Bible Readings for December 5, 2013

Today our passages are Hosea 1:1–3:5; 1 John 5:1-21; Psalm 124:1-8; and Proverbs 29:5-8. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Hosea 1-3:5 (Contemporary English Version)

Hosea 1

 ¹I am Hosea son of Beeri. When Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah, and when Jeroboam son of Jehoash ^[a] was king of Israel, ^[b] the LORD spoke this message to me.

Hosea's Family

 ²The LORD said, " Hosea, Israel has betrayed me like an unfaithful wife. ^[c] Marry such a woman and have children by her." ³So I married Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and we had a son. ⁴Then the LORD said, " Hosea, name your son Jezreel, ^[d] because I will soon punish the descendants of King Jehu of Israel for the murders he committed in Jezreel Valley. ^[e] I will destroy his kingdom, ⁵and in Jezreel Valley I will break the power of Israel." ⁶Later, Gomer had a daughter, and the LORD said, " Name her Lo-Ruhamah, ^[f] because I will no longer have mercy and forgive Israel. ⁷But I am the LORD God of Judah, and I will have mercy and save Judah by my own power--not by wars and arrows or swords and cavalry." ⁸After Gomer had stopped nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she had another son. ⁹Then the LORD said, " Name him Lo-Ammi, ^[g] because these people are not mine, and I am not their God."

Hope for Israel

 ¹⁰Someday it will be impossible to count the people of Israel, because there will be as many of them as there are grains of sand along the seashore. They are now called " Not My People," but in the future they will be called " Children of the Living God." ¹¹Israel and Judah will unite and choose one leader. Then they will take back their land, and this will be a great day for Jezreel. ^[h]

Hosea 2

 ¹So let your brothers be called " My People" and your sisters be called " Shown Mercy." ^[i]

The LORD Promises To Punish Israel

 ²Accuse! Accuse your mother!    She is no longer my wife,
   and now I, the LORD,
   am not her husband.
   Beg her to give up prostitution
   and stop being unfaithful, ^{[j] 3}or I will strip her naked
   like the day she was born.
   I will make her barren
   like a desert,
   and she will die of thirst.
    ⁴You children are the result
   of her unfaithfulness,
   and I'll show you no pity.
    ⁵Your mother was unfaithful.
   She was disgraceful and said,
   " I'll run after my lovers.
   Everything comes from them--
   my food and drink,
   my linen and wool,
   my olive oil and wine."
    ⁶I, the LORD, will build
   a fence of thorns
   to block her path.
    ⁷She will run after her lovers,
   but not catch them;
   she will search,
   but not find them.
   Then she will say, " I'll return
   to my first husband.
   Life was better then."
    ⁸She didn't know that her grain,
   wine, and olive oil
   were gifts from me,
   as were the gold and silver
   she used in worshiping Baal. ^{[k] 9}So I'll hold back the harvest
   of grain and grapes.
   I'll take back
   my wool and my linen
   that cover her body.
    ¹⁰Then I'll strip her naked
   in the sight of her lovers. ^[l] No one can rescue her.
    ¹¹I'll stop Israel's celebrations--
   no more New Moon Festivals,
   Sabbaths, or other feasts.
    ¹²She said, " My lovers gave me
   vineyards and fig trees
   as payment ^[m] for sex." Now I, the LORD, will ruin
   her vineyards and fig trees;
   they will become clumps of weeds
   eaten by wild animals.
    ¹³I'll punish her for the days
   she worshiped Baal
   and burned incense to him.
   I'll punish her for the times
   she forgot about me
   and wore jewelry and rings
   to attract her lovers.
   I, the LORD, have spoken!
   

The LORD Will Help Israel

 ¹⁴Israel, I, the LORD,    will lure you into the desert
   and speak gently to you.
    ¹⁵I will return your vineyards,
   and then Trouble Valley ^[n] will become Hopeful Valley.
   You will say " Yes" to me
   as you did in your youth,
   when leaving Egypt.
    ¹⁶I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master. ^{[o] 17}I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called " Master." ¹⁸And I will agree to let you live in peace--you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. ¹⁹I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price ^[p] I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, ²⁰and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am. ²¹I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, ²²and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. ²³I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah. ^[q] I will say to Lo-Ammi, ^[r] " You are my people," and they will answer, " You are our God."

