Quote (Blind[zF] @ Oct 8 2011 11:02am)

Welcome to the Daily Reading!
Day : Jonah - Chapters 3 & 4

God Bless

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Micah 6

The LORD’s Case Against Israel

1 Listen to what the LORD says:
  “Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
  let the hills hear what you have to say.

2 “Hear, you mountains, the LORD’s accusation;
  listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the LORD has a case against his people;
  he is lodging a charge against Israel.

3 “My people, what have I done to you?
  How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
  and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
  also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember
  what Balak king of Moab plotted
  and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
  that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
  and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
  with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
  with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
  the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
  And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
  and to walk humbly with your God.

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

9 Listen! The LORD is calling to the city—
  and to fear your name is wisdom—
  “Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
  and the short ephah, which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
  with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
  your inhabitants are liars
  and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
  to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
  your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
  because what you save I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
  you will press olives but not use the oil,
  you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
  and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
  you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
  and your people to derision;
  you will bear the scorn of the nations.”

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Nahum 1

1 A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

The LORD’s Anger Against Nineveh

2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
  the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The LORD takes vengeance on his foes
  and vents his wrath against his enemies.
3 The LORD is slow to anger but great in power;
  the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
  and clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
  he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
  and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
5 The mountains quake before him
  and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
  the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand his indignation?
  Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
  the rocks are shattered before him.
7 The LORD is good,
  a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
8 but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
  he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

9 Whatever they plot against the LORD
  he will bring to an end;
  trouble will not come a second time.
10 They will be entangled among thorns
  and drunk from their wine;
  they will be consumed like dry stubble.
11 From you, Nineveh, has one come forth
  who plots evil against the LORD
  and devises wicked plans.

12 This is what the LORD says:

  “Although they have allies and are numerous,
  they will be destroyed and pass away.
Although I have afflicted you, Judah,
  I will afflict you no more.
13 Now I will break their yoke from your neck
  and tear your shackles away.”

14 The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh:
  “You will have no descendants to bear your name.
I will destroy the images and idols
  that are in the temple of your gods.
I will prepare your grave,
  for you are vile.”

15 Look, there on the mountains,
  the feet of one who brings good news,
  who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah,
  and fulfill your vows.
No more will the wicked invade you;
  they will be completely destroyed.

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Habakkuk 1

1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

2 How long, LORD, must I call for help,
  but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
  but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
  Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
  there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
  and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
  so that justice is perverted.
The LORD’s Answer

5 “Look at the nations and watch—
  and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
  that you would not believe,
  even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
  that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
  to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
  they are a law to themselves
  and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
  fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
  their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
  and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
  and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
  by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
  guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

12 LORD, are you not from everlasting?
  My God, my Holy One, you will never die.
You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment;
  you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
  you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
  Why are you silent while the wicked
  swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
  like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
  he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
  and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
  and burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
  and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
  destroying nations without mercy?

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Zephaniah 3

  Jerusalem

1 Woe to the city of oppressors,
  rebellious and defiled!
2 She obeys no one,
  she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD,
  she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials within her
  are roaring lions;
her rulers are evening wolves,
  who leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are unprincipled;
  they are treacherous people.
Her priests profane the sanctuary
  and do violence to the law.
5 The LORD within her is righteous;
  he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
  and every new day he does not fail,
  yet the unrighteous know no shame.

  Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

6 “I have destroyed nations;
  their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
  with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;
  they are deserted and empty.
7 Of Jerusalem I thought,
  ‘Surely you will fear me
  and accept correction!’
Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed,
  nor all my punishments come upon her.
But they were still eager
  to act corruptly in all they did.
8 Therefore wait for me,”
  declares the LORD,
  “for the day I will stand up to testify.
I have decided to assemble the nations,
  to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath on them—
  all my fierce anger.
The whole world will be consumed
  by the fire of my jealous anger.
Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9 “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
  that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
  and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
  my worshipers, my scattered people,
  will bring me offerings.
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
  for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from you
  your arrogant boasters.
Never again will you be haughty
  on my holy hill.
12 But I will leave within you
  the meek and humble.
The remnant of Israel
  will trust in the name of the LORD.
13 They will do no wrong;
  they will tell no lies.
A deceitful tongue
  will not be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down
  and no one will make them afraid.”

14 Sing, Daughter Zion;
  shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
  Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away your punishment,
  he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
  never again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day
  they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
  do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you,
  the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
  in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
  but will rejoice over you with singing.”

18 “I will remove from you
  all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
  which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
  with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
  I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
  in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
  at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
  among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
  before your very eyes,”
            says the LORD.

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Haggai 1

A Call to Build the House of the LORD

1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest:
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD’s house.’”

3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

13 Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD. 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.

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Zechariah 8

The LORD Promises to Bless Jerusalem

1 The word of the LORD Almighty came to me.
2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

3 This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

4 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

6 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the LORD Almighty.

7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”

9 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD Almighty.

12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”

14 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the LORD Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the LORD.

18 The word of the LORD Almighty came to me.

19 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”

20 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him.”

23 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”