Daily Bible Readings November 30, 2014

Isaiah 64:1-9Common English Bible (CEB)

64 [] If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!
    Mountains would quake before you
2     like fire igniting brushwood or making water boil.
[b] If you would make your name known to your enemies,
    the nations would tremble in your presence.

3 When you accomplished wonders beyond all our expectations;
    when you came down, mountains quaked before you.
4 From ancient times,
    no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
    no eye has seen any god but you
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him![c]
5 You look after those who gladly do right;
    they will praise you for your ways.[d]
But you were angry when we sinned;
    you hid yourself when we did wrong.[e]
6 We have all become like the unclean;
    all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.
All of us wither like a leaf;
    our sins, like the wind, carry us away.
7 No one calls on your name;
    no one bothers to hold on to you,
    for you have hidden yourself from us,
    and have handed us over[f] to our sin.

8 But now, Lord, you are our father.
    We are the clay, and you are our potter.
    All of us are the work of your hand.
9 Don’t rage so fiercely, Lord;
    don’t hold our sins against us forever,
    but gaze now on your people, all of us:

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 64:1 63:19b in Heb
2. Isaiah 64:2 64:1 in Heb
3. Isaiah 64:4 Heb uncertain
4. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
5. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
6. Isaiah 64:7 LXX, cf Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT melted

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Isaiah 64: 1-9

Isaiah 64:1-9Common English Bible (CEB)

64 [a] If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!
    Mountains would quake before you
2     like fire igniting brushwood or making water boil.
[b] If you would make your name known to your enemies,
    the nations would tremble in your presence.

3 When you accomplished wonders beyond all our expectations;
    when you came down, mountains quaked before you.
4 From ancient times,
    no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
    no eye has seen any god but you
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him![c]
5 You look after those who gladly do right;
    they will praise you for your ways.[d]
But you were angry when we sinned;
    you hid yourself when we did wrong.[e]
6 We have all become like the unclean;
    all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.
All of us wither like a leaf;
    our sins, like the wind, carry us away.
7 No one calls on your name;
    no one bothers to hold on to you,
    for you have hidden yourself from us,
    and have handed us over[f] to our sin.

8 But now, Lord, you are our father.
    We are the clay, and you are our potter.
    All of us are the work of your hand.
9 Don’t rage so fiercely, Lord;
    don’t hold our sins against us forever,
    but gaze now on your people, all of us:

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 64:1 63:19b in Heb
2. Isaiah 64:2 64:1 in Heb
3. Isaiah 64:4 Heb uncertain
4. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
5. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
6. Isaiah 64:7 LXX, cf Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT melted

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Matthew 25: 31-46

Matthew 25:31-46Common English Bible (CEB)

Judgment of the nations

31 “Now when the Human One[a] comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.

34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began.35 I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’

37 “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who will receive terrible things. Go into the unending fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 I was hungry and you didn’t give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink. 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked and you didn’t give me clothes to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you?’ 45  Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’ 46  And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal life.”

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 25:31 Or Son of Man

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Ephesians 1: 15-23

Ephesians 1:15-23Common English Bible (CEB)

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians

15 Since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, this is the reason that 16 I don’t stop giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, 19 and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. 20 God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, 21 far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. 22 God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, 23 which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way.

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 100

Psalm 100 Common English Bible (CEB)

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanks.

100 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
2     Serve the Lord with celebration!
    Come before him with shouts of joy!
3 Know that the Lord is God—
    he made us; we belong to him.[a]
    We are his people,
    the sheep of his own pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanks;
    enter his courtyards with praise!
    Thank him! Bless his name!
5 Because the Lord is good,
    his loyal love lasts forever;
    his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 100:3 Qere; Kethib and not we ourselves

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24

Ezekiel 34:11-16Common English Bible (CEB)

11 The Lord God proclaims: I myself will search for my flock and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out the flock when some in the flock have been scattered, so will I seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered during the time of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will gather and lead them out from the countries and peoples, and I will bring them to their own fertile land. I will feed them on Israel’s highlands, along the riverbeds, and in all the inhabited places. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their sheepfold will be there, on Israel’s lofty highlands. On Israel’s highlands, they will lie down in a secure fold and feed on green pastures. 15 I myself will feed my flock and make them lie down. This is what the Lord God says. 16 I will seek out the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the wounded, and strengthen the weak. But the fat and the strong I will destroy, because I will tend my sheep[a] with justice.

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 34:16 Or them

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Isaiah 64: 1-9

Isaiah 64:1-9Common English Bible (CEB)

64 [a] If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!
    Mountains would quake before you
2     like fire igniting brushwood or making water boil.
[b] If you would make your name known to your enemies,
    the nations would tremble in your presence.

3 When you accomplished wonders beyond all our expectations;
    when you came down, mountains quaked before you.
4 From ancient times,
    no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
    no eye has seen any god but you
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him![c]
5 You look after those who gladly do right;
    they will praise you for your ways.[d]
But you were angry when we sinned;
    you hid yourself when we did wrong.[e]
6 We have all become like the unclean;
    all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.
All of us wither like a leaf;
    our sins, like the wind, carry us away.
7 No one calls on your name;
    no one bothers to hold on to you,
    for you have hidden yourself from us,
    and have handed us over[f] to our sin.

8 But now, Lord, you are our father.
    We are the clay, and you are our potter.
    All of us are the work of your hand.
9 Don’t rage so fiercely, Lord;
    don’t hold our sins against us forever,
    but gaze now on your people, all of us:

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 64:1 63:19b in Heb
2. Isaiah 64:2 64:1 in Heb
3. Isaiah 64:4 Heb uncertain
4. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
5. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
6. Isaiah 64:7 LXX, cf Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT melted

Common English Bible (CEB), used with permission

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible