Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 21

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 21

Obadiah (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 21

Obadiah (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Obadiah 1

1 The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord God says about [1] Edom.

A Message Spreads to the Nations

We have heard news from the Lord, and an envoy has been sent among the nations:

“Get up. Let us rise up against her in battle.”

The Lord’s Message to Edom

2 Listen, I will make you insignificant among the nations. You will be completely despised.

3 You who live in the clefts of the rocky cliff, [2] the pride of your heart has deceived you. Your dwelling is so high that you say in your heart, “Who can bring me down to the ground?” 4 Even if you would soar as high as an eagle, and even if your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.

5 If thieves came to you, if robbers came by night—oh, what disaster awaits you!—wouldn’t they steal only until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some grapes for gleaning? 6 Oh, how completely Esau will be ransacked! His hidden treasures will be searched out and looted!

7 All your allies will push you back to your border.

Those who were at peace with you will deceive you and overpower you.

Those who eat bread with you will lay a trap for you.

There is no understanding left in Edom. [3]

8 Will I not destroy the wise men of Edom on that day, declares the Lord? Will I not take away from the mountain of Esau those who have understanding? 9 Your strong warrior, Teman, [4] will be shattered by terror, so that everyone from the mountain of Esau will be cut down by the massacre.

10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever. 11 On the day when you stood by and watched, on the day when strangers carried away Jacob’s wealth, [5] and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.

12 But do not look down on your brother on the day of his misfortune.

Do not rejoice over the people of Judah on the day when they are destroyed.

Do not speak proudly on the day of distress.

13 Do not enter the gate of my people on the day of their disaster.

Do not look down on their affliction on the day of their calamity.

Do not seize their wealth on the day of their disaster.

14 Do not stand in the crossroads to cut off those who have escaped.

Do not imprison his survivors on the day of distress.

A Message to All Nations

15 Yes, the Day of the Lord is near for all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 For just as you Edomites [6] have drunk on my holy mountain, so also all the nations will drink continually. Yes, they will drink and guzzle it down, and it will be as though the Edomites never existed.

17 But on Mount Zion, there will be some who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will recapture its territory. 18 The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, but the house of Esau will be stubble. The Israelites [7] set them on fire and consume them. There will not be any survivors for the house of Esau.

Yes, the Lord has spoken.

19 People from the Negev [8] will take possession of the mountains of Esau, and those from the Shephelah [9] will take possession of the land of the Philistines. They will take possession of the territory [10] of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria. Benjamin will take possession of Gilead. 20 Those from the army of the people of Israel who have been exiles [11] will take possession of the territory of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, [12] and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad [13] will take possession of the cities of the Negev. 21 Saviors [14] will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will belong to the Lord.



Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:1 Or to
  2. Obadiah 1:3 Hebrew sela, also the name of an Edomite city
  3. Obadiah 1:7 Or, taking the phrase with the preceding sentence, and you will not even realize it
  4. Obadiah 1:9 Teman is a city in Edom.
  5. Obadiah 1:11 Or captured Jacob’s army
  6. Obadiah 1:16 The antecedents of the Hebrew pronouns you and they in this verse are uncertain. The translation twice supplies Edomites as the subjects.
  7. Obadiah 1:18 The subject the Israelites is supplied for clarity. The Hebrew text reads they.
  8. Obadiah 1:19 The dry southern wilderness of Judah
  9. Obadiah 1:19 The western foothills of Judah
  10. Obadiah 1:19 Literally fields
  11. Obadiah 1:20 The Hebrew of this verse is difficult.
  12. Obadiah 1:20 A city near the northern border of Israel
  13. Obadiah 1:20 An unknown distant location, perhaps as far away as Spain
  14. Obadiah 1:21 Or, following the ancient versions, those who have been saved


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 20

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 20

Habakkuk 3:16-19 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 20

Habakkuk 3:16-19 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Habakkuk 3

16 When I hear about it, my stomach churns.
    The sound makes my lips quiver.
    My bones decay,
    and my knees tremble,
    as I wait for the day of disaster to come upon the people who attack us.

17 The fig tree may have no buds.
    The vines may have no grapes.
    The olive tree may fail to produce.
    The fields may yield no food.
    The sheep may be cut off from their flock,
    and there may be no cattle in the barns,
18 but I will delight in the Lord
    and rejoice in God who saves me.
19 The Lord God is my strength.
    He will give me feet like a deer
    and make me leap along the high hills.

To the choir director. On my stringed instruments.



Footnotes



The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 19

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 19

Habakkuk 3:1-15 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 19

Habakkuk 3:1-15 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Habakkuk 3

1 This is the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to shigionoth. [1]

2 O Lord, I have heard the report about you,
    and I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
    In the midst of our years revive those deeds.
    In the midst of our years reveal them again.
    In your rage, remember to have mercy.
3 God comes from Teman. Interlude [2]
    The Holy One comes from Mount Paran.
    His splendor covers the heavens,
    and his praises fill the earth.
4 His brightness is like lightning.
    Lightning bolts flash out from his hand, [3]
        where his strength is hidden.
5 Contagious disease goes ahead of him,
    and plague follows after him.
6 He stands up and shakes [4] the earth.
    He looks, and the nations jump in fright.
    The ancient mountains are shattered.
    The age-old hills are flattened.
    But he goes on forever.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble.
    The tent curtains in the land of Midian were trembling.
8 Were you angry with the rivers, Lord?
    Was your anger against the rivers?
    Or was your fury against the sea?
    Is that why you hitched up your horses
    and rode your chariots of salvation?
9 You unsheathed your bow Interlude
    and called for arrows.
    You split the earth with rivers.
10 When the mountains see you, they shake.
    A flood of water sweeps through.
    The great deep roars
    and lifts its hands high.
11 The sun and the moon stand still in their palace
        when your flying arrows flash,
        when your spear is bright as lightning.
12 In fury you march through the earth.
    In anger you trample the nations.
13 You march out to save your people,
    to deliver your anointed one.
    You strike the head of the wicked nation to lay him out Interlude
        naked from his buttocks to his neck. [5]
14 With their own shafts you pierce the heads of warriors
        when they storm out to scatter us.
    Their celebration is like that of those who devour the poor in secret,
15 but you trample on the sea with your horses,
    on the surging, powerful waters.



Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 3:1 Shigionoth may be the name of an instrument, or it may be a musical term.
  2. Habakkuk 3:3 Hebrew selah. This term seems to refer to a musical interlude that creates a pause for meditation.
  3. Habakkuk 3:4 Or His brightness is like daylight. A ray of light shines from his hand. The meaning of this verse is uncertain.
  4. Habakkuk 3:6 Or measures
  5. Habakkuk 3:13 Or splitting him open from the lower body to the neck. This phrase may refer to exposing nakedness, to eviscerating someone, or to both.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 18

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 18

Habakkuk 2:6-20 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 18

Habakkuk 2:6-20 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Habakkuk 2

6 All these people will make up proverbs and mocking poems against him, won’t they? They will say, “Woe to the one who accumulates what is not his. (How long will this last?) Woe to the one who makes himself rich by foreclosing on collateral.” 7 Won’t your creditors rise up suddenly? Won’t those who cause you to tremble wake up? You will become plunder for them. 8 Because you robbed many countries, all those who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violence against the land, the cities, and all the people who live in them.

9 Woe to the person who piles up dishonest income for his household, in order to raise his nest up high, to deliver himself from disaster. 10 By wiping out many nations, you have planned shame for your own house. You have sinned against your own life. 11 So the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer, 12 “Woe to the one who builds a town with bloodshed and establishes a town with injustice.”

13 Be sure of this: The Lord of Armies has determined that the things for which the peoples of the world labor are only fuel for the fire, and that the nations tire themselves out with nothing to show for it. 14 So the earth will be as filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters that cover the sea.

15 Woe to the person who gives intoxicating drinks to his neighbors, forcing them to drink from his rage, [1] and making them drunk so that he can look at their nakedness. 16 You will be filled with shame instead of honor. Yes, you yourself will drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and complete disgrace will cover your glory.

17 You will be overwhelmed by the violence you have committed against Lebanon. Your devastation of the animals will terrify you, [2] because you shed human blood and did violence to the land, to the town, and to its inhabitants.

18 What benefit is provided by a carved idol? It was hewn by its maker. What good is a cast statue? It teaches lies. Why would the maker trust his own creation? He makes useless gods that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to a hunk of wood, “Wake up!” or who says, “Get up!” to a stone that cannot speak. Can that thing be your teacher? Although it is covered with gold and silver, there is no life in it at all.

20 But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let the whole earth be silent before him.



Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 2:15 Or from your poison. The Hebrew has a second-person pronoun mixed in with the third-person references.
  2. Habakkuk 2:17 The Hebrew literally reads and the violence against the animals [which] he terrified. The translation above follows the Greek.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 17

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 17

Habakkuk 1 – 2:5 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 17

Habakkuk 1 – 2:5 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Habakkuk 1

1 The threatening oracle which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

Habakkuk’s Question

2 How long, Lord, must I cry for help, but you do not listen?
    I call out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save!
3 Why do you cause me to see injustice?
    Why do you overlook misery?
    Devastation and violence confront me.
    There is strife, and tensions rise.
4 For this reason the law has become powerless. [1]
    Justice is never carried out.
    In fact, the wicked overwhelm the righteous
    so that justice is perverted.

