WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

Ezekiel 8 (EHV)

1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, [1] I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me. The hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 I looked, and there I saw a figure that looked like a man. [2] From what appeared to be his waist down, he looked like fire, and from his waist up, he had the appearance of a dazzling light, something like glowing metal. [3] 3 He reached out with what looked like a hand and seized me by a lock of hair. Then the Spirit [4] lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me to Jerusalem, while I was experiencing visions from God. He brought me to the entrance of the north gate into the inner courtyard of the Temple, where the idolatrous image of jealousy, which provokes jealousy, was located. 4 Then I looked, and there was the Glory of the God of Israel, as it was in the vision that I had seen in the middle of the river valley.

5 He said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and what did I see! There, north of the altar gate, was this idolatrous image of jealousy beside the entrance. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—what great abominations the house of Israel is practicing here, to distance themselves [5] from my sanctuary! But you will see even greater abominations.”

7 Next, he brought me to the entrance to the courtyard, and I looked and saw that there was a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and there I saw a doorway. 9 He said to me, “Go in and observe the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 When I entered, I looked around, and what did I see! Every form of creeping creature and every kind of detestable animal and all the filthy idols of the house of Israel were engraved on the wall, all around. 11 Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel—with Ja’azaniah [6] son of Shaphan standing in the middle—were standing in front of the images, each with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was ascending. 12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in his chamber for carved images? Listen! They are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land.’”

13 Then he said to me, “You will see even greater abominations which they are practicing.”

14 Next, he brought me to the entrance of the gateway of the House of the Lord that is on the north side, and right there I saw women sitting and wailing for Tammuz. [7] 15 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these.”

16 Finally, he brought me to the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the vestibule and the altar, were twenty-five men, showing their backsides to the temple of the Lord with their faces toward the east, and they were bowing down to the sun in the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it too trivial for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are committing here? Do they also have to fill the land with violence, so that they provoke me more and more? They are even sticking the branch up my nose! [8] 18 But I also will act in wrath. My eye will not show pity, and I will have no compassion. They will call out to my ears with a loud cry, but I will not hear them.”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ezekiel 6 – 7 (EHV)

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3 You shall say, “Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God.” This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and to the hills, to the streambeds and to the valleys. Without fail, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Your altars will be demolished, and your incense altars [1] will be smashed, and I will throw down your fallen bodies in front of your filthy idols. [2] 5 I will lay out the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their filthy idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all the places where you live, the towns will be laid waste, and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and demolished, your filthy idols will be crushed and cease to exist, your incense altars will be broken in pieces, and the things you have made will be wiped out. 7 The slain will fall in your midst, and then you will know that I am the Lord.

8 Nevertheless, when you are scattered in various countries, I will preserve for you some survivors who escape the sword among the nations. 9 Then, those of you who escape will remember me in the nations where they have been carried as captives. They will remember how I was heartbroken by their lustful hearts, which turned away from me, and by their eyes, which lusted for their filthy idols. They will loathe themselves because of all the evils they have done, for all their abominations. 10 Then they will know that I, the Lord, did not speak about bringing this disaster on them without it having a result. [3]

11 This is what the Lord God says. Clap your hands, [4] stomp your feet, and say, “We are doomed,” on account of all the vile abominations of the house of Israel, for by the sword, famine, and plague they will fall. 12 Anyone who is far away will die of the plague, and anyone who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who remains under siege will die of famine. In this way I will exhaust my wrath upon them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their fallen bodies lie among their filthy idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and under every leafy oak, in every place where they offered fragrant sacrifice to appease all their filthy idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Riblah, [5] in all the places they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 And to you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says about the soil of Israel. An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now that the end is upon you, I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will place on you the penalty for all your abominations. [6] 4 My eye will not have pity on you, and I will have no compassion, for I will place on you the penalty for your ways, and the punishment for your abominations will be in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord!

5 This is what the Lord God says. Disaster! An unparalleled disaster! [7] Watch, it is coming! 6 An end has come! The end has come! It has begun against you. Look, it is coming! 7 Doom [8] has come upon you, you inhabitants of the land. The time has come, the day is near. A day of panic, not joy, is on the mountains. 8 Now very soon I will pour out my wrath upon you, and I will exhaust my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will place on you the penalty for all your abominations. 9 My eye will not show pity, and I will have no compassion. According to your ways I will place the penalty on you, and the punishment for your abominations will be in your midst. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am the one who strikes you!

10 Look, the day is coming. It is here. Doom has broken out. The rod has budded. Insolence has blossomed. 11 Violence has grown into a rod against wickedness. None of them will remain—none of their noisy crowd, [9] none of their wealth, not a thing of value among them. 12 The time has come; the day has arrived.

The buyer should not rejoice. The seller should not grieve, because wrath is coming upon the whole noisy crowd. 13 So sellers will not return to what they have sold, even if they survive. Yes, the vision concerning the whole noisy crowd will not be reversed, and each man, because of the guilt in his life, will have no strength. 14 They will blow a blast on the ram’s horn and make everything ready, but no one will go to battle, because my wrath is upon the whole noisy crowd. 15 The sword is outside, and plague and famine are inside. Anyone in the countryside will die by the sword, and anyone in the city—plague and famine will devour him. 16 Any who escape will flee to the mountains, mourning like doves from the valley, each of them in his guilt. 17 All hands will hang limp, and water will run down every knee. [10] 18 They will put on sackcloth, and horror will cover them. Every face will be ashamed, and all their heads will be shaved bald.

19 They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be polluted by blood. [11] Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of the Lord’s fury. The silver and gold will not satisfy their appetites [12] or fill their stomachs, because it was the cause of their guilt and their downfall. 20 From the silver and gold of the Lord’s beautiful ornaments, which were their pride, they made their abominations and their disgusting images.

Therefore, for them I will make it a place polluted by blood. 21 I will hand it over to foreigners as loot. I will give it to the most wicked people on earth as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 22 I will turn my face away from my people so that the enemy may desecrate my treasured place, and so that robbers may enter it and desecrate it. 23 Prepare the chain, because the earth is full of judicial murder, [13] and the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their so-called sanctuaries [14] will be desecrated.

25 Terror is coming. They will seek peace, but there will be none. 26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one report will follow another. They will seek a vision from the prophet, but sound instruction will vanish from the priest and the ability to give advice from the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. On the basis of their own conduct I will deal with them, and by the standard they used to judge others I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ezekiel 3:22 – 5:17 (EHV)

22 Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the center of the river valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the center of the valley, and suddenly there it was! The Glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the Glory that I had seen by the Kebar Canal, and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me and brought me to my feet.

Then he spoke to me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up inside your house. 25 And this is what will happen to you, son of man. They will certainly place ropes upon you and tie you up with them, so that you will not be able to go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so that you will be speechless, and you will not be able to rebuke [1] them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But whenever I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen. Whoever refuses to listen, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.”

1 Now you, son of man, take a brick for yourself, place it in front of you, and sketch on it a city, which is Jerusalem. 2 Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, heap up a ramp against it, set up camps against it, and station battering rams against it, all the way around it.

3 And you, take an iron griddle and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Direct your face toward [2] it, so that it will be under siege as you besiege it. This will be a sign for the house of Israel.

4 And you, lie down on your left side, and place the guilt of the house of Israel on it. For as many days as you lie on your side, you shall bear their guilt. 5 I will assign to you the number of days you are to lie on your side on the basis of the number of years of their guilt: three hundred ninety days. So you shall bear the guilt of the house of Israel. 6 When you have finished these days, you shall lie down a second time on your right side, and you shall bear the guilt of the house of Judah for forty days. I have assigned to you one day for each year. 7 You shall direct your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 See, I have placed ropes upon you, so that you will not turn from your one side to your other side until you finish the days of your siege.

9 And you, take some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer wheat for yourself. You shall put them in a single dish and make bread for yourself with them. During the whole number of days that you are lying on your side—three hundred ninety days—you shall eat it. 10 You shall weigh out the food you eat—half a pound [3] a day. You are to eat it at set times each day. 11 You shall measure the water you drink—a pint and a half [4] a day. You are to drink it at set times each day. 12 You are to eat it as you would eat flat bread made of barley, and you are to bake it over balls of human excrement in their sight.

13 Then the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their food: They will be ceremonially unclean among the nations where I will banish them.”

14 Then I said, “Oh no, Lord God, I have never made myself unclean. I have never eaten a carcass or something torn by wild animals, from my youth until now. Neither has any meat which is ceremonially unclean ever entered my mouth.”

15 Then he answered me, “Very well, I will let you use droppings of cattle instead of balls of human excrement, and you shall bake your bread over them.”

16 He also said this to me: “Son of man, watch for this! I am about to take away the bread supply from [5] Jerusalem, and they will measure out their bread by weight and eat it with anxiety, and they will measure out their water and drink it with horror. 17 So they will lack food and water, and they will be horrified, each man and his brother, and they will waste away because of their guilt.”

1 You, son of man, get a sharp sword for yourself. You shall use it on yourself like a barber’s razor. Use it on your head and on your beard. Then get scales for yourself so that you can weigh and divide the hair. 2 One third of it you shall burn with fire inside the city when the days of siege are completed. Then you shall take another third and strike it with the sword all around the city. Another third you shall scatter to the wind, but I will unsheathe the sword to pursue them. 3 But take a few hairs and wrap them in the folds of your robe. 4 Then take some of those and throw them into the middle of the fire and burn them up in the fire. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord God says. This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the midst of the nations, and all around her there are other countries. 6 But she rebelled against my ordinances, [6] becoming more wicked than the nations, and she rebelled against my statutes more than the countries around her did, because the Israelites rejected my ordinances, and they did not walk in my statutes. [7] 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have outdone the nations around you, and you have not walked in my statutes, and you have not performed what I judged to be right, and you have not [8] even acted according to the standards of justice followed by the nations around you, 8 therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Watch out! I am against you. I myself will perform judgments among you in the sight of the nations. 9 I will do among you something that I have never done before and the likes of which I shall never do again, because of all your abominations. 10 That is why fathers among you [9] will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you, and I will scatter any of you who are left to every wind.

