the valleys,    under the clefts of the rocks?6   Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;    they, they, are your lot;  to them you have poured out a drink offering,    you have brought a grain offering.    Shall I relent for these things?7   On a high and lofty mountain    you have set your bed,    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.8   Behind the door and the doorpost    you have set up your memorial;  for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,    you have gone up to it,    you have made it wide;  and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,    you have loved their bed,    you have looked on nakedness.29   You journeyed to the king with oil    and multiplied your perfumes;  you sent your envoys far off,    and sent down even to Sheol.10   You were wearied with the length of your way,    but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;  you found new life for your strength,    and so you were not faint.3 11   Whom did you dread and fear,    so that you lied,  and did not remember me,    did not lay it to heart?  Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,    and you do not fear me?12   I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,    but they will not profit you.13   When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!    The wind will carry them all off,    a breath will take them away.  But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land    and shall inherit my holy mountain. Comfort for the Contrite 14   And it shall be said,  “Build up, build up, prepare the way,    remove every obstruction from my people's way.”15   For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  “I dwell in the high and holy place,    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,  to revive the spirit of the lowly,    and to revive the heart of the contrite.16   For I will not contend forever,    nor will I always be angry;  for the spirit would grow faint before me,    and the breath of life that I made.17   Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.18   I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;    I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,19     creating the fruit of the lips.  Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,    “and I will heal him.20   But the wicked are like the tossing sea;    for it cannot be quiet,    and its waters toss up mire and dirt.21   There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Footnotes [1] 57:5 Or among the terebinths [2] 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand [3] 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 15 Revelation 15 (<

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
December 12: Psalm 132; Job 19; Isaiah 41; Revelation 2

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2023 13:54


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 132 Psalm 132 (Listen) The Lord Has Chosen Zion A Song of Ascents. 132   Remember, O LORD, in David's favor,    all the hardships he endured,2   how he swore to the LORD    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,3   “I will not enter my house    or get into my bed,4   I will not give sleep to my eyes    or slumber to my eyelids,5   until I find a place for the LORD,    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6   Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;    we found it in the fields of Jaar.7   “Let us go to his dwelling place;    let us worship at his footstool!” 8   Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,    you and the ark of your might.9   Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,    and let your saints shout for joy.10   For the sake of your servant David,    do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 11   The LORD swore to David a sure oath    from which he will not turn back:  “One of the sons of your body1    I will set on your throne.12   If your sons keep my covenant    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,  their sons also forever    shall sit on your throne.” 13   For the LORD has chosen Zion;    he has desired it for his dwelling place:14   “This is my resting place forever;    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.15   I will abundantly bless her provisions;    I will satisfy her poor with bread.16   Her priests I will clothe with salvation,    and her saints will shout for joy.17   There I will make a horn to sprout for David;    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.18   His enemies I will clothe with shame,    but on him his crown will shine.” Footnotes [1] 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 19 Job 19 (Listen) Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp1 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.226   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in3 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'429   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 19:12 Hebrew their way [2] 19:25 Hebrew dust [3] 19:26 Or without [4] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 41 Isaiah 41 (Listen) Fear Not, for I Am with You 41   Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;    let the peoples renew their strength;  let them approach, then let them speak;    let us together draw near for judgment. 2   Who stirred up one from the east    whom victory meets at every step?1  He gives up nations before him,    so that he tramples kings underfoot;  he makes them like dust with his sword,    like driven stubble with his bow.3   He pursues them and passes on safely,    by paths his feet have not trod.4   Who has performed and done this,    calling the generations from the beginning?  I, the LORD, the first,    and with the last; I am he. 5   The coastlands have seen and are afraid;    the ends of the earth tremble;    they have drawn near and come.6   Everyone helps his neighbor    and says to his brother, “Be strong!”7   The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,    and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,  saying of the soldering, “It is good”;    and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. 8   But you, Israel, my servant,    Jacob, whom I have chosen,    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;9   you whom I took from the ends of the earth,    and called from its farthest corners,  saying to you, “You are my servant,    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;10   fear not, for I am with you;    be not dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you,    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11   Behold, all who are incensed against you    shall be put to shame and confounded;  those who strive against you    shall be as nothing and shall perish.12   You shall seek those who contend with you,    but you shall not find them;  those who war against you    shall be as nothing at all.13   For I, the LORD your God,    hold your right hand;  it is I who say to you, “Fear not,    I am the one who helps you.” 14   Fear not, you worm Jacob,    you men of Israel!  I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD;    your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15   Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,    new, sharp, and having teeth;  you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,    and you shall make the hills like chaff;16   you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,    and the tempest shall scatter them.  And you shall rejoice in the LORD;    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory. 17   When the poor and needy seek water,    and there is none,    and their tongue is parched with thirst,  I the LORD will answer them;    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.18   I will open rivers on the bare heights,    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.  I will make the wilderness a pool of water,    and the dry land springs of water.19   I will put in the wilderness the cedar,    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.  I will set in the desert the cypress,    the plane and the pine together,20   that they may see and know,    may consider and understand together,  that the hand of the LORD has done this,    the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Futility of Idols 21   Set forth your case, says the LORD;    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.22   Let them bring them, and tell us    what is to happen.  Tell us the former things, what they are,    that we may consider them,  that we may know their outcome;    or declare to us the things to come.23   Tell us what is to come hereafter,    that we may know that you are gods;  do good, or do harm,    that we may be dismayed and terrified.224   Behold, you are nothing,    and your work is less than nothing;    an abomination is he who chooses you. 25   I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,    from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name;  he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,    as the potter treads clay.26   Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,    and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?  There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,    none who heard your words.27   I was the first to say3 to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”    and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.28   But when I look, there is no one;    among these there is no counselor    who, when I ask, gives an answer.29   Behold, they are all a delusion;    their works are nothing;    their metal images are empty wind. Footnotes [1] 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow? [2] 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see [3] 41:27 Or Formerly I said (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 2 Revelation 2 (Listen) To the Church in Ephesus 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' To the Church in Smyrna 8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander1 of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.' To the Church in Pergamum 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith2 even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.' To the Church in Thyatira 18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you acco

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
December 3: Ezekiel 36–37; Psalm 123; 2 Timothy 1–2

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2023 17:24


Old Testament: Ezekiel 36–37 Ezekiel 36–37 (Listen) Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!' and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.” The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name 16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.1 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. 37 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;3 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath4 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,5 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick6 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,7 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings8 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land9 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 36:27 Or my just decrees [2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things [3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) New Testament: 2 Timothy 1–2 2 Timothy 1–2 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to1 a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,2 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.3 13 Follow the pattern of the sound4 words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus 2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,5 who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:   If we have died with him, we will also live with him;12   if we endure, we will also reign with him;  if we deny him, he also will deny us;13   if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. A Worker Approved by God 14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God6 not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,7 a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,8 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant9 must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. Footnotes [1] 1:9 Or with [2] 1:9 Greek before times eternal [3] 1:12 Or what I have entrusted to him; Greek my deposit [4] 1:13 Or healthy [5] 2:2 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women, depending on the context [6] 2:14 Some manuscripts the Lord [7] 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested [8] 2:21 Greek from these things [9] 2:24 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface (ESV)

ESV: Every Day in the Word
December 3: Ezekiel 36–37; John 2:13–25; Psalm 123; Proverbs 29:1

ESV: Every Day in the Word

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2023 13:17


Old Testament: Ezekiel 36–37 Ezekiel 36–37 (Listen) Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!' and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.” The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name 16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.1 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. 37 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;3 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath4 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,5 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick6 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,7 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings8 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land9 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 36:27 Or my just decrees [2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things [3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) New Testament: John 2:13–25 John 2:13–25 (Listen) Jesus Cleanses the Temple 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,1 and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Jesus Knows What Is in Man 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Footnotes [1] 2:20 Or This temple was built forty-six years ago (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 29:1 Proverbs 29:1 (Listen) 29   He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,    will suddenly be broken beyond healing. (ESV)

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
December 2: Psalm 122; Job 6–7; Isaiah 26–27; 1 John 1–2:6

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2023 13:00


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 122 Psalm 122 (Listen) Let Us Go to the House of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. 122   I was glad when they said to me,    “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”2   Our feet have been standing    within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3   Jerusalem—built as a city    that is bound firmly together,4   to which the tribes go up,    the tribes of the LORD,  as was decreed for1 Israel,    to give thanks to the name of the LORD.5   There thrones for judgment were set,    the thrones of the house of David. 6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!    “May they be secure who love you!7   Peace be within your walls    and security within your towers!”8   For my brothers and companions' sake    I will say, “Peace be within you!”9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,    I will seek your good. Footnotes [1] 122:4 Or as a testimony for (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 6–7 Job 6–7 (Listen) Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just 6 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Oh that my vexation were weighed,    and all my calamity laid in the balances!3   For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;    therefore my words have been rash.4   For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;    my spirit drinks their poison;    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.5   Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,    or the ox low over his fodder?6   Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?17   My appetite refuses to touch them;    they are as food that is loathsome to me.2 8   “Oh that I might have my request,    and that God would fulfill my hope,9   that it would please God to crush me,    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!10   This would be my comfort;    I would even exult3 in pain unsparing,    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.11   What is my strength, that I should wait?    And what is my end, that I should be patient?12   Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?13   Have I any help in me,    when resource is driven from me? 14   “He who withholds4 kindness from a friend    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.15   My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,    as torrential streams that pass away,16   which are dark with ice,    and where the snow hides itself.17   When they melt, they disappear;    when it is hot, they vanish from their place.18   The caravans turn aside from their course;    they go up into the waste and perish.19   The caravans of Tema look,    the travelers of Sheba hope.20   They are ashamed because they were confident;    they come there and are disappointed.21   For you have now become nothing;    you see my calamity and are afraid.22   Have I said, ‘Make me a gift'?    Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me'?23   Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand'?    Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless'? 24   “Teach me, and I will be silent;    make me understand how I have gone astray.25   How forceful are upright words!    But what does reproof from you reprove?26   Do you think that you can reprove words,    when the speech of a despairing man is wind?27   You would even cast lots over the fatherless,    and bargain over your friend. 28   “But now, be pleased to look at me,    for I will not lie to your face.29   Please turn; let no injustice be done.    Turn now; my vindication is at stake.30   Is there any injustice on my tongue?    Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? Job Continues: My Life Has No Hope 7   “Has not man a hard service on earth,    and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?2   Like a slave who longs for the shadow,    and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,3   so I am allotted months of emptiness,    and nights of misery are apportioned to me.4   When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?'    But the night is long,    and I am full of tossing till the dawn.5   My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;    my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.6   My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle    and come to their end without hope. 7   “Remember that my life is a breath;    my eye will never again see good.8   The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;    while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.9   As the cloud fades and vanishes,    so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;10   he returns no more to his house,    nor does his place know him anymore. 11   “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.12   Am I the sea, or a sea monster,    that you set a guard over me?13   When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,    my couch will ease my complaint,'14   then you scare me with dreams    and terrify me with visions,15   so that I would choose strangling    and death rather than my bones.16   I loathe my life; I would not live forever.    Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.17   What is man, that you make so much of him,    and that you set your heart on him,18   visit him every morning    and test him every moment?19   How long will you not look away from me,    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?20   If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?    Why have you made me your mark?    Why have I become a burden to you?21   Why do you not pardon my transgression    and take away my iniquity?  For now I shall lie in the earth;    you will seek me, but I shall not be.” Footnotes [1] 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [2] 6:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 6:14 Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 26–27 Isaiah 26–27 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5]

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary
December 2: Psalm 137; Psalm 144; Psalm 104; Micah 7:11–20; 1 Peter 4:7–19; Matthew 20:29–34

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2023 10:22


Proper 29 First Psalm: Psalm 137; Psalm 144 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 104 Psalm 104 (Listen) O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!    O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,    stretching out the heavens like a tent.3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;  he makes the clouds his chariot;    he rides on the wings of the wind;4   he makes his messengers winds,    his ministers a flaming fire. 5   He set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be moved.6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;    the waters stood above the mountains.7   At your rebuke they fled;    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down    to the place that you appointed for them.9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,    so that they might not again cover the earth. 10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow between the hills;11   they give drink to every beast of the field;    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;    they sing among the branches.13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock    and plants for man to cultivate,  that he may bring forth food from the earth15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,  oil to make his face shine    and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17   In them the birds build their nests;    the stork has her home in the fir trees.18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;1    the sun knows its time for setting.20   You make darkness, and it is night,    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21   The young lions roar for their prey,    seeking their food from God.22   When the sun rises, they steal away    and lie down in their dens.23   Man goes out to his work    and to his labor until the evening. 24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!    In wisdom have you made them all;    the earth is full of your creatures.25   Here is the sea, great and wide,    which teems with creatures innumerable,    living things both small and great.26   There go the ships,    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.2 27   These all look to you,    to give them their food in due season.28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;    when you take away their breath, they die    and return to their dust.30   When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,    and you renew the face of the ground. 31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;    may the LORD rejoice in his works,32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,    who touches the mountains and they smoke!33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,    for I rejoice in the LORD.35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,    and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14) [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with [3] 104:30 Or breath (ESV) Old Testament: Micah 7:11–20 Micah 7:11–20 (Listen) 11   A day for the building of your walls!    In that day the boundary shall be far extended.12   In that day they1 will come to you,    from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,  and from Egypt to the River,2    from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.13   But the earth will be desolate    because of its inhabitants,    for the fruit of their deeds. 14   Shepherd your people with your staff,    the flock of your inheritance,  who dwell alone in a forest    in the midst of a garden land;3  let them graze in Bashan and Gilead    as in the days of old.15   As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,    I will show them4 marvelous things.16   The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;  they shall lay their hands on their mouths;    their ears shall be deaf;17   they shall lick the dust like a serpent,    like the crawling things of the earth;  they shall come trembling out of their strongholds;    they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God,    and they shall be in fear of you. God's Steadfast Love and Compassion 18   Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity    and passing over transgression    for the remnant of his inheritance?  He does not retain his anger forever,    because he delights in steadfast love.19   He will again have compassion on us;    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.  You will cast all our5 sins    into the depths of the sea.20   You will show faithfulness to Jacob    and steadfast love to Abraham,  as you have sworn to our fathers    from the days of old. Footnotes [1] 7:12 Hebrew he [2] 7:12 That is, the Euphrates [3] 7:14 Hebrew of Carmel [4] 7:15 Hebrew him [5] 7:19 Hebrew their (ESV) New Testament: 1 Peter 4:7–19 1 Peter 4:7–19 (Listen) 7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Suffering as a Christian 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory1 and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And   “If the righteous is scarcely saved,    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”2 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Footnotes [1] 4:14 Some manuscripts insert and of power [2] 4:18 Greek where will the ungodly and sinner appear? (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 20:29–34 Matthew 20:29–34 (Listen) Jesus Heals Two Blind Men 29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,1 have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. Footnotes [1] 20:30 Some manuscripts omit Lord (ESV)

ESV: Read through the Bible
November 26: Ezekiel 36–37; 1 Peter 3

ESV: Read through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2023 14:17


Morning: Ezekiel 36–37 Ezekiel 36–37 (Listen) Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!' and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.” The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name 16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.1 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. 37 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;3 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath4 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,5 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick6 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,7 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings8 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land9 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 36:27 Or my just decrees [2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things [3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) Evening: 1 Peter 3 1 Peter 3 (Listen) Wives and Husbands 3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For   “Whoever desires to love life    and see good days,  let him keep his tongue from evil    and his lips from speaking deceit;11   let him turn away from evil and do good;    let him seek peace and pursue it.12   For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,    and his ears are open to their prayer.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered2 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and proclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Footnotes [1] 3:7 Some manuscripts since you are joint heirs [2] 3:18 Some manuscripts died [3] 3:19 Or the Spirit, in whom [4] 3:19 Or preached [5] 3:20 Or when (ESV)

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
November 12: 2 Kings 25; Hebrews 7; Psalm 144; Amos 1