Hosea 3

God's Love Offers Hope

 ¹Once again the LORD spoke to me. And this time he said, " Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman ^[s] who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit." ²So I paid fifteen pieces of silver and about ten bushels of grain for such a woman. ³Then I said, " Now you are mine! You will have to remain faithful to me, though it will be a long time before we sleep together."     ⁴It will also be a long time before Israel has a king or before sacrifices are offered at the temple or before there is any way to get guidance from God. ⁵But later, Israel will turn back to the LORD their God and to David their king. At that time they will come to the LORD with fear and trembling, and he will be good to them.
   

Footnotes:

1. Hosea 1:1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has " Joash," another spelling of the name.
2. Hosea 1:1 kings of Judah. . . king of Israel: Uzziah (781-740 B.C.), Jotham (740-736), Ahaz (736-716), Hezekiah (716-687), and Jeroboam II (783-743).
3. Hosea 1:2 unfaithful wife: In some Canaanite religions of Old Testament times, young women were expected to have sex with the worshipers of their god before marriage. Such women were called " temple prostitutes." Many of the Israelite women did this same thing, and Hosea is told to marry one of them to show that the nation has turned from the LORD to worship idols.
4. Hosea 1:4 Jezreel: In Hebrew " Jezreel" means " God scatters (seed)." Here the name is used as a threat (meaning the LORD will punish Israel by scattering its people), while in verse 11 it is used as a promise (meaning the LORD will bless Israel by giving their nation many people, just as a big harvest comes when many seeds are scattered in a field).
5. Hosea 1:4 murders. . . Valley: Jehu murdered the wife and relatives of King Ahab (see 2 Kings 9.15--10.14).
6. Hosea 1:6 Lo-Ruhamah: In Hebrew " Lo-Ruhamah" means " No Mercy."
7. Hosea 1:9 Lo-Ammi: In Hebrew " Lo-Ammi" means " Not My People."
8. Hosea 1:11 Jezreel: See the note at verse 4.
9. Hosea 2:1 My People. . . Shown Mercy: In Hebrew " My People" is " Ammi" and " Shown Mercy" is " Ruhamah" (see Lo-Ruhamah in 1.6 and Lo-Ammi in 1.9).
10. Hosea 2:2 prostitution. . . unfaithful: See the note at 1.2.
11. Hosea 2:8 Baal: A Canaanite god of fertility.
12. Hosea 2:10 I'll strip. . . lovers: Or " I'll show her lovers how disgusting she is."
13. Hosea 2:12 fig trees. . . payment: Hosea uses an unusual word for " fig tree," which is spelled something like the word for " payment."
14. Hosea 2:15 Trouble Valley: Or " Achor Valley." The exact location of the valley is unknown, but in Hebrew " Achor" sounds like " Achan," who brought trouble on Israel by disobeying the Lord (see Joshua 7.24-26).
15. Hosea 2:16 husband. . . master: In Hebrew the word " master" is the same as the name of the god Baal. But the LORD promises that his people will have a deep personal relationship with him (like a devoted wife and husband) rather than merely a legal tie (like a wife and her " master" ).
16. Hosea 2:19 bride price: It was the custom for the husband to pay his wife's parents a bride price. Instead of money, the LORD will give much better benefits to Israel.
17. Hosea 2:23 Lo-Ruhamah: See the note at 1.6.
18. Hosea 2:23 Lo-Ammi: See the note at 1.9.
19. Hosea 3:1 unfaithful woman: This may refer to Gomer, the woman Hosea married (see 1.3), or it may refer to another woman.

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1 John 5:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

1 John 5

Victory over the World

 ¹If we believe that Jesus is truly Christ, we are God's children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. ²If we love and obey God, we know that we will love his children. ³We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.     ⁴Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. ⁵No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
   

Who Jesus Is

 ⁶Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn't just water, but water and blood. ^[a] The Spirit tells about this, because the Spirit is truthful. ⁷In fact, there are three who tell about it. ⁸They are the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and they all agree. ⁹We believe what people tell us. But we can trust what God says even more, and God is the one who has spoken about his Son. ¹⁰If we have faith in God's Son, we have believed what God has said. But if we don't believe what God has said about his Son, it is the same as calling God a liar. ¹¹God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. ¹²And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life. But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life.    

Knowing about Eternal Life

 ¹³All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. ¹⁵And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.     ¹⁶Suppose you see one of our people commit a sin that isn't a deadly sin. You can pray, and that person will be given eternal life. But the sin must not be one that is deadly. ¹⁷Everything that is wrong is sin, but not all sins are deadly.
    ¹⁸We are sure that God's children do not keep on sinning. God's own Son protects them, and the devil cannot harm them.
    ¹⁹We are certain that we come from God and that the rest of the world is under the power of the devil.
    ²⁰We know that Jesus Christ the Son of God has come and has shown us the true God. And because of Jesus, we now belong to the true God who gives eternal life.
    ²¹Children, you must stay away from idols.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 5:6 Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn't just water, but water and blood: See John 19.34. It is also possible to translate, "Jesus Christ came by the water of baptism and by the blood of his death! He was not only baptized, but he bled and died." The purpose of the verse is to tell that Jesus was truly human and that he really died.

