Bible Readings for September 9, 2013

Today our passages are Isaiah 3:1–5:30; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15; Psalm 53:1-6; and Proverbs 22:28-29. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Isaiah 3-5:30 (Contemporary English Version)

Isaiah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

 ¹The mighty LORD All-Powerful    is going to take away
   from Jerusalem and Judah
   everything you need--
   your bread and water,
    ²soldiers and heroes,
   judges and prophets,
   leaders and army officers,
    ³officials and advisors,
   fortunetellers
   and others
   who tell the future.
    ⁴He will let children and babies ^[a] become your rulers.
    ⁵You will each be cruel
   to friends and neighbors.
   Young people will insult
   their elders;
   no one will show respect
   to those who deserve it.
    ⁶Some of you will grab hold
   of a relative and say,
   "You still have a coat.
   Be our leader
   and rule
   this pile of ruins."
    ⁷But the answer will be,
   "I can't do you any good.
   Don't make me your leader.
   There's no food or clothing
   left in my house."
    ⁸Jerusalem and Judah,
   you rebelled against
   your glorious LORD--
   your words and your actions,
   made you stumble and fall.
    ⁹The look on your faces shows
   that you are sinful as Sodom,
   and you don't try to hide it.
   You are in for trouble,
   and you have brought it all
   on yourselves.
   

The Wrong Kind of Leaders

 ¹⁰Tell those who obey God,    "You're very fortunate--
   you will be rewarded
   for what you have done."
    ¹¹Tell those who disobey,
   "You're in big trouble--
   what you did to others
   will come back to you."
    ¹²Though you are God's people,
   you are ruled and abused
   by women and children.
   You are confused by leaders
   who guide you
   down the wrong path.
    ¹³The LORD is ready to accuse
   and judge all nations.
    ¹⁴He will even judge
   you rulers and leaders
   of his own nation.
   You destroyed his vineyard ^[b] and filled your houses
   by robbing the poor.
    ¹⁵The LORD All-Powerful says,
   "You have crushed my people
   and rubbed in the dirt
   the faces of the poor."
   

The Women of Jerusalem

 ¹⁶The LORD says:    The women of Jerusalem
   are proud
   and strut around,
   winking shamelessly.
   They wear anklets that jingle
   and call attention
   to the way they walk.
    ¹⁷But I, the LORD, will cover
   their heads with sores,
   and I will uncover
   their private parts.
    ^18-23When that day comes, I will take away from those women all the fine jewelry they wear on their ankles, heads, necks, ears, arms, noses, fingers, and on their clothes. I will remove their veils, their belts, their perfume, their magic charms, their royal robes, and all their fancy dresses, hats, and purses.
    ²⁴In place of perfume,
   there will be a stink;
   in place of belts,
   there will be ropes;
   in place of fancy hairdos,
   they will have bald heads.
   Instead of expensive clothes,
   they will wear sackcloth;
   instead of beauty,
   they will have ugly scars.
    ²⁵The fighting men of Jerusalem
   will be killed in battle.
    ²⁶The city will mourn
   and sit in the dirt,
   emptied of its people.
   

Isaiah 4

 ¹When this happens, seven women will grab the same man, and each of them will say, "I'll buy my own food and clothes! Just marry me and take away my disgrace." ^[c]

The LORD Will Bless His People Who Survive

 ²The time is coming when the LORD will make his land fruitful and glorious again, and the people of Israel who survive will take great pride in what the land produces. ³Everyone who is left alive in Jerusalem will be called special, ⁴after the LORD sends a fiery judgment to clean the city and its people of their violent deeds.     ⁵Then the LORD will cover the whole city and its meeting places with a thick cloud each day and with a flaming fire ^[d] each night. God's own glory will be like a huge tent that covers everything. ⁶It will provide shade from the heat of the sun and a place of shelter and protection from storms and rain.

Isaiah 5

A Song about a Vineyard

The LORD said:

 ¹I will sing a song    about my friend's vineyard
   that was on the side
   of a fertile hill.
    ²My friend dug the ground,
   removed the stones,
   and planted the best vines.
   He built a watchtower
   and dug a pit in rocky ground
   for pressing the grapes.
   He hoped they would be sweet,
   but bitter grapes
   were all it produced.
    ³Listen, people of Jerusalem
   and of Judah!
   You be the judge of me
   and my vineyard.
    ⁴What more could I have done
   for my vineyard?
   I hoped for sweet grapes,
   but bitter grapes
   were all that grew.
    ⁵Now I will let you know
   what I am going to do.
   I will cut down the hedge
   and tear down the wall.
   My vineyard will be trampled
   and left in ruins.
    ⁶It will turn into a desert,
   neither pruned nor hoed;
   it will be covered
   with thorns and briars.
   I will command the clouds
   not to send rain.
    ⁷I am the LORD All-Powerful!
   Israel is the vineyard,
   and Judah is the garden
   I tended with care.
   I had hoped for honesty
   and for justice,
   but dishonesty
   and cries for mercy
   were all I found.
   