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2023 13:13


With family: 2 Kings 25; Hebrews 7 2 Kings 25 (Listen) Fall and Captivity of Judah 25 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. 8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,1 and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework. 18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land. Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah 22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans. Jehoiachin Released from Prison 27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed2 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. Footnotes [1] 25:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 25:27 Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of (ESV) Hebrews 7 (Listen) The Priestly Order of Melchizedek 7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,1 though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Jesus Compared to Melchizedek 11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,   “You are a priest forever,    after the order of Melchizedek.” 18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:   “The Lord has sworn    and will not change his mind,  ‘You are a priest forever.'” 22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost2 those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. Footnotes [1] 7:5 Or brothers and sisters [2] 7:25 That is, completely; or at all times (ESV) In private: Psalm 144; Amos 1 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Amos 1 (Listen) 1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds1 of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years2 before the earthquake. Judgment on Israel's Neighbors 2 And he said:   “The LORD roars from Zion    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;  the pastures of the shepherds mourn,    and the top of Carmel withers.” 3 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Damascus,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,3  because they have threshed Gilead    with threshing sledges of iron.4   So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.5   I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,    and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,4  and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;    and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,”      says the LORD. 6 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Gaza,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because they carried into exile a whole people    to deliver them up to Edom.7   So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,    and it shall devour her strongholds.8   I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,    and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;  I will turn my hand against Ekron,    and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”      says the Lord GOD. 9 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Tyre,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,    and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.10   So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,    and it shall devour her strongholds.” 11 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Edom,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because he pursued his brother with the sword    and cast off all pity,  and his anger tore perpetually,    and he kept his wrath forever.12   So I will send a fire upon Teman,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.” 13 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of the Ammonites,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,    that they might enlarge their border.14   So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,    and it shall devour her strongholds,  with shouting on the day of battle,    with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;15   and their king shall go into exile,    he and his princes5 together,”      says the LORD. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Or sheep breeders [2] 1:1 Or during two years [3] 1:3 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13 [4] 1:5 Or On [5] 1:15 Or officials (ESV)

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
October 15: Psalm 75; 1 Kings 9:1–9; Ezekiel 37; Romans 8:1–17

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2023 10:04


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 75 Psalm 75 (Listen) God Will Judge with Equity To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. 75   We give thanks to you, O God;    we give thanks, for your name is near.  We1 recount your wondrous deeds. 2   “At the set time that I appoint    I will judge with equity.3   When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,    it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah4   I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,'    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;5   do not lift up your horn on high,    or speak with haughty neck.'” 6   For not from the east or from the west    and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,7   but it is God who executes judgment,    putting down one and lifting up another.8   For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup    with foaming wine, well mixed,  and he pours out from it,    and all the wicked of the earth    shall drain it down to the dregs. 9   But I will declare it forever;    I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.10   All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,    but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. Footnotes [1] 75:1 Hebrew They (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 1 Kings 9:1–9 1 Kings 9:1–9 (Listen) The Lord Appears to Solomon 9 As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king's house and all that Solomon desired to build, 2 the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' 6 But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins.1 Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?' 9 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them.'” Footnotes [1] 9:8 Syriac, Old Latin; Hebrew will become high (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Ezekiel 37 Ezekiel 37 (Listen) The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick4 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,5 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings6 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land7 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [2] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [3] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [4] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [5] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [6] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [7] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Romans 8:1–17 Romans 8:1–17 (Listen) Life in the Spirit 8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.1 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you2 free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,3 he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus4 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Heirs with Christ 12 So then, brothers,5 we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons6 of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Footnotes [1] 8:1 Some manuscripts add who walk not according to the flesh (but according to the Spirit) [2] 8:2 Some manuscripts me [3] 8:3 Or and as a sin offering [4] 8:11 Some manuscripts lack Jesus [5] 8:12 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 29 [6] 8:14 See discussion on “sons” in the Preface (ESV)

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary
October 14: Psalm 137; Psalm 144; Psalm 104; Jeremiah 35; 1 Corinthians 12:27–13:3; Matthew 9:35–10:4

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2023 11:53


Proper 22 First Psalm: Psalm 137; Psalm 144 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 104 Psalm 104 (Listen) O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!    O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,    stretching out the heavens like a tent.3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;  he makes the clouds his chariot;    he rides on the wings of the wind;4   he makes his messengers winds,    his ministers a flaming fire. 5   He set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be moved.6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;    the waters stood above the mountains.7   At your rebuke they fled;    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down    to the place that you appointed for them.9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,    so that they might not again cover the earth. 10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow between the hills;11   they give drink to every beast of the field;    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;    they sing among the branches.13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock    and plants for man to cultivate,  that he may bring forth food from the earth15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,  oil to make his face shine    and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17   In them the birds build their nests;    the stork has her home in the fir trees.18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;1    the sun knows its time for setting.20   You make darkness, and it is night,    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21   The young lions roar for their prey,    seeking their food from God.22   When the sun rises, they steal away    and lie down in their dens.23   Man goes out to his work    and to his labor until the evening. 24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!    In wisdom have you made them all;    the earth is full of your creatures.25   Here is the sea, great and wide,    which teems with creatures innumerable,    living things both small and great.26   There go the ships,    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.2 27   These all look to you,    to give them their food in due season.28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;    when you take away their breath, they die    and return to their dust.30   When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,    and you renew the face of the ground. 31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;    may the LORD rejoice in his works,32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,    who touches the mountains and they smoke!33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,    for I rejoice in the LORD.35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,    and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14) [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with [3] 104:30 Or breath (ESV) Old Testament: Jeremiah 35 Jeremiah 35 (Listen) The Obedience of the Rechabites 35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold. 5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.' 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.' So we are living in Jerusalem.” 12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the LORD. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. 17 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.” 18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.” (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 12:27–13:3 1 Corinthians 12:27–13:3 (Listen) 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. The Way of Love 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,1 but have not love, I gain nothing. Footnotes [1] 13:3 Some manuscripts deliver up my body [to death] that I may boast (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 9:35–10:4 Matthew 9:35–10:4 (Listen) The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The Twelve Apostles 10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;1 4 Simon the Zealot,2 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Some manuscripts Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus [2] 10:4 Greek kananaios, meaning zealot (ESV)

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
October 6: Isaiah 26–28; Psalm 89:30–52; Acts 13

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2023 19:30


Old Testament: Isaiah 26–28 Isaiah 26–28 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem 28   Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,    and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!2   Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;    like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,  like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,    he casts down to the earth with his hand.3   The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim    will be trodden underfoot;4   and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley,  will be like a first-ripe fig7 before the summer:    when someone sees it, he swallows it    as soon as it is in his hand. 5   In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,8    and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,6   and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,    and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7   These also reel with wine    and stagger with strong drink;  the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,    they are swallowed by9 wine,    they stagger with strong drink,  they reel in vision,    they stumble in giving judgment.8   For all tables are full of filthy vomit,    with no space left. 9   “To whom will he teach knowledge,    and to whom will he explain the message?  Those who are weaned from the milk,    those taken from the breast?10   For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little.” 11   For by people of strange lips    and with a foreign tongue  the LORD will speak to this people,12     to whom he has said,  “This is rest;    give rest to the weary;  and this is repose”;    yet they would not hear.13   And the word of the LORD will be to them  precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little,  that they may go, and fall backward,    and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion 14   Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,    who rule this people in Jerusalem!15   Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,    and with Sheol we have an agreement,  when the overwhelming whip passes through    it will not come to us,  for we have made lies our refuge,    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;16   therefore thus says the Lord GOD,  “Behold, I am the one who has laid10 as a foundation in Zion,    a stone, a tested stone,  a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'17   And I will make justice the line,    and righteousness the plumb line;  and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”18   Then your covenant with death will be annulled,    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;  when the overwhelming scourge passes through,    you will be beaten down by it.19   As often as it passes through it will take you;    for morning by morning it will pass through,    by day and by night;  and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.20   For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,    and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.21   For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;    as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;  to do his deed—strange is his deed!    and to work his work—alien is his work!22   Now therefore do not scoff,    lest your bonds be made strong;  for I have heard a decree of destruction    from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 23   Give ear, and hear my voice;    give attention, and hear my speech.24   Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?    Does he continually open and harrow his ground?25   When he has leveled its surface,    does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,  and put in wheat in rows    and barley in its proper place,    and emmer11 as the border?26   For he is rightly instructed;    his God teaches him. 27   Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,  but dill is beaten out with a stick,    and cumin with a rod.28   Does one crush grain for bread?    No, he does not thresh it forever;12  when he drives his cart wheel over it    with his horses, he does not crush it.29   This also comes from the LORD of hosts;    he is wonderful in counsel    and excellent in wisdom. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River [7] 28:4 Or fruit [8] 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [9] 28:7 Or confused by [10] 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying [11] 28:25 A type of wheat [12] 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 89:30–52 Psalm 89:30–52 (Listen) 30   If his children forsake my law    and do not walk according to my rules,131   if they violate my statutes    and do not keep my commandments,32   then I will punish their transgression with the rod    and their iniquity with stripes,33   but I will not remove from him my steadfast love    or be false to my faithfulness.34   I will not violate my covenant    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.35   Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;    I will not lie to David.36   His offspring shall endure forever,    his throne as long as the sun before me.37   Like the moon it shall be established forever,    a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah 38   But now you have cast off and rejected;    you are full of wrath against your anointed.39   You have renounced the covenant with your servant;    you have defiled his crown in the dust.40   You have breached all his walls;    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.41   All who pass by plunder him;    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.42   You have exalted the right hand of his foes;    you have made all his enemies rejoice.43   You have also turned back the edge of his sword,    and yo

ESV: Every Day in the Word
October 6: Isaiah 26–28; Hebrews 12:3–29; Psalm 89:30–52; Proverbs 25:1–7

ESV: Every Day in the Word

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2023 17:05


Old Testament: Isaiah 26–28 Isaiah 26–28 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem 28   Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,    and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!2   Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;    like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,  like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,    he casts down to the earth with his hand.3   The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim    will be trodden underfoot;4   and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley,  will be like a first-ripe fig7 before the summer:    when someone sees it, he swallows it    as soon as it is in his hand. 5   In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,8    and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,6   and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,    and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7   These also reel with wine    and stagger with strong drink;  the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,    they are swallowed by9 wine,    they stagger with strong drink,  they reel in vision,    they stumble in giving judgment.8   For all tables are full of filthy vomit,    with no space left. 9   “To whom will he teach knowledge,    and to whom will he explain the message?  Those who are weaned from the milk,    those taken from the breast?10   For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little.” 11   For by people of strange lips    and with a foreign tongue  the LORD will speak to this people,12     to whom he has said,  “This is rest;    give rest to the weary;  and this is repose”;    yet they would not hear.13   And the word of the LORD will be to them  precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little,  that they may go, and fall backward,    and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion 14   Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,    who rule this people in Jerusalem!15   Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,    and with Sheol we have an agreement,  when the overwhelming whip passes through    it will not come to us,  for we have made lies our refuge,    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;16   therefore thus says the Lord GOD,  “Behold, I am the one who has laid10 as a foundation in Zion,    a stone, a tested stone,  a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'17   And I will make justice the line,    and righteousness the plumb line;  and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”18   Then your covenant with death will be annulled,    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;  when the overwhelming scourge passes through,    you will be beaten down by it.19   As often as it passes through it will take you;    for morning by morning it will pass through,    by day and by night;  and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.20   For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,    and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.21   For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;    as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;  to do his deed—strange is his deed!    and to work his work—alien is his work!22   Now therefore do not scoff,    lest your bonds be made strong;  for I have heard a decree of destruction    from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 23   Give ear, and hear my voice;    give attention, and hear my speech.24   Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?    Does he continually open and harrow his ground?25   When he has leveled its surface,    does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,  and put in wheat in rows    and barley in its proper place,    and emmer11 as the border?26   For he is rightly instructed;    his God teaches him. 27   Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,  but dill is beaten out with a stick,    and cumin with a rod.28   Does one crush grain for bread?    No, he does not thresh it forever;12  when he drives his cart wheel over it    with his horses, he does not crush it.29   This also comes from the LORD of hosts;    he is wonderful in counsel    and excellent in wisdom. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River [7] 28:4 Or fruit [8] 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [9] 28:7 Or confused by [10] 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying [11] 28:25 A type of wheat [12] 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 12:3–29 Hebrews 12:3–29 (Listen) Do Not Grow Weary 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?   “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,    nor be weary when reproved by him.6   For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,    and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken 18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly1 of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
October 4: 1 Kings 7; Ephesians 4; Psalms 87–88; Ezekiel 37

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2023 18:44


With family: 1 Kings 7; Ephesians 4 1 Kings 7 (Listen) Solomon Builds His Palace 7 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house. 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits1 and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four2 rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers. 5 All the doorways and windows3 had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers. 6 And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them. 7 And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.4 8 His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken in marriage. 9 All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. 12 The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the LORD and the vestibule of the house. The Temple Furnishings 13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work. 15 He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.5 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice6 for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18 Likewise he made pomegranates7 in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19 Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. 21 He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. 22 And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished. 23 Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24 Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 26 Its thickness was a handbreadth,8 and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.9 27 He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. 28 This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames, 29 and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36 And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37 After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form. 38 And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. 39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. 40 Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the LORD: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43 the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands; 44 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea. 45 Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the LORD, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze. 46 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained. 48 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the LORD: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50 the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple. 51 Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 7:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 7:2 Septuagint three [3] 7:5 Septuagint; Hebrew posts [4] 7:7 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew floor [5] 7:15 Targum, Syriac (compare Septuagint and Jeremiah 52:21); Hebrew and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of the second pillar [6] 7:17 Septuagint; Hebrew seven; twice in this verse [7] 7:18 Two manuscripts (compare Septuagint); Hebrew pillars [8] 7:26 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters [9] 7:26 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters (ESV) Ephesians 4 (Listen) Unity in the Body of Christ 4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,   “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,    and he gave gifts to men.”1 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?2 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds3 and teachers,4 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,5 to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. The New Life 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,6 which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Footnotes [1] 4:8 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women [2] 4:9 Or the lower parts of the earth? [3] 4:11 Or pastors [4] 4:11 Or the shepherd-teachers [5] 4:13 Greek to a full-grown man [6] 4:22 Greek man; also verse 24 (ESV) In private: Psalms 87–88; Ezekiel 37 Psalms 87–88 (Listen) Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87   On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2     the LORD loves the gates of Zion    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3   Glorious things of you are spoken,    O city of God. Selah 4   Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1—    “This one was born there,” they say.5   And of Zion it shall be said,    “This one and that one were born in her”;    for the Most High himself will establish her.6   The LORD records as he registers the peoples,    “This one was born there.” Selah 7   Singers and dancers alike say,    “All my springs are in you.” I Cry Out Day and Night Before You A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil2 of Heman the Ezrahite. 88   O LORD, God of my salvation,    I cry out day and night before you.2   Let my prayer come before you;    incline your ear to my cry! 3   For my soul is full of troubles,    and my life draws near to Sheol.4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;    I am a man who has no strength,5   like one set loose among the dead,    like the slain that lie in the grave,  like those whom you remember no more,    for they are cut off from your hand.6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,    in the regions dark and deep.7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8   You have caused my companions to shun me;    you have made me a horror3 to them.  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;    I spread out my hands to you.10   Do you work wonders for the dead?    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;    in the morning my prayer comes before you.14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?    Why do you hide your face from me?15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.416   Your wrath has swept over me;    your dreadful assaults destroy me.17   They surround me like a flood all day long;    they close in on me together.18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;    my companions have become darkness.5 Footnotes [1] 87:4 Probably Nubia [2] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [3] 88:8 Or an abomination [4] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [5] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion (ESV) Ezekiel 37 (Listen) The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick4 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,5 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings6 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land7 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [2] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [3] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [4] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [5] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [6] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [7] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV)

ESV: Read through the Bible
October 3: Isaiah 27–28; Ephesians 5

ESV: Read through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2023 10:25


Morning: Isaiah 27–28 Isaiah 27–28 (Listen) The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem 28   Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,    and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!2   Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;    like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,  like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,    he casts down to the earth with his hand.3   The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim    will be trodden underfoot;4   and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley,  will be like a first-ripe fig7 before the summer:    when someone sees it, he swallows it    as soon as it is in his hand. 5   In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,8    and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,6   and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,    and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7   These also reel with wine    and stagger with strong drink;  the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,    they are swallowed by9 wine,    they stagger with strong drink,  they reel in vision,    they stumble in giving judgment.8   For all tables are full of filthy vomit,    with no space left. 9   “To whom will he teach knowledge,    and to whom will he explain the message?  Those who are weaned from the milk,    those taken from the breast?10   For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little.” 11   For by people of strange lips    and with a foreign tongue  the LORD will speak to this people,12     to whom he has said,  “This is rest;    give rest to the weary;  and this is repose”;    yet they would not hear.13   And the word of the LORD will be to them  precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little,  that they may go, and fall backward,    and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion 14   Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,    who rule this people in Jerusalem!15   Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,    and with Sheol we have an agreement,  when the overwhelming whip passes through    it will not come to us,  for we have made lies our refuge,    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;16   therefore thus says the Lord GOD,  “Behold, I am the one who has laid10 as a foundation in Zion,    a stone, a tested stone,  a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'17   And I will make justice the line,    and righteousness the plumb line;  and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”18   Then your covenant with death will be annulled,    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;  when the overwhelming scourge passes through,    you will be beaten down by it.19   As often as it passes through it will take you;    for morning by morning it will pass through,    by day and by night;  and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.20   For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,    and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.21   For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;    as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;  to do his deed—strange is his deed!    and to work his work—alien is his work!22   Now therefore do not scoff,    lest your bonds be made strong;  for I have heard a decree of destruction    from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 23   Give ear, and hear my voice;    give attention, and hear my speech.24   Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?    Does he continually open and harrow his ground?25   When he has leveled its surface,    does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,  and put in wheat in rows    and barley in its proper place,    and emmer11 as the border?26   For he is rightly instructed;    his God teaches him. 27   Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,  but dill is beaten out with a stick,    and cumin with a rod.28   Does one crush grain for bread?    No, he does not thresh it forever;12  when he drives his cart wheel over it    with his horses, he does not crush it.29   This also comes from the LORD of hosts;    he is wonderful in counsel    and excellent in wisdom. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River [7] 28:4 Or fruit [8] 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [9] 28:7 Or confused by [10] 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying [11] 28:25 A type of wheat [12] 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever (ESV) Evening: Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 (Listen) Walk in Love 5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,   “Awake, O sleeper,    and arise from the dead,  and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives and Husbands 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.1 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Footnotes [1] 5:27 Or holy and blameless (ESV)