The Lord Answers

5 Look at the nations and pay attention! Be completely dumbfounded, because I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe, even though you are warned ahead of time. 6 Watch, I am raising up the Chaldeans, [2] that savage, reckless nation. They will sweep across the whole width of the earth, seizing lands and homes that do not belong to them. 7 They are frightening and terrifying. They invent their own standard of justice and their own values. 8 Their horses are quicker than leopards and fiercer than wolves that prowl at night. Their war horses come galloping. Their war horses come from far away. They fly like vultures [3] swooping down to devour. 9 All of them come to commit violence. Their hordes blow by like the desert wind [4] and sweep up prisoners like sand. 10 They mock kings, and rulers are subjected to scorn. They laugh at every fortified city. They heap up siege ramps and capture cities. 11 But then the wind blows and passes over them, [5] and they will bear their guilt—these men whose own strength is their god.

Habakkuk Replies

12 Are you not from ancient times, O Lord?
    My God, my Holy One, you will not die. [6]
    Lord, you have made them your instrument of judgment.
    You, our Rock, have established them as your instrument of discipline. [7]
13 You whose eyes are too pure to tolerate evil,
    you who are not able to condone wrongdoing,
    why do you put up with treacherous people?
    Why do you keep silent when the wicked swallow up those who are more righteous than they are?
14 You treat people like fish in the sea,
    like creeping creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked man [8] pulls them all up on a fishhook.
    He hauls them in with a net.
    He gathers them with his dragnet and is very happy about it.
16 Therefore he offers sacrifices to his nets
    and burns incense to his dragnet,
    because, through these, his catch is large,
    and his food is plentiful.
17 Will he empty one net after another
    and continue to destroy nations without sparing any?

Habakkuk 2

1 I will stand at my watch post and station myself on the city wall. I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint. [9]

The Lord Responds

2 Then the Lord answered me. He said:

Record the vision and write it plainly on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

3 Indeed, the vision is waiting for the appointed time. It longs for fulfillment and will not prove false. If it seems slow in coming, wait for it, because it will certainly come and will not be delayed.

4 Look, his soul is puffed up and is not righteous within him [10] —but the righteous one will live by his faith. [11] 5 Indeed, wine [12] betrays that arrogant and restless one, because he is as greedy as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations and collects all the peoples to himself.



Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:4 Or paralyzed or ineffective
  2. Habakkuk 1:6 The Chaldeans were the ethnic group ruling Babylon.
  3. Habakkuk 1:8 Or eagles
  4. Habakkuk 1:9 Or their faces look straight ahead
  5. Habakkuk 1:11 Or then the wind blows and they move on. The meaning of this sentence is uncertain.
  6. Habakkuk 1:12 The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading, known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads we will not die, likely because scribes did not want to mention death and God in the same sentence.
  7. Habakkuk 1:12 In this verse it is uncertain whether the Lord made the Babylonians recipients of judgment because of their godlessness or whether he made them instruments of judgment against Israel. The translation follows the second option.
  8. Habakkuk 1:15 The subject the wicked man is supplied for clarity.
  9. Habakkuk 2:1 The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads what answer to give when I am rebuked, likely because scribes considered Habakkuk to be impudent by demanding an answer from the Lord. The alternate reading is also supported by the Syriac and the parallelism with the preceding line.
  10. Habakkuk 2:4 The antecedent of his and him is uncertain, and there are other difficulties with the Hebrew. The phrase must refer to an ungodly man—in the immediate context, to the Babylonians.
  11. Habakkuk 2:4 The word can also mean faithfulness, but in Romans 1:17 Paul uses the phrase in reference to faith.
  12. Habakkuk 2:5 Hebrew variant wealth


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 16

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 16

Nahum 2 & 3 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 16

Nahum 2 & 3 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Attack of the Enemy

Nahum 2

1 The enemy who will scatter you is advancing against you! Guard the rampart! Watch the road! Prepare for battle! Muster all your great strength! 2 For the Lord is about to restore the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, even though their enemies have plundered them completely and have destroyed their vines.

3 The shields of the mighty warriors are dyed red.
    The soldiers are dressed in scarlet garments.
    The steel fittings [1] of the chariots shine like fire on the day of battle.
    The soldiers shake their spears. [2]
4 The chariots race wildly through the streets.
    They rush back and forth in the city squares.
    They look like lightning.
    They dart about like flashes of lightning.
5 The commander [3] gives orders to his elite troops.
    They fall over each other as they advance.
    They rush to the city wall.
    They set up the protective canopy over the battering ram.
6 The gates that hold back the river are opened,
    and the palace is washed away.

7 She is stripped and is led away.
    Her slave girls moan like doves
    while they beat their breasts. [4]

8 Nineveh [5] was like a pool of water from her beginning, [6]
    but now her people are running away.
    She cries out, “Stop! Stop!” but no one turns back.

9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!
    There is no end to the treasure.
    There are riches of every kind of precious thing.

10 Destruction, devastation, and desolation!
    Their hearts faint, their knees tremble,
    every stomach churns, and each face turns pale!

11 What has become of the lions’ lair and the feeding place for young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowled with nothing to fear? 12 The lion tore apart as much prey as his cubs needed and strangled prey to provide food for his lionesses. He filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh.

13 Beware! I am against you, declares the Lord of Armies. I will burn up your chariots in smoke. The sword will devour your young lions. You will no longer ravage the land. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.

Woe to Nineveh

Nahum 3

1 Woe to the city of bloodshed! She is full of lies. She is filled with plunder. She is never without victims.

2 The crack of a whip! The clatter of wheels! Galloping horses and bouncing chariots! 3 Horsemen charging! Glittering swords! Flashing spears! Many wounded! Piles of carcasses! There is no end to the corpses—so many that people stumble over them.

4 All this is because of the many promiscuous deeds of the prostitute, a beautiful and pleasing mistress of all kinds of sorcery, [7] who sells nations into slavery with her promiscuity and clans of people with her sorcery.

5 Beware! I am against you, declares the Lord of Armies. I will strip off your clothes! I will expose your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms. 6 I will pelt you with filth. [8] I will treat you with contempt. I will make you a public spectacle. 7 Everyone who sees you will turn away from you in disgust and say, “Nineveh has been devastated! Who will express grief for her? Where can I find someone to comfort you?”

8 Are you better [9] than Thebes? [10] She was located on the banks of the Nile. The waters surrounded her. Her strength was the sea, and her walls were the water. 9 Cush and Egypt had limitless strength. Put and the Libyans were among her allies. 10 Yet even she went into exile. Even her infants were smashed to pieces on every street corner. They cast lots to win her dignitaries. All her great men were bound with chains.

11 You too will be drunk and will hide yourself. You too will seek refuge from the enemy.

12 All your fortifications will be like fig trees with ripe fruit. If they are shaken, their figs will fall right into the mouth of the one who eats them. 13 Look! The troops among you are women in the face of your enemies. [11] The gates of your land will be wide open. Fire will consume the bars of your gates.

14 Draw water to prepare yourselves for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Trample the mud and tread the clay! Make mud bricks to strengthen your walls!

15 There the fire will consume you. There the sword will cut you down. It will devour you as a swarm of grasshoppers would, even if you heap up your numbers like swarms of grasshoppers and locusts. 16 You have increased your merchants so that they are more than the stars of heaven! But they are like grasshoppers, which spread out and fly away. 17 Your courtiers are like locusts. Your field marshals are like swarming locusts! They camp in the walls on a cold day. Yet when the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where they are.

18 King of Assyria, your shepherds are drowsy! Your powerful men slumber! Your people are scattered on the mountains, and there are none left to gather together. [12]

19 There is no healing for your wound. Your injury is fatal! All who hear what has happened to you will clap their hands for joy, for no one ever escaped your endless cruelty!



Footnotes

  1. Nahum 2:3 Or perhaps the scythes
  2. Nahum 2:3 The Hebrew text and the meaning of this sentence are uncertain.
  3. Nahum 2:5 The noun commander is added for clarity.
  4. Nahum 2:7 A gesture of mourning
  5. Nahum 2:8 The name of the city is now introduced for the first time in the oracle itself.
  6. Nahum 2:8 The meaning of the last phrase is uncertain.
  7. Nahum 3:4 Or witchcraft
  8. Nahum 3:6 The Hebrew word is usually a name for idols, so its use in the literal sense here is unusual.
  9. Nahum 3:8 Or more secure
  10. Nahum 3:8 Or No Amon, the Egyptian form of the name of the city
  11. Nahum 3:13 The last phrase may go with the next line.
  12. Nahum 3:18 Or there is no one to gather them back


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 15

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 15

Nahum 1 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 15

Nahum 1 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Lord Is Judge and Savior

Nahum 1

1 A threatening oracle against Nineveh.

The book of the vision of Nahum from Elkosh.

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God.
    The Lord takes vengeance and displays his anger.
    The Lord takes vengeance against his adversaries.
    He will maintain his rage against his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger, yet great in power.
    The Lord will certainly not let the guilty go unpunished.

    He marches out in the whirlwind and in the storm.
    Storm clouds are like dust stirred up by his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry up.
    He makes all the rivers run dry.
    Bashan and Carmel are completely withered.
    The buds of Lebanon are completely withered.
5 The mountains quake in front of him.
    The hills melt away.
    The earth in front of him rises up,
    the whole world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his anger?
    Who can resist his fury?
    His rage is poured out like fire,
    and the rocks are torn down by him.

7 The Lord is good.
    He is a place of safety in the day of distress.
    He knows those who seek safety in him,
8 but he will bring this place to a complete end by an overwhelming flood.
    He will drive his enemies into darkness.

9 No matter what you plot against the Lord, he will destroy your plot completely. Disaster will not need to strike them twice, 10 because like tangled thorns, like the liquor of drunkards, like fully dried stubble, they will be consumed.

Judgment on the Enemy

11 Someone who plots evil against the Lord has gone out from you, but his wicked plans are worthless. 12 This is what the Lord says. Even though they are at full strength and are numerous, nevertheless they are sure to be cut off, and they will disappear. Even though I have humbled you, I will not humble you any longer. 13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck. I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.

14 The Lord has issued a decree against you: There will be no descendants to carry on your name. I will put an end to the carved idols and molten images in the temple of your gods. I will dig your grave because you are cursed. [1]

Peace for God’s People

15 Look! A herald is coming over the mountain to proclaim this good news:
        Peace! Celebrate your sacred festivals, Judah!
        Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God!
        For never again will wickedness overwhelm you.
        It has been completely destroyed. [2]



Footnotes

  1. Nahum 1:14 Or too weak to resist
  2. Nahum 1:15 English 1:15 is 2:1 in Hebrew. All subsequent verse numbers in chapter 2 are one number lower in English than they are in Hebrew.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 14

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 14

Zephaniah 3:8 – 3:20 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 14

Zephaniah 3:8 – 3:20 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Zephaniah 3

8 So wait for me, declares the Lord, until the day that I rise up to plunder. For I am determined to gather the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, and to pour out my indignation upon them and all my furious anger. All the earth will be consumed with the fire of my zeal.

9 I will purify the lips of the people so that they all call on the name of the Lord and serve him side by side. 10 From beyond the rivers of Cush, [1] my worshippers, my scattered people, will bring offerings to me. 11 In that day you will no longer bear the shame of your rebellions against me. Then I will remove the proud boasters from among you, and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill. 12 But I will leave among you the people who are humble and weak. They will seek refuge in the name of the Lord. 13 The Israelites who remain will no longer act unjustly. They will not lie, and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth. Instead, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down. No one will terrify them.

14 Sing out, daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, you daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you. He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst! You no longer need to fear disaster. 16 In that day Jerusalem will be told, “Do not be afraid, O Zion. Do not give up. 17 The Lord your God is with you as a hero who will save you. He takes great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. [2] He will rejoice over you with singing.”

18 I will bring back those among you who grieve over the loss of the appointed feasts, those for whom the loss was a burden and a disgrace. [3] 19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you. I will rescue the lame and gather together the scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. 20 At that time I will bring you in. At that time I will gather you. I will give you a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, declares the Lord.



Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:10 Cush is the area south of Egypt.
  2. Zephaniah 3:17 Or he will be quiet in his love, but the next line seems to rule out silence.
  3. Zephaniah 3:18 The verse is very difficult. The Hebrew seems to say the ones grieving from an appointed assembly I gathered from you; they were tribute or a burden upon her, a reproach. The translation is an attempt to explain a difficult construction.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 13

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 13

Zephaniah 2:1 – 3:7 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 13

Zephaniah 2:1 – 3:7 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Zephaniah 2

1 Gather yourselves together; yes, gather together, you shameless [1] nation, 2 before the decree takes effect, before the day blows by like chaff, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble people of the earth who have carried out his commands. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. Maybe then you will be sheltered in the day of the Lord’s anger.

4 Yes, Gaza will be deserted, and Ashkelon will be desolate. Ashdod’s people will be driven out by noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. 5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you so that no one is left alive! 6 The seacoast will become pastureland, with shelters for shepherds and sheep pens for flocks. 7 It will become the possession of those who remain from the house of Judah. Their flocks will pasture there. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, because the Lord their God will take care of them. He will restore their fortunes.

8 I have heard the taunts from Moab and the insults from the Ammonites as they have taunted my people and made proud claims against their territory. 9 Therefore as I live, declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, Moab will become like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah, a patch of ground overgrown with weeds and a salt pit [2] that is desolate forever. The surviving remnant of my people will plunder them, and the remnant of my nation will take possession of their land. 10 This is what they will get for their pride, because they have taunted and talked arrogantly against the people of the Lord of Armies. 11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, when he will starve [3] all the gods of the earth. Then all the distant nations will bow down to him, each of them in their own country.

12 You Cushites, [4] you also will die by my sword.

13 Then he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh desolate, dry like the wilderness. 14 Flocks and herds will lie down there, with all sorts of other creatures. Screech owls and hedgehogs [5] will live among its columns. Owls will hoot through the windows. Rubble will cover the thresholds. Even the cedar beams will be exposed. 15 This was the smug city that lived securely, that said to herself, “I am all there is. There are none that compare to me.” What a heap of ruins she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by taunts her and shakes his fist.

Judgment Against Jerusalem

3 Woe to the filthy, [6] foul city, the city of oppressors. 2 She does not listen. She does not accept correction. She does not even trust the Lord or draw near to her God. 3 The officials within her are like roaring lions. Her judges are like hungry wolves in the evening that completely devour their prey by morning. 4 Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men. Her priests have profaned what is holy. They have committed violence against the law.

5 The Lord in her midst is just. He does no wrong. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He does not fail. But those who are unjust are shameless.

The Final Proclamation of the Lord

6 I have cut off nations. Their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, with no one passing by. Their cities are laid waste, with no one living there. 7 I said, “Certainly you will fear me. You will accept correction so that your dwelling place will not be destroyed by everything I have threatened.” But they eagerly sinned in everything they did.



Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:1 Or perhaps worthless
  2. Zephaniah 2:9 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
  3. Zephaniah 2:11 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
  4. Zephaniah 2:12 Cush is the territory south of Egypt.
  5. Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of these animals is uncertain. The parallelism suggests two kinds of birds, but the second Hebrew word seems to refer to a hedgehog or porcupine.
  6. Zephaniah 3:1 Or rebellious


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 12

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 12

Zephaniah 1 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 12

Zephaniah 1 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Zephaniah 1

1 This is the word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Day of Judgment Is Coming

2 I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. 3 I will take away man and beast. I will take away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea and the stumbling blocks [1] of the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares the Lord.

Judgment Against Judah

4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, as well as the name of the pagan priests, along with the regular priests. [2] 5 I will also cut off those who worship on their rooftops, bowing down to the armies in the heavens, [3] and those who worship by swearing to the Lord, and yet they also swear by Milcom. [4] 6 I will also cut off those who turn away from following the Lord, those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him.

7 Keep silent before the Lord God, for the Day of the Lord is at hand. Yes, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated those who will attend it. 8 This is what will take place on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice: I will deal with the officials and the king’s sons and with all those who wear foreign clothing. 9 In the same day I will also deal with all who leap over the threshold, [5] who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.

10 On that day, declares the Lord, there will be crying from the Fish Gate and wailing from the Second Quarter and the sound of a great crashing from the hills. 11 Wail, you who sit in the marketplace, [] for all the merchants are destroyed. All those who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, to deal with the men who are complacent, like wine resting on its dregs, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do anything good. Neither will he do anything bad.” 13 Therefore their wealth will become plunder, and their houses a ruin. They will build houses but never live in them. They will plant vineyards, but they will not drink the wine.

Judgment Against the Nations

14 The great Day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming very quickly. Listen! The sound of the Day of the Lord! The cry of the warrior is bitter. [7] 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and total destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day for the ram’s horn and for the battle cry against the fortified cities and against the high towers.

17 I will bring distress upon all people, so that they walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. That is why their blood will be poured out like dust, and their bowels will be spread like manure. 18 Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. Instead, the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy, because he will make an end—yes, a terrifying end of all who dwell on the earth.



Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Perhaps a reference to idols
  2. Zephaniah 1:4 The Hebrew here has two words for priests. The first is a term for pagan, Canaanite priests. The second word is the regular word for the priests of Israel. Here, however, the pagan priests are probably Israelites who served Canaanite gods and goddesses.
  3. Zephaniah 1:5 The sun, moon, stars, and planets
  4. Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king
  5. Zephaniah 1:9 Perhaps a reference to the ritual in 1 Samuel 5:5
  6. Zephaniah 1:11 Hebrew in Maktesh. A maktesh is a mortar used for grinding grain or other materials. Here it is the name of the neighborhood where the markets were located.
  7. Zephaniah 1:14 Or the sound of the day of the Lord will be bitter, the roaring of a warrior


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 11

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 11

Joel 2:18 – 3:21 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 11

Joel 2:18 – 3:21 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

A Dialogue Between the Lord and the Prophet
The Lord’s Promises

Joel 2

18 The Lord is zealous for his land,
    and he will take pity on his people.
19 The Lord will respond to them:
        I am sending you grain, new wine, and fresh oil,
        enough to satisfy you fully.
        Never again will I subject you to scorn among the nations.
20         I will drive the northern invaders far from you,
        pushing them into a parched and desolate land.
        Their vanguard will be driven into the eastern sea [1]
        and their rearguard into the western sea. [2]
        Then their stench will go up. Their foul smell will go up.

The Prophet’s Response

    Yes, the Lord [3] has done great things.
21 Do not be afraid, O earth.
    Celebrate and be glad.
    Yes, the Lord has done great things.
22 Do not be afraid, you animals out in the field,
    because the grazing lands are becoming green.
    The trees are bearing their fruit.
    The fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Celebrate, you people of Zion!
    Rejoice in the Lord your God,
    because he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. [4]
    He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, [5] as he did in the beginning.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain.
    The vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.

The Lord’s Promise

25 I will repay you for the years eaten by the swarming locusts,
        by the young locusts, the mature locusts, and the grasshoppers, [6]
        my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat.
    You will eat until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
        who has worked wonders for you.

    Never again will my people be put to shame!

27 Then you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other.

    Never again will my people be put to shame!

28 After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. [7]
    Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
    Your old men will dream dreams.
    Your young men will see visions.
29 Even on the servants, both male and female,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show warning signs in the heavens and on the earth:
    blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,
    before the coming of the great and terrifying day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. [8]
    So on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has promised, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

The Promise of Judgment Against the Nations

Joel 3

1 Look! In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes [9] of Judah and Jerusalem, [10]

2 I will gather all nations
    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. [11]
    There I will enter into judgment against them
        for the sake of my possession, my people Israel,
        whom they scattered among the nations.
    The nations also divided up my land.
3 They cast lots for my people
    and traded boys to pay prostitutes.
    They sold girls for wine so that they could drink.

4 Tell me, what do you have against me,
        Tyre and Sidon, and all you regions of Philistia?
    Are you repaying me for something I have done?
    If you are paying me back,
    I will swiftly and speedily repay onto your own heads what you have done,
5 because you took my silver and my gold,
    and you carried off my best treasures to your temples.
6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,
    in order to send them far from their own borders.
7 See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,
    and I will make what you have done return on your own heads.
8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,
    and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away. [12]
    Yes, the Lord has spoken.

The Prophet’s Response

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
    Consecrate yourselves for war!
    Rouse the strong warriors!
    Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

10 Beat your plowshares into swords,
    and your pruning knives into spears.
    Let the weakling say, “I am a strong warrior!”
11 Come quickly to help, all you nations from every side,
    and assemble there.
    Bring down your strong warriors, O Lord!

The Lord’s Promise

12 Let the nations be roused.
    Let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
    for there I will be seated to judge all the nations.
13 Swing the sickle,
        for the harvest is ripe.
    Come, trample the grapes,
        for the winepress is full and the vats overflow,
    because the nations’ wickedness is so great!

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision!
    For the Day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision.
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
    and the stars will stop shining.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion
    and shout from Jerusalem.
    The sky and the earth will tremble.
    But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
    a stronghold for the people of Israel.
17 Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.
    Jerusalem will be holy.
    Foreigners will not pass through her again.

18 In that day the mountains will drip sweet wine,
    and the hills will flow with milk.
    All the stream beds of Judah will run with water.
    A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house.
    It will water the Valley of Acacias.
19 Egypt will be desolate.
    Edom will be a desolate wilderness,
    because of violence they committed against the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever,
    and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 I will pardon their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned. [13]

The Prophet’s Final Praise

    The Lord dwells in Zion!



Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:20 That is, the Dead Sea
  2. Joel 2:20 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
  3. Joel 2:20 The subject of this sentence is not specified in the Hebrew text, which simply reads he.
  4. Joel 2:23 Or he has given you the Teacher of Righteousness. The word used here for autumn rain sounds the same as the word for teacher. The life-giving rain then would be a symbol for the showers of blessing brought by the Messiah.
  5. Joel 2:23 The autumn rain (the early rain) was essential for the grain’s initial growth. The spring rain (the latter rain) was essential for the heads of grain to fill out before the harvest.
  6. Joel 2:25 The precise distinctions between the four Hebrew terms for locusts are not certain. The terms may refer to types of locusts or to different stages of the locusts’ life cycle (though the terms do not occur in the same order in 1:4 and 2:25). Etymologically the four terms seem to refer to swarmers, hoppers, destroyers, and gnawers. In any case, the point of the heaping up of terms is total destruction.
  7. Joel 2:28 English verses 2:28-32 are verses 3:1-5 in Hebrew.
  8. Joel 2:32 See Acts 2:17-21.
  9. Joel 3:1 Or return the captives
  10. Joel 3:1 English verses 3:1-21 are verses 4:1-21 in Hebrew.
  11. Joel 3:2 The Hebrew name Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges. The Bible does not mention any literal valley with this name. The name may refer to one of the valleys around Jerusalem, or it may be a figurative name like the Valley of Decision in 3:14.
  12. Joel 3:8 The Sabeans lived in south Arabia.
  13. Joel 3:21 Or I will avenge their blood, which I have not avenged. The text and meaning of the line are uncertain.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 10

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 10

Joel 1 – 2:17 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 10

Joel 1 – 2:17 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Joel 1

1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.

Warnings and Descriptions of the Locust Plague

2 Hear this, you elders.
    Listen, all of you who live in the land.
    Has anything like this ever happened in your days
    or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell it to your children,
    and let your children tell it to their children,
    and their children to the next generation.
4         What the grasshoppers have left, the swarming locusts have eaten.
        What the swarming locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten.
        What the young locusts have left, the mature locusts have eaten. [1]
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, [2] all you wine drinkers,
    because of the sweet wine [3] that has been snatched from your mouth.
6         A nation has come up into my land, powerful and without number.
        It has teeth like a lion and fangs like a lioness.
7         It has devastated my vines and shredded my fig trees.
        It has completely stripped off their bark and thrown it aside,
        so that their branches are bare and white.
8 Grieve like a virgin dressed in sackcloth,
    who grieves for the husband [4] of her youth.
9         Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord.
        The priests are in mourning,
        those who minister in the presence of the Lord.
10         The fields are devastated. The soil mourns.
        The grain is devastated.
        The new wine has run dry. The olive oil runs out.
11 Hang your heads, you farmers.
    Wail, you vine growers, for the wheat and for the barley,
    because the grain harvest has died in the field.
12         The vine has dried up, and the fig tree has withered.
        The pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple tree—
        all the trees in the countryside have dried up,
        and joy has dried up for all the people.
13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and lament.
    Wail, you who minister in front of the altar.
    Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    you who minister before my God,
    because the grain offerings and drink offerings
    are being held back from the house of your God.

14 Set aside a day of fasting. Call a solemn convocation.
    Summon the elders and everyone who lives in the land
    to come to the house of the Lord your God.
    Cry out to the Lord!

Announcement of the Day of the Lord

15 How terrible that day will be!
    Yes, the Day of the Lord is near.
    It will come like destruction from the Almighty. [5]
16         Hasn’t the food been cut off right before our eyes?
        Happiness and celebration are cut off from the house of our God.
17         The planted seed is dried up under the clods of earth. [6]
        The storehouses are in ruins.
        The granaries have been broken down, because the grain has dried up.
18         Listen to how the cattle bellow!
        The herds of cattle are milling around in confusion, because they have no pasture.
        Even the flocks of sheep are suffering punishment.

Closing Prayer

19 To you, O Lord, I call,
    because fire has consumed the grazing lands in the wilderness,[7]
    and flames have burned up all the trees in the countryside.
20 Even the animals in the countryside pant for you.
    The streams of water have dried up,
    and fire has consumed the grazing lands in the wilderness.

Announce the Day of the Lord

Joel 2

1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion.
Sound the alarm on my holy mountain.
    Let all who live in the land tremble with fear,
    for the Day of the Lord is coming.
    It is close at hand—
2         a day of darkness and gloom,
        a day of clouds and frightening darkness.

