Wednesday, December 23, 2020

 Isaiah 21:1–17

¹An oracle concerning the Desert by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.

²A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

³At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see. ⁴My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.

⁵They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!

⁶This is what the Lord says to me:

"Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees. ⁷When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert."

⁸And the lookout shouted,

"Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. ⁹Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: 'Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!' "

¹⁰O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.

¹¹An oracle concerning Dumah:

Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" ¹²The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again."

¹³An oracle concerning Arabia:

You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, ¹⁴bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. ¹⁵They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says to me: "Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the pomp of Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷The survivors of the bowmen, the warriors of Kedar, will be few." The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.

 

 

Psalm 145

¹A psalm of praise. Of David. I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. ²Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. ³Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. ⁴One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. ⁵They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. ⁶They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. ⁷They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. ⁸The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. ⁹The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. ¹⁰All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. ¹¹They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, ¹²so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. ¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. ¹⁴The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. ¹⁵The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. ¹⁶You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. ¹⁷The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. ¹⁸The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. ¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. ²⁰The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. ²¹My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

 

 

2 Corinthians 11:1–15

¹I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. ²I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. ³But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. ⁵But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." ⁶I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

⁷Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? ⁸I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. ⁹And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. ¹⁰As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. ¹¹Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! ¹²And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.