ESV: Chronological
September 29: Psalms 140–145

ESV: Chronological

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2023 9:34


Psalms 140–145 Psalms 140–145 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;    preserve me from violent men,2   who plan evil things in their heart    and stir up wars continually.3   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;    preserve me from violent men,    who have planned to trip up my feet.5   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,    and with cords they have spread a net;1    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6   I say to the LORD, You are my God;    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!7   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,    you have covered my head in the day of battle.8   Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;    do not further their2 evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9   As for the head of those who surround me,    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!10   Let burning coals fall upon them!    Let them be cast into fire,    into miry pits, no more to rise!11   Let not the slanderer be established in the land;    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12   I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,    and will execute justice for the needy.13   Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;    the upright shall dwell in your presence. Give Ear to My Voice A Psalm of David. 141   O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!2   Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 3   Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;    keep watch over the door of my lips!4   Do not let my heart incline to any evil,    to busy myself with wicked deeds  in company with men who work iniquity,    and let me not eat of their delicacies! 5   Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;    let my head not refuse it.  Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.6   When their judges are thrown over the cliff,3    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.7   As when one plows and breaks up the earth,    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.4 8   But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!59   Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me    and from the snares of evildoers!10   Let the wicked fall into their own nets,    while I pass by safely. You Are My Refuge A Maskil6 of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. 142   With my voice I cry out to the LORD;    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.2   I pour out my complaint before him;    I tell my trouble before him. 3   When my spirit faints within me,    you know my way!  In the path where I walk    they have hidden a trap for me.4   Look to the right and see:    there is none who takes notice of me;  no refuge remains to me;    no one cares for my soul. 5   I cry to you, O LORD;    I say, “You are my refuge,    my portion in the land of the living.”6   Attend to my cry,    for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors,    for they are too strong for me!7   Bring me out of prison,    that I may give thanks to your name!  The righteous will surround me,    for you will deal bountifully with me. My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David. 143   Hear my prayer, O LORD;    give ear to my pleas for mercy!    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,    for no one living is righteous before you. 3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;    he has crushed my life to the ground;    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;    my heart within me is appalled. 5   I remember the days of old;    I meditate on all that you have done;    I ponder the work of your hands.6   I stretch out my hands to you;    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!    My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me,    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,    for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go,    for to you I lift up my soul. 9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!    I have fled to you for refuge.710   Teach me to do your will,    for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me    on level ground! 11   For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,    for I am your servant. My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples8 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;9  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Great Is the Lord 10 A Song of Praise. Of David. 145   I will extol you, my God and King,    and bless your name forever and ever.2   Every day I will bless you    and praise your name forever and ever.3   Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,    and his greatness is unsearchable. 4   One generation shall commend your works to another,    and shall declare your mighty acts.5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.6   They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,    and I will declare your greatness.7   They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8   The LORD is gracious and merciful,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   The LORD is good to all,    and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10   All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,    and all your saints shall bless you!11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom    and tell of your power,12   to make known to the children of man your11 mighty deeds,    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.   [The LORD is faithful in all his words    and kind in all his works.]1214   The LORD upholds all who are falling    and raises up all who are bowed down.15   The eyes of all look to you,    and you give them their food in due season.16   You open your hand;    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.17   The LORD is righteous in all his ways    and kind in all his works.18   The LORD is near to all who call on him,    to all who call on him in truth.19   He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;    he also hears their cry and saves them.20   The LORD preserves all who love him,    but all the wicked he will destroy. 21   My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Footnotes [1] 140:5 Or they have spread cords as a net [2] 140:8 Hebrew his [3] 141:6 Or When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock [4] 141:7 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6, 7 is uncertain [5] 141:8 Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life! [6] 142:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [7] 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered [8] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [9] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out [10] 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [11] 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line [12] 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll) (ESV)

ESV: Straight through the Bible
September 11: Ezekiel 37–39

ESV: Straight through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2023 13:54


Ezekiel 37–39 Ezekiel 37–39 (Listen) The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick4 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,5 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings6 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land7 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Prophecy Against Gog 38 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech8 and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech9 and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you. 7 “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you. 10 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,' 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders10 will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?' 14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 17 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. 19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog11 on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD. 39 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech12 and Tubal. 2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward,13 and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 “And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken. 9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs14 and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years, 10 so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD. 11 “On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.15 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord GOD. 14 They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At16 the end of seven months they will make their search. 15 And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 (Hamonah17 is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 “As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. 19 And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. 20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,' declares the Lord GOD. 21 “And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. 22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward. 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them. The Lord Will Restore Israel 25 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. 29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [2] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [3] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [4] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [5] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [6] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [7] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land [8] 38:2 Or Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech [9] 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech [10] 38:13 Hebrew young lions [11] 38:21 Hebrew against him [12] 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech [13] 39:2 Or and drag you along [14] 39:9 Or javelins [15] 39:11 Hamon-gog means the multitude of Gog [16] 39:14 Or Until [17] 39:16 Hamonah means multitude (ESV)

Sheep Among Wolves Podcast
How Could Two Midwives Take Care of So Many Hebrew Women? | #WednesdayWisdom

Sheep Among Wolves Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2023 2:48


Thanks for hanging out with me today! If you have been blessed by this content and would like to help support the things we do here, you may do so by visiting: https://www.sheepamongwolves.org/support For everything SAW related, check out our official website: www.sheepamongwolves.org For exclusive content join The Flock, our official community: https://www.sheepamongwolves.org/forum Questions, comments, concerns, snarks, or conundrums? E-mail me: chuck@sheepamongwolves.org SOURCE MATERIAL | The Big Book Of Bible Difficulties, by, Geisler & Howe THEME MUSIC - Hiking and Traveling Music | Adventures by Alex-Productions | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx0_M61F81Nfb-BRXE-SeVA Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US You are now free to roam about the countryside! #christianity #apologetics #discipleship

ESV: Read through the Bible
August 30: Psalms 142–144; 1 Corinthians 10:14–33

ESV: Read through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2023 6:44


Morning: Psalms 142–144 Psalms 142–144 (Listen) You Are My Refuge A Maskil1 of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. 142   With my voice I cry out to the LORD;    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.2   I pour out my complaint before him;    I tell my trouble before him. 3   When my spirit faints within me,    you know my way!  In the path where I walk    they have hidden a trap for me.4   Look to the right and see:    there is none who takes notice of me;  no refuge remains to me;    no one cares for my soul. 5   I cry to you, O LORD;    I say, “You are my refuge,    my portion in the land of the living.”6   Attend to my cry,    for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors,    for they are too strong for me!7   Bring me out of prison,    that I may give thanks to your name!  The righteous will surround me,    for you will deal bountifully with me. My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David. 143   Hear my prayer, O LORD;    give ear to my pleas for mercy!    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,    for no one living is righteous before you. 3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;    he has crushed my life to the ground;    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;    my heart within me is appalled. 5   I remember the days of old;    I meditate on all that you have done;    I ponder the work of your hands.6   I stretch out my hands to you;    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!    My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me,    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,    for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go,    for to you I lift up my soul. 9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!    I have fled to you for refuge.210   Teach me to do your will,    for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me    on level ground! 11   For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,    for I am your servant. My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples3 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;4  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 142:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered [3] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [4] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Evening: 1 Corinthians 10:14–33 1 Corinthians 10:14–33 (Listen) 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel:1 are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? Do All to the Glory of God 23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Footnotes [1] 10:18 Greek Consider Israel according to the flesh (ESV)

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary
August 26: Psalm 137; Psalm 144; Psalm 104; 2 Samuel 23:1–7; 2 Samuel 23:13–17; Acts 25:13–27; Mark 13:1–13

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2023 12:19


Proper 15 First Psalm: Psalm 137; Psalm 144 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 104 Psalm 104 (Listen) O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!    O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,    stretching out the heavens like a tent.3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;  he makes the clouds his chariot;    he rides on the wings of the wind;4   he makes his messengers winds,    his ministers a flaming fire. 5   He set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be moved.6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;    the waters stood above the mountains.7   At your rebuke they fled;    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down    to the place that you appointed for them.9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,    so that they might not again cover the earth. 10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow between the hills;11   they give drink to every beast of the field;    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;    they sing among the branches.13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock    and plants for man to cultivate,  that he may bring forth food from the earth15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,  oil to make his face shine    and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17   In them the birds build their nests;    the stork has her home in the fir trees.18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;1    the sun knows its time for setting.20   You make darkness, and it is night,    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21   The young lions roar for their prey,    seeking their food from God.22   When the sun rises, they steal away    and lie down in their dens.23   Man goes out to his work    and to his labor until the evening. 24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!    In wisdom have you made them all;    the earth is full of your creatures.25   Here is the sea, great and wide,    which teems with creatures innumerable,    living things both small and great.26   There go the ships,    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.2 27   These all look to you,    to give them their food in due season.28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;    when you take away their breath, they die    and return to their dust.30   When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,    and you renew the face of the ground. 31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;    may the LORD rejoice in his works,32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,    who touches the mountains and they smoke!33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,    for I rejoice in the LORD.35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,    and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14) [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with [3] 104:30 Or breath (ESV) Old Testament: 2 Samuel 23:1–7; 2 Samuel 23:13–17 2 Samuel 23:1–7 (Listen) The Last Words of David 23 Now these are the last words of David:   The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,    the oracle of the man who was raised on high,  the anointed of the God of Jacob,    the sweet psalmist of Israel:1 2   “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me;    his word is on my tongue.3   The God of Israel has spoken;    the Rock of Israel has said to me:  When one rules justly over men,    ruling in the fear of God,4   he dawns on them like the morning light,    like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,    like rain2 that makes grass to sprout from the earth. 5   “For does not my house stand so with God?    For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,    ordered in all things and secure.  For will he not cause to prosper    all my help and my desire?6   But worthless men3 are all like thorns that are thrown away,    for they cannot be taken with the hand;7   but the man who touches them    arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,    and they are utterly consumed with fire.”4 Footnotes [1] 23:1 Or the favorite of the songs of Israel [2] 23:4 Hebrew from rain [3] 23:6 Hebrew worthlessness [4] 23:7 Hebrew consumed with fire in the sitting (ESV) 2 Samuel 23:13–17 (Listen) 13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did. (ESV) New Testament: Acts 25:13–27 Acts 25:13–27 (Listen) Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice 13 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. 14 And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix, 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 17 So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. 19 Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. 21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.” 23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.” (ESV) Gospel: Mark 13:1–13 Mark 13:1–13 (Listen) Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple 13 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Signs of the End of the Age 3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!' and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (ESV)

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
August 25: Job 17–19; Psalm 51; Luke 15

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2023 12:16


Old Testament: Job 17–19 Job 17–19 (Listen) Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope? 17   “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;    the graveyard is ready for me.2   Surely there are mockers about me,    and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3   “Lay down a pledge for me with you;    who is there who will put up security for me?4   Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,    therefore you will not let them triumph.5   He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—    the eyes of his children will fail. 6   “He has made me a byword of the peoples,    and I am one before whom men spit.7   My eye has grown dim from vexation,    and all my members are like a shadow.8   The upright are appalled at this,    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.9   Yet the righteous holds to his way,    and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.10   But you, come on again, all of you,    and I shall not find a wise man among you.11   My days are past; my plans are broken off,    the desires of my heart.12   They make night into day:    ‘The light,' they say, ‘is near to the darkness.'113   If I hope for Sheol as my house,    if I make my bed in darkness,14   if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,'    and to the worm, ‘My mother,' or ‘My sister,'15   where then is my hope?    Who will see my hope?16   Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?    Shall we descend together into the dust?”2 Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you hunt for words?    Consider, and then we will speak.3   Why are we counted as cattle?    Why are we stupid in your sight?4   You who tear yourself in your anger,    shall the earth be forsaken for you,    or the rock be removed out of its place? 5   “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,    and the flame of his fire does not shine.6   The light is dark in his tent,    and his lamp above him is put out.7   His strong steps are shortened,    and his own schemes throw him down.8   For he is cast into a net by his own feet,    and he walks on its mesh.9   A trap seizes him by the heel;    a snare lays hold of him.10   A rope is hidden for him in the ground,    a trap for him in the path.11   Terrors frighten him on every side,    and chase him at his heels.12   His strength is famished,    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.13   It consumes the parts of his skin;    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.14   He is torn from the tent in which he trusted    and is brought to the king of terrors.15   In his tent dwells that which is none of his;    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.16   His roots dry up beneath,    and his branches wither above.17   His memory perishes from the earth,    and he has no name in the street.18   He is thrust from light into darkness,    and driven out of the world.19   He has no posterity or progeny among his people,    and no survivor where he used to live.20   They of the west are appalled at his day,    and horror seizes them of the east.21   Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,    such is the place of him who knows not God.” Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp3 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.426   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in5 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'629   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust? [3] 19:12 Hebrew their way [4] 19:25 Hebrew dust [5] 19:26 Or without [6] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 51 Psalm 51 (Listen) Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 51   Have mercy on me,1 O God,    according to your steadfast love;  according to your abundant mercy    blot out my transgressions.2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,    and cleanse me from my sin! 3   For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is ever before me.4   Against you, you only, have I sinned    and done what is evil in your sight,  so that you may be justified in your words    and blameless in your judgment.5   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,    and in sin did my mother conceive me.6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8   Let me hear joy and gladness;    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.9   Hide your face from my sins,    and blot out all my iniquities.10   Create in me a clean heart, O God,    and renew a right2 spirit within me.11   Cast me not away from your presence,    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.12   Restore to me the joy of your salvation,    and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13   Then I will teach transgressors your ways,    and sinners will return to you.14   Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,    O God of my salvation,    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.15   O Lord, open my lips,    and my mouth will declare your praise.16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.17   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18   Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;    build up the walls of Jerusalem;19   then will you delight in right sacrifices,    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;    then bulls will be offered on your altar. Footnotes [1] 51:1 Or Be gracious to me [2] 51:10 Or steadfast (ESV) New Testament: Luke 15 Luke 15 (Listen) The Parable of the Lost Sheep 15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The Parable of the Lost Coin 8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,1 if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The Parable of the Prodigal Son 11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to2 one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”' 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'3 22 But the father said to his servants,4 ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'” Footnotes [1] 15:8 Greek ten drachmas; a drachma was a Greek coin approximately equal in value to a Roman denarius, worth about a day's wage for a laborer [2] 15:15 Greek joined himself to [3] 15:21 Some manuscripts add treat me as one of your hired servants [4] 15:22 Or bondservants (ESV)

ESV: Every Day in the Word
August 25: Job 17–19; 1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:13; Psalm 51; Proverbs 22:7

