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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 10, 2021 (NIV)

Amos 1-3

1 I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa[a] when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam[b] son of Jehoash[c] was king of Israel.

Two years before the earthquake,[d] the Lord gave me several messages[e] about Israel, 2 and I said:

When the Lord roars
from Jerusalem,
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
dry up and turn brown.

Judgment on Syria

3 The Lord said:

I will punish Syria[f]
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes[g]
over the people of Gilead.
4 Now I will burn down the palaces
and fortresses
of King Hazael
and of King Benhadad.[h]
5 I will break through
the gates of Damascus.
I will destroy the people[i]
of Wicked Valley[j]
and the ruler of Beth-Eden.[k]
Then the Syrians will be dragged
as prisoners to Kir.[l]
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Philistia

6 The Lord said:

I will punish Philistia[m]
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They dragged off my people[n]
from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.

7 That’s why I will burn down
the walls and fortresses
of the city of Gaza.
8 I will destroy the king[o] of Ashdod
and the ruler of Ashkelon.
I will strike down Ekron,[p]
and that will be the end
of the Philistines.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Phoenicia

9 The Lord said:

I will punish Phoenicia[q]
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They broke their treaty
and dragged off my people[r]
from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.
10 That’s why I will send flames
to burn down the city of Tyre
along with its fortresses.

Judgment on Edom

11 The Lord said:

I will punish Edom
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They killed their own relatives[s]
and were so terribly furious
that they showed no mercy.
12 Now I will send fire to wipe out
the fortresses
of Teman
and Bozrah.[t]

Judgment on Ammon

13 The Lord said:

I will punish Ammon
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
In Gilead they ripped open
pregnant women,
just to take the land.

14 Now I will send fire to destroy
the walls and fortresses
of Rabbah.[u]
Enemies will shout and attack
like a whirlwind.
15 Ammon’s king and leaders
will be dragged away.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Moab

2 The Lord said:

I will punish Moab
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They made lime from the bones[v]
of the king of Edom.
2 Now I will send fire to destroy
the fortresses of Kerioth.[w]
Battle shouts and trumpet blasts
will be heard
as I destroy Moab
3 with its king and leaders.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Judah

4 The Lord said:

I will punish Judah
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They have rejected my teachings
and refused to obey me.
They were led astray
by the same false gods
their ancestors worshiped.
5 Now I will send fire on Judah
and destroy the fortresses
of Jerusalem.

Judgment on Israel

6 The Lord said:

I will punish Israel
for countless crimes,
and I won’t change my mind.
They sell honest people for money,
and the needy are sold
for the price of sandals.
7 They smear the poor in the dirt
and push aside
those who are helpless.

My holy name is dishonored,
because fathers and sons
sleep
with the same young women.
8 They lie down beside altars
on clothes taken
as security for loans.
And they drink wine in my temple,
wine bought with the money
they received from fines.

9 Israel, the Amorites[x] were there
when you entered Canaan.
They were tall as cedars
and strong as oaks.
But I wiped them out—
I destroyed their branches
and their roots.
10 I had rescued you from Egypt,
and for forty years I had led you
through the desert.
Then I gave you the land
of the Amorites.

11 I chose some of you
to be prophets
and others to be Nazirites.[y]
People of Israel,
you know this is true.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
12 But you commanded the prophets
not to speak their message,
and you pressured the Nazirites
into drinking wine.

13 And so I will crush you,
just as a wagon full of grain
crushes the ground.[z]
14 No matter how fast you run,
you won’t escape.
No matter how strong you are,
you will lose your strength
and your life.
15 Even if you are an expert
with a bow and arrow,
you will retreat.
And you won’t get away alive,
not even if you run fast
or ride a horse.
16 You may be brave and strong,
but you will run away,
stripped naked.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
3 People of Israel,
I rescued you from Egypt.
Now listen to my judgment
against you.
2 Of all nations on earth,
you are the only one
I have chosen.
That’s why I will punish you
because of your sins.

The Work of a Prophet

3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest
unless it has caught
a victim?
Does it growl in its den
unless it is eating?
5 How can anyone catch a bird
without using a net?
Does a trap spring shut
unless something is caught?

6 Isn’t the whole city frightened
when the trumpet
signals an attack?
Isn’t it the Lord who brings
disaster on a city?
7 Whatever the Lord God
plans to do,
he tells his servants,
the prophets.
8 Everyone is terrified
when a lion roars—
and ordinary people
become prophets
when the Lord God speaks.

Samaria Is Doomed

9 Here is a message
for the leaders
of Philistia[aa] and Egypt—
tell everyone to come together
on the hills of Samaria.
Let them see the injustice
and the lawlessness
in that city.
10 The Lord has said
that they don’t even know how
to do right.
They have become rich
from violence and robbery.
11 And so the Lord God has sworn
that they will be surrounded.
Enemies will break through
their defenses
and steal their treasures.

12 The Lord has promised
that only a few from Samaria
will escape with their lives
and with some broken pieces
of their beds and couches.[ab]
It will be like when a shepherd
rescues two leg bones
and part of a sheep’s ear
from the jaws of a lion.[ac]

The Altars at Bethel

13 The Lord God All-Powerful
told me to speak this message
against Jacob’s descendants:
14 When I, the Lord, punish Israel
for their sins,
I will destroy the altars
at Bethel.
Even the corners of the altar[ad]
will be left in the dirt.
15 I will tear down winter homes
and summer homes.
Houses decorated with ivory
and all other mansions
will be gone forever.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Footnotes:

  1. 1.1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about five miles south of Bethlehem.
  2. 1.1 Uzziah. . . Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781-740 B.C., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783-743 B.C.
  3. 1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
  4. 1.1 Two years. . . earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 B.C., which seems to have been especially violent.
  5. 1.1 messages: Or “visions.”
  6. 1.3 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Damascus,” the leading city of Syria.
  7. 1.3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.
  8. 1.4 Hazael. . . Benhadad: Two Syrian kings.
  9. 1.5 people: Or “king.”
  10. 1.5 Wicked Valley: The Hebrew text has “Aven Valley,” probably the fertile valley between the Lebanon and the anti-Lebanon mountains.
  11. 1.5 I will. . . Beth-Eden: Or “I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the king who rules from Beth-Eden.” Beth-Eden was a city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River.
  12. 1.5 Kir: The exact location of this country is not known; in 9.7 Amos refers to Kir as the original home of the Syrians, and so the verse probably means that the Syrians will lose everything they have gained as a people.
  13. 1.6 Philistia: The Hebrew text has “Gaza,” one of the main Philistine cities.
  14. 1.6 my people: The people of Israel.
  15. 1.8 king: Or “people.”
  16. 1.8 Ashdod. . . Ashkelon. . . Ekron: Philistine cities.
  17. 1.9 Phoenicia: The Hebrew text has “Tyre,” which was one of the two Phoenician cities; the other was Sidon, which is not mentioned by Amos.
  18. 1.9 my people: See the note at 1.6.
  19. 1.11 their own relatives: The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites.
  20. 1.12 Teman and Bozrah: These stand for all of Edom; Teman may have been a city or a district. Bozrah, the chief city of northern Edom, was thirty miles southeast of the Dead Sea.
  21. 1.14 Rabbah: The capital city of Ammon.
  22. 2.1 They. . . bones: They dug up the bodies of kings and made lime out of them to use as whitewash on their houses and walls.
  23. 2.2 Kerioth: A leading city of Moab and a center for the worship of Chemosh, the chief god of Moab.
  24. 2.9 Amorites: This word is used for all the people who lived in Canaan at the time Israel took over the land.
  25. 2.11 Nazirites: People who promised the Lord that they would never drink wine or cut their hair or come in contact with a dead body.
  26. 2.13 ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
  27. 3.9 Philistia: The Hebrew text has “Ashdod,” one of the leading cities of Philistia.
  28. 3.12 some. . . couches: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  29. 3.12 lion: When a wild animal attacked and killed a sheep, the shepherd had to rescue part of the sheep and take it to the owner as proof that it had been killed by an animal. Otherwise, the shepherd had to pay the owner the cost of the sheep.
  30. 3.14 altar: Altars were places of worship but also places of protection. People whose lives were in danger could grab hold of the corners of an altar, and no one was allowed to kill them.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Revelation 2:1-17

The Letter to Ephesus

2 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Ephesus:

I am the one who holds the seven stars in my right hand, and I walk among the seven gold lampstands. Listen to what I say.

2 I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won’t put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out that they were liars. 3 You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, and you have not given up.

4 But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don’t have as much love as you used to. 5 Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don’t turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand. 6 But there is one thing you are doing right. You hate what the Nicolaitans[a] are doing, and so do I.

7 If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God’s wonderful garden.

The Letter to Smyrna

8 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:

I am the first and the last. I died, but now I am alive! Listen to what I say.

9 I know how much you suffer and how poor you are, but you are rich. I also know the cruel things being said about you by people who claim to be Jews. But they are not really Jews. They are a group that belongs to Satan.

10 Don’t worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life.[b]

11 If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death.[c]

The Letter to Pergamum

12 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Pergamum:

I am the one who has the sharp double-edged sword! Listen to what I say.

13 I know that you live where Satan has his throne.[d] But you have kept true to my name. Right there where Satan lives, my faithful witness Antipas[e] was taken from you and put to death. Even then you did not give up your faith in me.

14 I do have a few things against you. Some of you are following the teaching of Balaam.[f] Long ago he told Balak to teach the people of Israel to eat food that had been offered to idols and to be immoral. 15 Now some of you are following the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[g] 16 Turn back! If you don’t, I will come quickly and fight against these people. And my words will cut like a sword.

17 If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To everyone who wins the victory, I will give some of the hidden food.[h] I will also give each one a white stone[i] with a new name[j] written on it. No one will know that name except the one who is given the stone.

