Bible Readings for September 27, 2016

Today our passages are Isaiah 51:1–53:12; Ephesians 5:1-33; Psalm 69:19-36; and Proverbs 24:7. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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Isaiah 51-53:12 (The Message)

Isaiah 51

Committed to Seeking God

 ^1-3 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God.
Ponder the rock from which you were cut,
   the quarry from which you were dug.
Yes, ponder Abraham, your father,
   and Sarah, who bore you.
Think of it! One solitary man when I called him,
   but once I blessed him, he multiplied.
Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion,
   comfort all her mounds of ruins.
I'll transform her dead ground into Eden,
   her moonscape into the garden of God,
A place filled with exuberance and laughter,
   thankful voices and melodic songs.  ^4-6"Pay attention, my people.
   Listen to me, nations.
Revelation flows from me.
   My decisions light up the world.
My deliverance arrives on the run,
   my salvation right on time.
   I'll bring justice to the peoples.
Even faraway islands will look to me
   and take hope in my saving power.
Look up at the skies,
   ponder the earth under your feet.
The skies will fade out like smoke,
   the earth will wear out like work pants,
   and the people will die off like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
   my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.
 ^7-8"Listen now, you who know right from wrong,
   you who hold my teaching inside you:
Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked
   don't let it get you down.
Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten,
   from brains that are termite-ridden,
But my setting-things-right lasts,
   my salvation goes on and on and on."
 ^9-11Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!
   Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.
Didn't you once make mincemeat of Rahab,
   dispatch the old chaos-dragon?
And didn't you once dry up the sea,
   the powerful waters of the deep,
And then made the bottom of the ocean a road
   for the redeemed to walk across?
In the same way God's ransomed will come back,
   come back to Zion cheering, shouting,
Joy eternal wreathing their heads,
   exuberant ecstasies transporting them—
   and not a sign of moans or groans.

What Are You Afraid of—or Who?

 ^12-16"I, I'm the One comforting you.
   What are you afraid of—or who?
Some man or woman who'll soon be dead?
   Some poor wretch destined for dust?
You've forgotten me, God, who made you,
   who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.
And here you are, quaking like an aspen
   before the tantrums of a tyrant
   who thinks he can kick down the world.
But what will come of the tantrums?
   The victims will be released before you know it.
They're not going to die.
   They're not even going to go hungry.
For I am God, your very own God,
   who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,
   named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
I teach you how to talk, word by word,
   and personally watch over you,
Even while I'm unfurling the skies,
   setting earth on solid foundations,
   and greeting Zion: 'Welcome, my people!'"  ^17-20So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!
   Up on your feet, Jerusalem!
You've drunk the cup God handed you,
   the strong drink of his anger.
You drank it down to the last drop,
   staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.
And nobody to help you home,
   no one among your friends or children
   to take you by the hand and put you in bed.
You've been hit with a double dose of trouble
   —does anyone care?
Assault and battery, hunger and death
   —will anyone comfort?
Your sons and daughters have passed out,
   strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,
Sleeping off the strong drink of God's anger,
   the rage of your God.
 ^21-23Therefore listen, please,
   you with your splitting headaches,
You who are nursing the hangovers
   that didn't come from drinking wine.
Your Master, your God, has something to say,
   your God has taken up his people's case:
"Look, I've taken back the drink that sent you reeling.
   No more drinking from that jug of my anger!
I've passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,
   'Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!'
And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,
   you were the dirt under their feet."

