Bible Readings for September 27, 2013

Today our passages are Isaiah 51:1–53:12; Ephesians 5:1-33; Psalm 69:19-36; and Proverbs 24:7. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Isaiah 51-53:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Isaiah 51

The LORD Will Bring Comfort

 ¹If you want to do right    and obey the LORD,
   follow Abraham's example.
   He was the rock from which
   you were chipped.
    ²God chose Abraham and Sarah
   to be your ancestors.
   The LORD blessed Abraham,
   and from that one man
   came many descendants.
    ³Though Zion is in ruins,
   the LORD will bring comfort,
   and the city will be as lovely
   as the garden of Eden
   that he provided.
   Then Zion will celebrate;
   it will be thankful
   and sing joyful songs.
   

The LORD's Victory Will Last

 ⁴The LORD says:    You are my people and nation!
   So pay attention to me.
   My teaching will cause justice
   to shine like a light
   for every nation.
    ⁵Those who live across the sea
   are eagerly waiting
   for me to rescue them.
   I am strong and ready;
   soon I will come to save
   and to rule all nations.
    ⁶Look closely at the sky!
   Stare at the earth.
   The sky will vanish like smoke;
   the earth will wear out
   like clothes.
   Everyone on this earth
   will die like flies.
   But my victory will last;
   my saving power never ends.
    ⁷If you want to do right
   and to obey my teaching
   with all your heart,
   then pay close attention.
   Don't be discouraged
   when others insult you
   and say hurtful things.
    ⁸They will be eaten away
   like a moth-eaten coat.
   But my victory will last;
   my saving power
   will never end.
   

A Prayer for the LORD's Help

 ⁹Wake up! Do something, LORD.    Be strong and ready.
   Wake up! Do what you did
   for our people long ago.
   Didn't you chop up
   Rahab ^[a] the monster? ¹⁰Didn't you dry up the deep sea
   and make a road
   for your people
   to follow safely across?
    ¹¹Now those you have rescued
   will return to Jerusalem,
   singing on their way.
   They will be crowned
   with great happiness,
   never again to be burdened
   with sadness and sorrow.
   

The LORD Gives Hope

 ¹²I am the LORD, the one    who encourages you.
   Why are you afraid
   of mere humans?
   They dry up and die like grass.
    ¹³I spread out the heavens
   and laid foundations
   for the earth.
   But you have forgotten me,
   your LORD and Creator.
   All day long you were afraid
   of those who were angry
   and hoped to abuse you.
   Where are they now?
    ¹⁴Everyone crying out in pain
   will be quickly set free;
   they will be rescued
   from the power of death
   and never go hungry.
    ¹⁵I will help them
   because I am your God,
   the LORD All-Powerful,
   who makes the ocean roar.
    ¹⁶I have told you what to say,
   and I will keep you safe
   in the palm of my hand.
   I spread out the heavens
   and laid foundations
   for the earth.
   Now I say, "Jerusalem,
   your people are mine."
   

A Warning to Jerusalem

 ¹⁷Jerusalem, wake up! Stand up!    You've drunk too much
   from the cup filled
   with the LORD's anger.
   You have swallowed every drop,
   and you can't walk straight.
    ¹⁸Not one of your many children
   is there to guide you
   or to offer a helping hand.
    ¹⁹You have been destroyed
   by war and by famine;
   I cannot comfort you. ^{[b] 20}The LORD your God is angry,
   and on every street corner
   your children lie helpless,
   like deer trapped in nets.
    ²¹You are in trouble and drunk,
   but not from wine.
   So pay close attention
    ²²to the LORD your God,
   who defends you and says,
   "I have taken from your hands
   the cup filled with my anger
   that made you drunk.
   You will never be forced
   to drink it again.
    ²³Instead I will give it
   to your brutal enemies,
   who treated you like dirt
   and walked all over you."
   

Isaiah 52

Jerusalem Can Celebrate

 ¹Jerusalem, wake up!    Stand up and be strong.
   Holy city of Zion,
   dress in your best clothes.
   Those foreigners who ruined
   your sacred city
   won't bother you again.
    ²Zion, rise from the dirt!
   Free yourself from the rope
   around your neck.
   