Description of the Locust Army

    Like dawn [8] spreading across the mountains,
        a large and mighty people is coming.
    There has been nothing like it from ancient times,
    nor will there ever be again for generations to come.
3 In front of them, fire devours.
    Behind them, a flame blazes.
    In front of them, the land is like the Garden of Eden.
    Behind them, it is a desolate wilderness.
    There is no escaping them.
4 They look like horses.
    They charge like cavalry.
5 With a noise like chariots
        they bounce over the mountaintops,
        like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
        like a powerful army lined up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, peoples are in anguish.
    Every face becomes flushed. [9]
7 They charge like strong warriors.
    They climb over walls like soldiers.
    They all march in formation.
    They do not turn aside from their path.
8 They do not collide with each other.
    Each marches straight ahead in his position.
    They pierce through defenses without hesitating. [10]
9 They rush into the city.
    They run along the city wall.
    They climb into the houses.
    Like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 In front of them the earth quakes.
    The sky shudders.
    The sun and moon become dark,
    and the stars stop shining.

Announce the Day of the Lord

11 The Lord shouts at the head of his army.
    His forces are very numerous,
    and those who obey his command are powerful.
    The Day of the Lord is great. It is terrifying.
    Who can endure it?

Call to Repentance and Closing Prayer

12 Even now, declares the Lord,
    return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and grief.
13 Tear your heart and not your clothing.
    Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and abounding in mercy,
    and he relents from sending disaster.
14 Who knows?
    He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing—
    grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.
15 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion.
    Set aside a day for fasting.
    Call a solemn convocation.
16 Gather the people.
    Consecrate the assembly.
    Bring together the elders.
    Gather the children, even those nursing at the breast.
    Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
    weep between the temple porch and the altar.
    Let them say:
        Have compassion on your people, O Lord.
        Do not subject the inheritance you have given us to the scorn of the nations.
        Do not make us notorious among the nations as an object of ridicule. [11]
        Why should they say among the peoples,
        “Where is their God?”



Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:4 The precise distinctions between the four Hebrew terms for locusts are not certain. The terms may refer to types of locusts or to different stages of the locusts’ life cycle (though the terms do not occur in the same order in 1:4 and 2:25). Etymologically the four terms seem to refer to gnawers, swarmers, hoppers, and destroyers. In any case, the point of the heaping up of terms is total destruction.
  2. Joel 1:5 Or howl
  3. Joel 1:5 New or sweet wine is not unfermented grape juice, but wine that is still sweet because it has not yet been soured by continued fermentation.
  4. Joel 1:8 The husband is the young man to whom the virgin had been pledged in marriage as his legal wife, but with whom she had not yet lived.
  5. Joel 1:15 In Hebrew the words destruction and Almighty have a similar sound and create a play on words.
  6. Joel 1:17 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
  7. Joel 1:19 Or pastures in the open range
  8. Joel 2:2 Or, reading the consonantal Hebrew text with different vowels, blackness
  9. Joel 2:6 Or grows pale. The meaning of this line is uncertain.
  10. Joel 2:8 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
  11. Joel 2:17 Or notorious so that the nations rule over us


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 9

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 9

Jonah 3 & 4 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 9

Jonah 3 & 4 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Jonah Preaches in Nineveh

Jonah 3

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up. Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”

3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh just as the word of the Lord had commanded. Now Nineveh was a great city to God. It required a three-day walk. [1] 4 Jonah walked through the city for a day, and he called out, “Forty more days and Nineveh is going to be overthrown!”

Nineveh Repents

5 The men of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. 6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh.

By the decree of the king and his leading officials:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything. Do not let them eat food or drink water. 8 Instead, let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call fervently to God. Let them turn from their evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent. He may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.

10 When God saw their actions, that they had turned from their evil way, God relented from the disaster which he said he would bring on them, and he did not carry it out.

The Lord Teaches Jonah a Lesson About Grace

Jonah 4

1 But to Jonah all this seemed very bad, and he became very angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Lord, wasn’t this exactly what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I previously fled to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and you relent from sending disaster. 3 So now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

5 Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city. He made a shelter for himself there and sat in the shade under it, waiting to see what would happen in the city.

6 Then the Lord God provided a plant and made it grow up over Jonah to provide shade over his head, to relieve him from his discomfort. So Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, and it attacked the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, so he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

Jonah said, “I do have a right to be angry—angry enough to die!”

10 So the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant. You did not work for it or make it grow. It grew up in one night and perished after one night. 11 So should I not be concerned for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left—and also many animals?”



Footnotes

  1. Jonah 3:3 This apparently means it would take Jonah three days to preach throughout the various sections of the city, but the meaning is uncertain.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 8

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 8

Jonah 1 & 2 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 8

Jonah 1 & 2 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Jonah Disobeys God and Flees

Jonah 1

1 So the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up. Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach against it, for its people’s evil way has come up before me.”

3 But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. [1] He paid the fare and boarded the ship to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind onto the sea, and there was such a great storm on the sea that the ship was about to break apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each one cried out to his gods. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the ship’s load.

Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship. He was lying down and sleeping soundly. 6 The captain approached him and said, “How can you be sleeping so soundly? Get up and call on your god! Maybe your god will treat us with favor so that we will not perish.”

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come on, let’s cast lots so that we can find out whose fault it is that this disaster has come to us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8 So they said to him, “Please tell us whose fault it is that this disaster has come to us! What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? What people are you from?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 Then the men were terrified and said to him, “What have you done?” The men already knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

11 Then, because the storm on the sea kept getting worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you, to quiet the sea that is raging against us?”

12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will calm down for you, for I know that this violent storm striking against you has come about because of me.”

13 Instead, the men rowed hard to return the ship to dry land, but they could not, because the storm on the sea kept getting worse for them. 14 So they cried out to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, please do not let us perish because of this man’s life, and do not charge innocent blood against us, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 Then the Lord provided a large fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. [2]

Jonah’s Prayer

Jonah 2

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. 2 He said the following:

    In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
    From the belly of the grave I cried out,
    and you heard my voice.
3 You threw me into the depths,
    into the heart of the seas.
    The currents swept around [3] me.
    All your breakers and your waves swept over me.
4 I said, “I have been driven away from your sight.
    Nevertheless, I will once again look toward your holy temple.”
5 Waters engulfed me so that I was near death.
    The deep surrounded me.
    Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down.
    The earth locked me behind its bars forever.
    But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord, my God.
7 When my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord.
    My prayer came to you, to your holy temple.
8 Those who cling to worthless idols forsake the mercy that is theirs.
9 But I, with a shout of thanksgiving, will indeed sacrifice to you.
    What I have vowed, I will certainly pay in full.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!

10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.



Footnotes

  1. Jonah 1:3 Tarshish was in the far western Mediterranean region, perhaps in Spain or Portugal. It was the most distant place known to Israel.
  2. Jonah 1:17 English verse 1:17 is verse 2:1 in Hebrew. All subsequent verse numbers in chapter 2 are one number lower in English than they are in Hebrew.
  3. Jonah 2:3 The Hebrew word can mean surround with protection, but the context seems to refer to something threatening.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 7

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 7

Matthew 7:13-29 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 7

Matthew 7:13-29 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 7:1-12

The Narrow Gate

13 “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. 14 How narrow is the gate, and how difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Watch Out for False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? 17 So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. 25 The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed.”

28 When Jesus finished speaking these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught them as one who had authority, and not like their experts in the law.



Footnotes



The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 6

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 6

Matthew 7:1-12 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 6

Matthew 7:1-12 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 7:1-12

Consider the Beam in Your Own Eye

1 “Stop judging, so that you will not be judged. 2 For with whatever standard you judge, you will be judged, and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you focus on [1] the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4 How will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ when, in fact, you have a beam in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do Not Throw Your Pearls to Pigs

6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

Keep Praying

7 “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 9 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? 10 Or who, if his son asks for a fish, would give him a snake? 11 Then if you know how to give good gifts to your children, even though you are evil, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule

12 “So do for others whatever you want people to do for you, because this is the Law and the Prophets.



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 7:3 Or look at, or notice


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 5

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 5

Matthew 6:19-34 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 5

Matthew 6:19-34 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 6:19-34

Treasures

19 “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon. [1]

Do Not Worry

25 “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27 “Which of you can add a single moment to his lifespan by worrying? 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, 29 but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not clothe you even more, you of little faith?

31 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unbelievers [2] chase after all these things. Certainly your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:24 Mammon is an Aramaic term for worldly wealth and property.
  2. Matthew 6:32 Or Gentiles


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 4

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 4

Matthew 6:1-18 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 4

Matthew 6:1-18 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 6:1-18

Do Not Be Hypocrites

1 “Be careful that you do not do your righteous works [1] in front of people, so that they will notice. If you do, you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 So whenever you perform acts of mercy, do not sound a trumpet for yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be praised by people. Amen I tell you: They have received their reward. 3 Instead, when you perform acts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Then your acts of mercy will be in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. [2]

5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by people. Amen I tell you: They have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your private room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what others cannot see, will reward you. [3]

The Lord’s Prayer

7 “And when you pray, do not babble like the heathen, since they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 However do not be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Therefore pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 13 Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ [4]

14 “Indeed if you forgive people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive people their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

16 “Whenever you fast, do not make yourself look sad like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show everyone that they are fasting. Amen I tell you: They have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that it is not apparent to people that you are fasting, but only to your Father who sees what is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:1 Some witnesses to the text read charitable giving.
  2. Matthew 6:4 Some witnesses to the text add publicly.
  3. Matthew 6:6 Some witnesses to the text add publicly.
  4. Matthew 6:13 Or the Evil One. Some witnesses to the text add For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. See Daniel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 29:11.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 3

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 3

Matthew 5:17-48 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 3

Matthew 5:17-48 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 5:17-48

Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament

17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. 18 Amen [1] I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled. 19 So whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sinful Anger

21 “You have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, [2]  and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause [3] will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ [4] will have to answer to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of hell [5] fire.