ESV: Every Day in the Word

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2023 10:27


Old Testament: Job 17–19 Job 17–19 (Listen) Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope? 17   “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;    the graveyard is ready for me.2   Surely there are mockers about me,    and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3   “Lay down a pledge for me with you;    who is there who will put up security for me?4   Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,    therefore you will not let them triumph.5   He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—    the eyes of his children will fail. 6   “He has made me a byword of the peoples,    and I am one before whom men spit.7   My eye has grown dim from vexation,    and all my members are like a shadow.8   The upright are appalled at this,    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.9   Yet the righteous holds to his way,    and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.10   But you, come on again, all of you,    and I shall not find a wise man among you.11   My days are past; my plans are broken off,    the desires of my heart.12   They make night into day:    ‘The light,' they say, ‘is near to the darkness.'113   If I hope for Sheol as my house,    if I make my bed in darkness,14   if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,'    and to the worm, ‘My mother,' or ‘My sister,'15   where then is my hope?    Who will see my hope?16   Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?    Shall we descend together into the dust?”2 Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you hunt for words?    Consider, and then we will speak.3   Why are we counted as cattle?    Why are we stupid in your sight?4   You who tear yourself in your anger,    shall the earth be forsaken for you,    or the rock be removed out of its place? 5   “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,    and the flame of his fire does not shine.6   The light is dark in his tent,    and his lamp above him is put out.7   His strong steps are shortened,    and his own schemes throw him down.8   For he is cast into a net by his own feet,    and he walks on its mesh.9   A trap seizes him by the heel;    a snare lays hold of him.10   A rope is hidden for him in the ground,    a trap for him in the path.11   Terrors frighten him on every side,    and chase him at his heels.12   His strength is famished,    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.13   It consumes the parts of his skin;    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.14   He is torn from the tent in which he trusted    and is brought to the king of terrors.15   In his tent dwells that which is none of his;    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.16   His roots dry up beneath,    and his branches wither above.17   His memory perishes from the earth,    and he has no name in the street.18   He is thrust from light into darkness,    and driven out of the world.19   He has no posterity or progeny among his people,    and no survivor where he used to live.20   They of the west are appalled at his day,    and horror seizes them of the east.21   Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,    such is the place of him who knows not God.” Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp3 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.426   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in5 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'629   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust? [3] 19:12 Hebrew their way [4] 19:25 Hebrew dust [5] 19:26 Or without [6] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:13 1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:13 (Listen) Paul's Longing to See Them Again 17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 3 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker1 in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. Timothy's Encouraging Report 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you—7 for this reason, brothers,2 in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Footnotes [1] 3:2 Some manuscripts servant [2] 3:7 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 51 Psalm 51 (Listen) Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 51   Have mercy on me,1 O God,    according to your steadfast love;  according to your abundant mercy    blot out my transgressions.2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,    and cleanse me from my sin! 3   For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is ever before me.4   Against you, you only, have I sinned    and done what is evil in your sight,  so that you may be justified in your words    and blameless in your judgment.5   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,    and in sin did my mother conceive me.6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8   Let me hear joy and gladness;    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.9   Hide your face from my sins,    and blot out all my iniquities.10   Create in me a clean heart, O God,    and renew a right2 spirit within me.11   Cast me not away from your presence,    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.12   Restore to me the joy of your salvation,    and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13   Then I will teach transgressors your ways,    and sinners will return to you.14   Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,    O God of my salvation,    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.15   O Lord, open my lips,    and my mouth will declare your praise.16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.17   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18   Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;    build up the walls of Jerusalem;19   then will you delight in right sacrifices,    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;    then bulls will be offered on your altar. Footnotes [1] 51:1 Or Be gracious to me [2] 51:10 Or steadfast (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 22:7 Proverbs 22:7 (Listen) 7   The rich rules over the poor,    and the borrower is the slave of the lender. (ESV)

ESV: Straight through the Bible
August 2: Isaiah 23–27

ESV: Straight through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 13:49


Isaiah 23–27 Isaiah 23–27 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon 23 The oracle concerning Tyre.   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!  From the land of Cyprus1    it is revealed to them.2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.3   And on many waters  your revenue was the grain of Shihor,    the harvest of the Nile;    you were the merchant of the nations.4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,    the stronghold of the sea, saying:  “I have neither labored nor given birth,    I have neither reared young men    nor brought up young women.”5   When the report comes to Egypt,    they will be in anguish2 over the report about Tyre.6   Cross over to Tarshish;    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!7   Is this your exultant city    whose origin is from days of old,  whose feet carried her    to settle far away?8   Who has purposed this    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,  whose merchants were princes,    whose traders were the honored of the earth?9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,    to defile the pompous pride of all glory,3    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.10   Cross over your land like the Nile,    O daughter of Tarshish;    there is no restraint anymore.11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;    he has shaken the kingdoms;  the LORD has given command concerning Canaan    to destroy its strongholds.12   And he said:  “You will no more exult,    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;  arise, cross over to Cyprus,    even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16   “Take a harp;    go about the city,    O forgotten prostitute!  Make sweet melody;    sing many songs,    that you may be remembered.” 17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD. Judgment on the Whole Earth 24   Behold, the LORD will empty the earth6 and make it desolate,    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.2   And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;    as with the slave, so with his master;    as with the maid, so with her mistress;  as with the buyer, so with the seller;    as with the lender, so with the borrower;    as with the creditor, so with the debtor.3   The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;    for the LORD has spoken this word. 4   The earth mourns and withers;    the world languishes and withers;    the highest people of the earth languish.5   The earth lies defiled    under its inhabitants;  for they have transgressed the laws,    violated the statutes,    broken the everlasting covenant.6   Therefore a curse devours the earth,    and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;  therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,    and few men are left.7   The wine mourns,    the vine languishes,    all the merry-hearted sigh.8   The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.9   No more do they drink wine with singing;    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.10   The wasted city is broken down;    every house is shut up so that none can enter.11   There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;    all joy has grown dark;    the gladness of the earth is banished.12   Desolation is left in the city;    the gates are battered into ruins.13   For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth    among the nations,  as when an olive tree is beaten,    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. 14   They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;    over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.715   Therefore in the east8 give glory to the LORD;    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.16   From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,    of glory to the Righteous One.  But I say, “I waste away,    I waste away. Woe is me!  For the traitors have betrayed,    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.” 17   Terror and the pit and the snare9    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!18   He who flees at the sound of the terror    shall fall into the pit,  and he who climbs out of the pit    shall be caught in the snare.  For the windows of heaven are opened,    and the foundations of the earth tremble.19   The earth is utterly broken,    the earth is split apart,    the earth is violently shaken.20   The earth staggers like a drunken man;    it sways like a hut;  its transgression lies heavy upon it,    and it falls, and will not rise again. 21   On that day the LORD will punish    the host of heaven, in heaven,    and the kings of the earth, on the earth.22   They will be gathered together    as prisoners in a pit;  they will be shut up in a prison,    and after many days they will be punished.23   Then the moon will be confounded    and the sun ashamed,  for the LORD of hosts reigns    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,  and his glory will be before his elders. God Will Swallow Up Death Forever 25   O LORD, you are my God;    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,  for you have done wonderful things,    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.2   For you have made the city a heap,    the fortified city a ruin;  the foreigners' palace is a city no more;    it will never be rebuilt.3   Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.4   For you have been a stronghold to the poor,    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;  for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,5     like heat in a dry place.  You subdue the noise of the foreigners;    as heat by the shade of a cloud,    so the song of the ruthless is put down. 6   On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.7   And he will swallow up on this mountain    the covering that is cast over all peoples,    the veil that is spread over all nations.8     He will swallow up death forever;  and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,    for the LORD has spoken.9   It will be said on that day,    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.    This is the LORD; we have waited for him;    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”10   For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain,    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.1011   And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,    but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill11 of his hands.12   And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust. You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,12 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.”

ESV: Chronological
July 22: Ezekiel 37–39

ESV: Chronological

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2023 13:54


Ezekiel 37–39 Ezekiel 37–39 (Listen) The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick4 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,5 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings6 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land7 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Prophecy Against Gog 38 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech8 and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech9 and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you. 7 “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you. 10 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,' 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders10 will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?' 14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 17 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? 18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. 19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog11 on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD. 39 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech12 and Tubal. 2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward,13 and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 “And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken. 9 “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs14 and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years, 10 so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD. 11 “On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.15 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord GOD. 14 They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At16 the end of seven months they will make their search. 15 And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16 (Hamonah17 is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 “As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. 19 And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. 20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,' declares the Lord GOD. 21 “And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. 22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward. 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them. The Lord Will Restore Israel 25 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. 29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [2] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [3] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [4] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [5] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [6] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [7] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land [8] 38:2 Or Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech [9] 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech [10] 38:13 Hebrew young lions [11] 38:21 Hebrew against him [12] 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech [13] 39:2 Or and drag you along [14] 39:9 Or javelins [15] 39:11 Hamon-gog means the multitude of Gog [16] 39:14 Or Until [17] 39:16 Hamonah means multitude (ESV)

ESV: Straight through the Bible
July 11: Psalms 140–145

ESV: Straight through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2023 9:34


Psalms 140–145 Psalms 140–145 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;    preserve me from violent men,2   who plan evil things in their heart    and stir up wars continually.3   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;    preserve me from violent men,    who have planned to trip up my feet.5   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,    and with cords they have spread a net;1    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6   I say to the LORD, You are my God;    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!7   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,    you have covered my head in the day of battle.8   Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;    do not further their2 evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9   As for the head of those who surround me,    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!10   Let burning coals fall upon them!    Let them be cast into fire,    into miry pits, no more to rise!11   Let not the slanderer be established in the land;    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12   I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,    and will execute justice for the needy.13   Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;    the upright shall dwell in your presence. Give Ear to My Voice A Psalm of David. 141   O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!2   Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 3   Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;    keep watch over the door of my lips!4   Do not let my heart incline to any evil,    to busy myself with wicked deeds  in company with men who work iniquity,    and let me not eat of their delicacies! 5   Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;    let my head not refuse it.  Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.6   When their judges are thrown over the cliff,3    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.7   As when one plows and breaks up the earth,    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.4 8   But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!59   Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me    and from the snares of evildoers!10   Let the wicked fall into their own nets,    while I pass by safely. You Are My Refuge A Maskil6 of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. 142   With my voice I cry out to the LORD;    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.2   I pour out my complaint before him;    I tell my trouble before him. 3   When my spirit faints within me,    you know my way!  In the path where I walk    they have hidden a trap for me.4   Look to the right and see:    there is none who takes notice of me;  no refuge remains to me;    no one cares for my soul. 5   I cry to you, O LORD;    I say, “You are my refuge,    my portion in the land of the living.”6   Attend to my cry,    for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors,    for they are too strong for me!7   Bring me out of prison,    that I may give thanks to your name!  The righteous will surround me,    for you will deal bountifully with me. My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David. 143   Hear my prayer, O LORD;    give ear to my pleas for mercy!    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,    for no one living is righteous before you. 3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;    he has crushed my life to the ground;    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;    my heart within me is appalled. 5   I remember the days of old;    I meditate on all that you have done;    I ponder the work of your hands.6   I stretch out my hands to you;    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!    My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me,    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,    for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go,    for to you I lift up my soul. 9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!    I have fled to you for refuge.710   Teach me to do your will,    for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me    on level ground! 11   For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,    for I am your servant. My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples8 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;9  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Great Is the Lord 10 A Song of Praise. Of David. 145   I will extol you, my God and King,    and bless your name forever and ever.2   Every day I will bless you    and praise your name forever and ever.3   Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,    and his greatness is unsearchable. 4   One generation shall commend your works to another,    and shall declare your mighty acts.5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.6   They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,    and I will declare your greatness.7   They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8   The LORD is gracious and merciful,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   The LORD is good to all,    and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10   All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,    and all your saints shall bless you!11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom    and tell of your power,12   to make known to the children of man your11 mighty deeds,    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.   [The LORD is faithful in all his words    and kind in all his works.]1214   The LORD upholds all who are falling    and raises up all who are bowed down.15   The eyes of all look to you,    and you give them their food in due season.16   You open your hand;    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.17   The LORD is righteous in all his ways    and kind in all his works.18   The LORD is near to all who call on him,    to all who call on him in truth.19   He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;    he also hears their cry and saves them.20   The LORD preserves all who love him,    but all the wicked he will destroy. 21   My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Footnotes [1] 140:5 Or they have spread cords as a net [2] 140:8 Hebrew his [3] 141:6 Or When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock [4] 141:7 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6, 7 is uncertain [5] 141:8 Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life! [6] 142:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [7] 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered [8] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [9] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out [10] 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [11] 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line [12] 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll) (ESV)

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
July 9: Joshua 11; Psalm 144; Jeremiah 5; Matthew 19

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2023 14:39


With family: Joshua 11; Psalm 144 Joshua 11 (Listen) Conquests in Northern Canaan 11 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. 6 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. 9 And Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire. 10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;1 there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12 And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. 13 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 14 And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. 15 Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. 16 So Joshua took all that land, the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses. 21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war. Footnotes [1] 11:11 That is, setting apart (devoting) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 12, 20, 21 (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 5; Matthew 19 Jeremiah 5 (Listen) Jerusalem Refused to Repent 5   Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,    look and take note!  Search her squares to see    if you can find a man,  one who does justice    and seeks truth,  that I may pardon her.2   Though they say, “As the LORD lives,”    yet they swear falsely.3   O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?  You have struck them down,    but they felt no anguish;  you have consumed them,    but they refused to take correction.  They have made their faces harder than rock;    they have refused to repent. 4   Then I said, “These are only the poor;    they have no sense;  for they do not know the way of the LORD,    the justice of their God.5   I will go to the great    and will speak to them,  for they know the way of the LORD,    the justice of their God.”  But they all alike had broken the yoke;    they had burst the bonds. 6   Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down;    a wolf from the desert shall devastate them.  A leopard is watching their cities;    everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,  because their transgressions are many,    their apostasies are great. 7   “How can I pardon you?    Your children have forsaken me    and have sworn by those who are no gods.  When I fed them to the full,    they committed adultery    and trooped to the houses of whores.8   They were well-fed, lusty stallions,    each neighing for his neighbor's wife.9   Shall I not punish them for these things?      declares the LORD;    and shall I not avenge myself    on a nation such as this? 10   “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,    but make not a full end;  strip away her branches,    for they are not the LORD's.11   For the house of Israel and the house of Judah    have been utterly treacherous to me,      declares the LORD.12   They have spoken falsely of the LORD    and have said, ‘He will do nothing;  no disaster will come upon us,    nor shall we see sword or famine.13   The prophets will become wind;    the word is not in them.  Thus shall it be done to them!'” The Lord Proclaims Judgment 14   Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts:  “Because you have spoken this word,  behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire,    and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.15   Behold, I am bringing against you    a nation from afar, O house of Israel,      declares the LORD.  It is an enduring nation;    it is an ancient nation,  a nation whose language you do not know,    nor can you understand what they say.16   Their quiver is like an open tomb;    they are all mighty warriors.17   They shall eat up your harvest and your food;    they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;  they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;    they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;  your fortified cities in which you trust    they shall beat down with the sword.” 18 “But even in those days, declares the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'” 20   Declare this in the house of Jacob;    proclaim it in Judah:21   “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,    who have eyes, but see not,    who have ears, but hear not.22   Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.    Do you not tremble before me?  I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,    a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;  though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;    though they roar, they cannot pass over it.23   But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;    they have turned aside and gone away.24   They do not say in their hearts,    ‘Let us fear the LORD our God,  who gives the rain in its season,    the autumn rain and the spring rain,  and keeps for us    the weeks appointed for the harvest.'25   Your iniquities have turned these away,    and your sins have kept good from you.26   For wicked men are found among my people;    they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.1  They set a trap;    they catch men.27   Like a cage full of birds,    their houses are full of deceit;  therefore they have become great and rich;28     they have grown fat and sleek.  They know no bounds in deeds of evil;    they judge not with justice  the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,    and they do not defend the rights of the needy.29   Shall I not punish them for these things?      declares the LORD,    and shall I not avenge myself    on a nation such as this?” 30   An appalling and horrible thing    has happened in the land:31   the prophets prophesy falsely,    and the priests rule at their direction;  my people love to have it so,    but what will you do when the end comes? Footnotes [1] 5:26 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Matthew 19 (Listen) Teaching About Divorce 19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”1 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Let the Children Come to Me 13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away. The Rich Young Man 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,2 when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold3 and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Footnotes [1] 19:9 Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery [2] 19:28 Greek in the regeneration [3] 19:29 Some manuscripts manifold (ESV)

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary
July 8: Psalm 137; Psalm 144; Psalm 104; 1 Samuel 14:16–30; Acts 9:10–19; Luke 23:32–43