Isaiah 52

God Is Leading You Out of Here

 ^1-2 Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion! Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city!
Those who want no part of God have been culled out.
   They won't be coming along.
Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem!    Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!
 ³God says, "You were sold for nothing. You're being bought back for nothing."
 ^4-6Again, the Master, God, says, "Early on, my people went to Egypt and lived, strangers in the land. At the other end, Assyria oppressed them. And now, what have I here?" God's Decree. "My people are hauled off again for no reason at all. Tyrants on the warpath, whooping it up, and day after day, incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it's time that my people know who I am, what I'm made of—yes, that I have something to say. Here I am!"
 ^7-10How beautiful on the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all's well,
   proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,
   telling Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts,
   shouting in joyful unison.
They see with their own eyes
   God coming back to Zion.
Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:
   "God has comforted his people!
   He's redeemed Jerusalem!"
God has rolled up his sleeves.
   All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.
Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other,
   sees him at work, doing his salvation work.
 ^11-12Out of here! Out of here! Leave this place!
   Don't look back. Don't contaminate yourselves with plunder.
Just leave, but leave clean. Purify yourselves
   in the process of worship, carrying the holy vessels of God.
But you don't have to be in a hurry.
   You're not running from anybody!
God is leading you out of here,
   and the God of Israel is also your rear guard.

It Was Our Pains He Carried

 ^13-15"Just watch my servant blossom!
   Exalted, tall, head and shoulders above the crowd!
But he didn't begin that way.
   At first everyone was appalled.
He didn't even look human—
   a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.
Nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback,
   kings shocked into silence when they see him.
For what was unheard of they'll see with their own eyes,
   what was unthinkable they'll have right before them."

Isaiah 53

 ¹ Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?  ^2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
   a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
   nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
   that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
   Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
   on him, on him.
 ^7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,
   but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
   and like a sheep being sheared,
   he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
   and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
   beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
   threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
   or said one word that wasn't true.
 ¹⁰Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
   to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
   so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
   And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.
 ^11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,
   he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
   will make many "righteous ones,"
   as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
   the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
   because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
   he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

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Ephesians 5:1-33 (The Message)

Ephesians 5

Wake Up from Your Sleep

 ^1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.  ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.
 ⁵You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.
 ^6-7Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.
 ^8-10You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.
 ^11-16Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

   Wake up from your sleep,
   Climb out of your coffins;
   Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
 ¹⁷Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
 ^18-20Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.

Relationships

 ²¹Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.  ^22-24Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
 ^25-28Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.
 ^29-33No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

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Psalm 69:19-36 (The Message)

 ¹⁹ You know how they kick me around—
   Pin on me the donkey's ears, the dunce's cap.

 ²⁰ I'm broken by their taunts,
   Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.
   I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one.
   I couldn't find one shoulder to cry on.

 ²¹ They put poison in my soup,
   Vinegar in my drink.

 ²² Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
   May their best friends be trappers who'll skin them alive.

 ²³ Make them become blind as bats,
   Give them the shakes from morning to night.

 ²⁴ Let them know what you think of them,
   Blast them with your red-hot anger.

 ²⁵ Burn down their houses,
   Leave them desolate with nobody at home.

 ²⁶ They gossiped about the one you disciplined,
   Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.

 ²⁷ Pile on the guilt,
   Don't let them off the hook.

 ²⁸ Strike their names from the list of the living;
   No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.

 ²⁹ I'm hurt and in pain;
   Give me space for healing, and mountain air.

 ³⁰ Let me shout God's name with a praising song,
   Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.

 ³¹ For God, this is better than oxen on the altar,
   Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.

 ³² The poor in spirit see and are glad—
   Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

 ³³ For God listens to the poor,
   He doesn't walk out on the wretched.

 ³⁴ You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;
   Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

 ³⁵ For God is out to help Zion,
   Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.
   Guess who will live there—
   The proud owners of the land?

 ³⁶ No, the children of his servants will get it,
   The lovers of his name will live in it.

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Proverbs 24:7 (The Message)

22

 ⁷ Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
   in a serious discussion they haven't a clue.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

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

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French poet, Arthur Rimbaud wrote, “Only divine love bestows the keys of knowledge.”

Bible Readings for September 27, 2014

Today our passages are Isaiah 51:1–53:12; Ephesians 5:1-33; Psalm 69:19-36; and Proverbs 24:7. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you missed a day, you can find all the readings at our blog, The Bible in a Year.