23 “So if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.

25 “If someone accuses you, reach an agreement with him quickly, while you are with him on the way. Otherwise your accuser may bring you to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen I tell you: You will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Lust

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ [6] 28 but I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to fall into sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand causes you to fall into sin, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Divorce

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ [7] 32 But I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, causes her to be regarded as an adulteress. And whoever marries the divorced woman is regarded as an adulterer.

Oaths

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘Do not break your oaths, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ [8] 34 But I tell you, do not swear at all: not by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 and not by earth, because it is his footstool; and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your own head, since you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Instead, let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes,’ or ‘No, no.’ Whatever goes beyond these is from the Evil One.

Love Your Enemies

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ [9] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you to take away your shirt, give him your coat too. 41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. [10] 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 Indeed if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even tax collectors do that, don’t they? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the unbelievers do that? 48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 5:18 Usually, people say Amen at the end of a prayer. But Jesus used this Hebrew word at the beginning of a statement, which was unique. The inspired writer simply transliterated the Hebrew word that Jesus spoke, instead of using a Greek term. This translation does the same in English. The basic meaning is I solemnly tell you the truth.
  2. Matthew 5:21 Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17
  3. Matthew 5:22 Some witnesses to the text omit without a cause.
  4. Matthew 5:22 Raca was an insulting name in Aramaic which meant something like numbskull or empty-head.
  5. Matthew 5:22 Gehenna
  6. Matthew 5:27 Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18
  7. Matthew 5:31 Deuteronomy 24:1
  8. Matthew 5:33 Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2
  9. Matthew 5:38 Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20
  10. Matthew 5:43 Leviticus 19:18


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 2

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 2

Matthew 5:1-16 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 2

Matthew 5:1-16 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 5:1-16

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up onto a mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He opened his mouth and began to teach them. He said these things:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    because they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the gentle,
    because they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    because they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    because they will receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    because they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    because they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. In fact, that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. 14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.



Footnotes



The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 1

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – February 1

Matthew 4 (EHV)


Through My Bible – FEbruary 1

Matthew 4 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Matthew 4

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”

4 But Jesus answered, “It is written:

Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” [1]

5 Then the Devil took him into the holy city. He placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

He will command his angels concerning you. And they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” [2]

7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written:

You shall not test the Lord your God.” [3]

8 Again the Devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:

Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” [4]

11 Then the Devil left him, and just then angels came and served him.

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John was put in prison, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 He did this to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    along the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,
    and on those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death a light has dawned. [5]

17 From that time, Jesus began to preach: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”

“Come, Follow Me”

18 As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

20 They immediately left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

23 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread throughout all Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with various diseases and suffering severe pains, the demon-possessed, those who experienced seizures, and the paralyzed. Then he healed them. 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3
  2. Matthew 4:6 Psalm 91:11-12
  3. Matthew 4:7 Deuteronomy 6:16
  4. Matthew 4:10 Deuteronomy 6:13
  5. Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 9:1-2


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 31

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 31

Matthew 3 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 31

Matthew 3 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3

1 In those days, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, 2 “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near!” 3 Yes, this is he of whom this was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

“Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.” [1]

4 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him. 6 They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit in keeping with repentance! 9 Do not think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10 Already the ax is ready to strike [2] the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance. But the one who comes after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John Baptizes Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized by John at the Jordan. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”

15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, because it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John let him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he immediately went up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens were opened for him! He saw the Spirit of God, descending like a dove and landing on him, 17 and a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.”



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
  2. Matthew 3:10 Literally is placed against


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 30

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 30

Matthew 2 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 30

Bible reading based on Matthew 2 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Visit of the Wise Men

Matthew 2

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, 2 “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose [1] and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and experts in the law. He asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet:

6 You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people, Israel.” [2]

7 Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.”

9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. Then the star they had seen when it rose [3] went ahead of them, until it stood still over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy. 11 After they went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

Flight to Egypt

13 After the Wise Men were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod will search for the child in order to kill him.”

14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod. This happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” [4]

Herod Kills the Boys

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Wise Men, he was furious. He issued orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under. This was in keeping with the exact time he had learned from the Wise Men. 17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
    Rachel weeping for her children,
    and she refused to be comforted,
    because they are no more. [5]

Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. The angel said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded his father as ruler in Judea, he was afraid to go there. Since he had been warned in a dream, he went to the region of Galilee. 23 When he arrived there, he settled in a city called Nazareth. So what was spoken through the prophets was fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.” [6]



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:2 Or in the east
  2. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2
  3. Matthew 2:9 Or in the east
  4. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  5. Matthew 2:18 Jeremiah 31:15
  6. Matthew 2:23 The text does not indicate that this is a direct quotation of the Old Testament, and it does not seem to be an exact quotation of any passage in the Old Testament Scriptures.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 29

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 29

Matthew 1 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 29

Bible reading based on Matthew 1 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1

1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram. Joram was the father [1] of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the Babylonian exile.

12 After the Babylonian exile, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom Jesus was born (who is called Christ).

17 So altogether there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage [2] to Joseph. Before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her. So he decided to divorce her privately. 20 But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, [3] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” [4] which means, “God with us.”

24 When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife,  [5]



Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:8 The Greek word for father of does not always mean immediate ancestor, but can also mean grandfather or male ancestor. In this genealogy, some generations are deliberately skipped to arrive at three groups of fourteen generations (verse 17). Three names are omitted after Joram: Ahaziah (2 Kings 8:25; 2 Chronicles 22:1), Joash (2 Kings 11:21; 12:1 [Hebrew text]; 2 Chronicles 24:1), and Amaziah (2 Kings 14:1; 2 Chronicles 25:1).
  2. Matthew 1:18 Or betrothed
  3. Matthew 1:21 Jesus means the Lord saves.
  4. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
  5. Matthew 1:25 Some witnesses to the text omit her firstborn and simply read she gave birth to a son. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 28

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 28

Isaiah 66 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 28

Bible reading based on Isaiah 66 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Isaiah 66

This is what the Lord says.
The heavens are my throne,
and the earth is a footstool under my feet.
Where, then, is the house that you could build for me?
Where, then, is a place that could serve as my resting place?
2 For my hand made all these things,
so all these things came into existence,
declares the Lord.

Those Who Tremble at the Lord’s Word

Yet this is the person I will watch over:
    the one who is afflicted and whose spirit is crushed,
    the one who trembles at my word.

3 One who slaughters an ox, also smites a person.
One who sacrifices a lamb, also breaks the neck of a dog.
One who offers a grain offering, also offers the blood of pigs.
One who offers memorial incense, also blesses a useless idol.
Yes, they have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their detestable things.
4 So I myself will choose their punishments,
and the things that terrify them I will bring to them,
because I called, and there was no one who answered.
I spoke, and they did not listen.
They did what is evil in my eyes,
and they chose things that do not please me.

5 Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word.
Your brothers, who hate you
and exclude you for the sake of my name, say:
“Let the Lord be glorified so that we may see your joy.”
But they themselves will be put to shame.

6 Listen! An uproar in the city,
the sound of an uproar from the temple,
the sound of the Lord repaying his enemies in full!

Lady Zion’s Final Blessing

7 Before she suffers labor pains, she gives birth.
Before birth pain comes upon her, she delivers a male child.
8 Who has ever heard of something like this?
Who has ever seen such a thing?
Is a land brought forth in one day?
Is a nation born all at once?
But as soon as Zion experiences labor pains, she gives birth
    to her children.
9 Would I bring a baby to the point of birth and not let it be born?
says the Lord.
Or would I let a baby be conceived but shut the womb to prevent
    its birth?
says your God.
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem and celebrate with her, all you who love her.
Share her joy with her, all you who have been mourning over her,
11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied from her comforting breast,
so that you may suck and find delight from her milk-filled breasts. [1]
12 Yes, this is what the Lord says.
I am ready to extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream.
You will be nursed. You will be carried on her side,
and you will be bounced on her knees.
13 Just like a man [2] whom his mother comforts,
in the same way I myself will comfort you,
and you will be comforted concerning Jerusalem.
14 Then you will see, and your heart will be glad.
Like grass you will receive new strength, right down to your bones.
Then the Lord’s hand will be known to his servants,
but his fury to his enemies.
15 Look, the Lord will come like fire,
and his chariots like a whirlwind,
to pour out his furious anger
and his rebuke like flames of fire.
16 For the Lord will bring judgment on all flesh
    by fire and by his sword,
and those slain by the Lord will be many.
17 Those who try to sanctify themselves
and those who try to purify themselves
    in order to follow others into the groves,
    in order to eat the meat of pigs and other disgusting things like mice—
together they will be swept away, declares the Lord.
18 As for me, because of their works and their thoughts,
the time is coming for me to gather people from all nations
    and all languages.
They will come, and they will see my glory.

