Bible Readings for September 17, 2013

Today our passages are Isaiah 25:1–28:13; Galatians 3:10-22; Psalm 61:1-8; and Proverbs 23:17-18. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Isaiah 25-28:13 (Contemporary English Version)

Isaiah 25

A Prayer of Thanks to God

 ¹You, LORD, are my God!    I will praise you
   for doing the wonderful things
   you had planned and promised
   since ancient times.
    ²You have destroyed the fortress
   of our enemies,
   leaving their city in ruins.
   Nothing in that foreign city
   will ever be rebuilt.
    ³Now strong and cruel nations
   will fear and honor you.
    ⁴You have been a place of safety
   for the poor and needy
   in times of trouble.
   Brutal enemies pounded us
   like a heavy rain
   or the heat of the sun at noon,
   but you were our shelter.
    ⁵Those wild foreigners struck
   like scorching desert heat.
   But you were like a cloud,
   protecting us from the sun.
   You kept our enemies from singing
   songs of victory.
   

The LORD Has Saved Us

 ⁶On this mountain    the LORD All-Powerful
   will prepare
   for all nations
   a feast of the finest foods.
   Choice wines and the best meats
   will be served.
    ⁷Here the LORD will strip away
   the burial clothes
   that cover the nations.
    ⁸The LORD All-Powerful
   will destroy the power of death
   and wipe away all tears.
   No longer will his people
   be insulted everywhere.
   The LORD has spoken!
    ⁹At that time, people will say,
   "The LORD has saved us!
   Let's celebrate.
   We waited and hoped--
   now our God is here."
    ¹⁰The powerful arm of the LORD
   will protect this mountain.
   The Moabites will be put down
   and trampled on like straw
   in a pit of manure.
    ¹¹They will struggle to get out,
   but God will humiliate them
   no matter how hard they try. ^{[a] 12}The walls of their fortresses
   will be knocked down
   and scattered in the dirt.
   

Isaiah 26

A Song of Victory

 ¹The time is coming    when the people of Judah
   will sing this song:
   "Our city ^[b] is protected. The LORD is our fortress,
   and he gives us victory.
    ²Open the city gates
   for a law-abiding nation
   that is faithful to God.
    ³The LORD gives perfect peace
   to those whose faith is firm.
    ⁴So always trust the LORD
   because he is forever
   our mighty rock. ^{[c] 5}God has put down our enemies
   in their mountain city ^[d] and rubbed it in the dirt.
    ⁶Now the poor and abused
   stomp all over that city."
   

The LORD Can Be Trusted

 ⁷Our LORD, you always do right,    and you make the path smooth
   for those who obey you.
    ⁸You are the one we trust
   to bring about justice;
   above all else we want
   your name to be honored.
    ⁹Throughout the night,
   my heart searches for you,
   because your decisions
   show everyone on this earth
   how to live right.
    ¹⁰Even when the wicked
   are treated with mercy
   in this land of justice,
   they do wrong and are blind
   to your glory, our LORD.
    ¹¹Your hand is raised and ready
   to punish them,
   but they don't see it.
   Put them to shame!
   Show how much you care for us
   and throw them into the fire
   intended for your enemies.
    ¹²You will give us peace, LORD,
   because everything we have done
   was by your power.
    ¹³Others have ruled over us
   besides you, our LORD God,
   but we obey only you.
    ¹⁴Those enemies are now dead
   and can never live again.
   You have punished them--
   they are destroyed,
   completely forgotten.
    ¹⁵Our nation has grown
   because of you, our LORD.
   We have more land than before,
   and you are honored.
   

The LORD Gives Life to the Dead

 ¹⁶When you punished our people,    they turned and prayed
   to you, our LORD. ^{[e] 17}Because of what you did to us,
   we suffered like a woman
   about to give birth.
    ¹⁸But instead of having a child,
   our terrible pain
   produced only wind.
   We have won no victories,
   and we have no descendants
   to take over the earth.
    ¹⁹Your people will rise to life!
   Tell them to leave their graves
   and celebrate with shouts.
   You refresh the earth
   like morning dew;
   you give life to the dead.
    ²⁰Go inside and lock the doors,
   my people.
   Hide there for a little while,
   until the LORD
   is no longer angry.
   

The Earth and the Sea Will Be Punished

 ²¹The LORD will come out    to punish everyone on earth
   for their sins.
   And when he does,
   those who did violent crimes
   will be known and punished.
   

Isaiah 27

 ¹On that day, Leviathan, ^[f] the sea monster,    will squirm and try to escape,
   but the LORD will kill him
   with a cruel, sharp sword.
   
   

Protection and Forgiveness

The LORD said:

 ²At that time you must sing    about a fruitful ^[g] vineyard. ³I, the LORD, will protect it
   and always keep it watered.
   I will guard it day and night
   to keep it from harm.
    ⁴I am no longer angry.
   But if it produces thorns,
   I will go to war against it
   and burn it to the ground.
    ⁵Yet if the vineyard depends
   on me for protection,
   it will become my friend
   and be at peace with me.
    ⁶Someday Israel will take root
   like a vine.
   It will blossom and bear fruit
   that covers the earth.
    ⁷I, the LORD, didn't punish and kill
   the people of Israel
   as fiercely as I punished
   and killed their enemies.
    ⁸I carefully measured out
   Israel's punishment ^[h] and sent the scorching heat
   to chase them far away.
    ⁹There's only one way
   that Israel's sin and guilt
   can be completely forgiven:
   They must crush the stones
   of every pagan altar
   and place of worship.
   

The LORD Will Bring His People Together

 ¹⁰Fortress cities are left    like a desert
   where no one lives.
   Cattle walk through the ruins,
   stripping the trees bare.
    ¹¹When broken branches
   fall to the ground,
   women pick them up
   to feed the fire.
   But these people are so stupid
   that the God who created them
   will show them no mercy.
    ¹²The time is coming when the LORD will shake the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt, and one by one he will bring all of his people together. ¹³A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the LORD on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.
   

Isaiah 28

Samaria Will Be Punished

 ¹The city of Samaria    above a fertile valley
   is in for trouble!
   Its leaders are drunkards,
   who stuff themselves
   with food and wine.
   But they will be like flowers
   that dry up and wilt.
    ²Only the Lord is strong
   and powerful!
   His mighty hand
   will strike them down
   with the force of a hailstorm
   or a mighty whirlwind
   or an overwhelming flood.
    ³Every drunkard in Ephraim ^[i] takes pride in Samaria,
   but it will be crushed.
    ⁴Samaria above a fertile valley
   will quickly lose its glory.
   It will be gobbled down
   like the first ripe fig
   at harvest season.
    ⁵When this time comes,
   the LORD All-Powerful
   will be a glorious crown
   for his people who survive.
    ⁶He will see that justice rules
   and that his people
   are able
   to defend their cities.
   