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Isaiah 51-53:12 (The Message)

Isaiah 51

Committed to Seeking God

 ^1-3 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God.
Ponder the rock from which you were cut,
   the quarry from which you were dug.
Yes, ponder Abraham, your father,
   and Sarah, who bore you.
Think of it! One solitary man when I called him,
   but once I blessed him, he multiplied.
Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion,
   comfort all her mounds of ruins.
I'll transform her dead ground into Eden,
   her moonscape into the garden of God,
A place filled with exuberance and laughter,
   thankful voices and melodic songs.  ^4-6"Pay attention, my people.
   Listen to me, nations.
Revelation flows from me.
   My decisions light up the world.
My deliverance arrives on the run,
   my salvation right on time.
   I'll bring justice to the peoples.
Even faraway islands will look to me
   and take hope in my saving power.
Look up at the skies,
   ponder the earth under your feet.
The skies will fade out like smoke,
   the earth will wear out like work pants,
   and the people will die off like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
   my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.
 ^7-8"Listen now, you who know right from wrong,
   you who hold my teaching inside you:
Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked
   don't let it get you down.
Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten,
   from brains that are termite-ridden,
But my setting-things-right lasts,
   my salvation goes on and on and on."
 ^9-11Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!
   Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.
Didn't you once make mincemeat of Rahab,
   dispatch the old chaos-dragon?
And didn't you once dry up the sea,
   the powerful waters of the deep,
And then made the bottom of the ocean a road
   for the redeemed to walk across?
In the same way God's ransomed will come back,
   come back to Zion cheering, shouting,
Joy eternal wreathing their heads,
   exuberant ecstasies transporting them—
   and not a sign of moans or groans.

What Are You Afraid of—or Who?

 ^12-16"I, I'm the One comforting you.
   What are you afraid of—or who?
Some man or woman who'll soon be dead?
   Some poor wretch destined for dust?
You've forgotten me, God, who made you,
   who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth.
And here you are, quaking like an aspen
   before the tantrums of a tyrant
   who thinks he can kick down the world.
But what will come of the tantrums?
   The victims will be released before you know it.
They're not going to die.
   They're not even going to go hungry.
For I am God, your very own God,
   who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves,
   named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
I teach you how to talk, word by word,
   and personally watch over you,
Even while I'm unfurling the skies,
   setting earth on solid foundations,
   and greeting Zion: 'Welcome, my people!'"  ^17-20So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!
   Up on your feet, Jerusalem!
You've drunk the cup God handed you,
   the strong drink of his anger.
You drank it down to the last drop,
   staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.
And nobody to help you home,
   no one among your friends or children
   to take you by the hand and put you in bed.
You've been hit with a double dose of trouble
   —does anyone care?
Assault and battery, hunger and death
   —will anyone comfort?
Your sons and daughters have passed out,
   strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,
Sleeping off the strong drink of God's anger,
   the rage of your God.
 ^21-23Therefore listen, please,
   you with your splitting headaches,
You who are nursing the hangovers
   that didn't come from drinking wine.
Your Master, your God, has something to say,
   your God has taken up his people's case:
"Look, I've taken back the drink that sent you reeling.
   No more drinking from that jug of my anger!
I've passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,
   'Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!'
And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,
   you were the dirt under their feet."