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Psalm 124:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 124

(A song by David for worship.)

Thanking the LORD for Victory

 ¹The LORD was on our side!    Let everyone in Israel say:
    ²"The LORD was on our side!
   Otherwise, the enemy attack
    ³would have killed us all,
   because it was furious.
    ⁴We would have been swept away
   in a violent flood
    ⁵of high and roaring waves."
    ⁶Let's praise the LORD!
   He protected us from enemies
   who were like wild animals,
    ⁷and we escaped like birds
   from a hunter's torn net.
    ⁸The LORD made heaven and earth,
   and he is the one
   who sends us help.

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Proverbs 29:5-8 (Contemporary English Version)

⁵Flattery is nothing less
   than setting a trap.
    ⁶Your sins will catch you,
   but everyone who lives right
   will sing and celebrate.
    ⁷The wicked don't care
   about the rights of the poor,
   but good people do.
    ⁸Sneering at others is a spark
   that sets a city on fire;
   using good sense can put out
   the flames of anger.

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Verse of the Day

“[Jesus Is the Good Shepherd]Jesus said: I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture. A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.” - John 10:7, 9-10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer wrote, “The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.”

Bible Readings for December 4, 2013

Today our passages are Daniel 11:36–12:13; 1 John 4:1-21; Psalm 123:1-4; and Proverbs 29:2-4. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Daniel 11:36-12:13 (Contemporary English Version)

³⁶This king will do as he pleases. He will proudly claim to be greater than any god and will insult the only true God. Indeed, he will be successful until God is no longer angry with his people. ³⁷This king will reject the gods his ancestors worshiped and the god preferred by women. ^[a] In fact, he will put himself above all gods ³⁸and worship only the so-called god of fortresses, who was unknown to his ancestors. And he will honor it with gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly gifts. ³⁹With the help of this foreign god, he will capture the strongest fortresses. Everyone who worships this god will be put in a position of power and rewarded with wealth and land.

Part Three: The Time of the End

 ⁴⁰ At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the kingdom of the north. But its king will rush out like a storm with war chariots, cavalry, and many ships. Indeed, his forces will flood one country after another, ⁴¹and when they reach the holy land, ^[b] tens of thousands will be killed. But the countries of Edom and Moab and the ruler of Ammon ^[c] will escape. ⁴²The king of the north will invade many countries, including Egypt, ⁴³and he will take its rich treasures of gold and silver. He will also conquer Libya and Ethiopia. ^{[d] 44}But he will be alarmed by news from the east and the north, and he will become furious and cause great destruction. ⁴⁵After this, he will set up camp between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Zion. Then he will be destroyed, and no one will be able to save him.

Daniel 12

Part Four: The Dead Will Rise to Life

 ¹ Michael, the chief of the angels, is the protector of your people, and he will come at a time of terrible suffering, the worst in all of history. And your people who have their names written in The Book ^[e] will be protected. ²Many of those who lie dead in the ground will rise from death. Some of them will be given eternal life, and others will receive nothing but eternal shame and disgrace. ³Everyone who has been wise will shine as bright as the sky above, and everyone who has led others to please God will shine like the stars. ⁴Daniel, I now command you to keep the message of this book secret until the end of time, even though many people will go everywhere, searching for the knowledge to be found in it. ^[f]

The End of Time

 ⁵Daniel wrote:    I looked around and saw two other people--one on this side of the river and one on the other side. ⁶The angel who had spoken to me was dressed in linen and was standing upstream from them. ^[g] So one of the two beside the river asked him, " How long before these amazing things happen?" ⁷The angel then raised both hands toward heaven and said, " In the name of the God who lives forever, I solemnly promise that it will be a time, two times, and half a time. ^[h] Everything will be over, when the suffering of God's holy people comes to an end." ⁸I heard what the angel said, but I didn't understand. So I asked, " Sir, how will it all end?"
   The angel in my vision then replied:
    ⁹Daniel, go about your business, because the meaning of this message will remain secret until the end of time. ¹⁰Many people will have their hearts and lives made pure and clean, but those who are evil will keep on being evil and never understand. Only the wise will understand. ¹¹There will be one thousand two hundred ninety days from the time that the daily sacrifices are stopped, until someone sets up the " Horrible Thing" that causes destruction. ¹²God will bless everyone who patiently waits until one thousand three hundred thirty-five days have gone by.
    ¹³So, Daniel, be faithful until the end! You will rest, and at the end of time, you will rise from death to receive your reward.
   

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 11:37 god preferred by women: Perhaps Tammuz or Adonis, which were popular among the women of that time.
2. Daniel 11:41 the holy land: See the note at 8.9.
3. Daniel 11:41 the ruler of Ammon: Or " what is left of Ammon."
4. Daniel 11:43 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has " Cush," which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
5. Daniel 12:1 The Book: Either the book with the names of God's people in it or the book with the record of the good and evil that people have done.
6. Daniel 12:4 even though. . . in it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Daniel 12:6 angel. . . upstream from them: See 10.4-6.
8. Daniel 12:7 a time, two times, and half a time: Or " a year, two years, and half a year," that is, about 1260 days.

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1 John 4:1-21 (Contemporary English Version)

1 John 4

God Is Love

 ¹Dear friends, don't believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, ²and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. ³But when someone doesn't say this about Jesus, you know that person has a spirit that doesn't come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew that this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.     ⁴Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God's Spirit ^[a] is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world. ⁵These enemies belong to this world, and the world listens to them, because they speak its language. ⁶We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don't know God won't listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies. ⁷My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. ⁸God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. ⁹God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. ¹⁰Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. ¹¹Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.
    ¹²No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.
    ¹³God has given us his Spirit. That is how we know that we are one with him, just as he is one with us. ¹⁴God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him. ¹⁵God stays one with everyone who openly says that Jesus is the Son of God. That's how we stay one with God ¹⁶and are sure that God loves us.
   God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us. ¹⁷If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won't be worried about the day of judgment. ¹⁸A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows that we have not really learned to love.
    ¹⁹We love because God loved us first. ²⁰But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? ²¹The commandment that God has given us is: "Love God and love each other!"
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 4:4 God's Spirit: The Greek text has "he" and may refer to the Spirit or to God or to Jesus.

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Psalm 123:1-4 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 123

(A song for worship.)

A Prayer for Mercy

 ¹Our LORD and our God,    I turn my eyes to you,
   on your throne in heaven.
    ²Servants look to their master,
   but we will look to you,
   until you have mercy on us.
    ³Please have mercy, LORD!
   We have been insulted
   more than we can stand,
    ⁴and we can't take more abuse
   from those proud,
   conceited people.

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Proverbs 29:2-4 (Contemporary English Version)

²When justice rules a nation,
   everyone is glad;
   when injustice rules,
   everyone groans.
    ³If you love wisdom
   your parents will be glad,
   but chasing after bad women
   will cost you everything.
    ⁴An honest ruler
   makes the nation strong;
   a ruler who takes bribes
   will bring it to ruin.

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Verse of the Day

“[Jesus Is the Light for the World]Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, "I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won't be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” - John 8:12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

American actor, James Dean write, “Only the gentle are ever really strong.”

Bible Readings for December 3, 2013

Today our passages are Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 3:7-24; Psalm 122:1-9; and Proverbs 29:1. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Daniel 11:2-35 (Contemporary English Version)

The Angel's Message to Daniel

Part One: The Four Kings and their Successors

 ² What I am going to tell you is certain to happen. Four kings will rule Persia, one after the other, but the fourth one will become much richer than the others. In fact, his wealth will make him so powerful that he will turn everyone against the kingdom of Greece. ³Then a mighty king will come to power and will be able to do whatever he pleases. ⁴But suddenly his kingdom will be crushed and scattered to the four corners of the earth, where four more kingdoms will rise. But these won't be ruled by his descendants or be as powerful as his kingdom.     ⁵The king of the south will grow powerful. Then one of his generals will rebel and take over most of the kingdom. ⁶Years later the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom will make a treaty, and the daughter of the king of the south will marry the king of the north. But she will lose her power. Then she, her husband, their child, ^[a] and the servants who came with her will all be killed. After this, ⁷one of her relatives will become the ruler of the southern kingdom. He will attack the army of the northern kingdom and capture its fortresses. ⁸Then he will carry their idols to Egypt, together with their precious treasures of silver and gold, but it will be a long time before he attacks the northern kingdom again. Some years later ⁹the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom, but he will be forced back to his own country.
    ¹⁰The sons of the king of the north will gather a huge army that will sweep down like a roaring flood, reaching all the way to the fortress of the southern kingdom. ¹¹But this will make the king of the south angry, and he will defeat this large army from the north. ¹²The king of the south will feel proud because of the many thousands he has killed. But his victories won't last long, ¹³because the king of the north will gather a larger and more powerful army than ever before. Then in a few years, he will start invading other countries.
    ¹⁴At this time many of your own people will try to make this vision come true by rebelling against the king of the south, but their rebellion will fail. ¹⁵Then the army from the north will surround and capture a fortress in the south, and not even the most experienced troops of the southern kingdom will be able to make them retreat. ¹⁶The king who invaded from the north will do as he pleases, and he will even capture and destroy the holy land. ^{[b] 17}In fact, he will decide to invade the south with his entire army. Then he will attempt to make peace by giving the king of the south a bride from the northern kingdom, but this won't be successful. ¹⁸Afterwards, this proud king of the north will invade and conquer many of the nations along the coast, but a military leader will defeat him and make him lose his pride. ¹⁹He will retreat to his fortresses in his own country, but on the way he will be defeated and never again be seen.
    ²⁰The next king of the north will try to collect taxes for the glory of his kingdom. However, he will come to a sudden end in some mysterious way, instead of in battle or because of someone's anger.
   

Part Two: The Evil King from the North

 ²¹ The successor of this king of the north will be a worthless nobody, who doesn't come from a royal family. He will suddenly appear and gain control of the kingdom by treachery. ²²Then he will destroy armies and remove God's chosen high priest. ²³He will make a treaty, but he will be deceitful and break it, even though he has only a few followers. ²⁴Without warning, he will successfully invade a wealthy province, which is something his ancestors never did. Then he will divide among his followers all of its treasures and property. But none of this will last very long.     ²⁵He will gather a large and powerful army, and with great courage he will attack the king of the south. The king of the south will meet him with a much stronger army, but he will lose the battle, because he will be betrayed ²⁶by members of the royal court. He will be ruined, and most of his army will be slaughtered.
    ²⁷The two kings will meet around a table and tell evil lies to each other. But their plans will fail, because God has already decided what will happen. ²⁸Then the king of the north will return to his country with great treasures. But on the way, he will attack the religion of God's people and do whatever else he pleases.
    ²⁹At the time God has decided, the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom again, but this time, things will be different. ³⁰Ships from the west will come to attack him, and he will be discouraged. Then he will start back to his own country and take out his anger on the religion of God's faithful people, while showing kindness to those who are unfaithful. ³¹He will send troops to pollute the temple and the fortress, and he will stop the daily sacrifices. Then he will set up that " Horrible Thing" that causes destruction. ³²The king will use deceit to win followers from those who are unfaithful to God, but those who remain faithful will do everything possible to oppose him.
    ³³Wise leaders will instruct many of the people. But for a while, some of these leaders will either be killed with swords or burned alive, or else robbed of their possessions and thrown into prison. ³⁴They will receive only a little help in their time of trouble, and many of their followers will be treacherous. ³⁵Some of those who are wise will suffer, so that God will make them pure and acceptable until the end, which will still come at the time he has decided.
   

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 11:6 their child: One Hebrew manuscript and two ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts " her father."
2. Daniel 11:16 the holy land: See the note at 8.9.

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1 John 3:7-24 (Contemporary English Version)

⁷Children, don't be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself. ⁸Anyone who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of God came to destroy all that he has done. ⁹God's children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving power ^[a] lives in them and makes them his children, so that they cannot keep on sinning. ¹⁰You can tell God's children from the devil's children, because those who belong to the devil refuse to do right or to love each other.

Love Each Other

 ¹¹From the beginning you were told that we must love each other. ¹²Don't be like Cain, who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother. Why did he murder him? He did it because his brother was good, and he was evil. ¹³My friends, don't be surprised if the people of this world hate you. ¹⁴Our love for each other proves that we have gone from death to life. But if you don't love each other, you are still under the power of death.     ¹⁵If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know that murderers do not have eternal life. ¹⁶We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That's why we must give our lives for each other. ¹⁷If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. ¹⁸Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.
    ¹⁹When we love others, we know that we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God. ²⁰But even if we don't feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. ²¹Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. ²²He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him. ²³God wants us to have faith in his Son Jesus Christ and to love each other. This is also what Jesus taught us to do. ²⁴If we obey God's commandments, we will stay one in our hearts with him, and he will stay one with us. The Spirit that he has given us is proof that we are one with him.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 3:9 His life-giving power: The Greek text has "his seed."

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Psalm 122:1-9 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 122

(A song by David for worship.)