19 Then I will set up a sign among them,
and I will send out survivors from among them to the nations,
to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, [3] to those who are archers,
to Tubal and Javan, [4] to the distant coastlands,
who have not heard my message and have not seen my glory.
Then they will declare my glory among the nations.

20 Then they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them on horses and chariots and wagons and mules and dromedaries [5] to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, in the same way that the people of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to the Lord’s house. 21 Even from among these people I will take priests and Levites, says the Lord.

22 For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will remain standing before me, declares the Lord, in the same way your offspring and your name will stand. 23 As often as one new moon follows another and one Sabbath follows another, all flesh will come to worship before me, says the Lord.

24 They will go out, and they will see the corpses of the ones who were rebelling against me, for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and all flesh will be horrified by them.



Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 66:11 Literally her heavy or glorious nipple
  2. Isaiah 66:13 The Hebrew uses the word man rather than child.
  3. Isaiah 66:19 Tarshish was in the western Mediterranean, probably in Spain. Pul is probably the same as Put, a region in Libya. Lud may also be in Libya but may refer to Lydia in present-day Turkey.
  4. Isaiah 66:19 Tubal was in the distant north. Javan refers to the Ionian Greeks.
  5. Isaiah 66:20 Or two-humped camels


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 27

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 27

Isaiah 65 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 27

Bible reading based on Isaiah 65 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Lord’s Response

Isaiah 65 

1 I was available to those who did not ask.
I let myself be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
2 I reached out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
who are walking in a way that is not good,
who follow their own ideas.
3 This people continually provokes me to anger, right to my face,
    by sacrificing in the groves,
    by burning incense on the bricks.
4 They sit in tombs
and keep their vigils all night.
They eat the flesh of pigs,
and broth made from unclean meat is in their pots.
5 They say, “Keep to yourself.
Do not touch me because I am too holy for you.”
These people are smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire burning all day.

6 Look, I have put it in writing.
I will not be silent until I repay them.
I will repay into their lap
7     both their [1] guilt and the guilt of their fathers,
    says the Lord.
Because they burned incense upon the mountains,
and upon the hills they ridiculed me,
so I will measure out their full pay into their lap.

8 This is what the Lord says.
Just as sweet wine is found in the grape cluster,
so that someone says, “Do not destroy it
because there is a blessing in it,”
so I will act in the same way for the sake of my servants,
in order not to destroy the whole people.
9 I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will inherit my mountains,
so that my chosen ones will possess the land,
and my servants will dwell there.

10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek me.
11 But you who are abandoning the Lord,
you who have forgotten my holy mountain,
who are setting a table for Fortune,
who are pouring out mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword.
All of you will bow down to be slaughtered,
because I called, but you did not answer.
I spoke, but you did not listen.
You committed evil in my eyes,
and you chose that which does not please me.
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says.
Watch! My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry.
Watch! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Watch! My servants will rejoice,
but you will be ashamed.
14 Watch! My servants will shout because of the joy in their heart,
but you will cry out because of the pain in your heart,
and because of a broken spirit you will wail.
15 You will leave your name for my chosen ones to use as a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death,
but he will call his servants by another name,
16 so that anyone on earth who blesses himself
    will bless himself by the God of Amen, [2]
and anyone on the earth who swears
    will swear by the God of Amen!
For the past troubles will be forgotten.
Yes, they are certainly hidden from my eyes.

The Lord’s New Creation

17 Watch this! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered.
They will not come to mind.
18 Instead, rejoice and celebrate forever, because of what I am creating.
Watch this! I am about to create Jerusalem to be a source of gladness,
and her people will be a source of joy.
19 I also will be glad because of Jerusalem,
and I will rejoice over my people.
The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again,
nor will the sound of crying.
20 There will never again be an infant there who lives for only a few days,
or an elderly man who does not fill out all his days,
for one who dies at a hundred will be considered a young man,
and one who fails to attain the age of one hundred will be regarded
        as cursed.
21 Then they will build houses and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build a house and have another person live in it.
They will not plant and have another person eat the crop,
for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,
and my chosen ones will enjoy all the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor only to receive nothing,
and they will not give birth to children doomed to disaster,
for they will be offspring who are blessed by the Lord,
and their descendants will be with them.

24 Then even before they call, I will answer.
While they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together,
and lions will eat straw like cattle,
but the serpent will eat dust as its food.
They will not harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,
says the Lord.



Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:7 Some Hebrew manuscripts read your.
  2. Isaiah 65:16 Amen is the literal rendering.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 26

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 26

Isaiah 63:7 – 64:12 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 26

Isaiah 63:7 – 64:12 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

 Isaiah’s Announcement

Isaiah 63

7 I will tell about the Lord’s mercies,
about the praises of the Lord,
about all that the Lord has done for us,
about his great goodness to the house of Israel,
which he performed for them according to his abundant compassion,
and according to his great mercy.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely,”
so he became their Savior.
9 In all their anguish he felt anguish, [1]
and the Angel of his Presence saved them.
In his love and in his pity he himself redeemed them,
and he took them up and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit,
so he turned against them and became an enemy.
He himself fought against them.
11 Yet he remembered the days of old,
the days of Moses and his people.

Isaiah’s Plea

Where is the one who brought them up from the sea,
    with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is the one who set his Holy Spirit in their midst,
12 who sent his majestic arm to the right hand of Moses,
who divided waters before them
    to make an everlasting name for himself,
13 who let them walk through the depths?
Like a horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble.
14 Like cattle that descend into a valley,
they were given rest by the Lord’s Spirit.
This is how you led your people
    to make a majestic name for yourself.

15 Gaze down from the heavens and see,
from your holy and beautiful dwelling place.
Where is your zeal and your might?
The feelings of your heart and your compassion
    are withheld from me.

16 But you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
though Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, the Lord, are our Father.
Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
17 Why do you cause us to wander from your ways, Lord?
Why do you harden our heart so that we do not fear you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your heritage.
18 For a short time your holy people possessed the land.
Now our adversaries have trampled your sanctuary.
19 We have been your people from ancient times,
but you have not ruled over the other nations.
They were not called by your name. [2]

Isaiah 64 

1 Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and come down.
Mountains then would quake because of your presence. [3]
2 As fire ignites stubble and as fire makes water boil,
make your name known to your adversaries.
Then nations would quake in your presence.
3 You did amazing things that we did not expect.
You came down. Mountains quaked because of your presence.
4 From ancient times no one has heard.
No ear has understood.
No eye has seen any god except you,
who goes into action for the one who waits for him.
5 You meet anyone who joyfully practices righteousness,
who remembers you by walking in your ways!
But you were angry because we sinned.
We have remained in our sins for a long time.

Can we still be saved?
6 All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a filthy cloth. [4]
All of us have withered like a leaf,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
7 There is no one who calls on your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you.
So you hid your face from us.
You made us melt by the power of our guilt.
8 But now, Lord, you are our father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter.
All of us are the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry, Lord, without limit.
Do not remember our guilt forever.
Please look closely.
All of us are your people.

Isaiah’s Lament

10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness.
Zion has become a wilderness.
Jerusalem is a desolation.
11 Our holy and glorious house, where our fathers praised you,
    has been burned by fire,
    and everything we desired has become a ruin.
12 Since this is so, how can you hold back, O Lord?
How can you remain silent and afflict us without limit?



Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 63:9 An alternate Hebrew reading is he did not feel anguish.
  2. Isaiah 63:19 Or we have become like those you never ruled, like those who are not called by your name
  3. Isaiah 64:1 English 64:1 is part of 63:19 in Hebrew. All the subsequent verse numbers in chapter 64 are one number higher in English than they are in Hebrew.
  4. Isaiah 64:6 Literally the cloth of periods. The blood of a woman’s period made anyone who contacted it ceremonially unclean.


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 25

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 25

Isaiah 61 – 63:6 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 25

Isaiah 61 – 63:6 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Fifth Servant Song

The Spirit Anoints Him [1]

Isaiah 61 

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the afflicted.
He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release for those who are bound,
2     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance for our God,
    to comfort all who mourn,
3     to provide for those who mourn in Zion,
    to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
    the oil of joy instead of mourning,
    a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit,
    so that they will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.

The Result of the Servant’s Work

4 Then they will rebuild ancient ruins.
They will raise up what was formerly devastated,
and they will renew ruined cities,
    which have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock,
and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers.
6 You will be called the Lord’s priests.
You will be named ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
and you will boast about their riches.
7 In place of your shame, you will receive a double portion.
Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their share of the land.
In fact, in their land they will inherit a double portion.
Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 Yes, I am the Lord. I love justice.
I hate robbery in a burnt offering. [2]
I will repay them in faithfulness,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring will be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
    that they are offspring whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord.
My soul will celebrate because of my God,
for he has clothed me in garments of salvation.
With a robe of righteousness he covered me,
like a bridegroom who wears a beautiful headdress like a priest,
and like a bride who adorns herself with her jewelry.