Isaiah 52

God Is Leading You Out of Here

 ^1-2 Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion! Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city!
Those who want no part of God have been culled out.
   They won't be coming along.
Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem!    Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!
 ³God says, "You were sold for nothing. You're being bought back for nothing."
 ^4-6Again, the Master, God, says, "Early on, my people went to Egypt and lived, strangers in the land. At the other end, Assyria oppressed them. And now, what have I here?" God's Decree. "My people are hauled off again for no reason at all. Tyrants on the warpath, whooping it up, and day after day, incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it's time that my people know who I am, what I'm made of—yes, that I have something to say. Here I am!"
 ^7-10How beautiful on the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all's well,
   proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,
   telling Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts,
   shouting in joyful unison.
They see with their own eyes
   God coming back to Zion.
Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:
   "God has comforted his people!
   He's redeemed Jerusalem!"
God has rolled up his sleeves.
   All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.
Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other,
   sees him at work, doing his salvation work.
 ^11-12Out of here! Out of here! Leave this place!
   Don't look back. Don't contaminate yourselves with plunder.
Just leave, but leave clean. Purify yourselves
   in the process of worship, carrying the holy vessels of God.
But you don't have to be in a hurry.
   You're not running from anybody!
God is leading you out of here,
   and the God of Israel is also your rear guard.

It Was Our Pains He Carried

 ^13-15"Just watch my servant blossom!
   Exalted, tall, head and shoulders above the crowd!
But he didn't begin that way.
   At first everyone was appalled.
He didn't even look human—
   a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.
Nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback,
   kings shocked into silence when they see him.
For what was unheard of they'll see with their own eyes,
   what was unthinkable they'll have right before them."

Isaiah 53

 ¹ Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?  ^2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
   a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
   nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
   a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
   We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
   our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
   that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
   Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
   on him, on him.
 ^7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,
   but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
   and like a sheep being sheared,
   he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
   and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
   beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
   threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
   or said one word that wasn't true.
 ¹⁰Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
   to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
   so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
   And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.
 ^11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,
   he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
   will make many "righteous ones,"
   as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
   the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
   because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
   he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

---

Ephesians 5:1-33 (The Message)

Ephesians 5

Wake Up from Your Sleep

 ^1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.  ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.
 ⁵You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.
 ^6-7Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.
 ^8-10You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.
 ^11-16Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

   Wake up from your sleep,
   Climb out of your coffins;
   Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
 ¹⁷Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
 ^18-20Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.

Relationships

 ²¹Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.  ^22-24Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
 ^25-28Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.
 ^29-33No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

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Psalm 69:19-36 (The Message)

 ¹⁹ You know how they kick me around—
   Pin on me the donkey's ears, the dunce's cap.

 ²⁰ I'm broken by their taunts,
   Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.
   I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one.
   I couldn't find one shoulder to cry on.

 ²¹ They put poison in my soup,
   Vinegar in my drink.

 ²² Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
   May their best friends be trappers who'll skin them alive.

 ²³ Make them become blind as bats,
   Give them the shakes from morning to night.

 ²⁴ Let them know what you think of them,
   Blast them with your red-hot anger.

 ²⁵ Burn down their houses,
   Leave them desolate with nobody at home.

 ²⁶ They gossiped about the one you disciplined,
   Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.

 ²⁷ Pile on the guilt,
   Don't let them off the hook.

 ²⁸ Strike their names from the list of the living;
   No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.

 ²⁹ I'm hurt and in pain;
   Give me space for healing, and mountain air.

 ³⁰ Let me shout God's name with a praising song,
   Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.

 ³¹ For God, this is better than oxen on the altar,
   Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.

 ³² The poor in spirit see and are glad—
   Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

 ³³ For God listens to the poor,
   He doesn't walk out on the wretched.

 ³⁴ You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;
   Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

 ³⁵ For God is out to help Zion,
   Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.
   Guess who will live there—
   The proud owners of the land?

 ³⁶ No, the children of his servants will get it,
   The lovers of his name will live in it.

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Proverbs 24:7 (The Message)

22

 ⁷ Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
   in a serious discussion they haven't a clue.

 

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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

 

French poet, Arthur Rimbaud wrote, “Only divine love bestows the keys of knowledge.”