Footnotes:

  1. 2.6 Nicolaitans: Nothing else is known about these people, though it is possible that they claimed to be followers of Nicolaus from Antioch (see Acts 6.5).
  2. 2.10 a glorious life: The Greek text has “a crown of life.” In ancient times an athlete who had won a contest was rewarded with a crown of flowers as a sign of victory.
  3. 2.11 second death: The first death is physical death, and the “second death” is eternal death.
  4. 2.13 where Satan has his throne: The meaning is uncertain, but it may refer to the city as a center of pagan worship or of Emperor worship.
  5. 2.13 Antipas: Nothing else is known about this man, who is mentioned only here in the New Testament.
  6. 2.14 Balaam: According to Numbers 22-24, Balaam refused to disobey the Lord. But in other books of the Old Testament, he is spoken of as evil (see Deuteronomy 23.4,5; Joshua 13.22; 24.9,10; Nehemiah 13.2).
  7. 2.15 Nicolaitans: See the note at 2.6.
  8. 2.17 hidden food: When the people of Israel were going through the desert, the Lord provided a special food for them. Some of this was placed in a jar and stored in the sacred chest (see Exodus 16). According to later Jewish teaching, the prophet Jeremiah rescued the sacred chest when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. He hid the chest in a cave, where it would stay until God came to save his people.
  9. 2.17 white stone: The meaning of this is uncertain, though it may be the same as a ticket that lets a person into God’s banquet where the “hidden food” is eaten. Or it may be a symbol of victory.
  10. 2.17 a new name: Either the name of Christ or God or the name of the follower who is given the stone.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Psalm 129

(A song for worship.)

A Prayer for Protection

129 Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2 “Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
But they have not defeated me,
3 though my back is like a field
that has just been plowed.”

4 The Lord always does right,
and he has set me free
from the ropes
of those cruel people.
5 I pray that all who hate
the city of Zion
will be made ashamed
and forced to turn and run.
6 May they be like grass
on the flat roof of a house,
grass that dries up
as soon as it sprouts.
7 Don’t let them be like wheat
gathered in bundles.
8 And don’t let anyone
who passes by say to them,
“The Lord bless you!
I give you my blessing
in the name of the Lord.”

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Proverbs 29:19-20

19 Even when servants are smart,
it takes more than words
to make them obey.
20 There is more hope for a fool
than for someone who speaks
without thinking.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 9, 2021 (NIV)

Joel 1-3

1 I am Joel the son of Pethuel.
And this is the message
the Lord gave to me.

Locusts Cover the Land

2 Listen, you leaders
and everyone else
in the land.
Has anything like this
ever happened before?
3 Tell our children!
Let it be told
to our grandchildren
and their children too.

4 Swarm after swarm of locusts[a]
has attacked our crops,
eating everything in sight.
5 Sober up, you drunkards!
Cry long and loud;
your wine supply is gone.
6 A powerful nation[b]
with countless troops
has invaded our land.
They have the teeth and jaws
of powerful lions.
7 Our grapevines and fig trees
are stripped bare;
only naked branches remain.

8 Grieve like a young woman
mourning for the man
she was to marry.
9 Offerings of grain and wine
are no longer brought
to the Lord’s temple.
His servants, the priests,
are deep in sorrow.
10 Barren fields mourn;
grain, grapes, and olives
are scorched and shriveled.

11 Mourn for our farms
and our vineyards!
There’s no wheat or barley
growing in our fields.
12 Grapevines have dried up
and so has every tree—
figs and pomegranates,[c]
date palms and apples.
All happiness has faded away.

Return to God

13 Mourn, you priests who serve
at the altar of my God.
Spend your days and nights
wearing sackcloth.[d]
Offerings of grain and wine
are no longer brought
to the Lord’s temple.

14 Tell the leaders and people
to come together
at the temple.
Order them to go without eating[e]
and to pray sincerely.
15 We are in for trouble!
Soon the Lord All-Powerful
will bring disaster.
16 Our food is already gone;
there’s no more celebrating
at the temple of our God.

17 Seeds dry up in the ground;[f]
no harvest is possible.
Our barns are in bad shape,
with no grain
to store in them.
18 Our cattle wander aimlessly,
moaning for lack of pasture,
and sheep are suffering.[g]
19 I cry out to you, Lord.
Grasslands and forests are eaten
by the scorching heat.
20 Wild animals have no water
because of you;
rivers and streams are dry,
and pastures are parched.

Locusts and an Enemy Army

2 Sound the trumpet on Zion,
the Lord’s sacred hill.
Warn everyone to tremble!
The judgment day of the Lord
is coming soon.
2 It will be dark and gloomy
with storm clouds overhead.
Troops will cover the mountains
like thunderclouds.
No army this powerful
has ever been gathered before
or will ever be again.
3 Fiery flames surround them;
no one escapes.
Before they invaded,
the land was like Eden;
now only a desert remains.

4 They look like horses
and charge like cavalry.
5 They roar over mountains
like noisy chariots,
or a mighty army
ready for battle.
They are a forest fire
that feasts on straw.
6 The very sight of them
is frightening.[h]
7 They climb over walls
like warriors;
they march in columns
and never turn aside.
8 They charge straight ahead,
without pushing each other;
even arrows and spears
cannot make them retreat.
9 They swarm over city walls
and enter our homes;
they crawl in through windows,
just like thieves.

10 They make the earth tremble
and the heavens shake;
the sun and moon turn dark,
and stars stop shining.
11 The Lord God leads this army
of countless troops,
and they obey his commands.
The day of his judgment
is so terrible
that no one can stand it.

The Lord’s Invitation

12 The Lord said:

It isn’t too late.
You can still return to me
with all your heart.
Start crying and mourning!
Go without eating.
13 Don’t rip your clothes
to show your sorrow.
Instead, turn back to me
with broken hearts.
I am merciful, kind, and caring.
I don’t easily lose my temper,
and I don’t like to punish.

14 I am the Lord your God.
Perhaps I will change my mind
and treat you with mercy.
Then you will be blessed
with enough grain and wine
for offering sacrifices to me.

15 Sound the trumpet on Zion!
Call the people together.
Show your sorrow
by going without food.
16 Make sure that everyone
is fit to worship me.[i]
Bring adults, children, babies,
and even bring newlyweds
from their festivities.

17 Tell my servants, the priests,
to cry inside the temple
and to offer this prayer
near the altar:[j]
“Save your people, Lord God!
Don’t let foreign nations
make jokes about us.
Don’t let them laugh and ask,
‘Where is your God?’”

The Lord Will Bless the Land

18 The Lord was deeply concerned
about his land
and had pity on his people.
19 In answer to their prayers
he said,
“I will give you enough grain,
wine, and olive oil
to satisfy your needs.
No longer will I let you
be insulted by the nations.
20 An army attacked from the north,
but I will chase it
into a scorching desert.
There it will rot and stink
from the Dead Sea
to the Mediterranean.”

The Lord works wonders
21 and does great things.
So tell the soil to celebrate
22 and wild animals
to stop being afraid.
Grasslands are green again;
fruit trees and fig trees
are loaded with fruit.
Grapevines are covered
with grapes.

23 People of Zion,[k]
celebrate in honor
of the Lord your God!
He is generous and has sent
the autumn and spring rains
in the proper seasons.[l]
24 Grain will cover
your threshing places;
jars will overflow
with wine and olive oil.

The Lord Will Rescue His People

25 I, the Lord your God,
will make up for the losses
caused by those swarms
and swarms of locusts[m]
I sent to attack you.
26 My people, you will eat
until you are satisfied.
Then you will praise me
for the wonderful things
I have done.
Never again will you
be put to shame.

27 Israel, you will know
that I stand at your side.
I am the Lord your God—
there are no other gods.
Never again will you
be put to shame.

The Lord Will Work Wonders

The Lord said:

28 Later, I will give my Spirit
to everyone.
Your sons and daughters
will prophesy.
Your old men
will have dreams,
and your young men
will see visions.
29 In those days I will even give
my Spirit to my servants,
both men and women.

30 I will work wonders
in the sky above
and on the earth below.
There will be blood and fire
and clouds of smoke.
31 The sun will turn dark,
and the moon
will be as red as blood
before that great
and terrible day
when I appear.

32 Then the Lord will save everyone who faithfully worships him. He has promised there will be survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and among them will be his chosen ones.

The Lord Will Judge the Nations

3 At that time I, the Lord, will make Judah and Jerusalem prosperous again. 2 Then in Judgment Valley[n] I will bring together the nations that scattered my people Israel everywhere in the world, and I will bring charges against those nations. They divided up my land 3 and gambled to see who would get my people; they sold boys and girls to pay for prostitutes and wine.

4 You people of Tyre and Sidon[o] and you Philistines, why are you doing this? Are you trying to get even with me? I’ll strike back before you know what’s happened. 5 You’ve taken my prized possessions, including my silver and gold, and carried them off to your temples.[p] 6 You have dragged the people of Judah and Jerusalem from their land and sold them to the Greeks.

7 But I’ll make the people of Judah determined to come home, and what happened to them will happen to you. 8 I’ll hand over your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[q] who live far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment in Judgment Valley

9 Say to the nations:

“Get ready for war!
Be eager to fight.
Line up for battle
and prepare to attack.
10 Make swords out of plows
and spears out of garden tools.
Strengthen every weakling.”

11 Hurry, all you nations!
Come quickly.
Ask the Lord to bring
his warriors along.[r]
12 You must come now
to Judgment Valley,[s]
where the Lord will judge
the surrounding nations.

13 They are a field of ripe crops.
Bring in the harvest!
They are grapes piled high.
Start trampling them now![t]
If our enemy’s sins were wine,
every jar would overflow.
14 Crowds fill Decision Valley.
The judgment day of the Lord
will soon be here—
15 no light from the sun or moon,
and stars no longer shine.
16 From the heart of Jerusalem
the Lord roars like a lion,
shaking the earth and sky.
But the Lord is a fortress,
a place of safety
for his people Israel.