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2023 11:41


Proper 8 First Psalm: Psalm 137; Psalm 144 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 104 Psalm 104 (Listen) O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!    O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,    stretching out the heavens like a tent.3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;  he makes the clouds his chariot;    he rides on the wings of the wind;4   he makes his messengers winds,    his ministers a flaming fire. 5   He set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be moved.6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;    the waters stood above the mountains.7   At your rebuke they fled;    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down    to the place that you appointed for them.9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,    so that they might not again cover the earth. 10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow between the hills;11   they give drink to every beast of the field;    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;    they sing among the branches.13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock    and plants for man to cultivate,  that he may bring forth food from the earth15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,  oil to make his face shine    and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17   In them the birds build their nests;    the stork has her home in the fir trees.18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;1    the sun knows its time for setting.20   You make darkness, and it is night,    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21   The young lions roar for their prey,    seeking their food from God.22   When the sun rises, they steal away    and lie down in their dens.23   Man goes out to his work    and to his labor until the evening. 24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!    In wisdom have you made them all;    the earth is full of your creatures.25   Here is the sea, great and wide,    which teems with creatures innumerable,    living things both small and great.26   There go the ships,    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.2 27   These all look to you,    to give them their food in due season.28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;    when you take away their breath, they die    and return to their dust.30   When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,    and you renew the face of the ground. 31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;    may the LORD rejoice in his works,32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,    who touches the mountains and they smoke!33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,    for I rejoice in the LORD.35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,    and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14) [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with [3] 104:30 Or breath (ESV) Old Testament: 1 Samuel 14:16–30 1 Samuel 14:16–30 (Listen) 16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there.1 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people2 of Israel. 19 Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 21 Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven. Saul's Rash Vow 24 And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. 25 Now when all the people3 came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.'” And the people were faint. 29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.” Footnotes [1] 14:16 Septuagint; Hebrew they went here and there [2] 14:18 Hebrew; Septuagint “Bring the ephod.” For at that time he wore the ephod before the people [3] 14:25 Hebrew land (ESV) New Testament: Acts 9:10–19 Acts 9:10–19 (Listen) 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. (ESV) Gospel: Luke 23:32–43 Luke 23:32–43 (Listen) 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”1 And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,2 “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,3 saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Footnotes [1] 23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus . . . what they do [2] 23:38 Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew [3] 23:39 Or blasphemed him (ESV)

ESV: Read through the Bible
June 30: Job 19–20; Acts 9:23–43

ESV: Read through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2023 8:14


Morning: Job 19–20 Job 19–20 (Listen) Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp1 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.226   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in3 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'429   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer 20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2   “Therefore my thoughts answer me,    because of my haste within me.3   I hear censure that insults me,    and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.4   Do you not know this from of old,    since man was placed on earth,5   that the exulting of the wicked is short,    and the joy of the godless but for a moment?6   Though his height mount up to the heavens,    and his head reach to the clouds,7   he will perish forever like his own dung;    those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?'8   He will fly away like a dream and not be found;    he will be chased away like a vision of the night.9   The eye that saw him will see him no more,    nor will his place any more behold him.10   His children will seek the favor of the poor,    and his hands will give back his wealth.11   His bones are full of his youthful vigor,    but it will lie down with him in the dust. 12   “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,    though he hides it under his tongue,13   though he is loath to let it go    and holds it in his mouth,14   yet his food is turned in his stomach;    it is the venom of cobras within him.15   He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;    God casts them out of his belly.16   He will suck the poison of cobras;    the tongue of a viper will kill him.17   He will not look upon the rivers,    the streams flowing with honey and curds.18   He will give back the fruit of his toil    and will not swallow it down;  from the profit of his trading    he will get no enjoyment.19   For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;    he has seized a house that he did not build. 20   “Because he knew no contentment in his belly,    he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.21   There was nothing left after he had eaten;    therefore his prosperity will not endure.22   In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;    the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.23   To fill his belly to the full,    God5 will send his burning anger against him    and rain it upon him into his body.24   He will flee from an iron weapon;    a bronze arrow will strike him through.25   It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;    the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;    terrors come upon him.26   Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;    a fire not fanned will devour him;    what is left in his tent will be consumed.27   The heavens will reveal his iniquity,    and the earth will rise up against him.28   The possessions of his house will be carried away,    dragged off in the day of God's6 wrath.29   This is the wicked man's portion from God,    the heritage decreed for him by God.” Footnotes [1] 19:12 Hebrew their way [2] 19:25 Hebrew dust [3] 19:26 Or without [4] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me [5] 20:23 Hebrew he [6] 20:28 Hebrew his (ESV) Evening: Acts 9:23–43 Acts 9:23–43 (Listen) Saul Escapes from Damascus 23 When many days had passed, the Jews1 plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall,2 lowering him in a basket. Saul in Jerusalem 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists.3 But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. The Healing of Aeneas 32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Dorcas Restored to Life 36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.4 She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics5 and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. Footnotes [1] 9:23 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time [2] 9:25 Greek through the wall [3] 9:29 That is, Greek-speaking Jews [4] 9:36 The Aramaic name Tabitha and the Greek name Dorcas both mean gazelle [5] 9:39 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin (ESV)

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
June 25: 2 Kings 16–17; Psalm 144; Revelation 4–6

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2023 19:19


Old Testament: 2 Kings 16–17 2 Kings 16–17 (Listen) Ahaz Reigns in Judah 16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering,1 according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. 5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin. 10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details. 11 And Uriah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uriah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus. 12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it 13 and burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured his drink offering and threw the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 And the bronze altar that was before the LORD he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar. 15 And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. And throw on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice, but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Uriah the priest did all this, as King Ahaz commanded. 17 And King Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands and removed the basin from them, and he took down the sea2 from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pedestal. 18 And the covered way for the Sabbath that had been built inside the house and the outer entrance for the king he caused to go around the house of the LORD, because of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Hoshea Reigns in Israel 17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it. The Fall of Israel 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Exile Because of Idolatry 7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings3 and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. 19 Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 21 When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit great sin. 22 The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them, 23 until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day. Assyria Resettles Samaria 24 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him4 go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD. 29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. 34 To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, 36 but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, 38 and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, 39 but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner. 41 So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children's children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day. Footnotes [1] 16:3 Or made his son pass through the fire [2] 16:17 Compare 1 Kings 7:23 [3] 17:17 Or made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire [4] 17:27 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew them (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 144 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 4–6 Revelation 4–6 (Listen) The Throne in Heaven 4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings1 and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,   “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,    who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11   “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,    to receive glory and honor and power,  for you created all things,    and by your will they existed and were created.” The Scroll and the Lamb 5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,   “Worthy are you to take the scroll    and to open its seals,  for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God    from every tribe and language and people and nation,10   and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,    and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,   “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might  and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,   “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb  be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. The Seven Seals 6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart2 of wheat for a denarius,3 and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers4 should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave5 and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Footnotes [1] 4:5 Or voices, or sounds [2] 6:6 Greek choinix, a dry measure equal to about a quart [3] 6:6 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer [4] 6:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters [5] 6:15 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface (ESV)

ESV: Every Day in the Word
June 25: 2 Kings 16–17; Romans 15:14–33; Psalm 144; Proverbs 18:4–5

ESV: Every Day in the Word

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2023 14:45


Old Testament: 2 Kings 16–17 2 Kings 16–17 (Listen) Ahaz Reigns in Judah 16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering,1 according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. 5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin. 10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details. 11 And Uriah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uriah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus. 12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it 13 and burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured his drink offering and threw the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 And the bronze altar that was before the LORD he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar. 15 And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. And throw on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice, but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Uriah the priest did all this, as King Ahaz commanded. 17 And King Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands and removed the basin from them, and he took down the sea2 from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pedestal. 18 And the covered way for the Sabbath that had been built inside the house and the outer entrance for the king he caused to go around the house of the LORD, because of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Hoshea Reigns in Israel 17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it. The Fall of Israel 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Exile Because of Idolatry 7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings3 and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. 19 Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 21 When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit great sin. 22 The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them, 23 until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day. Assyria Resettles Samaria 24 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him4 go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD. 29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. 34 To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, 36 but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, 38 and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, 39 but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner. 41 So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children's children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day. Footnotes [1] 16:3 Or made his son pass through the fire [2] 16:17 Compare 1 Kings 7:23 [3] 17:17 Or made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire [4] 17:27 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew them (ESV) New Testament: Romans 15:14–33 Romans 15:14–33 (Listen) Paul the Minister to the Gentiles 14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,1 that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written,   “Those who have never been told of him will see,    and those who have never heard will understand.” Paul's Plan to Visit Rome 22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,2 I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing3 of Christ. 30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Footnotes [1] 15:14 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 30 [2] 15:28 Greek sealed to them this fruit [3] 15:29 Some manuscripts insert of the gospel (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 144 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 18:4–5 Proverbs 18:4–5 (Listen) 4   The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;    the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.5   It is not good to be partial to1 the wicked    or to deprive the righteous of justice. Footnotes [1] 18:5 Hebrew to lift the face of (ESV)

ESV: Chronological
June 12: Isaiah 23–27

ESV: Chronological

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2023 13:49


Isaiah 23–27 Isaiah 23–27 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon 23 The oracle concerning Tyre.   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!  From the land of Cyprus1    it is revealed to them.2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.3   And on many waters  your revenue was the grain of Shihor,    the harvest of the Nile;    you were the merchant of the nations.4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,    the stronghold of the sea, saying:  “I have neither labored nor given birth,    I have neither reared young men    nor brought up young women.”5   When the report comes to Egypt,    they will be in anguish2 over the report about Tyre.6   Cross over to Tarshish;    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!7   Is this your exultant city    whose origin is from days of old,  whose feet carried her    to settle far away?8   Who has purposed this    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,  whose merchants were princes,    whose traders were the honored of the earth?9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,    to defile the pompous pride of all glory,3    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.10   Cross over your land like the Nile,    O daughter of Tarshish;    there is no restraint anymore.11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;    he has shaken the kingdoms;  the LORD has given command concerning Canaan    to destroy its strongholds.12   And he said:  “You will no more exult,    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;  arise, cross over to Cyprus,    even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16   “Take a harp;    go about the city,    O forgotten prostitute!  Make sweet melody;    sing many songs,    that you may be remembered.” 17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD. Judgment on the Whole Earth 24   Behold, the LORD will empty the earth6 and make it desolate,    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.2   And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;    as with the slave, so with his master;    as with the maid, so with her mistress;  as with the buyer, so with the seller;    as with the lender, so with the borrower;    as with the creditor, so with the debtor.3   The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;    for the LORD has spoken this word. 4   The earth mourns and withers;    the world languishes and withers;    the highest people of the earth languish.5   The earth lies defiled    under its inhabitants;  for they have transgressed the laws,    violated the statutes,    broken the everlasting covenant.6   Therefore a curse devours the earth,    and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;  therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,    and few men are left.7   The wine mourns,    the vine languishes,    all the merry-hearted sigh.8   The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.9   No more do they drink wine with singing;    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.10   The wasted city is broken down;    every house is shut up so that none can enter.11   There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;    all joy has grown dark;    the gladness of the earth is banished.12   Desolation is left in the city;    the gates are battered into ruins.13   For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth    among the nations,  as when an olive tree is beaten,    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. 14   They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;    over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.715   Therefore in the east8 give glory to the LORD;    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.16   From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,    of glory to the Righteous One.  But I say, “I waste away,    I waste away. Woe is me!  For the traitors have betrayed,    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.” 17   Terror and the pit and the snare9    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!18   He who flees at the sound of the terror    shall fall into the pit,  and he who climbs out of the pit    shall be caught in the snare.  For the windows of heaven are opened,    and the foundations of the earth tremble.19   The earth is utterly broken,    the earth is split apart,    the earth is violently shaken.20   The earth staggers like a drunken man;    it sways like a hut;  its transgression lies heavy upon it,    and it falls, and will not rise again. 21   On that day the LORD will punish    the host of heaven, in heaven,    and the kings of the earth, on the earth.22   They will be gathered together    as prisoners in a pit;  they will be shut up in a prison,    and after many days they will be punished.23   Then the moon will be confounded    and the sun ashamed,  for the LORD of hosts reigns    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,  and his glory will be before his elders. God Will Swallow Up Death Forever 25   O LORD, you are my God;    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,  for you have done wonderful things,    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.2   For you have made the city a heap,    the fortified city a ruin;  the foreigners' palace is a city no more;    it will never be rebuilt.3   Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.4   For you have been a stronghold to the poor,    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;  for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,5     like heat in a dry place.  You subdue the noise of the foreigners;    as heat by the shade of a cloud,    so the song of the ruthless is put down. 6   On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.7   And he will swallow up on this mountain    the covering that is cast over all peoples,    the veil that is spread over all nations.8     He will swallow up death forever;  and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,    for the LORD has spoken.9   It will be said on that day,    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.    This is the LORD; we have waited for him;    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”10   For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain,    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.1011   And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,    but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill11 of his hands.12   And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust. You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,12 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.”

ESV: Straight through the Bible
June 6: Job 17–20

ESV: Straight through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2023 8:41


Job 17–20 Job 17–20 (Listen) Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope? 17   “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;    the graveyard is ready for me.2   Surely there are mockers about me,    and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3   “Lay down a pledge for me with you;    who is there who will put up security for me?4   Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,    therefore you will not let them triumph.5   He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—    the eyes of his children will fail. 6   “He has made me a byword of the peoples,    and I am one before whom men spit.7   My eye has grown dim from vexation,    and all my members are like a shadow.8   The upright are appalled at this,    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.9   Yet the righteous holds to his way,    and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.10   But you, come on again, all of you,    and I shall not find a wise man among you.11   My days are past; my plans are broken off,    the desires of my heart.12   They make night into day:    ‘The light,' they say, ‘is near to the darkness.'113   If I hope for Sheol as my house,    if I make my bed in darkness,14   if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,'    and to the worm, ‘My mother,' or ‘My sister,'15   where then is my hope?    Who will see my hope?16   Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?    Shall we descend together into the dust?”2 Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you hunt for words?    Consider, and then we will speak.3   Why are we counted as cattle?    Why are we stupid in your sight?4   You who tear yourself in your anger,    shall the earth be forsaken for you,    or the rock be removed out of its place? 5   “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,    and the flame of his fire does not shine.6   The light is dark in his tent,    and his lamp above him is put out.7   His strong steps are shortened,    and his own schemes throw him down.8   For he is cast into a net by his own feet,    and he walks on its mesh.9   A trap seizes him by the heel;    a snare lays hold of him.10   A rope is hidden for him in the ground,    a trap for him in the path.11   Terrors frighten him on every side,    and chase him at his heels.12   His strength is famished,    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.13   It consumes the parts of his skin;    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.14   He is torn from the tent in which he trusted    and is brought to the king of terrors.15   In his tent dwells that which is none of his;    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.16   His roots dry up beneath,    and his branches wither above.17   His memory perishes from the earth,    and he has no name in the street.18   He is thrust from light into darkness,    and driven out of the world.19   He has no posterity or progeny among his people,    and no survivor where he used to live.20   They of the west are appalled at his day,    and horror seizes them of the east.21   Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,    such is the place of him who knows not God.” Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp3 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.426   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in5 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'629   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer 20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2   “Therefore my thoughts answer me,    because of my haste within me.3   I hear censure that insults me,    and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.4   Do you not know this from of old,    since man was placed on earth,5   that the exulting of the wicked is short,    and the joy of the godless but for a moment?6   Though his height mount up to the heavens,    and his head reach to the clouds,7   he will perish forever like his own dung;    those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?'8   He will fly away like a dream and not be found;    he will be chased away like a vision of the night.9   The eye that saw him will see him no more,    nor will his place any more behold him.10   His children will seek the favor of the poor,    and his hands will give back his wealth.11   His bones are full of his youthful vigor,    but it will lie down with him in the dust. 12   “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,    though he hides it under his tongue,13   though he is loath to let it go    and holds it in his mouth,14   yet his food is turned in his stomach;    it is the venom of cobras within him.15   He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;    God casts them out of his belly.16   He will suck the poison of cobras;    the tongue of a viper will kill him.17   He will not look upon the rivers,    the streams flowing with honey and curds.18   He will give back the fruit of his toil    and will not swallow it down;  from the profit of his trading    he will get no enjoyment.19   For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;    he has seized a house that he did not build. 20   “Because he knew no contentment in his belly,    he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.21   There was nothing left after he had eaten;    therefore his prosperity will not endure.22   In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;    the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.23   To fill his belly to the full,    God7 will send his burning anger against him    and rain it upon him into his body.24   He will flee from an iron weapon;    a bronze arrow will strike him through.25   It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;    the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;    terrors come upon him.26   Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;    a fire not fanned will devour him;    what is left in his tent will be consumed.27   The heavens will reveal his iniquity,    and the earth will rise up against him.28   The possessions of his house will be carried away,    dragged off in the day of God's8 wrath.29   This is the wicked man's portion from God,    the heritage decreed for him by God.” Footnotes [1] 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust? [3] 19:12 Hebrew their way [4] 19:25 Hebrew dust [5] 19:26 Or without [6] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me [7] 20:23 Hebrew he [8] 20:28 Hebrew his (ESV)

god violence behold hebrew wicked redeemer lay esv utter terrors sheol shuhite naamathite many hebrew job continues where then is my hope job replies my redeemer lives
ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
May 26: Numbers 35; Psalm 79; Isaiah 27; 1 John 5