Bible Readings for June 18, 2013

Today our passages are 1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26; and Proverbs 17:14-15. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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1 Kings 19:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Kings 19

Elijah Runs Away from Ahab and Jezebel

 ¹Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had killed the prophets. ²She sent a message to Elijah: "You killed my prophets. Now I'm going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don't do it by this time tomorrow."     ³Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there, ⁴then walked another whole day into the desert. Finally, he came to a large bush and sat down in its shade. He begged the LORD, "I've had enough. Just let me die! I'm no better off than my ancestors." ⁵Then he lay down in the shade and fell asleep.
   Suddenly an angel woke him up and said, "Get up and eat." ⁶Elijah looked around, and by his head was a jar of water and some baked bread. He sat up, ate and drank, then lay down and went back to sleep.
    ⁷Soon the LORD's angel woke him again and said, "Get up and eat, or else you'll get too tired to travel." ⁸So Elijah sat up and ate and drank.
   The food and water made him strong enough to walk forty more days. At last, he reached Mount Sinai, ^[a] the mountain of God, ⁹and he spent the night there in a cave. While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the LORD asked, "Elijah, why are you here?"
   

The LORD Appears to Elijah

 ¹⁰He answered, "LORD God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!"     ¹¹"Go out and stand on the mountain," the LORD replied. "I want you to see me when I pass by."
   All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. But the LORD was not in the wind. Next, there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹²Then there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
   Finally, there was a gentle breeze, ^{[b] 13}and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. The LORD ^[c] asked, "Elijah, why are you here?" ¹⁴Elijah answered, "LORD God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!"
    ¹⁵The LORD said:
   Elijah, you can go back to the desert near Damascus. And when you get there, appoint ^[d] Hazael to be king of Syria. ¹⁶Then appoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat ^[e] to take your place as my prophet. ¹⁷Hazael will start killing the people who worship Baal. Jehu will kill those who escape from Hazael, and Elisha will kill those who escape from Jehu.
    ¹⁸But seven thousand Israelites have refused to worship Baal, and they will live.
   

Elisha Becomes Elijah's Assistant

 ¹⁹Elijah left and found Elisha plowing a field with a pair of oxen. There were eleven other men in front of him, and each one was also plowing with a pair of oxen. Elijah went over and put his own coat on Elisha. ^{[f] 20}Elisha stopped plowing and ran after him. "Let me kiss my parents good-by, then I'll go with you," he said.    "You can go," Elijah said. "But remember what I've done for you."
    ²¹Elisha left and took his oxen with him. He killed them and boiled them over a fire he had made with the wood from his plow. He gave the meat to the people who were with him, and they ate it. Then he left with Elijah and became his assistant.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 Kings 19:8 Sinai: Hebrew "Horeb."
2. 1 Kings 19:12 a gentle breeze: Or "a soft whisper" or "hardly a sound."
3. 1 Kings 19:13 The LORD: Hebrew "A voice."
4. 1 Kings 19:15 appoint: This would have included a ceremony in which olive oil would be poured on his head to show that he was now king.
5. 1 Kings 19:16 Shaphat: Hebrew "Shaphat from Abel-Meholah."
6. 1 Kings 19:19 put. . . Elisha: This was a sign that Elijah wanted Elisha to follow him and become a prophet.

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Acts 12:1-23 (Contemporary English Version)

Acts 12

Herod Causes Trouble for the Church

 ¹At that time King Herod ^[a] caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. ²He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. ³When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested during the Festival of Thin Bread. ⁴He put Peter in jail and ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after the festival. ⁵While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him.    