A Song of Praise

 ¹It made me glad    to hear them say,
   "Let's go to the house
   of the LORD!"
    ²Jerusalem, we are standing
   inside your gates.
    ³Jerusalem, what a strong
   and beautiful city you are!
    ⁴Every tribe of the LORD
   obeys him
   and comes to you
   to praise his name.
    ⁵David's royal throne is here
   where justice rules.
    ⁶Jerusalem, we pray
   that you will have peace,
   and that all will go well
   for those who love you.
    ⁷May there be peace
   inside your city walls
   and in your palaces.
    ⁸Because of my friends
   and my relatives,
   I will pray for peace.
    ⁹And because of the house
   of the LORD our God,
   I will work for your good.

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Proverbs 29:1 (Contemporary English Version)

Proverbs 29

Use Good Sense

 ¹If you keep being stubborn    after many warnings,
   you will suddenly discover
   you have gone too far.

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Verse of the Day

“Jesus replied: I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.” - John 6:35

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

The 13th President of the United States Millard Fillmore wrote, “It is not strange...to mistake change for progress.”

The Bible Readings for December 2, 2013

Today our passages are Daniel 9:1–11:1; 1 John 2:18–3:6; Psalm 121:1-8; and Proverbs 28:27-28. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Daniel 9-11:1 (Contemporary English Version)

Daniel 9

Daniel Prays for the People

 ^1-2Daniel wrote:    Some years later, Darius the Mede, ^[a] who was the son of Xerxes, ^[b] had become king of Babylonia. And during his first year as king, I found out from studying the writings of the prophets that the LORD had said to Jeremiah, " Jerusalem will lie in ruins for seventy years." ^[c] ^3-4Then, to show my sorrow, I went without eating and dressed in sackcloth ^[d] and sat in ashes. I confessed my sins and earnestly prayed to the LORD my God: Our Lord, you are a great and fearsome God, and you faithfully keep your agreement with those who love and obey you. ⁵But we have sinned terribly by rebelling against you and rejecting your laws and teachings. ⁶We have ignored the message your servants the prophets spoke to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors, and everyone else.
    ⁷Everything you do is right, our Lord. But still we suffer public disgrace because we have been unfaithful and have sinned against you. This includes all of us, both far and near--the people of Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel, as well as those you dragged away to foreign lands, ⁸and even our kings, our officials, and our ancestors. ⁹LORD God, you are merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you ¹⁰and rejected your teachings that came to us from your servants the prophets.
    ¹¹Everyone in Israel has stubbornly refused to obey your laws, and so those curses written by your servant Moses have fallen upon us. ¹²You warned us and our leaders that Jerusalem would suffer the worst disaster in human history, and you did exactly as you had threatened. ¹³We have not escaped any of the terrible curses written by Moses, and yet we have refused to beg you for mercy and to remind ourselves of how faithful you have always been. ¹⁴And when you finally punished us with this horrible disaster, that was also the right thing to do, because we deserved it so much.
    ¹⁵Our Lord God, with your own mighty arm you rescued us from Egypt and made yourself famous to this very day, but we have sinned terribly. ¹⁶In the past, you treated us with such kindness, that we now beg you to stop being so terribly angry with Jerusalem. After all, it is your chosen city built on your holy mountain, even though it has suffered public disgrace because of our sins and those of our ancestors.
    ¹⁷I am your servant, Lord God, and I beg you to answer my prayers and bring honor to yourself by having pity on your temple that lies in ruins. ¹⁸Please show mercy to your chosen city, not because we deserve it, but because of your great kindness. ¹⁹Forgive us! Hurry and do something, not only for your city and your chosen people, but to bring honor to yourself.
   

The Seventy Weeks

Daniel wrote:

 ²⁰I was still confessing my sins and those of all Israel to the LORD my God, and I was praying for the good of his holy mountain, ^[e] ²¹when Gabriel suddenly came flying in at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the same Gabriel I had seen in my vision, ²²and he explained: Daniel, I am here to help you understand the vision. ²³God thinks highly of you, and at the very moment you started praying, I was sent to give you the answer. ²⁴God has decided that for seventy weeks, ^[f] your people and your holy city must suffer as the price of their sins. Then evil will disappear, and justice will rule forever; the visions and words of the prophets will come true, and a most holy place will be dedicated. ^[g] ²⁵You need to realize that from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Chosen Leader, ^[h] it will be seven weeks and another sixty-two weeks. ^[i] Streets will be built in Jerusalem, and a trench will be dug around the city for protection, but these will be difficult times. ^[j] ²⁶At the end of the sixty-two weeks, ^[k] the Chosen Leader ^[l] will be killed and left with nothing. ^[m] A foreign ruler and his army will sweep down like a mighty flood, leaving both the city and the temple in ruins, and war and destruction will continue until the end, just as God has decided. ²⁷For one week ^[n] this foreigner ^[o] will make a firm agreement with many people, and halfway through this week, ^[p] he will end all sacrifices and offerings. Then the " Horrible Thing" that causes destruction will be put there. And it will stay there until the time God has decided to destroy this one who destroys.

Daniel 10

Daniel's Vision beside the Tigris River

 ¹In the third year ^[q] of Cyrus the king of Persia, a message came to Daniel ^[r] from God, and it was explained in a vision. The message was about a horrible war, and it was true. ²Daniel wrote: For three weeks I was in sorrow. ³I ate no fancy food or meat, I drank no wine, and I put no olive oil on my face or hair. ^[s] ⁴Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, ^[t] I was standing on the banks of the great Tigris River, ⁵when I looked up and saw someone dressed in linen and wearing a solid gold belt. ^[u] ⁶His body was like a precious stone, ^[v] his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming fires, his arms and legs like polished bronze, and his voice like the roar of a crowd. ⁷Although the people who were with me did not see the vision, they became so frightened that they scattered and hid. ⁸Only I saw this great vision. I became weak and pale, ⁹and at the sound of his voice, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. ¹⁰He raised me to my hands and knees ¹¹and then said, " Daniel, your God thinks highly of you, and he has sent me. So stand up and pay close attention." I stood trembling, while the angel said:     ¹²Daniel, don't be afraid! God has listened to your prayers since the first day you humbly asked for understanding, and he has sent me here. ¹³But the guardian angel ^[w] of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, who is one of the strongest guardian angels, ^[x] came to rescue me from the kings of Persia. ^[y] ¹⁴Now I have come here to give you another vision about what will happen to your people in the future. ¹⁵While this angel was speaking to me, I stared at the ground, speechless. ¹⁶Then he appeared in human form and touched my lips. I said, " Sir, this vision has brought me great pain and has drained my strength. ¹⁷I am merely your servant. How can I possibly speak with someone so powerful, when I am almost too weak to get my breath?"
    ^18-19The angel touched me a second time and said, " Don't be frightened! God thinks highly of you, and he intends this for your good, so be brave and strong."
   At this, I regained my strength and replied, " Please speak! You have already made me feel much better."
    ²⁰Then the angel said:
   Now do you understand why I have come? Soon I must leave to fight against the guardian angel of Persia. Then after I have defeated him, the guardian angel of Greece will attack me. ²¹I will tell you what is written in The Book of Truth. But first, you must realize that no one except Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, is on my side.
   

Daniel 11

 ¹You also need to know that I protected and helped Darius the Mede ^[z] in his first year as king.

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 9:1 Darius the Mede: See 5.31.
2. Daniel 9:1 Xerxes: Hebrew " Ahasuerus."
3. Daniel 9:1 seventy years: See Jeremiah 25.11-13; 29.10.
4. Daniel 9:3 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
5. Daniel 9:20 holy mountain: Jerusalem (see verse 16) or the temple.
6. Daniel 9:24 seventy weeks: Or " seventy times seven years."
7. Daniel 9:24 a most holy place will be dedicated: Or " God's Holy One will appear."
8. Daniel 9:25 the Chosen Leader: Or " a chosen leader." In Hebrew the word " chosen" means " to pour oil (on someone's head)." In Old Testament times it was the custom to pour oil on a person's head when that person was chosen to be a priest or a king.
9. Daniel 9:25 seven weeks and another sixty-two weeks: Or " seven times seven years and another sixty-two times seven years."
10. Daniel 9:25 it will be seven. . . difficult times: Or " it will be seven weeks. Then streets will be built in Jerusalem, and a trench will be dug around the city for protection. But Jerusalem will have difficult times for sixty-two weeks."
11. Daniel 9:26 sixty-two weeks: Or " sixty-two times seven years."
12. Daniel 9:26 the Chosen Leader: See the note at 9.25.
13. Daniel 9:26 left with nothing: Or " no one will take his place."
14. Daniel 9:27 one week: Or " seven years."
15. Daniel 9:27 this foreigner: Or " the Chosen Leader."
16. Daniel 9:27 halfway through this week: Or " for half of this week of seven years."
17. Daniel 10:1 third year: 536 B.C.
18. Daniel 10:1 Daniel: See the note at 2.26.
19. Daniel 10:3 olive oil. . . hair: On special occasions, it was the custom to put olive oil on one's face and hair.
20. Daniel 10:4 first month: Nisan (also known as Abib), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
21. Daniel 10:5 solid gold belt: Hebrew " belt of gold from Uphaz."
22. Daniel 10:6 a precious stone: The Hebrew text has " beryl," which is green or bluish-green.
23. Daniel 10:13 guardian angel: Hebrew " prince."
24. Daniel 10:13 one of the strongest guardian angels: Hebrew " chief prince."
25. Daniel 10:13 came. . . Persia: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
26. Daniel 11:1 Darius the Mede: See 5.30.