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2023 11:50


With family: Numbers 35; Psalm 79 Numbers 35 (Listen) Cities for the Levites 35 The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. 3 The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. 4 The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits1 all around. 5 And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities. 6 “The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. 7 All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands. 8 And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.” Cities of Refuge 9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. 12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13 And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. 14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there. 16 “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, 21 or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him. 22 “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait 23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, 24 then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. 25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. 28 For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29 And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 31 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. 32 And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. 33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.” Footnotes [1] 35:4 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters (ESV) Psalm 79 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? A Psalm of Asaph. 79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;    they have defiled your holy temple;    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2   They have given the bodies of your servants    to the birds of the heavens for food,    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3   They have poured out their blood like water    all around Jerusalem,    and there was no one to bury them.4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,    mocked and derided by those around us. 5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?    Will your jealousy burn like fire?6   Pour out your anger on the nations    that do not know you,  and on the kingdoms    that do not call upon your name!7   For they have devoured Jacob    and laid waste his habitation. 8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,    for we are brought very low.9   Help us, O God of our salvation,    for the glory of your name;  deliver us, and atone for our sins,    for your name's sake!10   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants    be known among the nations before our eyes! 11   Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;    according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!12   Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors    the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!13   But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,    will give thanks to you forever;    from generation to generation we will recount your praise. Footnotes [1] 79:8 Or the iniquities of former generations (ESV) In private: Isaiah 27; 1 John 5 Isaiah 27 (Listen) The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River (ESV) 1 John 5 (Listen) Overcoming the World 5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Testimony Concerning the Son of God 6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. That You May Know 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God1 will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Footnotes [1] 5:16 Greek he (ESV)

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
May 25: Psalm 144; Numbers 30; Obadiah 1–14; 1 Timothy 1

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2023 9:20


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 144 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 30 Numbers 30 (Listen) Men and Vows 30 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. 2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Women and Vows 3 “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her. 6 “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her. 9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself,1 her husband may establish,2 or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.” 16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's house. Footnotes [1] 30:13 Or to fast [2] 30:13 Or may allow to stand (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Obadiah 1–14 Obadiah 1–14 (Listen) 1 The vision of Obadiah. Edom Will Be Humbled   Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom:  We have heard a report from the LORD,    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:  “Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”2   Behold, I will make you small among the nations;    you shall be utterly despised.13   The pride of your heart has deceived you,    you who live in the clefts of the rock,2    in your lofty dwelling,  who say in your heart,    “Who will bring me down to the ground?”4   Though you soar aloft like the eagle,    though your nest is set among the stars,    from there I will bring you down,      declares the LORD. 5   If thieves came to you,    if plunderers came by night—    how you have been destroyed!—    would they not steal only enough for themselves?  If grape gatherers came to you,    would they not leave gleanings?6   How Esau has been pillaged,    his treasures sought out!7   All your allies have driven you to your border;    those at peace with you have deceived you;  they have prevailed against you;    those who eat your bread3 have set a trap beneath you—    you have4 no understanding. 8   Will I not on that day, declares the LORD,    destroy the wise men out of Edom,    and understanding out of Mount Esau?9   And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,    so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. Edom's Violence Against Jacob 10   Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,    shame shall cover you,    and you shall be cut off forever.11   On the day that you stood aloof,    on the day that strangers carried off his wealth  and foreigners entered his gates    and cast lots for Jerusalem,    you were like one of them.12   But do not gloat over the day of your brother    in the day of his misfortune;  do not rejoice over the people of Judah    in the day of their ruin;  do not boast5    in the day of distress.13   Do not enter the gate of my people    in the day of their calamity;  do not gloat over his disaster    in the day of his calamity;  do not loot his wealth    in the day of his calamity.14   Do not stand at the crossroads    to cut off his fugitives;  do not hand over his survivors    in the day of distress. Footnotes [1] 1:2 Or Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised [2] 1:3 Or of Sela [3] 1:7 Hebrew lacks those who eat [4] 1:7 Hebrew he has [5] 1:12 Hebrew do not enlarge your mouth (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 Timothy 1 1 Timothy 1 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Warning Against False Teachers 3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners 12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.4 Amen. 18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. Footnotes [1] 1:4 Or good order [2] 1:10 That is, those who take someone captive in order to sell him into slavery [3] 1:10 Or healthy [4] 1:17 Greek to the ages of ages (ESV)

ESV: Chronological
May 3: Job 17–20

ESV: Chronological

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2023 8:41


Job 17–20 Job 17–20 (Listen) Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope? 17   “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;    the graveyard is ready for me.2   Surely there are mockers about me,    and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3   “Lay down a pledge for me with you;    who is there who will put up security for me?4   Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,    therefore you will not let them triumph.5   He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—    the eyes of his children will fail. 6   “He has made me a byword of the peoples,    and I am one before whom men spit.7   My eye has grown dim from vexation,    and all my members are like a shadow.8   The upright are appalled at this,    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.9   Yet the righteous holds to his way,    and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.10   But you, come on again, all of you,    and I shall not find a wise man among you.11   My days are past; my plans are broken off,    the desires of my heart.12   They make night into day:    ‘The light,' they say, ‘is near to the darkness.'113   If I hope for Sheol as my house,    if I make my bed in darkness,14   if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,'    and to the worm, ‘My mother,' or ‘My sister,'15   where then is my hope?    Who will see my hope?16   Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?    Shall we descend together into the dust?”2 Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you hunt for words?    Consider, and then we will speak.3   Why are we counted as cattle?    Why are we stupid in your sight?4   You who tear yourself in your anger,    shall the earth be forsaken for you,    or the rock be removed out of its place? 5   “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,    and the flame of his fire does not shine.6   The light is dark in his tent,    and his lamp above him is put out.7   His strong steps are shortened,    and his own schemes throw him down.8   For he is cast into a net by his own feet,    and he walks on its mesh.9   A trap seizes him by the heel;    a snare lays hold of him.10   A rope is hidden for him in the ground,    a trap for him in the path.11   Terrors frighten him on every side,    and chase him at his heels.12   His strength is famished,    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.13   It consumes the parts of his skin;    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.14   He is torn from the tent in which he trusted    and is brought to the king of terrors.15   In his tent dwells that which is none of his;    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.16   His roots dry up beneath,    and his branches wither above.17   His memory perishes from the earth,    and he has no name in the street.18   He is thrust from light into darkness,    and driven out of the world.19   He has no posterity or progeny among his people,    and no survivor where he used to live.20   They of the west are appalled at his day,    and horror seizes them of the east.21   Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,    such is the place of him who knows not God.” Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp3 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.426   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in5 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'629   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer 20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2   “Therefore my thoughts answer me,    because of my haste within me.3   I hear censure that insults me,    and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.4   Do you not know this from of old,    since man was placed on earth,5   that the exulting of the wicked is short,    and the joy of the godless but for a moment?6   Though his height mount up to the heavens,    and his head reach to the clouds,7   he will perish forever like his own dung;    those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?'8   He will fly away like a dream and not be found;    he will be chased away like a vision of the night.9   The eye that saw him will see him no more,    nor will his place any more behold him.10   His children will seek the favor of the poor,    and his hands will give back his wealth.11   His bones are full of his youthful vigor,    but it will lie down with him in the dust. 12   “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,    though he hides it under his tongue,13   though he is loath to let it go    and holds it in his mouth,14   yet his food is turned in his stomach;    it is the venom of cobras within him.15   He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;    God casts them out of his belly.16   He will suck the poison of cobras;    the tongue of a viper will kill him.17   He will not look upon the rivers,    the streams flowing with honey and curds.18   He will give back the fruit of his toil    and will not swallow it down;  from the profit of his trading    he will get no enjoyment.19   For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;    he has seized a house that he did not build. 20   “Because he knew no contentment in his belly,    he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.21   There was nothing left after he had eaten;    therefore his prosperity will not endure.22   In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;    the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.23   To fill his belly to the full,    God7 will send his burning anger against him    and rain it upon him into his body.24   He will flee from an iron weapon;    a bronze arrow will strike him through.25   It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;    the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;    terrors come upon him.26   Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;    a fire not fanned will devour him;    what is left in his tent will be consumed.27   The heavens will reveal his iniquity,    and the earth will rise up against him.28   The possessions of his house will be carried away,    dragged off in the day of God's8 wrath.29   This is the wicked man's portion from God,    the heritage decreed for him by God.” Footnotes [1] 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust? [3] 19:12 Hebrew their way [4] 19:25 Hebrew dust [5] 19:26 Or without [6] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me [7] 20:23 Hebrew he [8] 20:28 Hebrew his (ESV)

god violence behold hebrew wicked redeemer lay esv utter terrors sheol shuhite naamathite many hebrew job continues where then is my hope job replies my redeemer lives
ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
April 25: Psalm 115; Leviticus 21–22:16; Isaiah 26–27; Galatians 6

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2023 14:44


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 115 Psalm 115 (Listen) To Your Name Give Glory 115   Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”3   Our God is in the heavens;    he does all that he pleases. 4   Their idols are silver and gold,    the work of human hands.5   They have mouths, but do not speak;    eyes, but do not see.6   They have ears, but do not hear;    noses, but do not smell.7   They have hands, but do not feel;    feet, but do not walk;    and they do not make a sound in their throat.8   Those who make them become like them;    so do all who trust in them. 9   O Israel,1 trust in the LORD!    He is their help and their shield.10   O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!    He is their help and their shield.11   You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!    He is their help and their shield. 12   The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;    he will bless the house of Israel;    he will bless the house of Aaron;13   he will bless those who fear the LORD,    both the small and the great. 14   May the LORD give you increase,    you and your children!15   May you be blessed by the LORD,    who made heaven and earth! 16   The heavens are the LORD's heavens,    but the earth he has given to the children of man.17   The dead do not praise the LORD,    nor do any who go down into silence.18   But we will bless the LORD    from this time forth and forevermore.  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Leviticus 21–22:16 Leviticus 21–22:16 (Listen) Holiness and the Priests 21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the LORD's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire. 10 “The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.1 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin2 of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.” 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, 23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries,3 for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel. 22 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the LORD. 3 Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD. 4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 and whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be—6 the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because they are his food. 8 He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the LORD.' 9 They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 10 “A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, 11 but if a priest buys a slave4 as his property for money, the slave5 may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food. 12 If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. 13 But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and returns to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. 14 And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the LORD, 16 and so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” Footnotes [1] 21:13 Or a young wife [2] 21:14 Hebrew young woman [3] 21:23 Or my holy precincts [4] 22:11 Or servant; twice in this verse [5] 22:11 Hebrew he (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 26–27 Isaiah 26–27 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Galatians 6 Galatians 6 (Listen) Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,1 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes [1] 6:1 Or Brothers and sisters; also verse 18 [2] 6:14 Or through whom (ESV)

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary
April 1: Psalm 137; Psalm 144; Psalms 42–43; Jeremiah 31:27–34; Romans 11:25–36; John 11:28–44; John 12:37–50

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2023 12:08


5 Lent First Psalm: Psalm 137; Psalm 144 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalms 42–43 Psalms 42–43 (Listen) Book Two Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul? To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah. 42   As a deer pants for flowing streams,    so pants my soul for you, O God.2   My soul thirsts for God,    for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?23   My tears have been my food    day and night,  while they say to me all the day long,    “Where is your God?”4   These things I remember,    as I pour out my soul:  how I would go with the throng    and lead them in procession to the house of God  with glad shouts and songs of praise,    a multitude keeping festival. 5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my salvation3 6 and my God.   My soul is cast down within me;    therefore I remember you  from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,    from Mount Mizar.7   Deep calls to deep    at the roar of your waterfalls;  all your breakers and your waves    have gone over me.8   By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,    and at night his song is with me,    a prayer to the God of my life.9   I say to God, my rock:    “Why have you forgotten me?  Why do I go mourning    because of the oppression of the enemy?”10   As with a deadly wound in my bones,    my adversaries taunt me,  while they say to me all the day long,    “Where is your God?” 11   Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my salvation and my God. Send Out Your Light and Your Truth 43   Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause    against an ungodly people,  from the deceitful and unjust man    deliver me!2   For you are the God in whom I take refuge;    why have you rejected me?  Why do I go about mourning    because of the oppression of the enemy? 3   Send out your light and your truth;    let them lead me;  let them bring me to your holy hill    and to your dwelling!4   Then I will go to the altar of God,    to God my exceeding joy,  and I will praise you with the lyre,    O God, my God. 5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my salvation and my God. Footnotes [1] 42:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 42:2 Revocalization yields and see the face of God [3] 42:5 Hebrew the salvation of my face; also verse 11 and 43:5 (ESV) Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:27–34 Jeremiah 31:27–34 (Listen) 27 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:   “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,    and the children's teeth are set on edge.' 30 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. The New Covenant 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (ESV) New Testament: Romans 11:25–36 Romans 11:25–36 (Listen) The Mystery of Israel's Salvation 25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:1 a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,   “The Deliverer will come from Zion,    he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;27   “and this will be my covenant with them    when I take away their sins.” 28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now2 receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34   “For who has known the mind of the Lord,    or who has been his counselor?”35   “Or who has given a gift to him    that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Footnotes [1] 11:25 Or brothers and sisters [2] 11:31 Some manuscripts omit now (ESV) Gospel: John 11:28–44; John 12:37–50 John 11:28–44 (Listen) Jesus Weeps 28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved1 in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Jesus Raises Lazarus 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Footnotes [1] 11:33 Or was indignant; also verse 38 (ESV) John 12:37–50 (Listen) 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:   “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40   “He has blinded their eyes    and hardened their heart,  lest they see with their eyes,    and understand with their heart, and turn,    and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. Jesus Came to Save the World 44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (ESV)

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
February 19: Exodus 2; Luke 5; Job 19; 1 Corinthians 6

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2023 13:56


With family: Exodus 2; Luke 5 Exodus 2 (Listen) The Birth of Moses 2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes1 and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”2 Moses Flees to Midian 11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.3 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner4 in a foreign land.” God Hears Israel's Groaning 23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. Footnotes [1] 2:3 Hebrew papyrus reeds [2] 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out [3] 2:11 Hebrew brothers [4] 2:22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for sojourner (ESV) Luke 5 (Listen) Jesus Calls the First Disciples 5 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”1 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Jesus Cleanses a Leper 12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy.2 And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus3 stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Jesus Heals a Paralytic 17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.4 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, ‘Rise and walk'? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” Jesus Calls Levi 27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” A Question About Fasting 33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.'”5 Footnotes [1] 5:10 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women [2] 5:12 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [3] 5:13 Greek he [4] 5:17 Some manuscripts was present to heal them [5] 5:39 Some manuscripts better (ESV) In private: Job 19; 1 Corinthians 6 Job 19 (Listen) Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp1 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.226   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in3 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'429   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 19:12 Hebrew their way [2] 19:25 Hebrew dust [3] 19:26 Or without [4] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) 1 Corinthians 6 (Listen) Lawsuits Against Believers 6 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!1 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous2 will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,3 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Flee Sexual Immorality 12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined4 to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin5 a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Footnotes [1] 6:8 Or brothers and sisters [2] 6:9 Or wrongdoers [3] 6:9 The two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts [4] 6:16 Or who holds fast (compare Genesis 2:24 and Deuteronomy 10:20); also verse 17 [5] 6:18 Or Every sin (ESV)

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
December 24: Psalm 144; Job 33; Isaiah 56–57; Revelation 15

