The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday December 11, 2019 (NIV)

Amos 4-6

Judgment on Israel’s elite

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,
who are on Mount Samaria,
who cheat the weak,
who crush the needy,
who say to their husbands, “Bring drinks, so we can get drunk!”
The Lord God has solemnly promised by his holiness:
The days are surely coming upon you,
when they will take you away with hooks,
even the last one of you with fishhooks.
You will go out through the broken wall,
each one after another;
and you will be flung out into Harmon,
says the Lord.

A divine taunt

Come to Bethel—and commit a crime;
multiply crimes at Gilgal.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tenth-part gifts every three days.
Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice of leavened bread,
and publicize your gifts to the Lord;
for so you love to do, people of Israel!
says the Lord God.

Israel’s stubbornness

I have sent a famine in all your cities,
and not provided enough bread in all your places,
yet you didn’t return to me,
says the Lord.
I also withheld rain from you
when there were still three months to the harvest.
I allowed rain to fall on one city,
no rain to fall on another city.
One field was rained on,
and the field dried up where it didn’t rain.
So two or three thirsty towns went to one city to drink water, and weren’t satisfied;
yet you didn’t return to me,
says the Lord.

I struck you with disease and mildew.
I destroyed your gardens and your vineyards.
The locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees;
yet you didn’t return to me,
says the Lord.

10 I sent a plague against you like the one in Egypt.
I killed your young men with the sword.
I carried away your horses.
I made the stink of your camp go up into your nostrils;
yet you didn’t return to me,
says the Lord.

11 I destroyed some of you,
as when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning coal plucked out of the fire;
yet you didn’t return to me,
says the Lord.
12 Truly, Israel,
I will act in this way toward you;
therefore, I will do this to you.
Prepare to meet your God, Israel!

13 The one who forms the mountains, creates the wind,
makes known his thoughts to humankind,
makes the morning darkness,
and moves over the heights of the earth—
the Lord, the God of heavenly forces is his name!

A song of lament

Hear this word—a funeral song—that I am lifting up against you, house of Israel:

Fallen, no more to rise,
is virgin Israel,
deserted on her land,
with no one to raise her up.
The Lord God proclaims:
The city that marched out one thousand people
will have one hundred left,
and the city that marched out one hundred will have ten left in the house of Israel.

Words of encouragement

The Lord proclaims to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live.
But don’t seek Bethel,
don’t enter into Gilgal,
or cross over to Beer-sheba;
for Gilgal will go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
Seek the Lord and live,
or else God might rush like a fire against the house of Joseph.
The fire will burn up Bethel, with no one to put it out.

Words of doom

Doom to you who turn justice into poison,
and throw righteousness to the ground!
The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning,
and darkens the day into night;
who summons the waters of the sea,
and pours them out on the surface of the earth—
this one’s name is the Lord
who causes destruction to flash out against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate the one who judges at the city gate,
and they reject the one who speaks the truth.
11 Truly, because you crush the weak,
and because you tax their grain,
you have built houses of carved stone,
but you won’t live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you won’t drink their wine.
12 I know how many are your crimes,
and how numerous are your sins—
afflicting the righteous,
taking money on the side,
turning away the poor who seek help.
13 Therefore, the one who is wise will keep silent in that time;
it is an evil time.

Words of inspiration

14 Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of heavenly forces,
will be with you just as you have said.
15 Hate evil, love good,
and establish justice at the city gate.
Perhaps the Lord God of heavenly forces
will be gracious to what is left of Joseph.

Divine wrath anticipated

16 Truly, the Lord proclaims,
the God of heavenly forces, the Lord:
Crying will be heard in all the squares.
In all the streets they will say, “Oh no! Oh no!”
They will call upon the farmers to wail,
and those skilled in mourning to lament.
17 In all the vineyards there will be bitter crying because
I will pass through your midst,
says the Lord.