God Will Bless His People

17 I am the Lord your God.
And you will know I live on Zion,
my sacred hill,
because Jerusalem will be sacred,
untouched by foreign troops.
18 On that day, fruitful vineyards
will cover the mountains.
And your cattle and goats
that graze on the hills
will produce a lot of milk.
Streams in Judah
will never run dry;
a stream from my house
will flow in Acacia Valley.[u]

19 Egypt and Edom were cruel
and brutal to Judah,
without a reason.
Now their countries will become
a barren desert,
20 but Judah and Jerusalem
will always have people.
21 I, the Lord, live on Mount Zion.
I will punish the guilty
and defend the innocent.[v]

Footnotes:

  1. 1.4 Swarm. . . locusts: The Hebrew text lists either four kinds of locusts or locusts in four stages of their development. Locusts are a type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life.
  2. 1.6 A powerful nation: The swarms of locusts.
  3. 1.12 pomegranates: A bright red fruit that looks like an apple.
  4. 1.13 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
  5. 1.14 go without eating: As a way of showing sorrow for their sins.
  6. 1.17 Seeds. . . ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 1.18 sheep are suffering: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 2.6 The very. . . frightening: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 2.16 fit to worship me: This required going through certain kinds of ceremonies.
  10. 2.17 inside. . . altar: The Hebrew text has “between the porch and the altar,” which is the place where the priests usually prayed for the people.
  11. 2.23 Zion: Jerusalem.
  12. 2.23 in. . . seasons: Or “as he used to do.”
  13. 2.25 swarms. . . locusts: See the note at 1.4.
  14. 3.2 Judgment Valley: The Hebrew text has “Jehoshaphat Valley,” which means “Valley of the Lord’s Judgment.” This valley is mentioned here and in verse 12, but nowhere else in the Bible.
  15. 3.4 Tyre and Sidon: Two Phoenician coastal cities.
  16. 3.5 temples: Or “palaces.”
  17. 3.8 Sabeans: The people of Seba, a region in southwest Arabia.
  18. 3.11 Ask. . . along: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  19. 3.12 Judgment Valley: See the note at 3.2.
  20. 3.13 grapes. . . now: People trampled grapes with their bare feet to squeeze out the juice.
  21. 3.18 Acacia Valley: In the plains of Moab, northeast of the Dead Sea.
  22. 3.21 I will. . . innocent: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Revelation 1

1 This is what God showed to Jesus Christ, so that he could tell his servants what must happen soon. Christ then sent his angel with the message to his servant John. 2 And John told everything that he had seen about God’s message and about what Jesus Christ had said and done.

3 God will bless everyone who reads this prophecy to others,[a] and he will bless everyone who hears and obeys it. The time is almost here.

4 From John to the seven churches in Asia.[b]

I pray that you
will be blessed
with kindness and peace
from God, who is and was
and is coming.
May you receive
kindness and peace
from the seven spirits
before the throne of God.
5 May kindness and peace
be yours
from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness.

Jesus was the first
to conquer death,
and he is the ruler
of all earthly kings.
Christ loves us,
and by his blood
he set us free
from our sins.
6 He lets us rule as kings
and serve God his Father
as priests.
To him be glory and power
forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He is coming
with the clouds.
Everyone will see him,
even the ones who stuck
a sword through him.
All people on earth
will weep because of him.
Yes, it will happen! Amen.

8 The Lord God says, “I am Alpha and Omega,[c] the one who is and was and is coming. I am God All-Powerful!”

A Vision of the Risen Lord

9 I am John, a follower together with all of you. We suffer because Jesus is our king, but he gives us the strength to endure. I was sent to Patmos Island,[d] because I had preached God’s message and had told about Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me, and behind me I heard a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet. 11 The voice said, “Write in a book what you see. Then send it to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”[e]

12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 There with the lampstands was someone who seemed to be the Son of Man.[f] He was wearing a robe that reached down to his feet, and a gold cloth was wrapped around his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as wool or snow, and his eyes looked like flames of fire. 15 His feet were glowing like bronze being heated in a furnace, and his voice sounded like the roar of a waterfall. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword was coming from his mouth. His face was shining as bright as the sun at noon.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead person. But he put his right hand on me and said:

Don’t be afraid! I am the first, the last, 18 and the living one. I died, but now I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys to death and the world of the dead.[g] 19 Write what you have seen and what is and what will happen after these things. 20 I will explain the mystery of the seven stars that you saw at my right side and the seven gold lampstands. The seven stars are the angels[h] of the seven churches, and the lampstands are the seven churches.

Footnotes:

  1. 1.3 who reads this prophecy to others: A public reading, in a worship service.
  2. 1.4 Asia: The section 1.4—3.22 is in the form of a letter. Asia was in the eastern part of the Roman Empire and is present day Turkey.
  3. 1.8 Alpha and Omega: The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which sometimes mean “first” and “last.”
  4. 1.9 Patmos Island: A small island where prisoners were sometimes kept by the Romans.
  5. 1.11 Ephesus. . . Laodicea: Ephesus was in the center with the six other cities forming a half-circle around it.
  6. 1.13 Son of Man: That is, Jesus.
  7. 1.18 keys to death and the world of the dead: That is, power over death and the world of the dead.
  8. 1.20 angels: Perhaps guardian angels that represent the churches, or they may be church leaders or messengers sent to the churches.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Psalm 128

(A song for worship.)

The Lord Rewards His Faithful People

128 The Lord will bless you
if you respect him
and obey his laws.
2 Your fields will produce,
and you will be happy
and all will go well.
3 Your wife will be as fruitful
as a grapevine,
and just as an olive tree
is rich with olives,
your home will be rich
with healthy children.
4 That is how the Lord will bless
everyone who respects him.

5 I pray that the Lord
will bless you from Zion
and let Jerusalem prosper
as long as you live.
6 May you live long enough
to see your grandchildren.
Let’s pray for peace in Israel!

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Proverbs 29:18

18 Without guidance from God
law and order disappear,
but God blesses everyone
who obeys his Law.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday December 8, 2021 (NIV)

Hosea 10-14

10 You were a healthy vine
covered with grapes.
But the more grapes you grew,
the more altars you built;
the better off you became,
the better shrines you set up
for pagan gods.
2 You are deceitful and disloyal.
So you will pay
for your sins,
because the Lord will destroy
your altars and images.

3 “We don’t have a king,”
you will say.
“We don’t fear the Lord.
And what good are kings?”
4 Israel, you break treaties
and don’t keep promises;
you turn justice
into poisonous weeds
where healthy plants should grow.[a]

5 All who live in Samaria tremble
with concern
for the idols[b]
at sinful Bethel.[c]
The idol there was the pride
of the priests,
but it has been put to shame;
now everyone will cry.
6 It will be taken to Assyria
and given to the great king.
Then Israel will be disgraced
for worshiping that idol.

7 Like a twig in a stream,
the king of Samaria
will be swept away.
8 The altars at sinful Bethel
will be destroyed
for causing Israel to sin;
they will be grown over
with thorns and thistles.
Then everyone will beg
the mountains and hills
to cover and protect them.

The Lord Promises To Punish Israel

9 Israel, you have never
stopped sinning[d]
since that time at Gibeah.[e]
That’s why you
will be attacked at Gibeah.[f]
10 Your sins have doubled,
and you are rebellious.
Now I have decided
to send nations to attack
and put you in chains.

11 Once you were obedient
like a calf
that loved to thresh grain.
But I will put a harness
on your powerful neck;
you and Judah must plow
and cultivate the ground.
12 Plow your fields,
scatter seeds of justice,
and harvest faithfulness.
Worship me, the Lord,
and I will send my saving power
down like rain.
13 You have planted evil,
harvested injustice,
and eaten
the fruit of your lies.
You trusted your own strength
and your powerful forces.
14 So war will break out,
and your fortresses
will be destroyed.
Your enemies will do to you
what Shalman[g] did
to the people
of Beth-Arbel—
mothers and their children
will be beaten to death
against rocks.
15 Bethel, this will be your fate
because of your evil.
Israel, at dawn your king
will be killed.

God’s Love for His People

11 When Israel was a child,
I loved him,
and I called
my son out of Egypt.
2 But as the saying goes,
“The more they were called,
the more they rebelled.”[h]
They never stopped offering
incense and sacrifices
to the idols of Baal.

3 I took Israel by the arm
and taught them to walk.
But they would not admit
that I was the one
who had healed them.
4 I led them with kindness
and with love,
not with ropes.
I held them close to me;[i]
I bent down to feed them.

5 But they trusted Egypt
instead of returning to me;
now Assyria will rule them.
6 War will visit their cities,
and their plans will fail.[j]
7 My people are determined
to reject me for a god
they think is stronger,
but he can’t help.[k]

8 Israel, I can’t let you go.
I can’t give you up.
How could I possibly destroy you
as I did the towns of Admah
and Zeboiim?[l]
I just can’t do it.
My feelings for you
are much too strong.
9 Israel, I won’t lose my temper
and destroy you again.
I am the Holy God—
not merely some human,
and I won’t stay angry.

10 I, the Lord, will roar like a lion,
and my children will return,
trembling
from the west.
11 They will come back,
fluttering like birds from Egypt
or like doves from Assyria.
Then I will bring them
back to their homes.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Israel and Judah Compared

12 Israel is deceitful to me,
their loyal and holy God;
they surround me with lies,
and Judah worships
other gods.[m]
12 All day long Israel chases
wind from the desert;
deceit and violence
are found everywhere.
Treaties are made with Assyria;
olive oil is taken to Egypt.

Israel and Judah Condemned

2 The Lord also brings charges
against the people of Judah,
the descendants of Jacob.
He will punish them
for what they have done.
3 Even before Jacob was born,
he cheated his brother,[n]
and when he grew up,
he fought against God.[o]

4 At Bethel, Jacob wrestled
with an angel and won;
then with tears in his eyes,
he asked for a blessing,
and God spoke to us[p] there.
5 God’s name is the Lord,
the Lord God All-Powerful.
6 So return to your God.
Patiently trust him,
and show love and justice.