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2022 11:49


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 144 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 33 Job 33 (Listen) Elihu Rebukes Job 33   “But now, hear my speech, O Job,    and listen to all my words.2   Behold, I open my mouth;    the tongue in my mouth speaks.3   My words declare the uprightness of my heart,    and what my lips know they speak sincerely.4   The Spirit of God has made me,    and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.5   Answer me, if you can;    set your words in order before me; take your stand.6   Behold, I am toward God as you are;    I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.7   Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;    my pressure will not be heavy upon you. 8   “Surely you have spoken in my ears,    and I have heard the sound of your words.9   You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression;    I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.10   Behold, he finds occasions against me,    he counts me as his enemy,11   he puts my feet in the stocks    and watches all my paths.' 12   “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,    for God is greater than man.13   Why do you contend against him,    saying, ‘He will answer none of man's1 words'?214   For God speaks in one way,    and in two, though man does not perceive it.15   In a dream, in a vision of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,    while they slumber on their beds,16   then he opens the ears of men    and terrifies3 them with warnings,17   that he may turn man aside from his deed    and conceal pride from a man;18   he keeps back his soul from the pit,    his life from perishing by the sword. 19   “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed    and with continual strife in his bones,20   so that his life loathes bread,    and his appetite the choicest food.21   His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,    and his bones that were not seen stick out.22   His soul draws near the pit,    and his life to those who bring death.23   If there be for him an angel,    a mediator, one of the thousand,    to declare to man what is right for him,24   and he is merciful to him, and says,    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;    I have found a ransom;25   let his flesh become fresh with youth;    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor';26   then man4 prays to God, and he accepts him;    he sees his face with a shout of joy,  and he restores to man his righteousness.27     He sings before men and says:  ‘I sinned and perverted what was right,    and it was not repaid to me.28   He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,    and my life shall look upon the light.' 29   “Behold, God does all these things,    twice, three times, with a man,30   to bring back his soul from the pit,    that he may be lighted with the light of life.31   Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;    be silent, and I will speak.32   If you have any words, answer me;    speak, for I desire to justify you.33   If not, listen to me;    be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Footnotes [1] 33:13 Hebrew his [2] 33:13 Or He will not answer for any of his own words [3] 33:16 Or seals [4] 33:26 Hebrew he (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 56–57 Isaiah 56–57 (Listen) Salvation for Foreigners 56   Thus says the LORD:  “Keep justice, and do righteousness,  for soon my salvation will come,    and my righteousness be revealed.2   Blessed is the man who does this,    and the son of man who holds it fast,  who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3   Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,    “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;  and let not the eunuch say,    “Behold, I am a dry tree.”4   For thus says the LORD:  “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,    who choose the things that please me    and hold fast my covenant,5   I will give in my house and within my walls    a monument and a name    better than sons and daughters;  I will give them an everlasting name    that shall not be cut off. 6   “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,    to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,    and to be his servants,  everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,    and holds fast my covenant—7   these I will bring to my holy mountain,    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;  their burnt offerings and their sacrifices    will be accepted on my altar;  for my house shall be called a house of prayer    for all peoples.”8   The Lord GOD,    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,  “I will gather yet others to him    besides those already gathered.” Israel's Irresponsible Leaders 9   All you beasts of the field, come to devour—    all you beasts in the forest.10   His watchmen are blind;    they are all without knowledge;  they are all silent dogs;    they cannot bark,  dreaming, lying down,    loving to slumber.11   The dogs have a mighty appetite;    they never have enough.  But they are shepherds who have no understanding;    they have all turned to their own way,    each to his own gain, one and all.12   “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;    let us fill ourselves with strong drink;  and tomorrow will be like this day,    great beyond measure.” Israel's Futile Idolatry 57   The righteous man perishes,    and no one lays it to heart;  devout men are taken away,    while no one understands.  For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;2     he enters into peace;  they rest in their beds    who walk in their uprightness.3   But you, draw near,    sons of the sorceress,    offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.4   Whom are you mocking?    Against whom do you open your mouth wide    and stick out your tongue?  Are you not children of transgression,    the offspring of deceit,5   you who burn with lust among the oaks,1    under every green tree,  who slaughter your children in the valleys,    under the clefts of the rocks?6   Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;    they, they, are your lot;  to them you have poured out a drink offering,    you have brought a grain offering.    Shall I relent for these things?7   On a high and lofty mountain    you have set your bed,    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.8   Behind the door and the doorpost    you have set up your memorial;  for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,    you have gone up to it,    you have made it wide;  and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,    you have loved their bed,    you have looked on nakedness.29   You journeyed to the king with oil    and multiplied your perfumes;  you sent your envoys far off,    and sent down even to Sheol.10   You were wearied with the length of your way,    but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;  you found new life for your strength,    and so you were not faint.3 11   Whom did you dread and fear,    so that you lied,  and did not remember me,    did not lay it to heart?  Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,    and you do not fear me?12   I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,    but they will not profit you.13   When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!    The wind will carry them all off,    a breath will take them away.  But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land    and shall inherit my holy mountain. Comfort for the Contrite 14   And it shall be said,  “Build up, build up, prepare the way,    remove every obstruction from my people's way.”15   For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  “I dwell in the high and holy place,    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,  to revive the spirit of the lowly,    and to revive the heart of the contrite.16   For I will not contend forever,    nor will I always be angry;  for the spirit would grow faint before me,    and the breath of life that I made.17   Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.18   I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;    I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,19     creating the fruit of the lips.  Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,    “and I will heal him.20   But the wicked are like the tossing sea;    for it cannot be quiet,    and its waters toss up mire and dirt.21   There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Footnotes [1] 57:5 Or among the terebinths [2] 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand [3] 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 15 Revelation 15 (

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
December 12: Psalm 132; Job 19; Isaiah 41; Revelation 2

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2022 13:55


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 132 Psalm 132 (Listen) The Lord Has Chosen Zion A Song of Ascents. 132   Remember, O LORD, in David's favor,    all the hardships he endured,2   how he swore to the LORD    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,3   “I will not enter my house    or get into my bed,4   I will not give sleep to my eyes    or slumber to my eyelids,5   until I find a place for the LORD,    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6   Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;    we found it in the fields of Jaar.7   “Let us go to his dwelling place;    let us worship at his footstool!” 8   Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,    you and the ark of your might.9   Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,    and let your saints shout for joy.10   For the sake of your servant David,    do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 11   The LORD swore to David a sure oath    from which he will not turn back:  “One of the sons of your body1    I will set on your throne.12   If your sons keep my covenant    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,  their sons also forever    shall sit on your throne.” 13   For the LORD has chosen Zion;    he has desired it for his dwelling place:14   “This is my resting place forever;    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.15   I will abundantly bless her provisions;    I will satisfy her poor with bread.16   Her priests I will clothe with salvation,    and her saints will shout for joy.17   There I will make a horn to sprout for David;    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.18   His enemies I will clothe with shame,    but on him his crown will shine.” Footnotes [1] 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 19 Job 19 (Listen) Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp1 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.226   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in3 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'429   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 19:12 Hebrew their way [2] 19:25 Hebrew dust [3] 19:26 Or without [4] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 41 Isaiah 41 (Listen) Fear Not, for I Am with You 41   Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;    let the peoples renew their strength;  let them approach, then let them speak;    let us together draw near for judgment. 2   Who stirred up one from the east    whom victory meets at every step?1  He gives up nations before him,    so that he tramples kings underfoot;  he makes them like dust with his sword,    like driven stubble with his bow.3   He pursues them and passes on safely,    by paths his feet have not trod.4   Who has performed and done this,    calling the generations from the beginning?  I, the LORD, the first,    and with the last; I am he. 5   The coastlands have seen and are afraid;    the ends of the earth tremble;    they have drawn near and come.6   Everyone helps his neighbor    and says to his brother, “Be strong!”7   The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,    and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,  saying of the soldering, “It is good”;    and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. 8   But you, Israel, my servant,    Jacob, whom I have chosen,    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;9   you whom I took from the ends of the earth,    and called from its farthest corners,  saying to you, “You are my servant,    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;10   fear not, for I am with you;    be not dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you,    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11   Behold, all who are incensed against you    shall be put to shame and confounded;  those who strive against you    shall be as nothing and shall perish.12   You shall seek those who contend with you,    but you shall not find them;  those who war against you    shall be as nothing at all.13   For I, the LORD your God,    hold your right hand;  it is I who say to you, “Fear not,    I am the one who helps you.” 14   Fear not, you worm Jacob,    you men of Israel!  I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD;    your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15   Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,    new, sharp, and having teeth;  you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,    and you shall make the hills like chaff;16   you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,    and the tempest shall scatter them.  And you shall rejoice in the LORD;    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory. 17   When the poor and needy seek water,    and there is none,    and their tongue is parched with thirst,  I the LORD will answer them;    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.18   I will open rivers on the bare heights,    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.  I will make the wilderness a pool of water,    and the dry land springs of water.19   I will put in the wilderness the cedar,    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.  I will set in the desert the cypress,    the plane and the pine together,20   that they may see and know,    may consider and understand together,  that the hand of the LORD has done this,    the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Futility of Idols 21   Set forth your case, says the LORD;    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.22   Let them bring them, and tell us    what is to happen.  Tell us the former things, what they are,    that we may consider them,  that we may know their outcome;    or declare to us the things to come.23   Tell us what is to come hereafter,    that we may know that you are gods;  do good, or do harm,    that we may be dismayed and terrified.224   Behold, you are nothing,    and your work is less than nothing;    an abomination is he who chooses you. 25   I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,    from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name;  he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,    as the potter treads clay.26   Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,    and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?  There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,    none who heard your words.27   I was the first to say3 to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”    and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.28   But when I look, there is no one;    among these there is no counselor    who, when I ask, gives an answer.29   Behold, they are all a delusion;    their works are nothing;    their metal images are empty wind. Footnotes [1] 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow? [2] 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see [3] 41:27 Or Formerly I said (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 2 Revelation 2 (Listen) To the Church in Ephesus 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' To the Church in Smyrna 8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander1 of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.' To the Church in Pergamum 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith2 even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.' To the Church in Thyatira 18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you acco

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
December 3: Ezekiel 36–37; Psalm 123; 2 Timothy 1–2

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2022 17:24


Old Testament: Ezekiel 36–37 Ezekiel 36–37 (Listen) Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!' and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.” The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name 16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.1 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. 37 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;3 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath4 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,5 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick6 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,7 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings8 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land9 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 36:27 Or my just decrees [2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things [3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) New Testament: 2 Timothy 1–2 2 Timothy 1–2 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to1 a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,2 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.3 13 Follow the pattern of the sound4 words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus 2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,5 who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:   If we have died with him, we will also live with him;12   if we endure, we will also reign with him;  if we deny him, he also will deny us;13   if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. A Worker Approved by God 14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God6 not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,7 a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,8 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant9 must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. Footnotes [1] 1:9 Or with [2] 1:9 Greek before times eternal [3] 1:12 Or what I have entrusted to him; Greek my deposit [4] 1:13 Or healthy [5] 2:2 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women, depending on the context [6] 2:14 Some manuscripts the Lord [7] 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested [8] 2:21 Greek from these things [9] 2:24 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface (ESV)

ESV: Every Day in the Word
December 3: Ezekiel 36–37; John 2:13–25; Psalm 123; Proverbs 29:1

ESV: Every Day in the Word

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2022 13:17


Old Testament: Ezekiel 36–37 Ezekiel 36–37 (Listen) Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!' and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.” The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name 16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.1 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. 37 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;3 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath4 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,5 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick6 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,7 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings8 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land9 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 36:27 Or my just decrees [2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things [3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) New Testament: John 2:13–25 John 2:13–25 (Listen) Jesus Cleanses the Temple 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,1 and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Jesus Knows What Is in Man 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Footnotes [1] 2:20 Or This temple was built forty-six years ago (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 29:1 Proverbs 29:1 (Listen) 29   He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,    will suddenly be broken beyond healing. (ESV)

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible
December 2: Psalm 122; Job 6–7; Isaiah 26–27; 1 John 1–2:6

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2022 13:00


Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 122 Psalm 122 (Listen) Let Us Go to the House of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. 122   I was glad when they said to me,    “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”2   Our feet have been standing    within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3   Jerusalem—built as a city    that is bound firmly together,4   to which the tribes go up,    the tribes of the LORD,  as was decreed for1 Israel,    to give thanks to the name of the LORD.5   There thrones for judgment were set,    the thrones of the house of David. 6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!    “May they be secure who love you!7   Peace be within your walls    and security within your towers!”8   For my brothers and companions' sake    I will say, “Peace be within you!”9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,    I will seek your good. Footnotes [1] 122:4 Or as a testimony for (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 6–7 Job 6–7 (Listen) Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just 6 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Oh that my vexation were weighed,    and all my calamity laid in the balances!3   For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;    therefore my words have been rash.4   For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;    my spirit drinks their poison;    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.5   Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,    or the ox low over his fodder?6   Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?17   My appetite refuses to touch them;    they are as food that is loathsome to me.2 8   “Oh that I might have my request,    and that God would fulfill my hope,9   that it would please God to crush me,    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!10   This would be my comfort;    I would even exult3 in pain unsparing,    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.11   What is my strength, that I should wait?    And what is my end, that I should be patient?12   Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?13   Have I any help in me,    when resource is driven from me? 14   “He who withholds4 kindness from a friend    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.15   My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,    as torrential streams that pass away,16   which are dark with ice,    and where the snow hides itself.17   When they melt, they disappear;    when it is hot, they vanish from their place.18   The caravans turn aside from their course;    they go up into the waste and perish.19   The caravans of Tema look,    the travelers of Sheba hope.20   They are ashamed because they were confident;    they come there and are disappointed.21   For you have now become nothing;    you see my calamity and are afraid.22   Have I said, ‘Make me a gift'?    Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me'?23   Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand'?    Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless'? 24   “Teach me, and I will be silent;    make me understand how I have gone astray.25   How forceful are upright words!    But what does reproof from you reprove?26   Do you think that you can reprove words,    when the speech of a despairing man is wind?27   You would even cast lots over the fatherless,    and bargain over your friend. 28   “But now, be pleased to look at me,    for I will not lie to your face.29   Please turn; let no injustice be done.    Turn now; my vindication is at stake.30   Is there any injustice on my tongue?    Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? Job Continues: My Life Has No Hope 7   “Has not man a hard service on earth,    and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?2   Like a slave who longs for the shadow,    and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,3   so I am allotted months of emptiness,    and nights of misery are apportioned to me.4   When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?'    But the night is long,    and I am full of tossing till the dawn.5   My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;    my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.6   My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle    and come to their end without hope. 7   “Remember that my life is a breath;    my eye will never again see good.8   The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;    while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.9   As the cloud fades and vanishes,    so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;10   he returns no more to his house,    nor does his place know him anymore. 11   “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.12   Am I the sea, or a sea monster,    that you set a guard over me?13   When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,    my couch will ease my complaint,'14   then you scare me with dreams    and terrify me with visions,15   so that I would choose strangling    and death rather than my bones.16   I loathe my life; I would not live forever.    Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.17   What is man, that you make so much of him,    and that you set your heart on him,18   visit him every morning    and test him every moment?19   How long will you not look away from me,    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?20   If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?    Why have you made me your mark?    Why have I become a burden to you?21   Why do you not pardon my transgression    and take away my iniquity?  For now I shall lie in the earth;    you will seek me, but I shall not be.” Footnotes [1] 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [2] 6:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 6:14 Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 26–27 Isaiah 26–27 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5]

ESV: Read through the Bible
November 26: Ezekiel 36–37; 1 Peter 3

ESV: Read through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2022 14:17


Morning: Ezekiel 36–37 Ezekiel 36–37 (Listen) Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD. 2 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, ‘Aha!' and, ‘The ancient heights have become our possession,' 3 therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people, 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around, 5 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey. 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. 8 “But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. 11 And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 12 I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children. 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, ‘You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,' 14 therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD. 15 And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.” The Lord's Concern for His Holy Name 16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.' 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. I Will Put My Spirit Within You 22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.1 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it. 37 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices,2 like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;3 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath4 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,5 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick6 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,7 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings8 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land9 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 36:27 Or my just decrees [2] 36:38 Hebrew flock of holy things [3] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [4] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [5] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [6] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [7] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [8] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [9] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV) Evening: 1 Peter 3 1 Peter 3 (Listen) Wives and Husbands 3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For   “Whoever desires to love life    and see good days,  let him keep his tongue from evil    and his lips from speaking deceit;11   let him turn away from evil and do good;    let him seek peace and pursue it.12   For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,    and his ears are open to their prayer.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered2 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and proclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Footnotes [1] 3:7 Some manuscripts since you are joint heirs [2] 3:18 Some manuscripts died [3] 3:19 Or the Spirit, in whom [4] 3:19 Or preached [5] 3:20 Or when (ESV)

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary
November 26: Psalm 137; Psalm 144; Psalm 104; Zechariah 14:12–21; Philippians 2:1–11; Luke 19:41–48

ESV: Daily Office Lectionary

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2022 10:29


Proper 29 First Psalm: Psalm 137; Psalm 144 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 104 Psalm 104 (Listen) O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!    O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,    stretching out the heavens like a tent.3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;  he makes the clouds his chariot;    he rides on the wings of the wind;4   he makes his messengers winds,    his ministers a flaming fire. 5   He set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be moved.6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;    the waters stood above the mountains.7   At your rebuke they fled;    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down    to the place that you appointed for them.9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,    so that they might not again cover the earth. 10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow between the hills;11   they give drink to every beast of the field;    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;    they sing among the branches.13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock    and plants for man to cultivate,  that he may bring forth food from the earth15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,  oil to make his face shine    and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17   In them the birds build their nests;    the stork has her home in the fir trees.18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;1    the sun knows its time for setting.20   You make darkness, and it is night,    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21   The young lions roar for their prey,    seeking their food from God.22   When the sun rises, they steal away    and lie down in their dens.23   Man goes out to his work    and to his labor until the evening. 24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!    In wisdom have you made them all;    the earth is full of your creatures.25   Here is the sea, great and wide,    which teems with creatures innumerable,    living things both small and great.26   There go the ships,    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.2 27   These all look to you,    to give them their food in due season.28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;    when you take away their breath, they die    and return to their dust.30   When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,    and you renew the face of the ground. 31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;    may the LORD rejoice in his works,32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,    who touches the mountains and they smoke!33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,    for I rejoice in the LORD.35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,    and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14) [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with [3] 104:30 Or breath (ESV) Old Testament: Zechariah 14:12–21 Zechariah 14:12–21 (Listen) 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.1 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;2 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader3 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [2] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [3] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) New Testament: Philippians 2:1–11 Philippians 2:1–11 (Listen) Christ's Example of Humility 2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,1 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,2 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,3 being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Or which was also in Christ Jesus [2] 2:6 Or a thing to be held on to for advantage [3] 2:7 Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) (ESV) Gospel: Luke 19:41–48 Luke 19:41–48 (Listen) Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem 41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Jesus Cleanses the Temple 45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers.” 47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words. (ESV)

