Through the Bible – Day 273

Bible text(s)

Isaiah 12

A song of praise

1At that time you will say,

“I thank you, LORD!

You were angry with me,

but you stopped being angry

and gave me comfort.

2I trust you to save me,

LORD God,

and I won't be afraid.

My power and my strength

come from you,

and you have saved me.”

3With great joy, you people

will get water

from the well of victory.

4At that time you will say,

“Our LORD, we are thankful,

and we worship only you.

We will tell the nations

how glorious you are

and what you have done.

5Because of your wonderful deeds

we will sing your praises

everywhere on earth.”

6Sing, people of Zion!

Celebrate the greatness

of the holy LORD of Israel.

God is here to help you.

Isaiah 13

God will punish other nations

Babylon will be punished

1This is the message that I was given about Babylon:

2From high on a barren hill

give a signal, shout the orders,

and point the way

to enter the gates

of Babylon's proud rulers.

3The LORD has commanded

his very best warriors

and his proud heroes

to show how angry he is.

4Listen to the noisy crowds

on the mountains!

Kingdoms and nations

are joining forces.

The LORD All-Powerful

is bringing together

an army for battle.

5From a distant land

the LORD is coming

fierce and furious—

he brings his weapons

to destroy the earth.

6Cry and weep!

The day is coming

when the mighty LORD

will bring destruction.

7-8All people will be terrified.

Hands will grow limp;

courage will melt away.

Everyone will tremble with pain

like a woman giving birth;

they will stare at each other

with horror on their faces.

There will be no mercy

9I, the LORD,

will show no mercy or pity

when that time comes.

In my anger I will destroy

the earth and every sinner

who lives on it.

10Light will disappear

from the stars in the sky;

the dawning sun will turn dark,

and the moon

will lose its glow.

11I will punish this evil world

and its people

because of their sins.

I will crush the horrible pride

of those who are cruel.

12Survivors will be harder to find

than the purest gold.

13I, the LORD All-Powerful,

am terribly angry—

I will make the sky tremble

and the earth shake loose.

14Everyone will run

to their homelands,

just as hunted deer run,

and sheep scatter

when they have no shepherd.

15Those who are captured

will be killed by a sword.

16They will see their children

beaten against rocks,

their homes robbed,

and their wives abused.

17The Medes can't be bought off

with silver or gold,

and I'm sending them

to attack Babylonia.

18Their arrows will slaughter

the young men;

no pity will be shown

to babies and children.

The LORD will destroy Babylon

19The city of Babylon

is glorious and powerful,

the pride of the nation.

But it will be like the cities

of Sodom and Gomorrah

after I, the Lord,

destroyed them.

20No one will live in Babylon.

Even nomads won't camp nearby,

and shepherds won't let

their sheep rest there.

21Only desert creatures,

owls, and ostriches

will live in its ruins,

and goats will leap about.

22Hyenas and wolves will howl

from Babylon's fortresses

and beautiful palaces.

Its time is almost up!

Isaiah 14

The LORD's people will come home

1The LORD will have mercy on Israel and will let them be his chosen people once again. He will bring them back to their own land, and foreigners will join them as part of Israel. 2Other nations will lead them home, and Israel will make slaves of them in the land that belongs to the Lord. Israel will rule over those who once governed and ill-treated them.

Death to the king of Babylonia!

3The LORD will set you free from your sorrow, suffering, and slavery. 4Then you will make fun of the king of Babylonia by singing this song:

That cruel monster is done for!

He won't attack us again.

5The LORD has crushed the power

of those evil kings,

6who were furious

and never stopped abusing

the people of other nations.

7Now all the world is at peace;

its people are celebrating

with joyful songs.

8King of Babylonia,

even the cypress trees

and the cedars of Lebanon

celebrate and say,

“Since you were put down,

no one comes along

to chop us down.”

9The world of the dead

eagerly waits for you.

With great excitement,

the spirits of ancient rulers

hear about your coming.

10Each one of them will say,

“Now you are just as weak

as any of us!

11Your pride and your music

have ended here

in the world of the dead.

Worms are your blanket,

maggots are your bed.”

12You, the bright morning star,

have fallen from the sky!

You brought down other nations;

now you are brought down.

13You said to yourself,

“I'll climb to heaven

and place my throne

above the highest stars.

I'll sit there with the gods

far away in the north.

14I'll be above the clouds,

just like God Most High.”

15But now you are deep

in the world of the dead.

16Those who see you will stare

and wonder, “Is this the man

who made the world tremble

and shook up kingdoms?

17Did he capture every city

and make earth a desert?

Is he the one who refused

to let prisoners go home?”

18When kings die, they are buried

in glorious tombs.

19But you will be left unburied,

just another dead body

lying underfoot

like a broken branch.

You will be one of many

killed in battle and gone down

to the deep rocky pit.

20You won't be buried with kings;

you ruined your country

and murdered your people.

You evil monster!

We hope that your family

will be forgotten for ever.

21We will slaughter your sons

to make them pay for the crimes

of their ancestors.

They won't take over the world

or build cities

anywhere on this earth.

22The LORD All-Powerful has promised to attack Babylonia and destroy everyone there, so that none of them will ever be remembered again. 23The LORD will sweep out the people, and the land will become a swamp for wild animals.

Assyria will be punished

24The LORD All-Powerful

has made this promise:

Everything I have planned

will happen just as I said.

25I will wipe out every Assyrian

in my country,

and I will crush those

on my mountains.

I will free my people

from slavery

to the Assyrians.

26I have planned this

for the whole world,

and my mighty arm

controls every nation.

27I, the LORD All-Powerful,

have made these plans.

No one can stop me now!

The Philistines will be punished

28This message came from the LORD

in the year King Ahaz died:

29Philistines, don't be happy

just because the rod

that punished you

is broken.

That rod will become

a poisonous snake, and then

a flying fiery dragon.

30The poor and needy will find

pastures for their sheep

and will live in safety.

But I will starve some of you,

and others will be killed.

31Cry and weep in the gates

of your towns,

you Philistines!

Smoke blows in from the north,

and every soldier is ready.

32If a messenger comes

from a distant nation,

you must say:

“The LORD built Zion.

Even the poorest of his people

will find safety there.”

Isaiah 12:1-14:32CEVOpen in Bible reader

Philippians 1

Greetings and a prayer

1From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

To all God's people who belong to Christ Jesus at Philippi and to all your church officials and officers.

2I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Paul's prayer for the church in Philippi

3Every time I think of you, I thank my God. 4And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. 5This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. 6God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

7You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work that God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail. 8God himself knows how much I want to see you. He knows that I care for you in the same way that Christ Jesus does.

9I pray that your love will keep on growing and that you will fully know and understand 10how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, 11Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.

What life means to Paul

12My dear friends, I want you to know that what has happened to me has helped to spread the good news. 13The Roman guards and all the others know that I am here in jail because I serve Christ. 14Now most of the Lord's followers have become brave and are fearlessly telling the message.

15Some are preaching about Christ because they are jealous and envious of us. Others are preaching because they want to help. 16They love Christ and know that I am here to defend the good news about him. 17But the ones who are jealous of us are not sincere. They just want to cause trouble for me while I am in jail. 18But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that people are telling about Christ, whether they are sincere or not. That is what makes me glad.

I will keep on being glad, 19because I know that your prayers and the help that comes from the Spirit of Christ Jesus will keep me safe. 20I honestly expect and hope that I will never do anything to be ashamed of. Whether I live or die, I always want to be as brave as I am now and bring honour to Christ.

21If I live, it will be for Christ, and if I die, I will gain even more. 22I don't know what to choose. I could keep on living and doing something useful. 23It is a hard choice to make. I want to die and be with Christ, because that would be much better. 24-25But I know that all of you still need me. That's why I am sure I will stay on to help you grow and be happy in your faith. 26Then, when I visit you again, you will have good reason to take great pride in Christ Jesus because of me.

27Above all else, you must live in a way that brings honour to the good news about Christ. Then, whether I visit you or not, I will hear that all of you think alike. I will know that you are working together and that you are struggling side by side to get others to believe the good news.

28Be brave when you face your enemies. Your courage will show them that they are going to be destroyed, and it will show you that you will be saved. God will make all this happen, 29and he has blessed you. Not only do you have faith in Christ, but you suffer for him. 30You saw me suffer, and you still hear about my troubles. Now you must suffer in the same way.

Philippians 1:1-30CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.23.1
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