Corrupt Leaders Will Be Punished

 ⁷Priests and prophets stumble    because they are drunk.
   Their minds are too confused
   to receive God's messages
   or give honest decisions.
    ⁸Their tables are covered,
   completely covered,
   with their stinking vomit.
    ⁹You drunken leaders
   are like babies!
   How can you possibly understand
   or teach the LORD's message?
    ¹⁰You don't even listen--
   all you hear is senseless sound
   after senseless sound. ^{[j] 11}So, the Lord will speak
   to his people
   in strange sounds
   and foreign languages. ^{[k] 12}He promised you
   perfect peace and rest,
   but you refused to listen.
    ¹³Now his message to you
   will be senseless sound
   after senseless sound. ^[l] Then you will fall backwards,
   injured and trapped.
   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 25:11 no matter. . . try: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Isaiah 26:1 city: Probably Jerusalem.
3. Isaiah 26:4 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10.
4. Isaiah 26:5 our enemies. . . city: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Isaiah 26:16 LORD: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 16.
6. Isaiah 27:1 Leviathan: God's victory over this monster sometimes stands for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies, especially Egypt.
7. Isaiah 27:2 fruitful: Some Hebrew manuscripts have "lovely."
8. Isaiah 27:8 I. . . punishment: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
9. Isaiah 28:3 Ephraim: The northern kingdom of Israel; Samaria was its capital.
10. Isaiah 28:10 sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 9,10.
11. Isaiah 28:11 in. . . foreign languages: This probably refers to the language of the Assyrians.
12. Isaiah 28:13 Now. . . sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Galatians 3:10-22 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁰Anyone who tries to please God by obeying the Law is under a curse. The Scriptures say, "Everyone who doesn't obey everything in the Law is under a curse." ¹¹No one can please God by obeying the Law. The Scriptures also say, "The people God accepts because of their faith will live." ^{[a] 12}The Law isn't based on faith. It promises life only to people who obey its commands. ¹³But Christ rescued us from the Law's curse, when he became a curse in our place. This is because the Scriptures say that anyone who is nailed to a tree is under a curse. ¹⁴And because of what Jesus Christ has done, the blessing that was promised to Abraham was taken to the Gentiles. This happened so that by faith we would be given the promised Holy Spirit.
   

The Law and the Promise

 ¹⁵My friends, I will use an everyday example to explain what I mean. Once someone agrees to something, no one else can change or cancel the agreement. ^{[b] 16}That is how it is with the promises God made to Abraham and his descendant. ^[c] The promises were not made to many descendants, but only to one, and that one is Christ. ¹⁷What I am saying is that the Law cannot change or cancel God's promise that was made 430 years before the Law was given. ¹⁸If we have to obey the Law in order to receive God's blessings, those blessings don't really come to us because of God's promise. But God was kind to Abraham and made him a promise. ¹⁹What is the use of the Law? It was given later to show that we sin. But it was only supposed to last until the coming of that descendant ^[d] who was given the promise. In fact, angels gave the Law to Moses, and he gave it to the people. ²⁰There is only one God, and the Law did not come directly from him.

Slaves and Children

 ²¹Does the Law disagree with God's promises? No, it doesn't! If any law could give life to us, we could become acceptable to God by obeying that law. ²²But the Scriptures say that sin controls everyone, so that God's promises will be for anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ.    

Footnotes:

1. Galatians 3:11 The people God accepts because of their faith will live: Or " The people God accepts will live because of their faith."
2. Galatians 3:15 Once someone. . . cancel the agreement: Or " Once a person makes out a will, no one can change or cancel it."
3. Galatians 3:16 descendant: The Greek text has " seed," which may mean one or many descendants. In this verse Paul says it means Christ.
4. Galatians 3:19 that descendant: Jesus.

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Psalm 61:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 61

(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use with stringed instruments.)

Under the Protection of God

 ¹Please listen, God,    and answer my prayer!
    ²I feel hopeless,
   and I cry out to you
   from a faraway land.
   Lead me to the mighty rock ^[a] high above me.
    ³You are a strong tower,
   where I am safe
   from my enemies.
    ⁴Let me live with you forever
   and find protection
   under your wings, my God.
    ⁵You heard my promises,
   and you have blessed me,
   just as you bless everyone
   who worships you.
    ⁶Let the king have a long
   and healthy life.
    ⁷May he always rule
   with you, God, at his side;
   may your love and loyalty
   watch over him.
    ⁸I will sing your praises
   forever
   and will always
   keep my promises.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 61:2 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.

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Proverbs 23:17-18 (Contemporary English Version)

-14-

 ¹⁷ Don't be jealous of sinners,    but always honor the LORD.
    ¹⁸Then you will truly have hope
   for the future.

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Verse of the Day

“Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children.” - Ephesians 5:1

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Desiderius Erasmus,  Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian, wrote, “Prevention is better than cure.”