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1 John 2:18-3:6 (Contemporary English Version)

The Enemy of Christ

 ¹⁸Children, this is the last hour. You heard that the enemy of Christ would appear at this time, and many of Christ's enemies have already appeared. So we know that the last hour is here. ¹⁹These people came from our own group, yet they were not part of us. If they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, which proves that they did not belong to our group.     ²⁰Christ, the Holy One, ^[a] has blessed ^[b] you, and now all of you understand. ^[c] ²¹I did not need to write you about the truth, since you already know it. You also know that liars do not belong to the truth. ²²And a liar is anyone who says that Jesus isn't truly Christ. Anyone who says this is an enemy of Christ and rejects both the Father and the Son. ²³If we reject the Son, we reject the Father. But if we say that we accept the Son, we have the Father. ²⁴Keep thinking about the message you first heard, and you will always be one in your heart with the Son and with the Father. ²⁵The Son ^[d] has promised us ^[e] eternal life. ²⁶I am writing to warn you about those people who are misleading you. ²⁷But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit. ^[f] Now the Spirit stays in you, and you don't need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So stay one in your heart with Christ, just as the Spirit has taught you to do.

Children of God

 ²⁸Children, stay one in your hearts with Christ. Then when he returns, we will have confidence and won't have to hide in shame. ²⁹You know that Christ always does right and that everyone who does right is a child of God.    

1 John 3

 ¹Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christ ^[g] is, they don't know who we are. ²My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is. ³This hope makes us keep ourselves holy, just as Christ ^[h] is holy. ⁴Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is the same as breaking God's law. ⁵You know that Christ came to take away sins. He isn't sinful, ⁶and people who stay one in their hearts with him won't keep on sinning. If they do keep on sinning, they don't know Christ, and they have never seen him.    

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 2:20 Christ, the Holy One: The Greek text has "the Holy One" which may refer either to Christ or to God the Father.
2. 1 John 2:20 blessed: This translates a word which means "to pour olive oil on (someone's head)." In Old Testament times it was the custom to pour olive oil on a person's head when that person was chosen to be a priest or a king. Here the meaning is not clear. It may refer to the ceremony of pouring olive oil on the followers of the Lord right before they were baptized or it may refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit which they were given at baptism (see verse 27).
3. 1 John 2:20 now all of you understand: Some manuscripts have "you understand all things."
4. 1 John 2:25 The Son: The Greek text has "he" and may refer to God the Father.
5. 1 John 2:25 us: Some manuscripts have "you."
6. 1 John 2:27 Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit: The Greek text has "You received a pouring on of olive oil from him" (see verse 20). The "pouring on of olive oil" is here taken to refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit, and "he" may refer either to Christ or to the Father.
7. 1 John 3:1 Christ: The Greek text has "he" and may refer to God.
8. 1 John 3:3 Christ: The Greek text has "that one" and may refer to God.

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Psalm 121:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 121

(A song for worship.)

The LORD Will Protect His People

 ¹I look to the hills!    Where will I find help?
    ²It will come from the LORD,
   who created the heavens
   and the earth.
    ³The LORD is your protector,
   and he won't go to sleep
   or let you stumble.
    ⁴The protector of Israel
   doesn't doze
   or ever get drowsy.
    ⁵The LORD is your protector,
   there at your right side
   to shade you from the sun.
    ⁶You won't be harmed
   by the sun during the day
   or by the moon ^[a] at night. ⁷The LORD will protect you
   and keep you safe
   from all dangers.
    ⁸The LORD will protect you
   now and always
   wherever you go.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 121:6 harmed. . . sun. . . moon: In ancient times people saw the harmful effects of the rays of the sun, and they thought that certain illnesses (especially mental disorders) were also caused by the rays of the moon.

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Proverbs 28:27-28 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁷Giving to the poor
   will keep you from poverty,
   but if you close your eyes
   to their needs,
   everyone will curse you.
    ²⁸When crooks are in control,
   everyone tries to hide,
   but when they lose power,
   good people are everywhere.

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Verse of the Day

“Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son.” - Hebrews 1:1-2

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, Galileo Galilei wrote, “Where the senses fail us, reason must step in.”