Suffering Will End

 ³The LORD says:    My people, you were sold,
   but not for money;
   now you will be set free,
   but not for a payment.
    ⁴Long ago you went to Egypt
   where you lived
   as foreigners.
   Then Assyria was cruel to you,
    ⁵and now another nation ^[c] has taken you prisoner
   for no reason at all.
   Your leaders groan with pain, ^[d] and day after day
   my own name is cursed.
    ⁶My people, you will learn
   who I am and who is speaking
   because I am here.
   

A Message of Hope for Jerusalem

 ⁷What a beautiful sight!    On the mountains a messenger
   announces to Jerusalem,
   "Good news! You're saved.
   There will be peace.
   Your God is now King."
    ⁸Everyone on guard duty,
   sing and celebrate!
   Look! You can see the LORD
   returning to Zion.
    ⁹Jerusalem, rise from the ruins!
   Join in the singing.
   The LORD has given comfort
   to his people;
   he comes to your rescue.
    ¹⁰The LORD has shown all nations
   his mighty strength;
   now everyone will see
   the saving power of our God.
   

A Command To Leave Babylon

 ¹¹Leave the city of Babylon!    Don't touch anything filthy.
   Wash yourselves. Be ready
   to carry back everything sacred
   that belongs to the LORD.
    ¹²You won't need to run.
   No one is chasing you.
   The LORD God of Israel
   will lead and protect you
   from enemy attacks.
   

The Suffering Servant

 ¹³The LORD says:    My servant will succeed!
   He will be given great praise
   and the highest honors.
    ¹⁴Many were horrified
   at what happened to him. ^[e] But everyone who saw him
   was even more horrified
   because he suffered until
   he no longer looked human. ^{[f] 15}My servant will make
   nations worthy to worship me; ^[g] kings will be silent
   as they bow in wonder. ^[h] They will see and think about
   things
   they have never seen
   or thought about before.
   

Isaiah 53

What God's Servant Did for Us

 ¹Has anyone believed us    or seen the mighty power
   of the LORD in action?
    ²Like a young plant or a root
   that sprouts in dry ground,
   the servant grew up
   obeying the LORD.
   He wasn't some handsome king.
   Nothing about the way he looked
   made him attractive to us.
    ³He was hated and rejected;
   his life was filled with sorrow
   and terrible suffering.
   No one wanted to look at him.
   We despised him and said,
   "He is a nobody!"
    ⁴He suffered and endured
   great pain for us,
   but we thought his suffering
   was punishment from God.
    ⁵He was wounded and crushed
   because of our sins;
   by taking our punishment,
   he made us completely well.
    ⁶All of us were like sheep
   that had wandered off.
   We had each gone our own way,
   but the LORD gave him
   the punishment we deserved.
    ⁷He was painfully abused,
   but he did not complain.
   He was silent like a lamb
   being led to the butcher,
   as quiet as a sheep
   having its wool cut off.
    ⁸He was condemned to death
   without a fair trial.
   Who could have imagined
   what would happen to him?
   His life was taken away
   because of the sinful things
   my people ^[i] had done. ⁹He wasn't dishonest or violent,
   but he was buried in a tomb
   of cruel and rich people. ^{[j] 10}The LORD decided his servant
   would suffer as a sacrifice
   to take away the sin
   and guilt of others.
   Now the servant will live
   to see his own descendants. ^[k] He did everything
   the LORD had planned.
    ¹¹By suffering, the servant
   will learn the true meaning
   of obeying the LORD.
   Although he is innocent,
   he will take the punishment
   for the sins of others,
   so that many of them
   will no longer be guilty.
    ¹²The LORD will reward him
   with honor and power
   for sacrificing his life.
   Others thought he was a sinner,
   but he suffered for our sins
   and asked God to forgive us.
   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 51:9 Rahab: This may refer to Egypt at the time of the exodus.
2. Isaiah 51:19 I. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Isaiah 52:5 another nation: Babylonia.
4. Isaiah 52:5 groan with pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Isaiah 52:14 him: One ancient translation; Hebrew "you."
6. Isaiah 52:14 human: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
7. Isaiah 52:15 My. . . me: Hebrew; one ancient translation "The nations will be amazed at him."
8. Isaiah 52:15 kings. . . wonder: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
9. Isaiah 53:8 my people: Or "his people."
10. Isaiah 53:9 but he. . . people: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
11. Isaiah 53:10 The LORD. . . descendants: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Ephesians 5:1-33 (Contemporary English Version)

Ephesians 5

 ¹Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. ²Let love be your guide. Christ loved us ^[a] and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God. ³You are God's people, so don't let it be said that any of you are immoral or indecent or greedy. ⁴Don't use dirty or foolish or filthy words. Instead, say how thankful you are. ⁵Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols. You can be sure that people who behave in this way will never be part of the kingdom that belongs to Christ and to God.    