Isaiah Condemns Social Injustice

 ⁸You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land. ⁹But the LORD All-Powerful has made this promise to me:    Those large and beautiful homes will be left empty, with no one to take care of them. ¹⁰Ten acres of grapevines will produce only six gallons of juice, and five bushels of seed will produce merely a half-bushel of grain.
    ¹¹You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night. ¹²At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the LORD has done, ¹³and so his people know nothing about him. That's why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst.
    ¹⁴The world of the dead has opened its mouth wide and is eagerly waiting for the leaders of Jerusalem and for its noisy crowds, especially for those who take pride in that city. ¹⁵Its citizens have been put down, and its proud people have been brought to shame. ¹⁶But the holy LORD God All-Powerful is praised, because he has shown who he is by bringing justice. ¹⁷His people will be like sheep grazing in their own pasture, and they will take off what was left by others. ^{[e] 18}You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil. ¹⁹And you say, "Let the holy God of Israel hurry up and do what he has promised, so we can see it for ourselves." ²⁰You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet.
    ²¹You think you are clever and smart. ²²And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble. ²³You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent out of a fair trial.
    ²⁴You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy LORD God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.
    ²⁵You are the LORD's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm. Mountains shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. The LORD is still angry, and he is ready to strike you again. ^[f]

Foreign Nations Will Attack

 ²⁶The LORD has signaled for the foreign nations to come and attack you. He has already whistled, and they are coming as fast as they can. ²⁷None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling. Their belts don't come loose; their sandal straps don't break. ²⁸Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The hoofs of their horses are hard as flint; the wheels of their war chariots turn as fast as a whirlwind.     ²⁹They roar and growl like fierce young lions as they grab their victims and drag them off where no one can rescue them. ³⁰On the day they attack, they will roar like the ocean. And across the land you will see nothing but darkness and trouble, because the light of day will be covered by thick clouds.
   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 3:4 babies: Or "worthless nobodies."
2. Isaiah 3:14 his vineyard: The nation Israel (see 5.1-7).
3. Isaiah 4:1 take away my disgrace: If a woman did not have a husband or children, it was thought that God was punishing her.
4. Isaiah 4:5 thick. . . fire: This is how the LORD led the people of Israel during the forty years they were in the desert (see Exodus 13.20-22; 40.36-38).
5. Isaiah 5:17 and they. . . others: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6. Isaiah 5:25 is ready. . . again: Or "hasn't given up on you yet."

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2 Corinthians 11:1-15 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Corinthians 11

Paul and the False Apostles

 ¹Please put up with a little of my foolishness. ²I am as concerned about you as God is. You were like a virgin bride I had chosen only for Christ. ³But now I fear that you will be tricked, just as Eve was tricked by that lying snake. I am afraid that you might stop thinking about Christ in an honest and sincere way. ⁴We told you about Jesus, and you received the Holy Spirit and accepted our message. But you let some people tell you about another Jesus. Now you are ready to receive another spirit and accept a different message. ⁵I think I am as good as any of those super apostles. ⁶I may not speak as well as they do, but I know as much. And this has already been made perfectly clear to you.     ⁷Was it wrong for me to lower myself and honor you by preaching God's message free of charge? ⁸I robbed other churches by taking money from them to serve you. ⁹Even when I was in need, I still didn't bother you. In fact, some of the Lord's followers from Macedonia brought me what I needed. I have not been a burden to you in the past, and I will never be a burden. ¹⁰As surely as I speak the truth about Christ, no one in Achaia can stop me from bragging about this. ¹¹And it isn't because I don't love you. God himself knows how much I do love you.
    ¹²I plan to go on doing just what I have always done. Then those people won't be able to brag about doing the same things we are doing. ¹³Anyway, they are no more than false apostles and dishonest workers. They only pretend to be apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And it is no wonder. Even Satan tries to make himself look like an angel of light. ¹⁵So why does it seem strange for Satan's servants to pretend to do what is right? Someday they will get exactly what they deserve.

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Psalm 53:1-6 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 53

(A special psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune "Mahalath." (Psalm 53 Mahalath: Or " For flutes," one possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.) )

No One Can Ignore God

 ¹Only a fool would say,    "There is no God!"
   People like that are worthless!
   They are heartless and cruel
   and never do right.
    ²From heaven God
   looks down to see
   if anyone is wise enough
   to search for him.
    ³But all of them
   are crooked and corrupt.
   Not one of them does right.
    ⁴Won't you lawbreakers learn?
   You refuse to pray,
   and you gobble down
   the people of God.
    ⁵But you will be terrified
   worse than ever before.
   God will scatter the bones
   of his enemies,
   and you will be ashamed
   when God rejects you.
    ⁶I long for someone from Zion
   to come and save Israel!
   Our God, when you bless
   your people again,
   Jacob's family will be glad,
   and Israel will celebrate.

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Proverbs 22:28-29 (Contemporary English Version)

-4-

 ²⁸ Don't move a boundary marker ^[a] set up by your ancestors.    

-5-

 ²⁹ If you do your job well,    you will work for a ruler
   and never be a slave.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 22:28 marker: In ancient Israel boundary lines were sacred because all property was a gift from the Lord (see Deuteronomy 19.14).

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Verse of the Day

 

“Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail.” - Titus 2:2

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Kin Hubbard, American cartoonist, humorist, and journalist, wrote, “Some folks can look so busy doing nothing that they seem indispensable.”