7 Israel, you enjoy cheating
and taking advantage
of others.
8 You say to yourself, “I’m rich!
I earned it all on my own,
without committing a sin.”[q]

The Lord Is Still the God of Israel

9 Israel, I, the Lord,
am still your God,
just as I have been
since the time
you were in Egypt.
Now I will force you
to live in tents once again,
as you did in the desert.[r]
10 I spoke to the prophets—
often I spoke in visions.
And so, I will send my prophets
with messages of doom.
11 Gilead is terribly sinful
and will end up ruined.
Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal
on altars made of stones,
but those stones will be scattered
in every field.
12 Jacob[s] escaped to Syria[t]
where he tended sheep
to earn himself a wife.
13 I sent the prophet Moses
to lead Israel from Egypt
and to keep them safe.
14 Israel, I will make you pay
for your terrible sins
and for insulting me.

Israel Is Doomed

The Lord said:

13 When your leaders[u] spoke,
everyone in Israel trembled
and showed great respect.
But you sinned by worshiping Baal,
and you were destroyed.
2 Now you continue to sin
by designing and making
idols of silver
in the shape of calves.
You are told to sacrifice
to these idols[v]—
yes, even to kiss them.
3 And so, all of you will vanish
like the mist
or the dew
of early morning,
or husks of grain in the wind
or smoke from a chimney.

4 I, the Lord, have been your God
since the time
you were in Egypt.
I am the only God you know,
the only one who can save.
5 I took care of you
in a thirsty desert.[w]
6 I fed you till you were satisfied,
then you became proud
and forgot about me.
7 Now I will attack like a lion,
ambush you like a leopard,
8 and rip you apart like a bear
robbed of her cubs.
I will gnaw on your bones,
as though I were a lion
or some other wild animal.
9 Israel, you are done for.
Don’t expect help from me.[x]
10 You wanted a king and rulers.
Where is your king now?
What cities have rulers?
11 In my anger, I gave you a king;
in my fury, I took him away.

Israel’s Terrible Fate

The Lord said:

12 Israel, your terrible sins
are written down
and stored away.
13 You are like a senseless child
who refuses to be born
at the proper time.
14 Should I, the Lord, rescue you
from death and the grave?
No! I call death and the grave
to strike you like a plague.
I refuse to show mercy.

15 No matter how much you prosper
more than the other tribes,[y]
I, the Lord, will wipe you out,
just as a scorching desert wind
dries up streams of water.
I will take away
your precious treasures.
16 Samaria[z] will be punished
for turning against me.
It will be destroyed in war—
children will be beaten
against rocks,
and pregnant women
will be ripped open.

Turn Back to the Lord

14 Israel, return! Come back
to the Lord, your God.
Sin has made you fall.
2 Return to the Lord and say,
“Please forgive our sins.
Accept our good sacrifices
of praise instead of bulls.[aa]
3 Assyria can’t save us,
and chariots can’t help.
So we will no longer worship
the idols we have made.
Our Lord, you show mercy
to orphans.”

The Lord Promises To Forgive

4 Israel, you have rejected me,
but my anger is gone;
I will heal you and love you
without limit.
5 I will be like the dew—
then you will blossom like lilies
and have roots like a tree.[ab]
6 Your branches will spread
with the beauty
of an olive tree
and with the aroma
of Lebanon Forest.
7 You will rest in my shade,
and your grain will grow.
You will blossom
like a vineyard
and be famous as the wine
from Lebanon.

8 Israel, give up your idols!
I will answer your prayers
and take care of you.[ac]
I am that glorious tree,
the source of your fruit.[ad]

9 If you are wise, you will know
and understand what I mean.
I am the Lord, and I lead you
along the right path.
If you obey me,
we will walk together,
but if you are wicked,
you will stumble.

Footnotes:

  1. 10.4 you turn. . . grow: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 10.5 idols: The Hebrew text has “calves,” referring to the idols made in the shape of calves.
  3. 10.5 sinful Bethel: See the note at 4.15.
  4. 10.9 never stopped sinning: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 10.9 Gibeah: See the note at 9.9.
  6. 10.9 That’s why. . . Gibeah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 10.14 Shalman: Perhaps a Moabite king, also known as Salamanu.
  8. 11.2 But. . . rebelled: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 11.4 I held. . . to me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 11.6 fail: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 6.
  11. 11.7 help: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
  12. 11.8 Admah and Zeboiim: When the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he also destroyed these two towns (see Deuteronomy 29.23).
  13. 11.12 and Judah worships other gods: Or “but Judah remains faithful.”
  14. 12.3 Jacob. . . cheated. . . brother: In Hebrew “Jacob” sounds like “cheat” and also like “heel.” Jacob grabbed his twin brother Esau by the heel at the time of their birth (see Genesis 25.26). Later he cheated him out of his rights and blessings as the first-born son (see Genesis 25.29-34; 27.1-40).
  15. 12.3 fought against God: See Genesis 32.22-32.
  16. 12.4 us: Hebrew; two ancient translations “him.”
  17. 12.8 without. . . sin: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  18. 12.9 as. . . desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. This probably refers to the forty years of wandering through the desert after leaving Egypt, though it could refer to the “tents” (or “shelters”) in which the Israelites lived during the Festival of Shelters (see 9.5,6).
  19. 12.12 Jacob: His name was later changed to Israel (see Genesis 32.28), and he became the ancestor of the nation by that name.
  20. 12.12 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Aram,” probably referring to northern Syria in the region of Haran.
  21. 13.1 your leaders: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” here meaning Mount Ephraim, where the royal palace of Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) was located.
  22. 13.2 You are told. . . idols: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  23. 13.5 thirsty desert: The forty years that Israel wandered through the desert, after leaving Egypt.
  24. 13.9 Don’t. . . me: Or “You are against me, the one who helps you.”
  25. 13.15 more. . . tribes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  26. 13.16 Samaria: The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
  27. 14.2 Accept. . . bulls: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  28. 14.5 like a tree: The Hebrew text has “like Lebanon,” probably referring to the famous cedar trees on Mount Lebanon.
  29. 14.8 Israel. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  30. 14.8 I am. . . fruit: This is the only place in the Old Testament where the Lord is compared to a tree. Hosea reminds the people that it is the Lord who is the source of life, rather than the Canaanite gods and goddesses that are worshiped under trees at the local shrines.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Jude

1 From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James.

To all who are chosen and loved by God the Father and are kept safe by Jesus Christ.

2 I pray that God will greatly bless you with kindness, peace, and love!

False Teachers

3 My dear friends, I really wanted to write you about God’s saving power at work in our lives. But instead, I must write and ask you to defend the faith that God has once for all given to his people. 4 Some godless people have sneaked in among us and are saying, “God treats us much better than we deserve, and so it is all right to be immoral.” They even deny that we must obey Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord. But long ago the Scriptures warned that these godless people were doomed.

5 Don’t forget what happened to those people that the Lord rescued from Egypt. Some of them did not have faith, and he later destroyed them. 6 You also know about the angels[a] who didn’t do their work and left their proper places. God chained them with everlasting chains and is now keeping them in dark pits until the great day of judgment. 7 We should also be warned by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah[b] and the nearby towns. Their people became immoral and did all sorts of sexual sins. Then God made an example of them and punished them with eternal fire.

8 The people I am talking about are behaving just like those dreamers who destroyed their own bodies. They reject all authority and insult angels. 9 Even Michael, the chief angel, didn’t dare to insult the devil, when the two of them were arguing about the body of Moses.[c] All Michael said was, “The Lord will punish you!”

10 But these people insult powers they don’t know anything about. They are like senseless animals that end up getting destroyed, because they live only by their feelings. 11 Now they are in for real trouble. They have followed Cain’s example[d] and have made the same mistake that Balaam[e] did by caring only for money. They have also rebelled against God, just as Korah did.[f] Because of all this, they will be destroyed.

12 These people are filthy minded, and by their shameful and selfish actions they spoil the meals you eat together. They are like clouds blown along by the wind, but never bringing any rain. They are like leafless trees, uprooted and dead, and unable to produce fruit. 13 Their shameful deeds show up like foam on wild ocean waves. They are like wandering stars forever doomed to the darkest pits of hell.

14 Enoch was the seventh person after Adam, and he was talking about these people when he said:

Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of holy angels 15 to judge everyone. He will punish all those ungodly people for all the evil things they have done. The Lord will surely punish those ungodly sinners for every evil thing they have ever said about him.

16 These people grumble and complain and live by their own selfish desires. They brag about themselves and flatter others to get what they want.

More Warnings

17 My dear friends, remember the warning you were given by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They told you that near the end of time, selfish and godless people would start making fun of God. 19 And now these people are already making you turn against each other. They think only about this life, and they don’t have God’s Spirit.

20 Dear friends, keep building on the foundation of your most holy faith, as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray. 21 And keep in step with God’s love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life. 22 Be helpful to[g] all who may have doubts. 23 Rescue any who need to be saved, as you would rescue someone from a fire. Then with fear in your own hearts, have mercy on everyone who needs it. But hate even the clothes of those who have been made dirty by their filthy deeds.

Final Prayer

24-25 Offer praise to God our Savior because of our Lord Jesus Christ! Only God can keep you from falling and make you pure and joyful in his glorious presence. Before time began and now and forevermore, God is worthy of glory, honor, power, and authority. Amen.

Footnotes:

  1. 6 angels: This may refer to the angels who liked the women on earth so much that they came down and married them (see Genesis 6.2).
  2. 7 Sodom and Gomorrah: During the time of Abraham the Lord destroyed these cities because the people there were so evil.
  3. 9 Michael. . . the body of Moses: This refers to what was said in an ancient Jewish book about Moses.
  4. 11 Cain’s example: Cain murdered his brother Abel.
  5. 11 Balaam: According to the biblical account, Balaam refused to curse the people of Israel for profit (see Numbers 22.18; 24.13), though he led them to be unfaithful to the Lord (see Numbers 25.1-3; 31.16). But by New Testament times, some Jewish teachers taught that Balaam was greedy and did accept money to curse them.
  6. 11 just as Korah did: Together with Dathan and Abiram, Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron (see Numbers 16.1-35; 26.9,10).
  7. 22 Be helpful to: Some manuscripts have “Correct.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Psalm 127

(A song by Solomon for worship.)