Living as People of Light

 ⁶Don't let anyone trick you with foolish talk. God punishes everyone who disobeys him and says ^[b] foolish things. ⁷So don't have anything to do with anyone like that. ⁸You used to be like people living in the dark, but now you are people of the light because you belong to the Lord. So act like people of the light ⁹and make your light shine. Be good and honest and truthful, ¹⁰as you try to please the Lord. ¹¹Don't take part in doing those worthless things that are done in the dark. Instead, show how wrong they are. ¹²It is disgusting even to talk about what is done in the dark. ¹³But the light will show what these things are really like. ¹⁴Light shows up everything, ^[c] just as the Scriptures say, "Wake up from your sleep    and rise from death.
   Then Christ will shine on you."
    ¹⁵Act like people with good sense and not like fools. ¹⁶These are evil times, so make every minute count. ¹⁷Don't be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸Don't destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. ¹⁹When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. ²⁰Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.
   

Wives and Husbands

 ²¹Honor Christ and put others first. ²²A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord. ²³A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and the Savior of the church, which is his own body. ²⁴Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first.     ²⁵A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. ²⁶He made the church holy by the power of his word, and he made it pure by washing it with water. ²⁷Christ did this, so that he would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws.
    ²⁸In the same way, a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows that he loves himself. ²⁹None of us hate our own bodies. We provide for them and take good care of them, just as Christ does for the church, ³⁰because we are each part of his body. ³¹As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother to get married, and he becomes like one person with his wife." ³²This is a great mystery, but I understand it to mean Christ and his church. ³³So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband.
   

Footnotes:

1. Ephesians 5:2 us: Some manuscripts have you.
2. Ephesians 5:6 says: Or does.
3. Ephesians 5:14 Light shows up everything: Or Everything that is seen in the light becomes light itself.

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Psalm 69:19-36 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹You know how I am insulted,
   mocked, and disgraced;
   you know every one
   of my enemies.
    ²⁰I am crushed by insults,
   and I feel sick.
   I had hoped for mercy and pity,
   but there was none.
    ²¹Enemies poisoned my food,
   and when I was thirsty,
   they gave me vinegar.
    ²²Make their table a trap
   for them and their friends.
    ²³Blind them with darkness
   and make them tremble.
    ²⁴Show them how angry you are!
   Be furious and catch them.
    ²⁵Destroy their camp
   and don't let anyone live
   in their tents.
    ²⁶They cause trouble for people
   you have already punished;
   their gossip hurts those
   you have wounded.
    ²⁷Make them guiltier than ever
   and don't forgive them.
    ²⁸Wipe their names from the book
   of the living;
   remove them from the list
   of the innocent.
    ²⁹I am mistreated and in pain.
   Protect me, God,
   and keep me safe!
    ³⁰I will praise the LORD God
   with a song
   and a thankful heart.
    ³¹This will please the LORD
   better than offering an ox
   or a full-grown bull.
    ³²When those in need see this,
   they will be happy,
   and the LORD's worshipers
   will be encouraged.
    ³³The LORD will listen
   when the homeless cry out,
   and he will never forget
   his people in prison.
    ³⁴Heaven and earth
   will praise our God,
   and so will the oceans
   and everything in them.
    ³⁵God will rescue Jerusalem,
   and he will rebuild
   the towns of Judah.
   His people will live there
   on their own land,
    ³⁶and when the time comes,
   their children will inherit
   the land.
   Then everyone who loves God
   will also settle there.

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Proverbs 24:7 (Contemporary English Version)

-22-

 ⁷ Wisdom is too much for fools!    Their advice is no good.

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Verse of the Day

“But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.” - Matthew 6:33

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Bernard Williams, English moral philosopher, wrote, “People who say, 'Let the chips fall where they may,' usually figure they will not be hit by a chip.”