11 For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden causes what has been sown to sprout up,
so God the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up
    in the presence of all the nations.

For Zion’s Sake, Cry Out

Isaiah 62 

1 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent.
For the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth shining brightly,
and her salvation burns like a torch.

2 Nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings will see your glory.
You will be called by a new name
    that the mouth of the Lord will assign to you.
3 Then you will be a beautiful crown in the Lord’s hand,
and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
4 You will never again be called Abandoned, [3]
and your land will never again be called Desolation, [4]
for you will be called My Delight Is in Her, [5]
and your land will be called Married, [6]
because the Lord delights in you,
and your land will be married.
5 For just as a young man marries a virgin,
your sons will marry [7] you,
and just as a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
your God will rejoice over you.
6 Upon your walls, Jerusalem, I appointed watchmen.
All day and all night they will never be silent.
You who keep reminding the Lord, do not rest!
7 Do not give him rest
until he establishes Jerusalem,
and he causes her to be praised on the earth.

8 The Lord swore by his right hand
and by his strong arm:
    I will certainly never again give up your grain as food
        for your enemies,
    and foreigners will not drink the sweet new wine you worked for.
9     For those who pick fruit will eat it, and they will praise the Lord,
    and those who harvest grapes will drink in my holy courtyards.

10 Go through, go through the gates.
Prepare a way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway.
Clear it of stones.
Raise a banner for the peoples.

11 Listen, the Lord is making a proclamation to the end of the earth.
Tell the daughter of Zion:
“Look, your salvation is coming.
Look, his reward is with him,
and his compensation is out in front of him.” [8]

12 Then they will be called holy people,
the redeemed of the Lord.
Then you will be called Sought After,
A City Not Abandoned.

The Day of Vengeance

The Prophet’s Question

Isaiah 63

1 Who is this coming from Edom, with bright red garments?
Who is this coming from Bozrah, clothed majestically,

marching out [9] with great strength?

The Servant’s Response

It is I, the one who speaks in righteousness.
It is I, the one who is mighty to save.

The Prophet’s Question

2 Why is your clothing so red?
Why are your garments like those of someone
    who has been trampling grapes in a winepress?

The Servant’s Response

3 I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples there was no one with me.
So I stomped on them in my anger,
and I trampled them in my wrath,
and their juice splattered on my garments.
I stained all my clothing.
4 For the day for vengeance was in my heart,
and the year for my redemption has come.
5 I looked intently but there was no helper.
I was shocked that no one supported me.
My arm delivered me,
and my wrath supported me.
6 I trampled the peoples in my anger.
I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I will pour out their juice [10] onto the ground.



Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:1 This song does not contain the title servant, but it is part of the same set of descriptions of the Messiah as the earlier Servant Songs.
  2. Isaiah 61:8 The translation follows the reading of most Hebrew manuscripts. A variant found in some Hebrew manuscripts and supported by the ancient versions reads with wrongdoing.
  3. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Azubah
  4. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Shemamah
  5. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Hephzibah
  6. Isaiah 62:4 Hebrew Beulah
  7. Isaiah 62:5 Or your Builder will marry you. In Hebrew the words your builder and your sons look alike.
  8. Isaiah 62:11 This may refer to the people whom the Messiah has won by his labor, or it may refer to the gifts he brings for his people.
  9. Isaiah 63:1 The translation follows the Syriac and Latin. The Hebrew reads bending over.
  10. Isaiah 63:6 That is, their lifeblood


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 24

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 24

Isaiah 60 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 24

Isaiah 60 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

A New Day Dawns for Zion

Isaiah 60 

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord is dawning upon you.
2 Look, darkness covers the earth,
and deep darkness covers the peoples,
but the Lord will dawn upon you,
and his glory will be seen over you.
3 Nations will walk to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 Look up. Look all around and see!
All of them have been gathered. They are coming to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
and people will carry your daughters on their side.
5 Then you will look and be radiant.
Your heart will race with excitement and burst with joy.
For great riches from the sea will be delivered to you.
The wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 Caravans of camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All those from Sheba will come.
They will carry gold and incense,
and they will announce the good news of the praise of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you.
Rams from Nebaioth will serve as sacrifices for you.
They will be accepted as burnt offerings on my altar,
and I will beautify my splendid house.

8 Who are these who fly along like a cloud,
who fly like doves to their coops?

9 Yes, the coastlands will wait for me with hope,
and the ships of Tarshish will be the first
    to bring your children from far away.
They will have their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he makes you beautiful.

10 Then foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you,
because in my wrath I struck you,
but in my favor I had mercy on you.

11 Then your gates will always remain open.
Day and night they will not be shut,
    in order to bring you the wealth of the nations,
and their kings will be led in procession.
12 For the nation and the kingdom that do not serve you will perish.
Such nations will be completely devastated.
13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you:
the fir, the maple, and the pine tree together.
They will beautify my holy place,
and I will glorify my footstool.
14 Then the children of your oppressors will walk up to you and bow down.
All who despise you will fall down under the soles of your feet,
and they will call you the city of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 You were abandoned and hated, with no one walking through you,
but now I will make you a source of everlasting pride,
a joy from generation to generation.

16 You will nurse on the milk of the nations,
and you will nurse at the breast of kings.
You will know that I am the Lord, your Savior,
and that your Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold.
Instead of iron I will bring silver,
instead of wood, copper,
and instead of stones, iron.
And I will make peace your overseer,
and righteousness your strong ruler.
18 Violence will never again be heard in your land,
nor destruction and ruin in your boundaries.
Instead, you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will never again be your light by day,
and the moon will not shine to provide brightness for you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your splendor.
20 Your sun will never again set,
and your moon will not wane,
because the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and the days of your mourning will be over.

21 As for your people, all of them will be righteous.
They will inherit the earth forever.
They are shoots I have planted,
the work of my hands, to display my beauty.
22 The smallest will become an army of a thousand,
and the least will become a powerful nation.
I am the Lord.
When the time is right, I will do it quickly.





The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 23

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Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 23

Isaiah 59 (EHV)


Through My Bible – January 23

Isaiah 59 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Guilt Separates People From God

Isaiah 59 

Listen to me! The Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 No, it is your guilt that has separated you from your God,
and your sins have hidden God’s face from you,
    so that he does not hear.
3 Look, your hands are polluted with blood,
and your fingers drip guilt.
Your lips speak lies.
Your tongue mutters dishonesty.
4 No one calls for justice,
and no one argues his cases honestly.
They rely on empty arguments and commit perjury!
They conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness!
5 They hatch viper eggs,
and they weave spider webs.
Anyone who eats their eggs will die,
and a cracked egg hatches into a venomous snake.
6 They cannot make a garment from their webs,
and they will not be able to cover themselves with their deeds.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and violent actions fill their hands.
7 Their feet run to do evil,
and they hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are futile [1] thoughts.
Destruction and ruin are the destination of their highways.
8 They do not know the road to peace,
and there is no justice on the route they follow.
They made crooked paths for themselves.
No one who walks on them will experience peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but look, there is only darkness.
We hope for bright light, but we walk around in the darkest gloom.

10 We grope along a wall like blind men.
We grope like people with no eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
Among the healthy, we are like dead men.
11 We growl like bears—all of us—
and like doves we always mourn.
We hope for justice, but there is none.
We hope for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 Yes, our rebellious deeds are many before you,
and our sins testify against us.
Our rebellious deeds are with us,
and as for our guilty deeds, we are aware of them.
13 Those deeds are rebellion and treachery against the Lord.
We turn back from following our God.
We incite oppression and apostasy.
We conceive and mutter deceitful words from our hearts.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away,
for truth stumbles in the city square,
and honesty cannot enter it.
15 The truth is missing,
and anyone who turns from evil makes himself prey. [2]
The Lord looked and saw something evil—
there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one.
He was appalled that there was no one who could intervene.
So his own arm worked salvation for him,
and his own righteousness supported him.
17 He clothed himself with righteousness like armor
and wore a helmet of salvation on his head.
He dressed in garments for vengeance,
and he wrapped himself with zeal like a cloak.
18 He will repay in full what they have earned,
namely, wrath to his foes and full payment to his enemies.
He will repay even the distant coastlands.
19 From the west they will fear the Lord’s name,
and from the rising of the sun they will fear his glory,
for he will come like a raging river,
driven by the Spirit [3] of the Lord.
20 Then a redeemer will come for Zion
and for those in Jacob who turn from rebellion.
This is the declaration of the Lord.

21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord. My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouth of your offspring or from the mouth of their offspring, from this time forward and forever, says the Lord.

Yes, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.



Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 59:7 Or sinful
  2. Isaiah 59:15 Or pays the price
  3. Isaiah 59:19 Or wind or breath


The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.