A statement of divine disgust

18 Doom to those who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
19 as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or sought refuge in a house,
rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
20 Isn’t the day of the Lord darkness, not light;
all dark with no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I reject your festivals;
I don’t enjoy your joyous assemblies.
22 If you bring me your entirely burned offerings and gifts of food—
I won’t be pleased;
I won’t even look at your offerings of well-fed animals.
23 Take away the noise of your songs;
I won’t listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
during the forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel?
26 You will take up Sakkuth your king,
and Kaiwan your star-god,
your images, which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore, I will take you away
beyond Damascus, says the Lord,
whose name is the God of heavenly forces.

Warnings to the self-satisfied

Doom to those resting comfortably in Zion
and those trusting in Mount Samaria,
the chiefs of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
Cross over to Calneh and see;
from there go to Hamath the great;
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is your territory greater than their territory?

Doom to those who ignore the evil day
and make violent rule draw near:
who lie on beds of ivory,
stretch out on their couches,
eat lambs from the flock,
and bull calves from the stall;
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
and, like David, compose tunes on musical instruments;
who drink bowls of wine,
put the best of oils on themselves,
but who aren’t grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Therefore, they will now be the first to be taken away,
and the feast of those who lounged at the table will pass away.

The Lord God has solemnly sworn,
says the Lord, the God of heavenly forces:
I reject the pride of Jacob.
I hate his fortresses.
I will hand over the city and all that is in it.
If ten people remain in one house,
then they will die.
10 If a relative, someone who burns the dead,
picks up the body to bring it out of the house,
and says to someone inside the house,
“Is anyone else with you?”
the answer will be, “No.”
Then the relative will say,
“Hush! We mustn’t mention the name of the Lord.”
11 Look, the Lord is giving an order;
he will shatter the great house into bits
and the little house into pieces.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow the sea with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,
who say, “Haven’t we by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 Indeed, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel, says the Lord God of heavenly forces,
and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the desert ravine.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Revelation 2:18-3:6

Message to Thyatira

18 “Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira:

These are the words of God’s Son, whose eyes are like a fiery flame, and whose feet are like fine brass. 19 I know your works, your love and faithfulness, your service and endurance. I also know that the works you have done most recently are even greater than those you did at first. 20 But I have this against you: you put up with that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. You allow her to teach and to mislead my servants into committing sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to change her heart and life, but she refuses to change her life of prostitution. 22 Look! I’m throwing her onto a sickbed. I am casting those who have committed adultery with her into terrible hardship—if they don’t change their hearts from following her practices— 23 and I will even put her children to death with disease. Then all the churches will know that I’m the one who examines minds and hearts, and that I will give to each of you what your actions deserve. 24 As for the rest of you in Thyatira—those of you who don’t follow this teaching and haven’t learned the so-called “deep secrets” of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else. 25 Just hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To those who emerge victorious, keeping my practices until the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 to rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like pottery— 28 just as I received authority from my Father. I will also give them the morning star. 29 If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Message to Sardis

“Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis:

These are the words of the one who holds God’s seven spirits and the seven stars: I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, and you are in fact dead. Wake up and strengthen whatever you have left, teetering on the brink of death, for I’ve found that your works are far from complete in the eyes of my God. So remember what you received and heard. Hold on to it and change your hearts and lives. If you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief, and you won’t know what time I will come upon you. But you do have a few people in Sardis who haven’t stained their clothing. They will walk with me clothed in white because they are worthy. Those who emerge victorious will wear white clothing like this. I won’t scratch out their names from the scroll of life, but will declare their names in the presence of my Father and his angels. If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 130

Psalm 130

A pilgrimage song.

130 I cry out to you from the depths, Lord
my Lord, listen to my voice!
Let your ears pay close attention to my request for mercy!
If you kept track of sins, Lord
my Lord, who would stand a chance?
But forgiveness is with you—
that’s why you are honored.

I hope, Lord.
My whole being[a] hopes,
and I wait for God’s promise.
My whole being waits for my Lord—
more than the night watch waits for morning;
yes, more than the night watch waits for morning!

Israel, wait for the Lord!
Because faithful love is with the Lord;
because great redemption is with our God!
He is the one who will redeem Israel
from all its sin.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 130:5 Or soul; also in 132:6
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 29:21-22

21 Pamper servants from a young age,
and later on there will be trouble.
22 Angry people stir up conflict;
hotheads cause much offense.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible