ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

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ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible episodes

  • November 22: Psalm 113; 2 Kings 21; Isaiah 11–12; John 14
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 113
    Psalm 113 (Listen)
    Who Is like the Lord Our God?

    113   Praise the LORD!
      Praise, O servants of the LORD,
        praise the name of the LORD!
    2   Blessed be the name of the LORD
        from this time forth and forevermore!
    3   From the rising of the sun to its setting,
        the name of the LORD is to be praised!
    4   The LORD is high above all nations,
        and his glory above the heavens!
    5   Who is like the LORD our God,
        who is seated on high,
    6   who looks far down
        on the heavens and the earth?
    7   He raises the poor from the dust
        and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
    8   to make them sit with princes,
        with the princes of his people.
    9   He gives the barren woman a home,
        making her the joyous mother of children.
      Praise the LORD!

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 21
    2 Kings 21 (Listen)
    Manasseh Reigns in Judah

    21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he burned his son as an offeringHebrew made his son pass through the fire">1 and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.

    Manasseh’s Idolatry Denounced

    10 And the LORD said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disasterOr evil">2 that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

    16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

    17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

    Amon Reigns in Judah

    19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshiped them. 22 He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. 24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

    Footnotes

    [1] 21:6 Hebrew made his son pass through the fire


    [2] 21:12 Or evil

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 11–12
    Isaiah 11–12 (Listen)
    The Righteous Reign of the Branch

    11   There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
        and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
    2   And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
        the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
        the Spirit of counsel and might,
        the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
    3   And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
      He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
        or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
    4   but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
        and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
      and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
        and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
    5   Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
        and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
    6   The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
        and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
      and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
        and a little child shall lead them.
    7   The cow and the bear shall graze;
        their young shall lie down together;
        and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
    8   The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
        and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
    9   They shall not hurt or destroy
        in all my holy mountain;
      for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
        as the waters cover the sea.

    10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

    11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush,Probably Nubia">1 from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

    12   He will raise a signal for the nations
        and will assemble the banished of Israel,
      and gather the dispersed of Judah
        from the four corners of the earth.
    13   The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
        and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
      Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
        and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
    14   But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
        and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
      They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
        and the Ammonites shall obey them.
    15   And the LORD will utterly destroyHebrew devote to destruction">2
        the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
      and will wave his hand over the RiverThat is, the Euphrates">3
        with his scorching breath,Or wind">4
      and strike it into seven channels,
        and he will lead people across in sandals.
    16   And there will be a highway from Assyria
        for the remnant that remains of his people,
      as there was for Israel
        when they came up from the land of Egypt.

    The Lord Is My Strength and My Song

    12   YouThe Hebrew for you is singular in verse 1">5 will say in that day:
      “I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
        for though you were angry with me,
      your anger turned away,
        that you might comfort me.
    2   “Behold, God is my salvation;
        I will trust, and will not be afraid;
      for the LORD GODHEBREW FOR YAH, THE LORD">6 is my strength and my song,
        and he has become my salvation.”

    3 With joy youThe Hebrew for you is plural in verses 3, 4">7 will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

      “Give thanks to the LORD,
        call upon his name,
      make known his deeds among the peoples,
        proclaim that his name is exalted.
    5   “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
        let this be made knownOr this is made known">8 in all the earth.
    6   Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
        for great in yourThe Hebrew for your in verse 6 is singular, referring to the inhabitant of Zion">9 midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

    Footnotes

    [1] 11:11 Probably Nubia


    [2] 11:15 Hebrew devote to destruction

    [3] 11:15 That is, the Euphrates

    [4] 11:15 Or wind

    [5] 12:1 The Hebrew for you is singular in verse 1

    [6] 12:2 Hebrew for Yah, the Lord

    [7] 12:3 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 3, 4

    [8] 12:5 Or this is made known

    [9] 12:6 The Hebrew for your in verse 6 is singular, referring to the inhabitant of Zion

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 14
    John 14 (Listen)
    I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

    14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;Or You believe in God">1 believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?Or In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you">2 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know">3 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also">4 From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

    8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

    12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask meSome manuscripts omit me">5 anything in my name, I will do it.

    Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

    15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7">6 to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will beSome manuscripts and is">7 in you.

    18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

    25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

    Footnotes

    [1] 14:1 Or You believe in God


    [2] 14:2 Or In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you

    [3] 14:4 Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know

    [4] 14:7 Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also

    [5] 14:14 Some manuscripts omit me

    [6] 14:16 Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7

    [7] 14:17 Some manuscripts and is

    (ESV)

    13 min
  • November 21: Psalm 112; 2 Kings 20; Isaiah 9:8–10:34; John 13
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 112
    Psalm 112 (Listen)
    The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

    112   This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet">1 Praise the LORD!
      Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
        who greatly delights in his commandments!
    2   His offspring will be mighty in the land;
        the generation of the upright will be blessed.
    3   Wealth and riches are in his house,
        and his righteousness endures forever.
    4   Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
        he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
    5   It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
        who conducts his affairs with justice.
    6   For the righteous will never be moved;
        he will be remembered forever.
    7   He is not afraid of bad news;
        his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
    8   His heart is steady;Or established (compare 111:8)">2 he will not be afraid,
        until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
    9   He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
        his righteousness endures forever;
        his horn is exalted in honor.
    10   The wicked man sees it and is angry;
        he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
        the desire of the wicked will perish!

    Footnotes

    [1] 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet


    [2] 112:8 Or established (compare 111:8)

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 20
    2 Kings 20 (Listen)
    Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

    20 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

    8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

    Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys

    12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

    16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 18 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

    20 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 9:8–10:34
    Isaiah 9:8–10:34 (Listen)
    Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression

    8   The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
        and it will fall on Israel;
    9   and all the people will know,
        Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
        who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
    10   “The bricks have fallen,
        but we will build with dressed stones;
      the sycamores have been cut down,
        but we will put cedars in their place.”
    11   But the LORD raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
        and stirs up his enemies.
    12   The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west
        devour Israel with open mouth.
      For all this his anger has not turned away,
        and his hand is stretched out still.
    13   The people did not turn to him who struck them,
        nor inquire of the LORD of hosts.
    14   So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail,
        palm branch and reed in one day—
    15   the elder and honored man is the head,
        and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
    16   for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
        and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
    17   Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
        and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
      for everyone is godless and an evildoer,
        and every mouth speaks folly.Or speaks disgraceful things">1
      For all this his anger has not turned away,
        and his hand is stretched out still.
    18   For wickedness burns like a fire;
        it consumes briers and thorns;
      it kindles the thickets of the forest,
        and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
    19   Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
        the land is scorched,
      and the people are like fuel for the fire;
        no one spares another.
    20   They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
        and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
      each devours the flesh of his own arm,
    21   Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
        together they are against Judah.
      For all this his anger has not turned away,
        and his hand is stretched out still.
    10   Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
        and the writers who keep writing oppression,
    2   to turn aside the needy from justice
        and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
      that widows may be their spoil,
        and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
    3   What will you do on the day of punishment,
        in the ruin that will come from afar?
      To whom will you flee for help,
        and where will you leave your wealth?
    4   Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
        or fall among the slain.
      For all this his anger has not turned away,
        and his hand is stretched out still.

    Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

    5   Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger;
        the staff in their hands is my fury!
    6   Against a godless nation I send him,
        and against the people of my wrath I command him,
      to take spoil and seize plunder,
        and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
    7   But he does not so intend,
        and his heart does not so think;
      but it is in his heart to destroy,
        and to cut off nations not a few;
    8   for he says:
      “Are not my commanders all kings?
    9   Is not Calno like Carchemish?
        Is not Hamath like Arpad?
        Is not Samaria like Damascus?
    10   As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
        whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
    11   shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
        as I have done to Samaria and her images?”

    12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, heHebrew I">2 will punish the speechHebrew fruit">3 of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 For he says:

      “By the strength of my hand I have done it,
        and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
      I remove the boundaries of peoples,
        and plunder their treasures;
        like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
    14   My hand has found like a nest
        the wealth of the peoples;
      and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
        so I have gathered all the earth;
      and there was none that moved a wing
        or opened the mouth or chirped.”
    15   Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
        or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
      As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
        or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
    16   Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts
        will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
      and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
        like the burning of fire.
    17   The light of Israel will become a fire,
        and his Holy One a flame,
      and it will burn and devour
        his thorns and briers in one day.
    18   The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
        the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,
        and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
    19   The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
        that a child can write them down.

    The Remnant of Israel Will Return

    20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

    24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain">4

    28   He has come to Aiath;
      he has passed through Migron;
        at Michmash he stores his baggage;
    29   they have crossed over the pass;
        at Geba they lodge for the night;
      Ramah trembles;
        Gibeah of Saul has fled.
    30   Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!
        Give attention, O Laishah!
        O poor Anathoth!
    31   Madmenah is in flight;
        the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.
    32   This very day he will halt at Nob;
        he will shake his fist
        at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
        the hill of Jerusalem.
    33   Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
        will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
      the great in height will be hewn down,
        and the lofty will be brought low.
    34   He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,
        and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.

    Footnotes

    [1] 9:17 Or speaks disgraceful things


    [2] 10:12 Hebrew I

    [3] 10:12 Hebrew fruit

    [4] 10:27 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 13
    John 13 (Listen)
    Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

    13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,Some manuscripts omit except for his feet">1 but is completely clean. And youThe Greek words for you in this verse are plural">2 are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

    12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servantOr bondservant, or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)">3 is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled,Greek But in order that the Scripture may be fulfilled">4 ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

    One of You Will Betray Me

    21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side,Greek in the bosom of Jesus">5 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask JesusGreek lacks Jesus">6 of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

    A New Commandment

    31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

    Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

    36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

    Footnotes

    [1] 13:10 Some manuscripts omit except for his feet


    [2] 13:10 The Greek words for you in this verse are plural

    [3] 13:16 Or bondservant, or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)

    [4] 13:18 Greek But in order that the Scripture may be fulfilled

    [5] 13:23 Greek in the bosom of Jesus

    [6] 13:24 Greek lacks Jesus

    (ESV)

    17 min
  • November 20: Psalm 111; 2 Kings 19; Isaiah 9:1–7; John 12:20–50
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 111
    Psalm 111 (Listen)
    Great Are the Lord’s Works

    111   This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet">1 Praise the LORD!
      I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
        in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
    2   Great are the works of the LORD,
        studied by all who delight in them.
    3   Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
        and his righteousness endures forever.
    4   He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
        the LORD is gracious and merciful.
    5   He provides food for those who fear him;
        he remembers his covenant forever.
    6   He has shown his people the power of his works,
        in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
    7   The works of his hands are faithful and just;
        all his precepts are trustworthy;
    8   they are established forever and ever,
        to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
    9   He sent redemption to his people;
        he has commanded his covenant forever.
        Holy and awesome is his name!
    10   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
        all those who practice it have a good understanding.
        His praise endures forever!

    Footnotes

    [1] 111:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 19
    2 Kings 19 (Listen)
    Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah

    19 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the LORD your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’”

    Sennacherib Defies the Lord

    8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

    Hezekiah’s Prayer

    14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”

    Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

    20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:

      “She despises you, she scorns you—
        the virgin daughter of Zion;
      she wags her head behind you—
        the daughter of Jerusalem.
    22   “Whom have you mocked and reviled?
        Against whom have you raised your voice
      and lifted your eyes to the heights?
        Against the Holy One of Israel!
    23   By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
        and you have said, ‘With my many chariots
      I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
        to the far recesses of Lebanon;
      I felled its tallest cedars,
        its choicest cypresses;
      I entered its farthest lodging place,
        its most fruitful forest.
    24   I dug wells
        and drank foreign waters,
      and I dried up with the sole of my foot
        all the streams of Egypt.’
    25   “Have you not heard
        that I determined it long ago?
      I planned from days of old
        what now I bring to pass,
      that you should turn fortified cities
        into heaps of ruins,
    26   while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
        are dismayed and confounded,
      and have become like plants of the field
        and like tender grass,
      like grass on the housetops,
        blighted before it is grown.
    27   “But I know your sitting down
        and your going out and coming in,
        and your raging against me.
    28   Because you have raged against me
        and your complacency has come into my ears,
      I will put my hook in your nose
        and my bit in your mouth,
      and I will turn you back on the way
        by which you came.

    29 “And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD will do this.

    32 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

    35 And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 9:1–7
    Isaiah 9:1–7 (Listen)
    For to Us a Child Is Born

    9 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew">1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.Or of the Gentiles">2

    2   Ch 9:1 in Hebrew">3 The people who walked in darkness
        have seen a great light;
      those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
        on them has light shone.
    3   You have multiplied the nation;
        you have increased its joy;
      they rejoice before you
        as with joy at the harvest,
        as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
    4   For the yoke of his burden,
        and the staff for his shoulder,
        the rod of his oppressor,
        you have broken as on the day of Midian.
    5   For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
        and every garment rolled in blood
        will be burned as fuel for the fire.
    6   For to us a child is born,
        to us a son is given;
      and the government shall be uponOr is upon">4 his shoulder,
        and his name shall be calledOr is called">5
      Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
    7   Of the increase of his government and of peace
        there will be no end,
      on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
        to establish it and to uphold it
      with justice and with righteousness
        from this time forth and forevermore.
      The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

    Footnotes

    [1] 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew


    [2] 9:1 Or of the Gentiles

    [3] 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew

    [4] 9:6 Or is upon

    [5] 9:6 Or is called

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 12:20–50
    John 12:20–50 (Listen)
    Some Greeks Seek Jesus

    20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

    The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

    27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

    The Unbelief of the People

    When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

      “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
        and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

    39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

    40   “He has blinded their eyes
        and hardened their heart,
      lest they see with their eyes,
        and understand with their heart, and turn,
        and I would heal them.”

    41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

    Jesus Came to Save the World

    44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

    (ESV)

    13 min
  • November 19: Psalm 110; 2 Kings 18; Isaiah 7–8; John 11:55–12:19
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 110
    Psalm 110 (Listen)
    Sit at My Right Hand
    A Psalm of David.

    110   The LORD says to my Lord:
        “Sit at my right hand,
      until I make your enemies your footstool.”
    2   The LORD sends forth from Zion
        your mighty scepter.
        Rule in the midst of your enemies!
    3   Your people will offer themselves freely
        on the day of your power,Or on the day you lead your forces">1
        in holy garments;Masoretic Text; some Hebrew manuscripts and Jerome on the holy mountains">2
      from the womb of the morning,
        the dew of your youth will be yours.The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain">3
    4   The LORD has sworn
        and will not change his mind,
      “You are a priest forever
        after the order of Melchizedek.”
    5   The Lord is at your right hand;
        he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
    6   He will execute judgment among the nations,
        filling them with corpses;
      he will shatter chiefsOr the head">4
        over the wide earth.
    7   He will drink from the brook by the way;
        therefore he will lift up his head.

    Footnotes

    [1] 110:3 Or on the day you lead your forces


    [2] 110:3 Masoretic Text; some Hebrew manuscripts and Jerome on the holy mountains

    [3] 110:3 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

    [4] 110:6 Or the head

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 18
    2 Kings 18 (Listen)
    Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

    18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and serpent">1 5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses. 7 And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. 8 He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

    9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.

    Sennacherib Attacks Judah

    13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talentsA talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms">2 of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. 17 And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 18 And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

    19 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 20 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’”

    26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”

    28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of myHebrew his">3 hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with meHebrew Make a blessing with me">4 and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

    36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

    Footnotes

    [1] 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and serpent


    [2] 18:14 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms

    [3] 18:29 Hebrew his

    [4] 18:31 Hebrew Make a blessing with me

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 7–8
    Isaiah 7–8 (Listen)
    Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

    7 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league withHebrew Syria has rested upon">1 Ephraim,” the heart of AhazHebrew his heart">2 and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

    3 And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashubShear-jashub means A remnant shall return">3 your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer itHebrew let us split it open">4 for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord GOD:

      “‘It shall not stand,
        and it shall not come to pass.
    8   For the head of Syria is Damascus,
        and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
      And within sixty-five years
        Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
    9   And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
        and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
      If youThe Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14">5 are not firm in faith,
        you will not be firm at all.’”

    The Sign of Immanuel

    10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the LORD yourThe Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17">6 God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” 13 And heThat is, Isaiah">7 said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.Immanuel means God is with us">8 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17 The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

    18 In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.Or watering holes, or brambles">9

    20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the RiverThat is, the Euphrates">10—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

    21 In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22 and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

    23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekelsA shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams">11 of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25 And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

    The Coming Assyrian Invasion

    8 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters,Hebrew with a man’s stylus">12 ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens">13 2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

    3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

    5 The LORD spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River,That is, the Euphrates">14 mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

    9   Be broken,Or Be evil">15 you peoples, and be shattered;Or dismayed">16
        give ear, all you far countries;
      strap on your armor and be shattered;
        strap on your armor and be shattered.
    10   Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
        speak a word, but it will not stand,
        for God is with us.The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel">17

    Fear God, Wait for the Lord

    11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

    16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teachingOr law; also verse 20">18 among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land,Hebrew it">19 greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously againstOr speak contemptuously by">20 their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

    Footnotes

    [1] 7:2 Hebrew Syria has rested upon


    [2] 7:2 Hebrew his heart

    [3] 7:3 Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return

    [4] 7:6 Hebrew let us split it open

    [5] 7:9 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14

    [6] 7:11 The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17

    [7] 7:13 That is, Isaiah

    [8] 7:14 Immanuel means God is with us

    [9] 7:19 Or watering holes, or brambles

    [10] 7:20 That is, the Euphrates

    [11] 7:23 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

    [12] 8:1 Hebrew with a man’s stylus

    [13] 8:1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens

    [14] 8:7 That is, the Euphrates

    [15] 8:9 Or Be evil

    [16] 8:9 Or dismayed

    [17] 8:10 The Hebrew for God is with us is Immanuel

    [18] 8:16 Or law; also verse 20

    [19] 8:21 Hebrew it

    [20] 8:21 Or speak contemptuously by

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 11:55–12:19
    John 11:55–12:19 (Listen)

    55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking forGreek were seeking for">1 Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

    Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

    12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a poundGreek litra; a litra (or Roman pound) was equal to about 11 1/2 ounces or 327 grams">2 of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denariiA denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer">3 and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep itOr Leave her alone; she intended to keep it">4 for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

    The Plot to Kill Lazarus

    9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that JesusGreek he">5 was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

    The Triumphal Entry

    12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

    15   “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
      behold, your king is coming,
        sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

    16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

    Footnotes

    [1] 11:56 Greek were seeking for


    [2] 12:3 Greek litra; a litra (or Roman pound) was equal to about 11 1/2 ounces or 327 grams

    [3] 12:5 A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer

    [4] 12:7 Or Leave her alone; she intended to keep it

    [5] 12:9 Greek he

    (ESV)

    17 min
  • November 18: Psalm 109; 2 Kings 17:24–41; Isaiah 6; John 11:1–54
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 109
    Psalm 109 (Listen)
    Help Me, O Lord My God
    To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

    109   Be not silent, O God of my praise!
    2   For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
        speaking against me with lying tongues.
    3   They encircle me with words of hate,
        and attack me without cause.
    4   In return for my love they accuse me,
        but I give myself to prayer.Hebrew but I am prayer">1
    5   So they reward me evil for good,
        and hatred for my love.
    6   Appoint a wicked man against him;
        let an accuser stand at his right hand.
    7   When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
        let his prayer be counted as sin!
    8   May his days be few;
        may another take his office!
    9   May his children be fatherless
        and his wife a widow!
    10   May his children wander about and beg,
        seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
    11   May the creditor seize all that he has;
        may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
    12   Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
        nor any to pity his fatherless children!
    13   May his posterity be cut off;
        may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
    14   May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
        and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
    15   Let them be before the LORD continually,
        that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
    16   For he did not remember to show kindness,
        but pursued the poor and needy
        and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
    17   He loved to curse; let curses comeRevocalization; Masoretic Text curses have come">2 upon him!
        He did not delight in blessing; may it be farRevocalization; Masoretic Text it is far">3 from him!
    18   He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
        may it soakRevocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked">4 into his body like water,
        like oil into his bones!
    19   May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
        like a belt that he puts on every day!
    20   May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
        of those who speak evil against my life!
    21   But you, O GOD my Lord,
        deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
        because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
    22   For I am poor and needy,
        and my heart is stricken within me.
    23   I am gone like a shadow at evening;
        I am shaken off like a locust.
    24   My knees are weak through fasting;
        my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
    25   I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
        when they see me, they wag their heads.
    26   Help me, O LORD my God!
        Save me according to your steadfast love!
    27   Let them know that this is your hand;
        you, O LORD, have done it!
    28   Let them curse, but you will bless!
        They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
    29   May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
        may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
    30   With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
        I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
    31   For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
        to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

    Footnotes

    [1] 109:4 Hebrew but I am prayer


    [2] 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text curses have come

    [3] 109:17 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it is far

    [4] 109:18 Revocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 17:24–41
    2 Kings 17:24–41 (Listen)
    Assyria Resettles Samaria

    24 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let himSyriac, Vulgate; Hebrew them">1 go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

    29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

    34 To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, 36 but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, 38 and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, 39 but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

    41 So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

    Footnotes

    [1] 17:27 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew them

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 6
    Isaiah 6 (Listen)
    Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord

    6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the trainOr hem">1 of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

      “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
      the whole earth is full of his glory!”Or may his glory fill the whole earth">2

    4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

    6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

    Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

    8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

      “‘Keep on hearing,Or Hear indeed">3 but do not understand;
      keep on seeing,Or see indeed">4 but do not perceive.’
    10   Make the heart of this people dull,Hebrew fat">5
        and their ears heavy,
        and blind their eyes;
      lest they see with their eyes,
        and hear with their ears,
      and understand with their hearts,
        and turn and be healed.”
    11   Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
      And he said:
      “Until cities lie waste
        without inhabitant,
      and houses without people,
        and the land is a desolate waste,
    12   and the LORD removes people far away,
        and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
    13   And though a tenth remain in it,
        it will be burnedOr purged">6 again,
      like a terebinth or an oak,
        whose stump remains
        when it is felled.”
      The holy seedOr offspring">7 is its stump.

    Footnotes

    [1] 6:1 Or hem


    [2] 6:3 Or may his glory fill the whole earth

    [3] 6:9 Or Hear indeed

    [4] 6:9 Or see indeed

    [5] 6:10 Hebrew fat

    [6] 6:13 Or purged

    [7] 6:13 Or offspring

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 11:1–54
    John 11:1–54 (Listen)
    The Death of Lazarus

    11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

    5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that LazarusGreek he; also verse 17">1 was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin,Greek Didymus">2 said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

    I Am the Resurrection and the Life

    17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two milesGreek fifteen stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters">3 off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Some manuscripts omit and the life">4 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

    Jesus Weeps

    28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply movedOr was indignant; also verse 38">5 in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

    Jesus Raises Lazarus

    38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

    The Plot to Kill Jesus

    45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

    54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

    Footnotes

    [1] 11:6 Greek he; also verse 17


    [2] 11:16 Greek Didymus

    [3] 11:18 Greek fifteen stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters

    [4] 11:25 Some manuscripts omit and the life

    [5] 11:33 Or was indignant; also verse 38

    (ESV)

    15 min
  • November 17: Psalm 108; 2 Kings 17:1–23; Isaiah 5; John 10:19–42
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 108
    Psalm 108 (Listen)
    With God We Shall Do Valiantly
    A Song. A Psalm of David.

    108   My heart is steadfast, O God!
        I will sing and make melody with all my being!Hebrew with my glory">1
    2   Awake, O harp and lyre!
        I will awake the dawn!
    3   I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
        I will sing praises to you among the nations.
    4   For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
        your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
    5   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
        Let your glory be over all the earth!
    6   That your beloved ones may be delivered,
        give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
    7   God has promised in his holiness:Or sanctuary">2
        “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
        and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
    8   Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
        Ephraim is my helmet,
        Judah my scepter.
    9   Moab is my washbasin;
        upon Edom I cast my shoe;
        over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
    10   Who will bring me to the fortified city?
        Who will lead me to Edom?
    11   Have you not rejected us, O God?
        You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
    12   Oh grant us help against the foe,
        for vain is the salvation of man!
    13   With God we shall do valiantly;
        it is he who will tread down our foes.

    Footnotes

    [1] 108:1 Hebrew with my glory


    [2] 108:7 Or sanctuary

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 17:1–23
    2 Kings 17:1–23 (Listen)
    Hoshea Reigns in Israel

    17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it.

    The Fall of Israel

    6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

    Exile Because of Idolatry

    7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

    14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offeringsOr made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire">1 and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.

    19 Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.

    21 When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit great sin. 22 The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them, 23 until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.

    Footnotes

    [1] 17:17 Or made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 5
    Isaiah 5 (Listen)
    The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

    5   Let me sing for my beloved
        my love song concerning his vineyard:
      My beloved had a vineyard
        on a very fertile hill.
    2   He dug it and cleared it of stones,
        and planted it with choice vines;
      he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
        and hewed out a wine vat in it;
      and he looked for it to yield grapes,
        but it yielded wild grapes.
    3   And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
        and men of Judah,
      judge between me and my vineyard.
    4   What more was there to do for my vineyard,
        that I have not done in it?
      When I looked for it to yield grapes,
        why did it yield wild grapes?
    5   And now I will tell you
        what I will do to my vineyard.
      I will remove its hedge,
        and it shall be devoured;Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5">1
      I will break down its wall,
        and it shall be trampled down.
    6   I will make it a waste;
        it shall not be pruned or hoed,
        and briers and thorns shall grow up;
      I will also command the clouds
        that they rain no rain upon it.
    7   For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
        is the house of Israel,
      and the men of Judah
        are his pleasant planting;
      and he looked for justice,
        but behold, bloodshed;The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike">2
      for righteousness,
        but behold, an outcry!The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike">3

    Woe to the Wicked

    8   Woe to those who join house to house,
        who add field to field,
      until there is no more room,
        and you are made to dwell alone
        in the midst of the land.
    9   The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
      “Surely many houses shall be desolate,
        large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
    10   For ten acresHebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day">4 of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
        and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; an ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters">5
    11   Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
        that they may run after strong drink,
      who tarry late into the evening
        as wine inflames them!
    12   They have lyre and harp,
        tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
      but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,
        or see the work of his hands.
    13   Therefore my people go into exile
        for lack of knowledge;Or without their knowledge">6
      their honored men go hungry,Or die of hunger">7
        and their multitude is parched with thirst.
    14   Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
        and opened its mouth beyond measure,
      and the nobility of JerusalemHebrew her nobility">8 and her multitude will go down,
        her revelers and he who exults in her.
    15   Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
        and the eyes of the haughtyHebrew high">9 are brought low.
    16   But the LORD of hosts is exaltedHebrew high">10 in justice,
        and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
    17   Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture,
        and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
    18   Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
        who draw sin as with cart ropes,
    19   who say: “Let him be quick,
        let him speed his work
        that we may see it;
      let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
        and let it come, that we may know it!”
    20   Woe to those who call evil good
        and good evil,
      who put darkness for light
        and light for darkness,
      who put bitter for sweet
        and sweet for bitter!
    21   Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
        and shrewd in their own sight!
    22   Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
        and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
    23   who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
        and deprive the innocent of his right!
    24   Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
        and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
      so their root will be as rottenness,
        and their blossom go up like dust;
      for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,
        and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
    25   Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
        and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
        and the mountains quaked;
      and their corpses were as refuse
        in the midst of the streets.
      For all this his anger has not turned away,
        and his hand is stretched out still.
    26   He will raise a signal for nations far away,
        and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
      and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
    27   None is weary, none stumbles,
        none slumbers or sleeps,
      not a waistband is loose,
        not a sandal strap broken;
    28   their arrows are sharp,
        all their bows bent,
      their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,
        and their wheels like the whirlwind.
    29   Their roaring is like a lion,
        like young lions they roar;
      they growl and seize their prey;
        they carry it off, and none can rescue.
    30   They will growl over it on that day,
        like the growling of the sea.
      And if one looks to the land,
        behold, darkness and distress;
      and the light is darkened by its clouds.

    Footnotes

    [1] 5:5 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5


    [2] 5:7 The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike

    [3] 5:7 The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike

    [4] 5:10 Hebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day

    [5] 5:10 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; an ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters

    [6] 5:13 Or without their knowledge

    [7] 5:13 Or die of hunger

    [8] 5:14 Hebrew her nobility

    [9] 5:15 Hebrew high

    [10] 5:16 Hebrew high

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 10:19–42
    John 10:19–42 (Listen)

    19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

    I and the Father Are One

    22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,Some manuscripts What my Father has given to me">1 is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

    31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

    40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

    Footnotes

    [1] 10:29 Some manuscripts What my Father has given to me

    (ESV)

    13 min
  • November 16: Psalm 107; 2 Kings 16; Isaiah 3–4; John 10:1–18
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 107
    Psalm 107 (Listen)
    Book Five
    Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So

    107   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
        for his steadfast love endures forever!
    2   Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
        whom he has redeemed from troubleOr from the hand of the foe">1
    3   and gathered in from the lands,
        from the east and from the west,
        from the north and from the south.
    4   Some wandered in desert wastes,
        finding no way to a city to dwell in;
    5   hungry and thirsty,
        their soul fainted within them.
    6   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
        and he delivered them from their distress.
    7   He led them by a straight way
        till they reached a city to dwell in.
    8   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
        for his wondrous works to the children of man!
    9   For he satisfies the longing soul,
        and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
    10   Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
        prisoners in affliction and in irons,
    11   for they had rebelled against the words of God,
        and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
    12   So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
        they fell down, with none to help.
    13   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
        and he delivered them from their distress.
    14   He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
        and burst their bonds apart.
    15   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
        for his wondrous works to the children of man!
    16   For he shatters the doors of bronze
        and cuts in two the bars of iron.
    17   Some were fools through their sinful ways,
        and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
    18   they loathed any kind of food,
        and they drew near to the gates of death.
    19   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
        and he delivered them from their distress.
    20   He sent out his word and healed them,
        and delivered them from their destruction.
    21   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
        for his wondrous works to the children of man!
    22   And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
        and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
    23   Some went down to the sea in ships,
        doing business on the great waters;
    24   they saw the deeds of the LORD,
        his wondrous works in the deep.
    25   For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
        which lifted up the waves of the sea.
    26   They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
        their courage melted away in their evil plight;
    27   they reeled and staggered like drunken men
        and were at their wits’ end.Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up">2
    28   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
        and he delivered them from their distress.
    29   He made the storm be still,
        and the waves of the sea were hushed.
    30   Then they were glad that the watersHebrew they">3 were quiet,
        and he brought them to their desired haven.
    31   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
        for his wondrous works to the children of man!
    32   Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
        and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
    33   He turns rivers into a desert,
        springs of water into thirsty ground,
    34   a fruitful land into a salty waste,
        because of the evil of its inhabitants.
    35   He turns a desert into pools of water,
        a parched land into springs of water.
    36   And there he lets the hungry dwell,
        and they establish a city to live in;
    37   they sow fields and plant vineyards
        and get a fruitful yield.
    38   By his blessing they multiply greatly,
        and he does not let their livestock diminish.
    39   When they are diminished and brought low
        through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
    40   he pours contempt on princes
        and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
    41   but he raises up the needy out of affliction
        and makes their families like flocks.
    42   The upright see it and are glad,
        and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
    43   Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
        let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

    Footnotes

    [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe


    [2] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up

    [3] 107:30 Hebrew they

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 16
    2 Kings 16 (Listen)
    Ahaz Reigns in Judah

    16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering,Or made his son pass through the fire">1 according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

    5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasures of the king’s house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.

    10 When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details. 11 And Uriah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uriah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus. 12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king viewed the altar. Then the king drew near to the altar and went up on it 13 and burned his burnt offering and his grain offering and poured his drink offering and threw the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 And the bronze altar that was before the LORD he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of his altar. 15 And King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. And throw on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice, but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Uriah the priest did all this, as King Ahaz commanded.

    17 And King Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands and removed the basin from them, and he took down the seaCompare 1 Kings 7:23">2 from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pedestal. 18 And the covered way for the Sabbath that had been built inside the house and the outer entrance for the king he caused to go around the house of the LORD, because of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

    Footnotes

    [1] 16:3 Or made his son pass through the fire


    [2] 16:17 Compare 1 Kings 7:23

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 3–4
    Isaiah 3–4 (Listen)
    Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

    3   For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
        is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
      support and supply,Hebrew staff">1
        all support of bread,
        and all support of water;
    2   the mighty man and the soldier,
        the judge and the prophet,
        the diviner and the elder,
    3   the captain of fifty
        and the man of rank,
      the counselor and the skillful magician
        and the expert in charms.
    4   And I will make boys their princes,
        and infantsOr caprice">2 shall rule over them.
    5   And the people will oppress one another,
        every one his fellow
        and every one his neighbor;
      the youth will be insolent to the elder,
        and the despised to the honorable.
    6   For a man will take hold of his brother
        in the house of his father, saying:
      “You have a cloak;
        you shall be our leader,
      and this heap of ruins
        shall be under your rule”;
    7   in that day he will speak out, saying:
      “I will not be a healer;Hebrew binder of wounds">3
        in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
      you shall not make me
        leader of the people.”
    8   For Jerusalem has stumbled,
        and Judah has fallen,
      because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD,
        defying his glorious presence.Hebrew the eyes of his glory">4
    9   For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
        they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
        they do not hide it.
      Woe to them!
        For they have brought evil on themselves.
    10   Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
        for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
    11   Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
        for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
    12   My people—infants are their oppressors,
        and women rule over them.
      O my people, your guides mislead you
        and they have swallowed upOr they have confused">5 the course of your paths.
    13   The LORD has taken his place to contend;
        he stands to judge peoples.
    14   The LORD will enter into judgment
        with the elders and princes of his people:
      “It is you who have devouredOr grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5">6 the vineyard,
        the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
    15   What do you mean by crushing my people,
        by grinding the face of the poor?”
          declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
    16   The LORD said:
      Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
        and walk with outstretched necks,
        glancing wantonly with their eyes,
      mincing along as they go,
        tinkling with their feet,
    17   therefore the Lord will strike with a scab
        the heads of the daughters of Zion,
        and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.

    18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and nose rings; 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

    24   Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;
        and instead of a belt, a rope;
      and instead of well-set hair, baldness;
        and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth;
        and branding instead of beauty.
    25   Your men shall fall by the sword
        and your mighty men in battle.
    26   And her gates shall lament and mourn;
        empty, she shall sit on the ground.

    4 And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

    The Branch of the Lord Glorified

    2 In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.Or purging">7 5 Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

    Footnotes

    [1] 3:1 Hebrew staff


    [2] 3:4 Or caprice

    [3] 3:7 Hebrew binder of wounds

    [4] 3:8 Hebrew the eyes of his glory

    [5] 3:12 Or they have confused

    [6] 3:14 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5

    [7] 4:4 Or purging

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 10:1–18
    John 10:1–18 (Listen)
    I Am the Good Shepherd

    10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

    7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

    (ESV)

    14 min
  • November 15: Psalm 106; 2 Kings 14:23–15:38; Isaiah 2; John 9
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 106
    Psalm 106 (Listen)
    Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

    106   Praise the LORD!
      Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
        for his steadfast love endures forever!
    2   Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
        or declare all his praise?
    3   Blessed are they who observe justice,
        who do righteousness at all times!
    4   Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
        help me when you save them,Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation">1
    5   that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
        that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
        that I may glory with your inheritance.
    6   Both we and our fathers have sinned;
        we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
    7   Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
        did not consider your wondrous works;
      they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
        but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
    8   Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
        that he might make known his mighty power.
    9   He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
        and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
    10   So he saved them from the hand of the foe
        and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
    11   And the waters covered their adversaries;
        not one of them was left.
    12   Then they believed his words;
        they sang his praise.
    13   But they soon forgot his works;
        they did not wait for his counsel.
    14   But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
        and put God to the test in the desert;
    15   he gave them what they asked,
        but sent a wasting disease among them.
    16   When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
        and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
    17   the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
        and covered the company of Abiram.
    18   Fire also broke out in their company;
        the flame burned up the wicked.
    19   They made a calf in Horeb
        and worshiped a metal image.
    20   They exchanged the glory of GodHebrew exchanged their glory">2
        for the image of an ox that eats grass.
    21   They forgot God, their Savior,
        who had done great things in Egypt,
    22   wondrous works in the land of Ham,
        and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
    23   Therefore he said he would destroy them—
        had not Moses, his chosen one,
      stood in the breach before him,
        to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
    24   Then they despised the pleasant land,
        having no faith in his promise.
    25   They murmured in their tents,
        and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
    26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
        that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
    27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
        scattering them among the lands.
    28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
        and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
    29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
        and a plague broke out among them.
    30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
        and the plague was stayed.
    31   And that was counted to him as righteousness
        from generation to generation forever.
    32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
        and it went ill with Moses on their account,
    33   for they made his spirit bitter,Or they rebelled against God’s Spirit">3
        and he spoke rashly with his lips.
    34   They did not destroy the peoples,
        as the LORD commanded them,
    35   but they mixed with the nations
        and learned to do as they did.
    36   They served their idols,
        which became a snare to them.
    37   They sacrificed their sons
        and their daughters to the demons;
    38   they poured out innocent blood,
        the blood of their sons and daughters,
      whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
        and the land was polluted with blood.
    39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,
        and played the whore in their deeds.
    40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
        and he abhorred his heritage;
    41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,
        so that those who hated them ruled over them.
    42   Their enemies oppressed them,
        and they were brought into subjection under their power.
    43   Many times he delivered them,
        but they were rebellious in their purposes
        and were brought low through their iniquity.
    44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
        when he heard their cry.
    45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,
        and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
    46   He caused them to be pitied
        by all those who held them captive.
    47   Save us, O LORD our God,
        and gather us from among the nations,
      that we may give thanks to your holy name
        and glory in your praise.
    48   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
        from everlasting to everlasting!
      And let all the people say, “Amen!”
        Praise the LORD!

    Footnotes

    [1] 106:4 Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation


    [2] 106:20 Hebrew exchanged their glory

    [3] 106:33 Or they rebelled against God’s Spirit

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 14:23–15:38
    2 Kings 14:23–15:38 (Listen)
    Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel

    23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. 26 For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 27 But the LORD had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

    28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

    Azariah Reigns in Judah

    15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 4 Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 5 And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leperLeprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13">1 to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house.The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain">2 And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land. 6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 7 And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place.

    Zechariah Reigns in Israel

    8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 10 Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibleam and put him to death and reigned in his place. 11 Now the rest of the deeds of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 12 (This was the promise of the LORD that he gave to Jehu, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.)

    Shallum Reigns in Israel

    13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of UzziahAnother name for Azariah">3 king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria. 14 Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and he struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and put him to death and reigned in his place. 15 Now the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and the conspiracy that he made, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 16 At that time Menahem sacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on, because they did not open it to him. Therefore he sacked it, and he ripped open all the women in it who were pregnant.

    Menahem Reigns in Israel

    17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 19 PulAnother name for Tiglath-pileser III (compare verse 29)">4 the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talentsA talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms">5 of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power. 20 Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekelsA shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams">6 of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now the rest of the deeds of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 22 And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.

    Pekahiah Reigns in Israel

    23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 25 And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the people of Gilead, and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king’s house with Argob and Arieh; he put him to death and reigned in his place. 26 Now the rest of the deeds of Pekahiah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

    Pekah Reigns in Israel

    27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. 28 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.

    29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and struck him down and put him to death and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

    Jotham Reigns in Judah

    32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD. 36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 37 In those days the LORD began to send Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 Jotham slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

    Footnotes

    [1] 15:5 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13


    [2] 15:5 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

    [3] 15:13 Another name for Azariah

    [4] 15:19 Another name for Tiglath-pileser III (compare verse 29)

    [5] 15:19 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms

    [6] 15:20 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 2
    Isaiah 2 (Listen)
    The Mountain of the Lord

    2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

    2   It shall come to pass in the latter days
        that the mountain of the house of the LORD
      shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
        and shall be lifted up above the hills;
      and all the nations shall flow to it,
    3     and many peoples shall come, and say:
      “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
        to the house of the God of Jacob,
      that he may teach us his ways
        and that we may walk in his paths.”
      For out of Zion shall go forth the law,Or teaching">1
        and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
    4   He shall judge between the nations,
        and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
      and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
        and their spears into pruning hooks;
      nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
        neither shall they learn war anymore.
    5   O house of Jacob,
        come, let us walk
        in the light of the LORD.

    The Day of the Lord

    6   For you have rejected your people,
        the house of Jacob,
      because they are full of things from the east
        and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
        and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
    7   Their land is filled with silver and gold,
        and there is no end to their treasures;
      their land is filled with horses,
        and there is no end to their chariots.
    8   Their land is filled with idols;
        they bow down to the work of their hands,
        to what their own fingers have made.
    9   So man is humbled,
        and each one is brought low—
        do not forgive them!
    10   Enter into the rock
        and hide in the dust
      from before the terror of the LORD,
        and from the splendor of his majesty.
    11   The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
        and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
      and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
    12   For the LORD of hosts has a day
        against all that is proud and lofty,
        against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
    13   against all the cedars of Lebanon,
        lofty and lifted up;
        and against all the oaks of Bashan;
    14   against all the lofty mountains,
        and against all the uplifted hills;
    15   against every high tower,
        and against every fortified wall;
    16   against all the ships of Tarshish,
        and against all the beautiful craft.
    17   And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
        and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
        and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
    18   And the idols shall utterly pass away.
    19   And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
        and the holes of the ground,Hebrew dust">2
      from before the terror of the LORD,
        and from the splendor of his majesty,
        when he rises to terrify the earth.
    20   In that day mankind will cast away
        their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
      which they made for themselves to worship,
        to the moles and to the bats,
    21   to enter the caverns of the rocks
        and the clefts of the cliffs,
      from before the terror of the LORD,
        and from the splendor of his majesty,
        when he rises to terrify the earth.
    22   Stop regarding man
        in whose nostrils is breath,
        for of what account is he?

    Footnotes

    [1] 2:3 Or teaching


    [2] 2:19 Hebrew dust

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 9
    John 9 (Listen)
    Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

    9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

    8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

    13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

    18 The JewsGreek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 22">1 did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess JesusGreek him">2 to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

    24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

    35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”Some manuscripts the Son of God">3 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt;Greek you would not have sin">4 but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

    Footnotes

    [1] 9:18 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 22


    [2] 9:22 Greek him

    [3] 9:35 Some manuscripts the Son of God

    [4] 9:41 Greek you would not have sin

    (ESV)

    21 min
  • November 14: Psalm 105; 2 Kings 14:1–22; Isaiah 1; John 8
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 105
    Psalm 105 (Listen)
    Tell of All His Wondrous Works

    105   Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
        make known his deeds among the peoples!
    2   Sing to him, sing praises to him;
        tell of all his wondrous works!
    3   Glory in his holy name;
        let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
    4   Seek the LORD and his strength;
        seek his presence continually!
    5   Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
        his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
    6   O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
        children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
    7   He is the LORD our God;
        his judgments are in all the earth.
    8   He remembers his covenant forever,
        the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
    9   the covenant that he made with Abraham,
        his sworn promise to Isaac,
    10   which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
        to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
    11   saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
        as your portion for an inheritance.”
    12   When they were few in number,
        of little account, and sojourners in it,
    13   wandering from nation to nation,
        from one kingdom to another people,
    14   he allowed no one to oppress them;
        he rebuked kings on their account,
    15   saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
        do my prophets no harm!”
    16   When he summoned a famine on the land
        and broke all supplyHebrew staff">1 of bread,
    17   he had sent a man ahead of them,
        Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
    18   His feet were hurt with fetters;
        his neck was put in a collar of iron;
    19   until what he had said came to pass,
        the word of the LORD tested him.
    20   The king sent and released him;
        the ruler of the peoples set him free;
    21   he made him lord of his house
        and ruler of all his possessions,
    22   to bindSeptuagint, Syriac, Jerome instruct">2 his princes at his pleasure
        and to teach his elders wisdom.
    23   Then Israel came to Egypt;
        Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
    24   And the LORD made his people very fruitful
        and made them stronger than their foes.
    25   He turned their hearts to hate his people,
        to deal craftily with his servants.
    26   He sent Moses, his servant,
        and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
    27   They performed his signs among them
        and miracles in the land of Ham.
    28   He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
        they did not rebelSeptuagint, Syriac omit not">3 against his words.
    29   He turned their waters into blood
        and caused their fish to die.
    30   Their land swarmed with frogs,
        even in the chambers of their kings.
    31   He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
        and gnats throughout their country.
    32   He gave them hail for rain,
        and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
    33   He struck down their vines and fig trees,
        and shattered the trees of their country.
    34   He spoke, and the locusts came,
        young locusts without number,
    35   which devoured all the vegetation in their land
        and ate up the fruit of their ground.
    36   He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
        the firstfruits of all their strength.
    37   Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
        and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
    38   Egypt was glad when they departed,
        for dread of them had fallen upon it.
    39   He spread a cloud for a covering,
        and fire to give light by night.
    40   They asked, and he brought quail,
        and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
    41   He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
        it flowed through the desert like a river.
    42   For he remembered his holy promise,
        and Abraham, his servant.
    43   So he brought his people out with joy,
        his chosen ones with singing.
    44   And he gave them the lands of the nations,
        and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
    45   that they might keep his statutes
        and observe his laws.
      Praise the LORD!

    Footnotes

    [1] 105:16 Hebrew staff


    [2] 105:22 Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome instruct

    [3] 105:28 Septuagint, Syriac omit not

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 14:1–22
    2 Kings 14:1–22 (Listen)
    Amaziah Reigns in Judah

    14 In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. 4 But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 5 And as soon as the royal power was firmly in his hand, he struck down his servants who had struck down the king his father. 6 But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.”

    7 He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this day.

    8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to JehoashJehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in 13:9, 12–14; also verses 9, 11–16">1 the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” 9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 10 You have indeed struck down Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

    11 But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. 13 And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters">2 from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. 14 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

    15 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 16 And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

    17 Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 18 Now the rest of the deeds of Amaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there. 20 And they brought him on horses; and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. 21 And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22 He built Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers.

    Footnotes

    [1] 14:8 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in 13:9, 12–14; also verses 9, 11–16


    [2] 14:13 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Isaiah 1
    Isaiah 1 (Listen)

    1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

    The Wickedness of Judah

    2   Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
        for the LORD has spoken:
      “ChildrenOr Sons; also verse 4">1 have I reared and brought up,
        but they have rebelled against me.
    3   The ox knows its owner,
        and the donkey its master’s crib,
      but Israel does not know,
        my people do not understand.”
    4   Ah, sinful nation,
        a people laden with iniquity,
      offspring of evildoers,
        children who deal corruptly!
      They have forsaken the LORD,
        they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
        they are utterly estranged.
    5   Why will you still be struck down?
        Why will you continue to rebel?
      The whole head is sick,
        and the whole heart faint.
    6   From the sole of the foot even to the head,
        there is no soundness in it,
      but bruises and sores
        and raw wounds;
      they are not pressed out or bound up
        or softened with oil.
    7   Your country lies desolate;
        your cities are burned with fire;
      in your very presence
        foreigners devour your land;
        it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
    8   And the daughter of Zion is left
        like a booth in a vineyard,
      like a lodge in a cucumber field,
        like a besieged city.
    9   If the LORD of hosts
        had not left us a few survivors,
      we should have been like Sodom,
        and become like Gomorrah.
    10   Hear the word of the LORD,
        you rulers of Sodom!
      Give ear to the teachingOr law">2 of our God,
        you people of Gomorrah!
    11   “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
        says the LORD;
      I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
        and the fat of well-fed beasts;
      I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
        or of lambs, or of goats.
    12   “When you come to appear before me,
        who has required of you
        this trampling of my courts?
    13   Bring no more vain offerings;
        incense is an abomination to me.
      New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
        I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
    14   Your new moons and your appointed feasts
        my soul hates;
      they have become a burden to me;
        I am weary of bearing them.
    15   When you spread out your hands,
        I will hide my eyes from you;
      even though you make many prayers,
        I will not listen;
        your hands are full of blood.
    16   Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
        remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
      cease to do evil,
    17     learn to do good;
      seek justice,
        correct oppression;
      bring justice to the fatherless,
        plead the widow’s cause.
    18   “Come now, let us reasonOr dispute">3 together, says the LORD:
      though your sins are like scarlet,
        they shall be as white as snow;
      though they are red like crimson,
        they shall become like wool.
    19   If you are willing and obedient,
        you shall eat the good of the land;
    20   but if you refuse and rebel,
        you shall be eaten by the sword;
        for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

    The Unfaithful City

    21   How the faithful city
        has become a whore,Or become unchaste">4
        she who was full of justice!
      Righteousness lodged in her,
        but now murderers.
    22   Your silver has become dross,
        your best wine mixed with water.
    23   Your princes are rebels
        and companions of thieves.
      Everyone loves a bribe
        and runs after gifts.
      They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
        and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
    24   Therefore the Lord declares,
        the LORD of hosts,
        the Mighty One of Israel:
      “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
        and avenge myself on my foes.
    25   I will turn my hand against you
        and will smelt away your dross as with lye
        and remove all your alloy.
    26   And I will restore your judges as at the first,
        and your counselors as at the beginning.
      Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
        the faithful city.”
    27   Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
        and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
    28   But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
        and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
    29   For theySome Hebrew manuscripts you">5 shall be ashamed of the oaks
        that you desired;
      and you shall blush for the gardens
        that you have chosen.
    30   For you shall be like an oak
        whose leaf withers,
        and like a garden without water.
    31   And the strong shall become tinder,
        and his work a spark,
      and both of them shall burn together,
        with none to quench them.

    Footnotes

    [1] 1:2 Or Sons; also verse 4


    [2] 1:10 Or law

    [3] 1:18 Or dispute

    [4] 1:21 Or become unchaste

    [5] 1:29 Some Hebrew manuscripts you

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 8
    John 8 (Listen)

    8 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

    I Am the Light of the World

    12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the FatherSome manuscripts he">1 who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

    21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

    The Truth Will Set You Free

    31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

    34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slaveFor the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35">2 to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

    You Are of Your Father the Devil

    39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

    Before Abraham Was, I Am

    48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’Some manuscripts your God">3 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you?">4 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

    Footnotes

    [1] 8:16 Some manuscripts he


    [2] 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35

    [3] 8:54 Some manuscripts your God

    [4] 8:57 Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you?

    (ESV)

    20 min
  • November 13: Psalm 104; 2 Kings 13; Malachi 3:13–4:6; John 7
    Psalms and Wisdom:
    Psalm 104
    Psalm 104 (Listen)
    O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

    104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!
        O LORD my God, you are very great!
      You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
    2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
        stretching out the heavens like a tent.
    3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
      he makes the clouds his chariot;
        he rides on the wings of the wind;
    4   he makes his messengers winds,
        his ministers a flaming fire.
    5   He set the earth on its foundations,
        so that it should never be moved.
    6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
        the waters stood above the mountains.
    7   At your rebuke they fled;
        at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
    8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
        to the place that you appointed for them.
    9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,
        so that they might not again cover the earth.
    10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
        they flow between the hills;
    11   they give drink to every beast of the field;
        the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
    12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
        they sing among the branches.
    13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
        the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
    14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
        and plants for man to cultivate,
      that he may bring forth food from the earth
    15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,
      oil to make his face shine
        and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
    16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
        the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
    17   In them the birds build their nests;
        the stork has her home in the fir trees.
    18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;
        the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
    19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)">1
        the sun knows its time for setting.
    20   You make darkness, and it is night,
        when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
    21   The young lions roar for their prey,
        seeking their food from God.
    22   When the sun rises, they steal away
        and lie down in their dens.
    23   Man goes out to his work
        and to his labor until the evening.
    24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!
        In wisdom have you made them all;
        the earth is full of your creatures.
    25   Here is the sea, great and wide,
        which teems with creatures innumerable,
        living things both small and great.
    26   There go the ships,
        and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.Or you formed to play with">2
    27   These all look to you,
        to give them their food in due season.
    28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;
        when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
    29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
        when you take away their breath, they die
        and return to their dust.
    30   When you send forth your Spirit,Or breath">3 they are created,
        and you renew the face of the ground.
    31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
        may the LORD rejoice in his works,
    32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,
        who touches the mountains and they smoke!
    33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
        I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
    34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,
        for I rejoice in the LORD.
    35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
        and let the wicked be no more!
      Bless the LORD, O my soul!
      Praise the LORD!

    Footnotes

    [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)


    [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with

    [3] 104:30 Or breath

    (ESV)

    Pentateuch and History:
    2 Kings 13
    2 Kings 13 (Listen)
    Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

    13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walkedSeptuagint, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew he walked">1 in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.

    Jehoash Reigns in Israel

    10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, JehoashJehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25">2 the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

    The Death of Elisha

    14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

    20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

    22 Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

    24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

    Footnotes

    [1] 13:6 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew he walked


    [2] 13:10 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25

    (ESV)

    Chronicles and Prophets:
    Malachi 3:13–4:6
    Malachi 3:13–4:6 (Listen)

    13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

    The Book of Remembrance

    16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

    Ch 4:1–6 is ch 3:19–24 in Hebrew">1 The Great Day of the Lord

    4 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

    4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rulesOr and just decrees">2 that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

    5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction">3

    Footnotes

    [1] 3:18 Ch 4:1–6 is ch 3:19–24 in Hebrew


    [2] 4:4 Or and just decrees

    [3] 4:6 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction

    (ESV)

    Gospels and Epistles:
    John 7
    John 7 (Listen)
    Jesus at the Feast of Booths

    7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the JewsOr Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time">1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothersOr brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10">2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am notSome manuscripts add yet">3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

    10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

    14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,Or this man knows his letters">4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’sGreek his">5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

    Can This Be the Christ?

    25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

    Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

    32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

    Rivers of Living Water

    37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, asOr let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As">6 the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

    Division Among the People

    40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

    45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

    [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text">7
    The Woman Caught in Adultery

    53 [[They went each to his own house,

    Footnotes

    [1] 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time


    [2] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10

    [3] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet

    [4] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters

    [5] 7:17 Greek his

    [6] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As

    [7] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text

    (ESV)

    16 min

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