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
November 12: 2 Kings 25; Hebrews 7; Psalm 144; Amos 1

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2022 13:13


With family: 2 Kings 25; Hebrews 7 2 Kings 25 (Listen) Fall and Captivity of Judah 25 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. 8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,1 and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework. 18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land. Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah 22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans. Jehoiachin Released from Prison 27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed2 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. Footnotes [1] 25:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 25:27 Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of (ESV) Hebrews 7 (Listen) The Priestly Order of Melchizedek 7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. 4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,1 though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Jesus Compared to Melchizedek 11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,   “You are a priest forever,    after the order of Melchizedek.” 18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:   “The Lord has sworn    and will not change his mind,  ‘You are a priest forever.'” 22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost2 those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. Footnotes [1] 7:5 Or brothers and sisters [2] 7:25 That is, completely; or at all times (ESV) In private: Psalm 144; Amos 1 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Amos 1 (Listen) 1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds1 of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years2 before the earthquake. Judgment on Israel's Neighbors 2 And he said:   “The LORD roars from Zion    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;  the pastures of the shepherds mourn,    and the top of Carmel withers.” 3 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Damascus,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,3  because they have threshed Gilead    with threshing sledges of iron.4   So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.5   I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,    and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,4  and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;    and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,”      says the LORD. 6 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Gaza,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because they carried into exile a whole people    to deliver them up to Edom.7   So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,    and it shall devour her strongholds.8   I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,    and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;  I will turn my hand against Ekron,    and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”      says the Lord GOD. 9 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Tyre,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,    and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.10   So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,    and it shall devour her strongholds.” 11 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Edom,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because he pursued his brother with the sword    and cast off all pity,  and his anger tore perpetually,    and he kept his wrath forever.12   So I will send a fire upon Teman,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.” 13 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of the Ammonites,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,  because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,    that they might enlarge their border.14   So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,    and it shall devour her strongholds,  with shouting on the day of battle,    with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;15   and their king shall go into exile,    he and his princes5 together,”      says the LORD. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Or sheep breeders [2] 1:1 Or during two years [3] 1:3 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13 [4] 1:5 Or On [5] 1:15 Or officials (ESV)

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
October 6: Isaiah 26–28; Psalm 89:30–52; Acts 13

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2022 19:30


Old Testament: Isaiah 26–28 Isaiah 26–28 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem 28   Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,    and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!2   Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;    like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,  like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,    he casts down to the earth with his hand.3   The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim    will be trodden underfoot;4   and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley,  will be like a first-ripe fig7 before the summer:    when someone sees it, he swallows it    as soon as it is in his hand. 5   In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,8    and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,6   and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,    and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7   These also reel with wine    and stagger with strong drink;  the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,    they are swallowed by9 wine,    they stagger with strong drink,  they reel in vision,    they stumble in giving judgment.8   For all tables are full of filthy vomit,    with no space left. 9   “To whom will he teach knowledge,    and to whom will he explain the message?  Those who are weaned from the milk,    those taken from the breast?10   For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little.” 11   For by people of strange lips    and with a foreign tongue  the LORD will speak to this people,12     to whom he has said,  “This is rest;    give rest to the weary;  and this is repose”;    yet they would not hear.13   And the word of the LORD will be to them  precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little,  that they may go, and fall backward,    and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion 14   Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,    who rule this people in Jerusalem!15   Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,    and with Sheol we have an agreement,  when the overwhelming whip passes through    it will not come to us,  for we have made lies our refuge,    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;16   therefore thus says the Lord GOD,  “Behold, I am the one who has laid10 as a foundation in Zion,    a stone, a tested stone,  a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'17   And I will make justice the line,    and righteousness the plumb line;  and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”18   Then your covenant with death will be annulled,    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;  when the overwhelming scourge passes through,    you will be beaten down by it.19   As often as it passes through it will take you;    for morning by morning it will pass through,    by day and by night;  and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.20   For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,    and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.21   For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;    as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;  to do his deed—strange is his deed!    and to work his work—alien is his work!22   Now therefore do not scoff,    lest your bonds be made strong;  for I have heard a decree of destruction    from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 23   Give ear, and hear my voice;    give attention, and hear my speech.24   Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?    Does he continually open and harrow his ground?25   When he has leveled its surface,    does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,  and put in wheat in rows    and barley in its proper place,    and emmer11 as the border?26   For he is rightly instructed;    his God teaches him. 27   Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,  but dill is beaten out with a stick,    and cumin with a rod.28   Does one crush grain for bread?    No, he does not thresh it forever;12  when he drives his cart wheel over it    with his horses, he does not crush it.29   This also comes from the LORD of hosts;    he is wonderful in counsel    and excellent in wisdom. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River [7] 28:4 Or fruit [8] 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [9] 28:7 Or confused by [10] 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying [11] 28:25 A type of wheat [12] 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 89:30–52 Psalm 89:30–52 (Listen) 30   If his children forsake my law    and do not walk according to my rules,131   if they violate my statutes    and do not keep my commandments,32   then I will punish their transgression with the rod    and their iniquity with stripes,33   but I will not remove from him my steadfast love    or be false to my faithfulness.34   I will not violate my covenant    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.35   Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;    I will not lie to David.36   His offspring shall endure forever,    his throne as long as the sun before me.37   Like the moon it shall be established forever,    a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah 38   But now you have cast off and rejected;    you are full of wrath against your anointed.39   You have renounced the covenant with your servant;    you have defiled his crown in the dust.40   You have breached all his walls;    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.41   All who pass by plunder him;    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.42   You have exalted the right hand of his foes;    you have made all his enemies rejoice.43   You have also turned back the edge of his sword,    and yo

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan
October 4: 1 Kings 7; Ephesians 4; Psalms 87–88; Ezekiel 37

ESV: M'Cheyne Reading Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 18:44


With family: 1 Kings 7; Ephesians 4 1 Kings 7 (Listen) Solomon Builds His Palace 7 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house. 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits1 and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four2 rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers. 5 All the doorways and windows3 had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers. 6 And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them. 7 And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.4 8 His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken in marriage. 9 All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. 12 The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the LORD and the vestibule of the house. The Temple Furnishings 13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work. 15 He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.5 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice6 for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18 Likewise he made pomegranates7 in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19 Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. 21 He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. 22 And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished. 23 Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24 Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 26 Its thickness was a handbreadth,8 and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.9 27 He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. 28 This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames, 29 and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36 And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37 After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form. 38 And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. 39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. 40 Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the LORD: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43 the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands; 44 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea. 45 Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the LORD, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze. 46 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained. 48 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the LORD: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50 the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple. 51 Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 7:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 7:2 Septuagint three [3] 7:5 Septuagint; Hebrew posts [4] 7:7 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew floor [5] 7:15 Targum, Syriac (compare Septuagint and Jeremiah 52:21); Hebrew and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of the second pillar [6] 7:17 Septuagint; Hebrew seven; twice in this verse [7] 7:18 Two manuscripts (compare Septuagint); Hebrew pillars [8] 7:26 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters [9] 7:26 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters (ESV) Ephesians 4 (Listen) Unity in the Body of Christ 4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,   “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,    and he gave gifts to men.”1 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?2 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds3 and teachers,4 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,5 to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. The New Life 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,6 which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Footnotes [1] 4:8 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women [2] 4:9 Or the lower parts of the earth? [3] 4:11 Or pastors [4] 4:11 Or the shepherd-teachers [5] 4:13 Greek to a full-grown man [6] 4:22 Greek man; also verse 24 (ESV) In private: Psalms 87–88; Ezekiel 37 Psalms 87–88 (Listen) Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87   On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2     the LORD loves the gates of Zion    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3   Glorious things of you are spoken,    O city of God. Selah 4   Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1—    “This one was born there,” they say.5   And of Zion it shall be said,    “This one and that one were born in her”;    for the Most High himself will establish her.6   The LORD records as he registers the peoples,    “This one was born there.” Selah 7   Singers and dancers alike say,    “All my springs are in you.” I Cry Out Day and Night Before You A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil2 of Heman the Ezrahite. 88   O LORD, God of my salvation,    I cry out day and night before you.2   Let my prayer come before you;    incline your ear to my cry! 3   For my soul is full of troubles,    and my life draws near to Sheol.4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;    I am a man who has no strength,5   like one set loose among the dead,    like the slain that lie in the grave,  like those whom you remember no more,    for they are cut off from your hand.6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,    in the regions dark and deep.7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8   You have caused my companions to shun me;    you have made me a horror3 to them.  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;    I spread out my hands to you.10   Do you work wonders for the dead?    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;    in the morning my prayer comes before you.14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?    Why do you hide your face from me?15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.416   Your wrath has swept over me;    your dreadful assaults destroy me.17   They surround me like a flood all day long;    they close in on me together.18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;    my companions have become darkness.5 Footnotes [1] 87:4 Probably Nubia [2] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [3] 88:8 Or an abomination [4] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [5] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion (ESV) Ezekiel 37 (Listen) The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” I Will Be Their God; They Shall Be My People 15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick4 and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?' 19 say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah,5 and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. 22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings6 in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land7 and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2 [2] 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10 [3] 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13) [4] 37:16 Or one piece of wood; also verses 17, 19, 20 [5] 37:19 Hebrew And I will place them on it, the stick of Judah [6] 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts dwellings [7] 37:26 Hebrew lacks in their land (ESV)

ESV: Read through the Bible
October 3: Isaiah 27–28; Ephesians 5

ESV: Read through the Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2022 10:25


Morning: Isaiah 27–28 Isaiah 27–28 (Listen) The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem 28   Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,    and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!2   Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;    like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,  like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,    he casts down to the earth with his hand.3   The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim    will be trodden underfoot;4   and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley,  will be like a first-ripe fig7 before the summer:    when someone sees it, he swallows it    as soon as it is in his hand. 5   In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,8    and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,6   and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,    and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7   These also reel with wine    and stagger with strong drink;  the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,    they are swallowed by9 wine,    they stagger with strong drink,  they reel in vision,    they stumble in giving judgment.8   For all tables are full of filthy vomit,    with no space left. 9   “To whom will he teach knowledge,    and to whom will he explain the message?  Those who are weaned from the milk,    those taken from the breast?10   For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little.” 11   For by people of strange lips    and with a foreign tongue  the LORD will speak to this people,12     to whom he has said,  “This is rest;    give rest to the weary;  and this is repose”;    yet they would not hear.13   And the word of the LORD will be to them  precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little,  that they may go, and fall backward,    and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion 14   Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,    who rule this people in Jerusalem!15   Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,    and with Sheol we have an agreement,  when the overwhelming whip passes through    it will not come to us,  for we have made lies our refuge,    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;16   therefore thus says the Lord GOD,  “Behold, I am the one who has laid10 as a foundation in Zion,    a stone, a tested stone,  a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'17   And I will make justice the line,    and righteousness the plumb line;  and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”18   Then your covenant with death will be annulled,    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;  when the overwhelming scourge passes through,    you will be beaten down by it.19   As often as it passes through it will take you;    for morning by morning it will pass through,    by day and by night;  and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.20   For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,    and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.21   For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;    as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;  to do his deed—strange is his deed!    and to work his work—alien is his work!22   Now therefore do not scoff,    lest your bonds be made strong;  for I have heard a decree of destruction    from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 23   Give ear, and hear my voice;    give attention, and hear my speech.24   Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?    Does he continually open and harrow his ground?25   When he has leveled its surface,    does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,  and put in wheat in rows    and barley in its proper place,    and emmer11 as the border?26   For he is rightly instructed;    his God teaches him. 27   Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,  but dill is beaten out with a stick,    and cumin with a rod.28   Does one crush grain for bread?    No, he does not thresh it forever;12  when he drives his cart wheel over it    with his horses, he does not crush it.29   This also comes from the LORD of hosts;    he is wonderful in counsel    and excellent in wisdom. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5] 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin [6] 27:12 Hebrew from the River [7] 28:4 Or fruit [8] 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [9] 28:7 Or confused by [10] 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying [11] 28:25 A type of wheat [12] 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever (ESV) Evening: Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 (Listen) Walk in Love 5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,   “Awake, O sleeper,    and arise from the dead,  and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives and Husbands 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.1 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Footnotes [1] 5:27 Or holy and blameless (ESV)

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year
August 25: Job 17–19; Psalm 51; Luke 15

ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2022 12:16


Old Testament: Job 17–19 Job 17–19 (Listen) Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope? 17   “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;    the graveyard is ready for me.2   Surely there are mockers about me,    and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3   “Lay down a pledge for me with you;    who is there who will put up security for me?4   Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,    therefore you will not let them triumph.5   He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—    the eyes of his children will fail. 6   “He has made me a byword of the peoples,    and I am one before whom men spit.7   My eye has grown dim from vexation,    and all my members are like a shadow.8   The upright are appalled at this,    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.9   Yet the righteous holds to his way,    and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.10   But you, come on again, all of you,    and I shall not find a wise man among you.11   My days are past; my plans are broken off,    the desires of my heart.12   They make night into day:    ‘The light,' they say, ‘is near to the darkness.'113   If I hope for Sheol as my house,    if I make my bed in darkness,14   if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,'    and to the worm, ‘My mother,' or ‘My sister,'15   where then is my hope?    Who will see my hope?16   Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?    Shall we descend together into the dust?”2 Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you hunt for words?    Consider, and then we will speak.3   Why are we counted as cattle?    Why are we stupid in your sight?4   You who tear yourself in your anger,    shall the earth be forsaken for you,    or the rock be removed out of its place? 5   “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,    and the flame of his fire does not shine.6   The light is dark in his tent,    and his lamp above him is put out.7   His strong steps are shortened,    and his own schemes throw him down.8   For he is cast into a net by his own feet,    and he walks on its mesh.9   A trap seizes him by the heel;    a snare lays hold of him.10   A rope is hidden for him in the ground,    a trap for him in the path.11   Terrors frighten him on every side,    and chase him at his heels.12   His strength is famished,    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.13   It consumes the parts of his skin;    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.14   He is torn from the tent in which he trusted    and is brought to the king of terrors.15   In his tent dwells that which is none of his;    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.16   His roots dry up beneath,    and his branches wither above.17   His memory perishes from the earth,    and he has no name in the street.18   He is thrust from light into darkness,    and driven out of the world.19   He has no posterity or progeny among his people,    and no survivor where he used to live.20   They of the west are appalled at his day,    and horror seizes them of the east.21   Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,    such is the place of him who knows not God.” Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp3 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.426   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in5 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'629   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust? [3] 19:12 Hebrew their way [4] 19:25 Hebrew dust [5] 19:26 Or without [6] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 51 Psalm 51 (Listen) Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 51   Have mercy on me,1 O God,    according to your steadfast love;  according to your abundant mercy    blot out my transgressions.2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,    and cleanse me from my sin! 3   For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is ever before me.4   Against you, you only, have I sinned    and done what is evil in your sight,  so that you may be justified in your words    and blameless in your judgment.5   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,    and in sin did my mother conceive me.6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8   Let me hear joy and gladness;    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.9   Hide your face from my sins,    and blot out all my iniquities.10   Create in me a clean heart, O God,    and renew a right2 spirit within me.11   Cast me not away from your presence,    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.12   Restore to me the joy of your salvation,    and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13   Then I will teach transgressors your ways,    and sinners will return to you.14   Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,    O God of my salvation,    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.15   O Lord, open my lips,    and my mouth will declare your praise.16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.17   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18   Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;    build up the walls of Jerusalem;19   then will you delight in right sacrifices,    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;    then bulls will be offered on your altar. Footnotes [1] 51:1 Or Be gracious to me [2] 51:10 Or steadfast (ESV) New Testament: Luke 15 Luke 15 (Listen) The Parable of the Lost Sheep 15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The Parable of the Lost Coin 8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,1 if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The Parable of the Prodigal Son 11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to2 one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”' 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'3 22 But the father said to his servants,4 ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'” Footnotes [1] 15:8 Greek ten drachmas; a drachma was a Greek coin approximately equal in value to a Roman denarius, worth about a day's wage for a laborer [2] 15:15 Greek joined himself to [3] 15:21 Some manuscripts add treat me as one of your hired servants [4] 15:22 Or bondservants (ESV)