Only the Lord Can Bless a Home

127 Without the help of the Lord
it is useless to build a home
or to guard a city.
2 It is useless to get up early
and stay up late
in order to earn a living.
God takes care of his own,
even while they sleep.[a]

3 Children are a blessing
and a gift from the Lord.
4 Having a lot of children
to take care of you
in your old age
is like a warrior
with a lot of arrows.
5 The more you have,
the better off you will be,
because they will protect you
when your enemies attack
with arguments.

Footnotes:

  1. 127.2 God. . . sleep: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Proverbs 29:15-17

15 Correct your children,
and they will be wise;
children out of control
disgrace their mothers.
16 Crime increases
when crooks are in power,
but law-abiding citizens
will see them fall.
17 If you correct your children,
they will bring you peace
and happiness.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday December 7, 2021 (NIV)

Hosea 6-9

The Lord’s People Speak

6 Let’s return to the Lord.
He has torn us to shreds,
but he will bandage our wounds
and make us well.
2 In two or three days
he will heal us
and restore our strength
that we may live with him.
3 Let’s do our best
to know the Lord.
His coming is as certain
as the morning sun;
he will refresh us like rain
renewing the earth
in the springtime.

The Lord Speaks to Israel and Judah

4 People of Israel and Judah,
what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears
more quickly
than mist
or dew at sunrise.
5 That’s why I slaughtered you
with the words
of my prophets.
That’s why my judgments blazed
like the dawning sun.[a]
6 I’d rather for you to be faithful
and to know me
than to offer sacrifices.

7 At a place named Adam,
you[b] betrayed me
by breaking our agreement.
8 Everyone in Gilead is evil;
your hands are stained
with the blood of victims.[c]
9 You priests are like a gang
of robbers in ambush.[d]
On the road to Shechem[e]
you murder
and commit
other horrible crimes.
10 I have seen a terrible thing
in Israel—
you are unfaithful
and unfit to worship me.
11 People of Judah,
your time is coming too.

The Lord Wants To Help Israel

I, the Lord, would like to make
my nation prosper again
7 and to heal its wounds.
But then I see the crimes
in Israel[f] and Samaria.
Everyone is deceitful;
robbers roam the streets.
2 No one realizes
that I have seen their sins
surround them
like a flood.

3 The king and his officials
take great pleasure
in their sin and deceit.
4 Everyone burns with desire—
they are like coals in an oven,
ready to burst into flames.
5 On the day their king
was crowned,
his officials got him drunk,
and he joined
in their foolishness.[g]

6 Their anger is a fire
that smolders all night,
then flares up at dawn.
7 They are flames
destroying their leaders.
And their kings are powerless;
none of them trust me.

8 The people of Israel[h]
have mixed with foreigners;
they are a thin piece of bread
scorched on one side.
9 They don’t seem to realize
how weak and feeble they are;
their hair has turned gray,
while foreigners rule.
10 I am the Lord, their God,
but in all of their troubles
their pride keeps them
from returning to me.

No Help from Foreign Nations

The Lord said:

11 Israel[i] is a senseless bird,
fluttering back and forth
between Egypt and Assyria.
12 But I will catch them in a net
as hunters trap birds;
I threatened to punish them,
and indeed I will.[j]
13 Trouble and destruction
will be their reward
for rejecting me.
I would have rescued them,
but they told me lies.

14 They don’t really pray to me;
they just howl in their beds.
They have rejected me for Baal
and slashed themselves,[k]
in the hope that Baal
will bless their crops.
15 I taught them what they know,
and I made them strong.
Now they plot against me
16 and refuse to obey.[l]
They are more useless
than a crooked arrow.
Their leaders will die in war
for saying foolish things.
Egyptians will laugh at them.

Israel Rejects the Lord

The Lord said:

8 Sound a warning!
Israel, you broke our agreement
and ignored my teaching.
Now an eagle is swooping down
to attack my land.
2 Israel, you say, “We claim you,
the Lord, as our God.”
3 But your enemies
will chase you
for rejecting
our good agreement.[m]

4 You chose kings and leaders
without consulting me;
you made silver and gold idols
that led to your downfall.
5 City of Samaria, I’m angry
because of your idol
in the shape of a calf.
When will you ever
be innocent again?
6 Someone from Israel built
that idol for you,
but only I am God.
And so it will be smashed
to pieces.[n]

7 If you scatter wind
instead of wheat,
you will harvest a whirlwind
and have no wheat.
Even if you harvest grain,
enemies will steal it all.

8 Israel, you are ruined,
and now the nations
consider you worthless.
9 You are like a wild donkey
that goes its own way.
You’ve run off to Assyria
and hired them as allies.
10 You can bargain with nations,
but I’ll catch you anyway.
Soon you will suffer abuse
by kings and rulers.

11 Israel, you have built
many altars
where you offer
sacrifices for sin.
But these altars have become
places for sin.
12 My instructions for sacrifices
were written in detail,
but you ignored them.
13 You sacrifice your best animals
and eat the sacrificial meals,[o]
but I, the Lord,
refuse your offerings.
I will remember your sins
and punish you.
Then you will return to Egypt.[p]

14 Israel, I created you,
but you forgot me.
You and Judah built palaces
and many strong cities.[q]
Now I will send fire to destroy
your towns and fortresses.

Israel Will Be Punished

9 Israel, don’t celebrate
or make noisy shouts[r]
like other nations.
You have been unfaithful
to your God.
Wherever grain is threshed,
you behave like prostitutes
because you enjoy
the money you receive.[s]
2 But you will run short
of grain and wine,
3 and you will have to leave
the land of the Lord.
Some of you will go to Egypt;
others will go to Assyria
and eat unclean food.

4 You won’t be able to offer
sacrifices of wine
to the Lord.
None of your sacrifices
will please him—
they will be unclean
like food offered to the dead.
Your food will only be used
to satisfy your hunger;
none of it will be brought
to the Lord’s temple.
5 You will no longer be able
to celebrate the festival
of the Lord.[t]
6 Even if you escape alive,
you will end up in Egypt
and be buried in Memphis.[u]
Your silver treasures
will be lost among weeds;[v]
thorns will sprout in your tents.

7 Israel, the time has come.
You will get what you deserve,
and you will know it.
“Prophets are fools,” you say.
“And God’s messengers
are crazy.”
Your terrible guilt
has filled you with hatred.

8 Israel, the Lord sent me
to look after you.[w]
But you trap his prophets
and flood his temple
with your hatred.
9 You are brutal and corrupt,
as were the men of Gibeah.[x]
But God remembers your sin,
and you will be punished.

Sin’s Terrible Results

10 Israel, when I, the Lord,
found you long ago
it was like finding
grapes in a barren desert
or tender young figs.
Then you worshiped Baal Peor,
that disgusting idol,
and you became as disgusting
as the idol you loved.

11 And so, Israel, your glory
will fly away like birds—
your women will no longer
be able to give birth.
12 Even if you do have children,
I will take them all
and leave you to mourn.
I will turn away,
and you will sink down
in deep trouble.
13 Israel, when I first met you,
I thought of you as palm trees
growing in fertile ground.[y]
Now you lead your people out,
only to be slaughtered.

Hosea’s Advice

14 Our Lord, do just one thing
for your people—
make their women unable
to have children
or to nurse their babies.

The Lord’s Judgment on Israel

15 Israel, I first began
to hate you
because
you did evil at Gilgal.[z]
Now I will chase you
out of my house.
No longer will I love you;
your leaders betrayed me.
16 Israel, you are a vine
with dried-up roots
and fruitless branches.
Even if you had more children
and loved them dearly,
I would slaughter them all.

Hosea Warns Israel

17 Israel, you disobeyed my God.
Now he will force you to roam
from nation to nation.

Footnotes:

  1. 6.5 That’s why my. . . sun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 6.7 At. . . you: Or “Like Adam, you” or “Each one of you.”
  3. 6.8 your hands. . . victims: This may refer to child sacrifice.
  4. 6.9 You. . . ambush: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 6.9 Shechem: This was one of the towns where people could run for safety, if they had accidentally killed someone (see Joshua 20.1-9).
  6. 7.1 Israel: See the note at 4.17. Samaria was the capital city of Israel.
  7. 7.5 foolishness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
  8. 7.8,11 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 4.17).
  9. 7.8,11 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 4.17).
  10. 7.12 I threatened. . . will: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  11. 7.14 slashed themselves: One ancient translation and some Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts “gather together.” Slashing themselves was one way of worshiping Baal (see 1 Kings 18.28).
  12. 7.16 and. . . obey: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  13. 8.3 our good agreement: Or “me, the Good One” (referring to God).
  14. 8.6 smashed to pieces: Or “destroyed by fire.”
  15. 8.13 sacrifice. . . sacrificial meals: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Two kinds of sacrifices are referred to: Those in which the whole animal is burned on the altar (“whole burnt offerings” in traditional translations) and those in which part is eaten by the worshipers (“fellowship offerings” in traditional translations).
  16. 8.13 return to Egypt: Either as slaves or to find help against Assyria.
  17. 8.14 built palaces. . . cities: They did this because they no longer trusted the Lord to protect them. “Palaces” may also mean “temples.”
  18. 9.1 or. . . shouts: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  19. 9.1 Wherever. . . receive: Grain was threshed on hills or other places where the wind could blow away the husks. People also met at these places to worship Baal, the god they thought had given them the grain harvest.
  20. 9.5 festival of the Lord: Probably the Festival of Shelters.
  21. 9.6 Memphis: An Egyptian city with a famous cemetery.
  22. 9.6 Your silver. . . weeds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  23. 9.8 Israel. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  24. 9.9 the men of Gibeah: They raped and murdered a woman (see Judges 19).
  25. 9.13 Israel, when. . . ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  26. 9.15 Gilgal: See 4.15.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

3 John

1 From the church leader.[a]

To my dear friend Gaius.

