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Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Duration: 365 days
New International Version (NIV)
Version
Isaiah 11-13

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shoot(A) will come up from the stump(B) of Jesse;(C)
    from his roots a Branch(D) will bear fruit.(E)
The Spirit(F) of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom(G) and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,(H)
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear(I) of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,(J)
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;(K)
but with righteousness(L) he will judge the needy,(M)
    with justice(N) he will give decisions for the poor(O) of the earth.
He will strike(P) the earth with the rod of his mouth;(Q)
    with the breath(R) of his lips he will slay the wicked.(S)
Righteousness will be his belt(T)
    and faithfulness(U) the sash around his waist.(V)

The wolf will live with the lamb,(W)
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.(X)
The infant(Y) will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s(Z) nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy(AA)
    on all my holy mountain,(AB)
for the earth(AC) will be filled with the knowledge(AD) of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day(AE) the Root of Jesse(AF) will stand as a banner(AG) for the peoples; the nations(AH) will rally to him,(AI) and his resting place(AJ) will be glorious.(AK) 11 In that day(AL) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant(AM) of his people from Assyria,(AN) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,(AO) from Cush,[b](AP) from Elam,(AQ) from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath(AR) and from the islands(AS) of the Mediterranean.(AT)

12 He will raise a banner(AU) for the nations
    and gather(AV) the exiles of Israel;(AW)
he will assemble the scattered people(AX) of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.(AY)
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[d] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(AZ)
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia(BA) to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.(BB)
They will subdue Edom(BC) and Moab,(BD)
    and the Ammonites(BE) will be subject to them.(BF)
15 The Lord will dry up(BG)
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind(BH) he will sweep his hand(BI)
    over the Euphrates River.(BJ)
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.(BK)
16 There will be a highway(BL) for the remnant(BM) of his people
    that is left from Assyria,(BN)
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.(BO)

Songs of Praise

12 In that day(BP) you will say:

“I will praise(BQ) you, Lord.
    Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away(BR)
    and you have comforted(BS) me.
Surely God is my salvation;(BT)
    I will trust(BU) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,(BV) is my strength(BW) and my defense[e];
    he has become my salvation.(BX)
With joy you will draw water(BY)
    from the wells(BZ) of salvation.

In that day(CA) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;(CB)
    make known among the nations(CC) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.(CD)
Sing(CE) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;(CF)
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy,(CG) people of Zion,
    for great(CH) is the Holy One of Israel(CI) among you.(CJ)

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecy(CK) against Babylon(CL) that Isaiah son of Amoz(CM) saw:(CN)

Raise a banner(CO) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates(CP) of the nobles.
I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
    I have summoned my warriors(CQ) to carry out my wrath(CR)
    those who rejoice(CS) in my triumph.

Listen, a noise on the mountains,
    like that of a great multitude!(CT)
Listen, an uproar(CU) among the kingdoms,
    like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(CV) is mustering(CW)
    an army for war.
They come from faraway lands,
    from the ends of the heavens(CX)
the Lord and the weapons(CY) of his wrath(CZ)
    to destroy(DA) the whole country.

Wail,(DB) for the day(DC) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction(DD) from the Almighty.[f](DE)
Because of this, all hands will go limp,(DF)
    every heart will melt with fear.(DG)
Terror(DH) will seize them,
    pain and anguish will grip(DI) them;
    they will writhe like a woman in labor.(DJ)
They will look aghast at each other,
    their faces aflame.(DK)

See, the day(DL) of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel(DM) day, with wrath(DN) and fierce anger(DO)
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.(DP)
The rising sun(DQ) will be darkened(DR)
    and the moon will not give its light.(DS)
11 I will punish(DT) the world for its evil,
    the wicked(DU) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(DV)
    and will humble(DW) the pride of the ruthless.(DX)
12 I will make people(DY) scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.(DZ)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(EA)
    and the earth will shake(EB) from its place
at the wrath(EC) of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger.(ED)

14 Like a hunted(EE) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,(EF)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee(EG) to their native land.(EH)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
    all who are caught will fall(EI) by the sword.(EJ)
16 Their infants(EK) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
    their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(EL)

17 See, I will stir up(EM) against them the Medes,(EN)
    who do not care for silver
    and have no delight in gold.(EO)
18 Their bows(EP) will strike down the young men;(EQ)
    they will have no mercy(ER) on infants,
    nor will they look with compassion on children.(ES)
19 Babylon,(ET) the jewel of kingdoms,(EU)
    the pride and glory(EV) of the Babylonians,[g]
will be overthrown(EW) by God
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.(EX)
20 She will never be inhabited(EY)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(EZ) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(FA) will lie there,
    jackals(FB) will fill her houses;
there the owls(FC) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats(FD) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(FE) will inhabit her strongholds,(FF)
    jackals(FG) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(FH)
    and her days will not be prolonged.(FI)

Ephesians 4

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

As a prisoner(A) for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy(B) of the calling(C) you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another(D) in love.(E) Make every effort to keep the unity(F) of the Spirit through the bond of peace.(G) There is one body(H) and one Spirit,(I) just as you were called to one hope when you were called(J); one Lord,(K) one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,(L) who is over all and through all and in all.(M)

But to each one of us(N) grace(O) has been given(P) as Christ apportioned it. This is why it[a] says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives(Q)
    and gave gifts to his people.”[b](R)

(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended(S) higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)(T) 11 So Christ himself gave(U) the apostles,(V) the prophets,(W) the evangelists,(X) the pastors and teachers,(Y) 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ(Z) may be built up(AA) 13 until we all reach unity(AB) in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God(AC) and become mature,(AD) attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.(AE)

14 Then we will no longer be infants,(AF) tossed back and forth by the waves,(AG) and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.(AH) 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love,(AI) we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,(AJ) that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows(AK) and builds itself up(AL) in love,(AM) as each part does its work.

Instructions for Christian Living

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer(AN) live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.(AO) 18 They are darkened in their understanding(AP) and separated from the life of God(AQ) because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.(AR) 19 Having lost all sensitivity,(AS) they have given themselves over(AT) to sensuality(AU) so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off(AV) your old self,(AW) which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;(AX) 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;(AY) 24 and to put on(AZ) the new self,(BA) created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.(BB)

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully(BC) to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.(BD) 26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]:(BE) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.(BF) 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,(BG) doing something useful with their own hands,(BH) that they may have something to share with those in need.(BI)

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,(BJ) but only what is helpful for building others up(BK) according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,(BL) with whom you were sealed(BM) for the day of redemption.(BN) 31 Get rid of(BO) all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.(BP) 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,(BQ) forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.(BR)

New International Version (NIV)

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