Peter Is Rescued

 ⁶The night before Peter was to be put on trial, he was asleep and bound by two chains. A soldier was guarding him on each side, and two other soldiers were guarding the entrance to the jail. ⁷Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared, and light flashed around in the cell. The angel poked Peter in the side and woke him up. Then he said, "Quick! Get up!"    The chains fell off his hands, ⁸and the angel said, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." Peter did what he was told. Then the angel said, "Now put on your coat and follow me." ⁹Peter left with the angel, but he thought everything was only a dream. ¹⁰They went past the two groups of soldiers, and when they came to the iron gate to the city, it opened by itself. They went out and were going along the street, when all at once the angel disappeared.
    ¹¹Peter now realized what had happened, and he said, "I am certain that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod and from everything the Jewish leaders planned to do to me." ¹²Then Peter went to the house of Mary the mother of John whose other name was Mark. Many of the Lord's followers had come together there and were praying.
    ¹³Peter knocked on the gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴When she heard Peter's voice, she was too excited to open the gate. She ran back into the house and said that Peter was standing there.
    ¹⁵"You are crazy!" everyone told her. But she kept saying that it was Peter. Then they said, "It must be his angel." ^{[b] 16}But Peter kept on knocking, until finally they opened the gate. They saw him and were completely amazed. ¹⁷Peter motioned for them to keep quiet. Then he told how the Lord had led him out of jail. He also said, "Tell James ^[c] and the others what has happened." After that, he left and went somewhere else. ¹⁸The next morning the soldiers who had been on guard were terribly worried and wondered what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹Herod ordered his own soldiers to search for him, but they could not find him. Then he questioned the guards and had them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.
   

Herod Dies

 ²⁰Herod and the people of Tyre and Sidon were very angry with each other. But their country got its food supply from the region that he ruled. So a group of them went to see Blastus, who was one of Herod's high officials. They convinced Blastus that they wanted to make peace between their cities and Herod, ²¹and a day was set for them to meet with him.    Herod came dressed in his royal robes. He sat down on his throne and made a speech. ²²The people shouted, "You speak more like a god than a man!" ²³At once an angel from the Lord struck him down because he took the honor that belonged to God. Later, Herod was eaten by worms and died.
   

Footnotes:

1. Acts 12:1 Herod: Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great.
2. Acts 12:15 his angel: Probably meaning "his guardian angel."
3. Acts 12:17 James: The brother of the Lord.

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Psalm 136:1-26 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 136

God's Love Never Fails

 ¹Praise the LORD! He is good.    God's love never fails.
    ²Praise the God of all gods.
   God's love never fails.
    ³Praise the Lord of lords.
   God's love never fails.
    ⁴Only God works great miracles. ^[a] God's love never fails.
    ⁵With wisdom he made the sky.
   God's love never fails.
    ⁶The Lord stretched the earth
   over the ocean.
   God's love never fails.
    ⁷He made the bright lights
   in the sky.
   God's love never fails.
    ⁸He lets the sun rule each day.
   God's love never fails.
    ⁹He lets the moon and the stars
   rule each night.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹⁰God struck down the first-born
   in every Egyptian family.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹¹He rescued Israel from Egypt.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹²God used his great strength
   and his powerful arm.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹³He split the Red Sea ^[b] apart. God's love never fails.
    ¹⁴The Lord brought Israel safely
   through the sea.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹⁵He destroyed the Egyptian king
   and his army there.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹⁶The Lord led his people
   through the desert.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹⁷Our God defeated mighty kings.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹⁸And he killed famous kings.
   God's love never fails.
    ¹⁹One of them was Sihon,
   king of the Amorites.
   God's love never fails.
    ²⁰Another was King Og of Bashan.
   God's love never fails.
    ²¹God took away their land.
   God's love never fails.
    ²²He gave their land to Israel,
   the people who serve him.
   God's love never fails.
    ²³God saw the trouble we were in.
   God's love never fails.
    ²⁴He rescued us from our enemies.
   God's love never fails.
    ²⁵He gives food to all who live.
   God's love never fails.
    ²⁶Praise God in heaven!
   God's love never fails.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 136:4 great miracles: One Hebrew manuscript and one ancient translation have " miracles."
2. Psalm 136:13 Red Sea: See the note at 106.7.

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Proverbs 17:14-15 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴The start of an argument
   is like a water leak--
   so stop it before
   real trouble breaks out.
    ¹⁵The LORD doesn't like those
   who defend the guilty
   or condemn the innocent.

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Verse of the Day

“Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord.” - Ephesians 6:4

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French poet Arthur Rimbaud wrote, “Only divine love bestows the keys of knowledge.”