I love you because we follow the truth, 2 dear friend, and I pray that all goes well for you. I hope that you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit. 3 It makes me very happy when the Lord’s followers come by and speak openly of how you obey the truth. 4 Nothing brings me greater happiness than to hear that my children[b] are obeying the truth.

Working Together

5 Dear friend, you have always been faithful in helping other followers of the Lord, even the ones you didn’t know before. 6 They have told the church about your love. They say you were good enough to welcome them and to send them on their mission in a way that God’s servants deserve. 7 When they left to tell others about the Lord, they decided not to accept help from anyone who wasn’t a follower. 8 We must support people like them, so that we can take part in what they are doing to spread the truth.

9 I wrote to the church. But Diotrephes likes to be the number-one leader, and he won’t pay any attention to us. 10 So if I come, I will remind him of how he has been attacking us with gossip. Not only has he been doing this, but he refuses to welcome any of the Lord’s followers who come by. And when other church members want to welcome them, he puts them out of the church.

11 Dear friend, don’t copy the evil deeds of others! Follow the example of people who do kind deeds. They are God’s children, but those who are always doing evil have never seen God.

12 Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and so does the true message that he teaches. I also speak well of him, and you know what I say is true.

Final Greetings

13 I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and then we can talk in person.

15 I pray that God will bless you with peace!

Your friends send their greetings. Please give a personal greeting to each of our friends.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 church leader: Or “elder” or “presbyter” or “priest.”
  2. 4 children: Probably persons that the leader had led to be followers of the Lord.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Psalm 126

(A song for worship.)

Celebrating the Harvest

126 It seemed like a dream
when the Lord brought us back
to the city of Zion.[a]
2 We celebrated with laughter
and joyful songs.
In foreign nations it was said,
“The Lord has worked miracles
for his people.”
3 And so we celebrated
because the Lord had indeed
worked miracles for us.

4 Our Lord, we ask you to bless
our people again,
and let us be like streams
in the Southern Desert.
5 We cried as we went out
to plant our seeds.
Now let us celebrate
as we bring in the crops.
6 We cried on the way
to plant our seeds,
but we will celebrate and shout
as we bring in the crops.

Footnotes:

  1. 126.1 brought. . . Zion: Or “made the city of Zion prosperous again.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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Proverbs 29:12-14

12 A ruler who listens to lies
will have corrupt officials.
13 The poor and all who abuse them
must each depend on God
for light.
14 Kings who are fair to the poor
will rule forever.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday December 6, 2021 (NIV)

Hosea 4-5

Israel Is Unfaithful

4 Israel, listen
as the Lord accuses
everyone in the land!
No one is faithful or loyal
or truly cares about God.
2 Cursing, dishonesty, murder,
robbery, unfaithfulness—
these happen all the time.
Violence is everywhere.
3 And so your land is a desert.
Every living creature is dying—
people and wild animals,
birds and fish.

The Lord Warns the Priests

4 Don’t accuse just anyone!
Not everyone is at fault.
My case is against you,
the priests.[a]
5 You and the prophets
will stumble day and night;
I’ll silence your mothers.
6 You priests have rejected me,
and my people are destroyed
by refusing to obey.
Now I’ll reject you and forget
your children,
because you
have forgotten my Law.

7 By adding more of you priests,
you multiply the number
of people who sin.
Now I’ll change your pride
into shame.
8 You encourage others to sin,
so you can stuff yourselves
on their sin offerings.

9 That’s why I will punish
the people for their deeds,
just as I will punish
you priests.
10 Their food won’t satisfy,
and having sex at pagan shrines
won’t produce children.
My people have rebelled
11 and have been unfaithful
to me, their Lord.

God Condemns Israel’s Idolatry

My people, you are foolish
because of too much pleasure
and too much wine.
12 You expect wooden idols
and other objects of wood
to give you advice.
Lusting for sex at pagan shrines
has made you unfaithful
to me, your God.
13 You offer sacrifices
on mountaintops and hills,
under oak trees, and wherever
good shade is found.

Your own daughters
and daughters-in-law
sell themselves for sex.
14 But I won’t punish them.
You men are to blame,
because you go to prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with them
at pagan shrines.
Your own foolishness
will lead to your ruin.
15 Israel, you are unfaithful,
but don’t lead Judah to sin.
Stop worshiping at Gilgal
or at sinful Bethel.[b]
And quit making promises
in my name—
the name
of the living Lord.
16 You are nothing more
than a stubborn cow—
so stubborn that I, the Lord,
cannot feed you like lambs
in an open pasture.

17 You people of Israel[c]
are charmed by[d] idols.
Leave them alone!
18 You get drunk, then sleep
with prostitutes;
you would rather be vulgar
than lead a decent life.[e]
19 And so you will be swept away
in a whirlwind
for sacrificing to idols.

Israel and Judah Will Be Judged

The Lord said:

5 Listen, you priests!
Pay attention, Israel![f]
Listen, you members
of the royal family.
Justice was your duty.
But[g] at Mizpah and Mount Tabor
you trapped the people.
2 At the place of worship
you were a treacherous pit,[h]
and I will punish you.

3 Israel, I know all about you,
and because of your unfaithfulness,
I find you unacceptable.
4 Your evil deeds are the reason
you won’t return to me,
your Lord God.
And your constant craving for sex
keeps you from knowing me.

5 Israel, your pride
testifies to your guilt;
it makes you stumble,
and Judah stumbles too.
6 You offer sheep and cattle
as sacrifices to me,
but I have turned away
and refuse to be found.
7 You have been unfaithful
to me, your Lord;
you have had children
by prostitutes.[i]
So at the New Moon Festival,
you and your crops
will be destroyed.[j]

The Lord Warns Israel and Judah

8 Give a warning on the trumpet!
Let it be heard in Gibeah,
Ramah, and sinful Bethel.[k]
Benjamin, watch out![l]
9 I, the Lord, will punish
and wipe out Israel.
This is my solemn promise
to every tribe of Israel.
10 Judah’s leaders are like crooks
who move boundary markers;
that’s why I will flood them
with my anger.

11 Israel was brutally crushed.
They got what they deserved
for worshiping useless idols.[m]
12 Now I, the Lord,
will fill Israel with maggots
and make Judah rot.
13 When Israel and Judah saw
their sickness and wounds,
Israel asked help from Assyria
and its mighty king.[n]

But the king cannot cure them
or heal their wounds.
14 So I’ll become a fierce lion
attacking Israel and Judah.
I’ll snatch and carry off
what I want,
and no one can stop me.
15 Then I’ll return to my temple
until they confess their guilt
and worship me,
until they are desperate
and beg for my help.

Footnotes:

  1. 4.4 priests: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4. Hosea may have had in mind only one priest, possibly the chief priest.
  2. 4.15 sinful Bethel: The Hebrew text has “Beth-Aven,” which means “house of sin” or “house of nothing,” referring to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”
  3. 4.17 Israel: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole kingdom.
  4. 4.17 charmed by: Or “joined to.”
  5. 4.18 life: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.
  6. 5.1 Israel: Probably meaning the tribal leaders of Israel.
  7. 5.1 Justice. . . duty. But: Or “You are doomed, because.”
  8. 5.2 At. . . pit: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 5.7 prostitutes: See 4.14, and the note at 1.2.
  10. 5.7 So. . . destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  11. 5.8 sinful Bethel: See the note at 4.15. Gibeah is three miles north of Jerusalem, Ramah is five miles north, and Bethel is eleven miles north. The attack comes from the south, and all the land of Benjamin (belonging to Israel) is in danger.
  12. 5.8 watch out: Or “lead the way.”
  13. 5.11 for. . . idols: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  14. 5.13 and. . . king: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

2 John

1 From the church leader.[a]

To a very special woman and her children.[b] I truly love all of you, and so does everyone else who knows the truth. 2 We love you because the truth is now in our hearts, and it will be there forever.

3 I pray that God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son will be kind and merciful to us! May they give us peace and truth and love.

Truth and Love

4 I was very glad to learn that some of your children are obeying the truth, as the Father told us to do. 5 Dear friend, I am not writing to tell you and your children to do something you have not done before. I am writing to tell you to love each other, which is the first thing you were told to do. 6 Love means that we do what God tells us. And from the beginning, he told you to love him.

7 Many liars have gone out into the world. These deceitful liars are saying that Jesus Christ did not have a truly human body. But they are liars and the enemies of Christ. 8 So be sure not to lose what we[c] have worked for. If you do, you won’t be given your full reward. 9 Don’t keep changing what you were taught about Christ, or else God will no longer be with you. But if you hold firmly to what you were taught, both the Father and the Son will be with you. 10 If people won’t agree to this teaching, don’t welcome them into your home or even greet them. 11 Greeting them is the same as taking part in their evil deeds.

Final Greetings

12 I have much more to tell you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. I want to come and talk to you in person, because that will make us[d] really happy.

13 Greetings from the children of your very special sister.[e]

Footnotes:

  1. 1 church leader: Or “elder” or “presbyter” or “priest.”
  2. 1 very special woman and her children: A group of the Lord’s followers who met together for worship. “The children of your. . . sister” (see verse 13) is another group of followers. “Very special” (here and verse 13) probably means “chosen (by the Lord).”
  3. 8 we: Some manuscripts have “you.”
  4. 12 us: Some manuscripts have “you.”
  5. 13 sister: See the note at verse 1.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Psalm 125

(A song for worship.)

The Lord’s People Are Safe

125 Everyone who trusts the Lord
is like Mount Zion
that cannot be shaken
and will stand forever.
2 Just as Jerusalem is protected
by mountains on every side,
the Lord protects his people
by holding them in his arms
now and forever.
3 He won’t let the wicked
rule his people
or lead them to do wrong.
4 Let’s ask the Lord to be kind
to everyone
who is good
and completely obeys him.

5 When the Lord punishes
the wicked,
he will punish everyone else
who lives a crooked life.
Pray for peace in Israel!

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Proverbs 29:9-11

9 Be wise and don’t sue a fool.
You won’t get satisfaction,
because all the fool will do
is sneer and shout.
10 A murderer hates everyone
who is honest
and lives right.[a]
11 Don’t be a fool
and quickly lose your temper—
be sensible and patient.

Footnotes:

  1. 29.10 and lives right: Or “and those who live right are friends of honest people.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday December 5, 2021 (NIV)

Hosea 1-3

1 I am Hosea son of Beeri. When Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and when Jeroboam son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel,[b] the Lord spoke this message to me.

Hosea’s Family

2 The Lord said, “Hosea, Israel has betrayed me like an unfaithful wife.[c] Marry such a woman and have children by her.” 3 So I married Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and we had a son.

4 Then the Lord said, “Hosea, name your son Jezreel,[d] because I will soon punish the descendants of King Jehu of Israel for the murders he committed in Jezreel Valley.[e] I will destroy his kingdom, 5 and in Jezreel Valley I will break the power of Israel.”

6 Later, Gomer had a daughter, and the Lord said, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah,[f] because I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel. 7 But I am the Lord God of Judah, and I will have mercy and save Judah by my own power—not by wars and arrows or swords and cavalry.”

8 After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi,[g] because these people are not mine, and I am not their God.”

Hope for Israel

10 Someday it will be impossible to count the people of Israel, because there will be as many of them as there are grains of sand along the seashore. They are now called “Not My People,” but in the future they will be called “Children of the Living God.” 11 Israel and Judah will unite and choose one leader. Then they will take back their land, and this will be a great day for Jezreel.[h] 2 1 So let your brothers be called “My People” and your sisters be called “Shown Mercy.”[i]

The Lord Promises To Punish Israel

2 Accuse! Accuse your mother!
She is no longer my wife,
and now I, the Lord,
am not her husband.
Beg her to give up prostitution
and stop being unfaithful,[j]
3 or I will strip her naked
like the day she was born.
I will make her barren
like a desert,
and she will die of thirst.
4 You children are the result
of her unfaithfulness,
and I’ll show you no pity.
5 Your mother was unfaithful.
She was disgraceful and said,
“I’ll run after my lovers.
Everything comes from them—
my food and drink,
my linen and wool,
my olive oil and wine.”

6 I, the Lord, will build
a fence of thorns
to block her path.
7 She will run after her lovers,
but not catch them;
she will search,
but not find them.
Then she will say, “I’ll return
to my first husband.
Life was better then.”
8 She didn’t know that her grain,
wine, and olive oil
were gifts from me,
as were the gold and silver
she used in worshiping Baal.[k]

9 So I’ll hold back the harvest
of grain and grapes.
I’ll take back
my wool and my linen
that cover her body.
10 Then I’ll strip her naked
in the sight of her lovers.[l]
No one can rescue her.

11 I’ll stop Israel’s celebrations—
no more New Moon Festivals,
Sabbaths, or other feasts.
12 She said, “My lovers gave me
vineyards and fig trees
as payment[m] for sex.”

Now I, the Lord, will ruin
her vineyards and fig trees;
they will become clumps of weeds
eaten by wild animals.

13 I’ll punish her for the days
she worshiped Baal
and burned incense to him.
I’ll punish her for the times
she forgot about me
and wore jewelry and rings
to attract her lovers.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

The Lord Will Help Israel

14 Israel, I, the Lord,
will lure you into the desert
and speak gently to you.
15 I will return your vineyards,
and then Trouble Valley[n]
will become Hopeful Valley.
You will say “Yes” to me
as you did in your youth,
when leaving Egypt.

16 I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master.[o] 17 I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” 18 And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. 19 I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price[p] I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, 20 and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.

21 I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, 22 and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. 23 I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah.[q] I will say to Lo-Ammi,[r] “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.”

God’s Love Offers Hope

3 Once again the Lord spoke to me. And this time he said, “Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman[s] who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit.”

2 So I paid fifteen pieces of silver and about ten bushels of grain for such a woman. 3 Then I said, “Now you are mine! You will have to remain faithful to me, though it will be a long time before we sleep together.”

4 It will also be a long time before Israel has a king or before sacrifices are offered at the temple or before there is any way to get guidance from God. 5 But later, Israel will turn back to the Lord their God and to David their king. At that time they will come to the Lord with fear and trembling, and he will be good to them.

Footnotes:

  1. 1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
  2. 1.1 kings of Judah. . . king of Israel: Uzziah (781-740 B.C.), Jotham (740-736), Ahaz (736-716), Hezekiah (716-687), and Jeroboam II (783-743).
  3. 1.2 unfaithful wife: In some Canaanite religions of Old Testament times, young women were expected to have sex with the worshipers of their god before marriage. Such women were called “temple prostitutes.” Many of the Israelite women did this same thing, and Hosea is told to marry one of them to show that the nation has turned from the Lord to worship idols.
  4. 1.4 Jezreel: In Hebrew “Jezreel” means “God scatters (seed).” Here the name is used as a threat (meaning the Lord will punish Israel by scattering its people), while in verse 11 it is used as a promise (meaning the Lord will bless Israel by giving their nation many people, just as a big harvest comes when many seeds are scattered in a field).
  5. 1.4 murders. . . Valley: Jehu murdered the wife and relatives of King Ahab (see 2 Kings 9.15—10.14).
  6. 1.6 Lo-Ruhamah: In Hebrew “Lo-Ruhamah” means “No Mercy.”
  7. 1.9 Lo-Ammi: In Hebrew “Lo-Ammi” means “Not My People.”
  8. 1.11 Jezreel: See the note at verse 4.
  9. 2.1 My People. . . Shown Mercy: In Hebrew “My People” is “Ammi” and “Shown Mercy” is “Ruhamah” (see Lo-Ruhamah in 1.6 and Lo-Ammi in 1.9).
  10. 2.2 prostitution. . . unfaithful: See the note at 1.2.
  11. 2.8 Baal: A Canaanite god of fertility.
  12. 2.10 I’ll strip. . . lovers: Or “I’ll show her lovers how disgusting she is.”
  13. 2.12 fig trees. . . payment: Hosea uses an unusual word for “fig tree,” which is spelled something like the word for “payment.”
  14. 2.15 Trouble Valley: Or “Achor Valley.” The exact location of the valley is unknown, but in Hebrew “Achor” sounds like “Achan,” who brought trouble on Israel by disobeying the Lord (see Joshua 7.24-26).
  15. 2.16 husband. . . master: In Hebrew the word “master” is the same as the name of the god Baal. But the Lord promises that his people will have a deep personal relationship with him (like a devoted wife and husband) rather than merely a legal tie (like a wife and her “master”).
  16. 2.19 bride price: It was the custom for the husband to pay his wife’s parents a bride price. Instead of money, the Lord will give much better benefits to Israel.
  17. 2.23 Lo-Ruhamah: See the note at 1.6.
  18. 2.23 Lo-Ammi: See the note at 1.9.
  19. 3.1 unfaithful woman: This may refer to Gomer, the woman Hosea married (see 1.3), or it may refer to another woman.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

1 John 5

Victory over the World

5 If we believe that Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. 2 If we love and obey God, we know that we will love his children. 3 We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.

4 Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 5 No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

Who Jesus Is

6 Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t just water, but water and blood.[a] The Spirit tells about this, because the Spirit is truthful. 7 In fact, there are three who tell about it. 8 They are the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and they all agree.

9 We believe what people tell us. But we can trust what God says even more, and God is the one who has spoken about his Son. 10 If we have faith in God’s Son, we have believed what God has said. But if we don’t believe what God has said about his Son, it is the same as calling God a liar. 11 God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. 12 And so, if we have God’s Son, we have this life. But if we don’t have the Son, we don’t have this life.

Knowing about Eternal Life

13 All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life. 14 We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. 15 And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.

16 Suppose you see one of our people commit a sin that isn’t a deadly sin. You can pray, and that person will be given eternal life. But the sin must not be one that is deadly. 17 Everything that is wrong is sin, but not all sins are deadly.

18 We are sure that God’s children do not keep on sinning. God’s own Son protects them, and the devil cannot harm them.

19 We are certain that we come from God and that the rest of the world is under the power of the devil.

20 We know that Jesus Christ the Son of God has come and has shown us the true God. And because of Jesus, we now belong to the true God who gives eternal life.

21 Children, you must stay away from idols.

Footnotes:

  1. 5.6 Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t just water, but water and blood: See John 19.34. It is also possible to translate, “Jesus Christ came by the water of baptism and by the blood of his death! He was not only baptized, but he bled and died.” The purpose of the verse is to tell that Jesus was truly human and that he really died.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Psalm 124

(A song by David for worship.)

Thanking the Lord for Victory

124 The Lord was on our side!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2 “The Lord was on our side!
Otherwise, the enemy attack
3 would have killed us all,
because it was furious.
4 We would have been swept away
in a violent flood
5 of high and roaring waves.”

6 Let’s praise the Lord!
He protected us from enemies
who were like wild animals,
7 and we escaped like birds
from a hunter’s torn net.

8 The Lord made heaven and earth,
and he is the one
who sends us help.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

Proverbs 29:5-8

5 Flattery is nothing less
than setting a trap.
6 Your sins will catch you,
but everyone who lives right
will sing and celebrate.
7 The wicked don’t care
about the rights of the poor,
but good people do.
8 Sneering at others is a spark
that sets a city on fire;
using good sense can put out
the flames of anger.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday December 4, 2021 (NIV)

Daniel 11:36-12:13

36 “The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place. 37 He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. 38 Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts. 39 Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward.[a]

40 “Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will enter the glorious land of Israel,[b] and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of Ammon will escape. 42 He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians[c] will be his servants.

44 “But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many. 45 He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him.

The Time of the End

12 “At that time Michael, the archangel[d] who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. 2 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. 3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. 4 But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

5 Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river. 6 One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, “How long will it be until these shocking events are over?”

7 The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.”

8 I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my lord?”

9 But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means.

11 “From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration[e] is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days. 12 And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!

13 “As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”

Footnotes:

  1. 11:39 Or at a price.
  2. 11:41 Hebrew the glorious land.
  3. 11:43 Hebrew Cushites.
  4. 12:1 Hebrew the great prince.
  5. 12:11 Hebrew the abomination of desolation.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


1 John 4

Discerning False Prophets

4 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet[a] acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

Loving One Another

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other[b] because he loved us first.

20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,[c] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.[d]

Footnotes:

  1. 4:2 Greek If a spirit; similarly in 4:3.
  2. 4:19 Greek We love. Other manuscripts read We love God; still others read We love him.
  3. 4:20 Greek hates his brother.
  4. 4:21 Greek The one who loves God must also love his brother.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 123

Psalm 123

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I lift my eyes to you,
O God, enthroned in heaven.
2 We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy,
just as servants keep their eyes on their master,
as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
for we have had our fill of contempt.
4 We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud
and the contempt of the arrogant.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 29:2-4

2 When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice.
But when the wicked are in power, they groan.

3 The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.

4 A just king gives stability to his nation,
but one who demands bribes destroys it.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 3, 2021 (NIV)

Daniel 11:2-35

Kings of the South and North

2 “Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. He will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the kingdom of Greece.[a]

3 “Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. 4 But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

5 “The king of the south will increase in power, but one of his own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength.

6 “Some years later an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters. 7 But when one of her relatives[b] becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him. 8 When he returns to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone.

9 “Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land. 10 However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy’s fortress.

11 “Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them. 12 After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his enemies. But his success will be short lived.

13 “A few years later the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than before. 14 At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Violent men among your own people will join them in fulfillment of this vision, but they will not succeed. 15 Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught.

16 “The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel,[c] intent on destroying it. 17 He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.

18 “After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame. 19 He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more.

20 “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. But after a very brief reign, he will die, though not from anger or in battle.

21 “The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. 22 Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. 23 With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers. 24 Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.

25 “Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. 26 His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. 27 Seeking nothing but each other’s harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for the end will come at the appointed time.

28 “The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.

29 “Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. 30 For warships from western coastlands[d] will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.

31 “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.[e] 32 He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.

33 “Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. 34 During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere. 35 And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.

Footnotes:

  1. 11:2 Hebrew of Javan.
  2. 11:7 Hebrew a branch from her roots.
  3. 11:16 Hebrew the glorious land.
  4. 11:30 Hebrew from Kittim.
  5. 11:31 Hebrew the abomination of desolation.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


1 John 3:7-24

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life[a] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers[b] does not belong to God.

Love One Another

11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,[c] if the world hates you.

14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers,[d] it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister[e] is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister[f] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

Footnotes:

  1. 3:9 Greek because his seed.
  2. 3:10 Greek does not love his brother.
  3. 3:13 Greek brothers.
  4. 3:14 Greek the brothers; similarly in 3:16.
  5. 3:15 Greek hates his brother.
  6. 3:17 Greek sees his brother.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 122

Psalm 122

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 And now here we are,
standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a well-built city;
its seamless walls cannot be breached.
4 All the tribes of Israel—the Lord’s people—
make their pilgrimage here.
They come to give thanks to the name of the Lord,
as the law requires of Israel.
5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given,
the thrones of the dynasty of David.

6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem.
May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
“May you have peace.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 29:1

29 Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism
will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 2, 2021 (NIV)

Daniel 9:1-11

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

9 It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.[a] 2 During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.[b] 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. 5 But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. 6 We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

7 “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. 8 O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.

“So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. 12 You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. 13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. 14 Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.

15 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. 16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.

17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.

18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.

19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

Gabriel’s Message about the Anointed One

20 I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

24 “A period of seventy sets of seven[c] has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[d] 25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven[e] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One[f]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,[g] despite the perilous times.

26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven,[h] the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven,[i] but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds,[j] he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration,[k] until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Daniel’s Vision of a Messenger

10 In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia,[l] Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. 3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

4 On April 23,[m] as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince[n] of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels,[o] came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.[p] 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

15 While he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. 16 Then the one who looked like a man[q] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing in front of me, “I am filled with anguish because of the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. 17 How can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.”

18 Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. 19 “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”

As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”

20 He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece[r] will come. 21 Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince.[s] 11 1 I have been standing beside Michael[t] to support and strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.)

Footnotes:

  1. 9:1 Or the Chaldeans.
  2. 9:2 See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
  3. 9:24a Hebrew seventy sevens.
  4. 9:24b Or the Most Holy One.
  5. 9:25a Hebrew Seven sevens plus sixty-two sevens.
  6. 9:25b Or an anointed one; similarly in 9:26. Hebrew reads a messiah.
  7. 9:25c Or and a moat, or and trenches.
  8. 9:26 Hebrew After sixty-two sevens.
  9. 9:27a Hebrew for one seven.
  10. 9:27b Hebrew And on the wing; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  11. 9:27c Hebrew an abomination of desolation.
  12. 10:1 The third year of Cyrus’s reign was 536 B.c.
  13. 10:4 Hebrew On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This date in the book of Daniel can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Persian records and can be related accurately to our modern calendar. This event occurred on April 23, 536 B.c.
  14. 10:13a Hebrew the prince; also in 10:13c, 20.
  15. 10:13b Hebrew the chief princes.
  16. 10:13c As in one Greek version; Hebrew reads and I was left there with the kings of Persia. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  17. 10:16 As in most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text; one manuscript of the Masoretic Text and one Greek version read Then something that looked like a human hand.
  18. 10:20 Hebrew of Javan.
  19. 10:21 Hebrew against these except Michael, your prince.
  20. 11:1 Hebrew him.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


1 John 2:18-3:6

Warning about Antichrists

18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.

20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit,[a] and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.[b] Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.[c] 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit,[d] and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit[e] teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Living as Children of God

28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

Footnotes:

  1. 2:20 Greek But you have an anointing from the Holy One.
  2. 2:22a Or not the Messiah.
  3. 2:22b Or the antichrist.
  4. 2:27a Greek the anointing from him.
  5. 2:27b Greek the anointing.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 121

Psalm 121

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 28:27-28

27 Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

28 When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.
When the wicked meet disaster, the godly flourish.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday December 1, 2021 (NIV)

Daniel 8

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and Goat

8 [a]During the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, saw another vision, following the one that had already appeared to me. 2 In this vision I was at the fortress of Susa, in the province of Elam, standing beside the Ulai River.[b]

3 As I looked up, I saw a ram with two long horns standing beside the river.[c] One of the horns was longer than the other, even though it had grown later than the other one. 4 The ram butted everything out of his way to the west, to the north, and to the south, and no one could stand against him or help his victims. He did as he pleased and became very great.

5 While I was watching, suddenly a male goat appeared from the west, crossing the land so swiftly that he didn’t even touch the ground. This goat, which had one very large horn between its eyes, 6 headed toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the river, rushing at him in a rage. 7 The goat charged furiously at the ram and struck him, breaking off both his horns. Now the ram was helpless, and the goat knocked him down and trampled him. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power.

8 The goat became very powerful. But at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off. In the large horn’s place grew four prominent horns pointing in the four directions of the earth. 9 Then from one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel. 10 Its power reached to the heavens, where it attacked the heavenly army, throwing some of the heavenly beings and some of the stars to the ground and trampling them. 11 It even challenged the Commander of heaven’s army by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple. 12 The army of heaven was restrained from responding to this rebellion. So the daily sacrifice was halted, and truth was overthrown. The horn succeeded in everything it did.[d]

13 Then I heard two holy ones talking to each other. One of them asked, “How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven’s army be trampled on?”

14 The other replied, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be made right again.”

Gabriel Explains the Vision

15 As I, Daniel, was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, someone who looked like a man stood in front of me. 16 And I heard a human voice calling out from the Ulai River, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of his vision.”

17 As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell with my face to the ground. “Son of man,” he said, “you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision relate to the time of the end.”

18 While he was speaking, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. But Gabriel roused me with a touch and helped me to my feet.

19 Then he said, “I am here to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath. What you have seen pertains to the very end of time. 20 The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy male goat represents the king of Greece,[e] and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king of the Greek Empire. 22 The four prominent horns that replaced the one large horn show that the Greek Empire will break into four kingdoms, but none as great as the first.

23 “At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. 25 He will be a master of deception and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.

26 “This vision about the 2,300 evenings and mornings[f] is true. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so keep this vision a secret.”

27 Then I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for several days. Afterward I got up and performed my duties for the king, but I was greatly troubled by the vision and could not understand it.

Footnotes:

  1. 8:1 The original text from this point through chapter 12 is in Hebrew. See note at 2:4.
  2. 8:2 Or the Ulai Gate; also in 8:16.
  3. 8:3 Or the gate; also in 8:6.
  4. 8:11-12 The meaning of the Hebrew for these verses is uncertain.
  5. 8:21 Hebrew of Javan.
  6. 8:26 Hebrew about the evenings and mornings; compare 8:14.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


1 John 2:1-17

2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

A New Commandment

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer,[a] that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer[b] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

12 I am writing to you who are God’s children
because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.[c]
13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith[d]
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14 I have written to you who are God’s children
because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
and you have won your battle with the evil one.

Do Not Love This World

15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Footnotes:

  1. 2:9 Greek hates his brother; also in 2:11.
  2. 2:10 Greek loves his brother.
  3. 2:12 Greek through his name.
  4. 2:13 Or to you fathers; also in 2:14.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 120

Psalm 120

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.
2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars
and from all deceitful people.
3 O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you?
How will he increase your punishment?
4 You will be pierced with sharp arrows
and burned with glowing coals.

5 How I suffer in far-off Meshech.
It pains me to live in distant Kedar.
6 I am tired of living
among people who hate peace.
7 I search for peace;
but when I speak of peace, they want war!

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 28:25-26

25 Greed causes fighting;
trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.

26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish,
but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.