11 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Lord God, because you have defiled my sanctuary by all your detestable practices and all your abominations, I, yes I myself, will withdraw. My eye will not show pity, and I myself will have no compassion. 12 A third of you will die in the plague or perish during the famine in your midst. All around you, a third will fall by the sword, and a third I will scatter to every wind. Then I will unsheathe the sword in pursuit of them. 13 Finally, my anger will be finished. I will let my wrath against them rest, and I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy [10]—when I exhaust my wrath against them. 14 I will make you into a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 15 You, Jerusalem, [11] will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and something horrifying to the nations around you, when I execute judgments upon you in anger, in wrath, and in furious punishments. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 I will also send deadly arrows of famine against them, arrows that shall become a destroyer, arrows that I will send to destroy you. I will also increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. [12] 17 I will send famine and dangerous wild animals against you, and they will take away your children from you. Plague and bloodshed will pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ezekiel 2:1 – 3:21 (EHV)

1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 The Spirit entered into me as he spoke to me and brought me up to my feet. Then I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, [1] to disloyal nations, who have been disloyal to me. They and their fathers have rebelled against me to this very day. 4 These children of mine are brazen-faced and hard-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says. 5 Then, whether they listen or do not listen—for they are a rebellious house—then they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words. Even though briers and thorns surround you and you are living with scorpions, do not be afraid of their words, and do not be intimidated by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. 7 You are to speak my words to them whether they listen or they do not, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I am telling you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out toward me, and in it there was a rolled-up scroll. 10 He unrolled it in front of me, and there was writing on both sides. Written on it was: Laments, Groaning, and Woe.

1 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat what you have received. Eat this scroll, and then go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate, and in my mouth it was sweet like honey.

4 He then said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people who have incomprehensible speech or a difficult language, but you are being sent to the house of Israel. 6 Nor are you being sent to many peoples who have incomprehensible speech and difficult languages, whose words you cannot understand. Certainly, if I were to send you to such people, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, because the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 8 Look, I have made your face just as hard as their faces and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads. 9 I have made your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not fear them, and do not be intimidated by their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”

10 Then he said to me, “Son of man, receive into your heart all my words that I will speak to you, and hear them with your ears. 11 Go now to the exiles, to your own people. [2] You shall speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or they do not.”

12 Then the Spirit [3] lifted me up, and I heard a loud rushing sound behind me—Blessed be the Glory of the Lord in its dwelling place!— 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures beating against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and so I went, bitter and heated in my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was upon me with power. 15 I came to the exiles at Tel Aviv, who were living by the Kebar Canal—there where they were living. [4] I sat among them for seven days—stunned.

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me and said:

17 Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 18 When I announce to a wicked man, “You shall surely die,” if you do not warn him, and you do not speak up to warn the wicked man against his wicked way so that he can live, then that wicked man will die because of his guilt, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19 But you, if you warn the wicked man, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die because of his guilt, but you will have saved your own life. 20 Or when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and becomes unrighteous, and I place a stumbling block in front of him, he shall die. If you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he had done will not be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. 21 But you, if you do warn that righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he heeded the warning, and you will have saved your own life.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ezekiel 1 (EHV)

1 In the thirtieth year, [1] in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was among the exiles by the Kebar Canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth of that month, in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, 3 the word of the Lord came in a dramatic way [2] upon Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans, [3] by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

4 As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north. There was a large cloud, with fire flashing through it, and there was a bright light all around it. In the middle of it, there was something that looked like glowing metal [4] in the middle of the fire.

5 In the middle of it I saw what looked like four living creatures. This was what they looked like. Each of them had a human appearance, 6 but each one had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Each of their legs was straight, [5] and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like polished bronze. 8 They had human hands under their wings on all four of their sides. All four of them had faces and wings.

9 Their wings were touching one another. The creatures did not turn from side to side as they moved, but each one faced straight ahead. [6]

10 This is what their faces looked like. Each one had a face like a man’s face. On the right side of their heads, all four of them had a face like a lion. On the left side, all four of them had a face like an ox. All four of them also had a face like an eagle. 11 Those were their faces.

Their wings were stretched upward. Each of them had one pair of wings which touched the wings of each of the cherubs next to it and another pair of wings which covered their bodies.

12 Each one faced straight ahead as it moved. They went in whatever direction the spirit [7] wanted to go. They did not turn as they moved ahead.

13 The appearance of the living creatures was like red-hot coals, like the appearance of blazing torches. Fire was moving back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning was coming out of the fire. 14 The creatures darted back and forth. They looked like jagged bolts of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I noticed one wheel on the ground beside each one of the living creatures that had four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their design were like the sparkle of topaz, [8] and the four of them looked alike. Their appearance and their design were like a wheel within a wheel. [9] 17 They could go in any of the four directions when they moved, but the wheels did not turn from side to side when they moved. [10] 18 As for their rims, they were high and intimidating, and their rims were full of eyes all the way around—all four of them. 19 Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and whenever the living creatures would rise from the ground, the wheels rose too.

20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they would go. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, [11] the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels would move. Whenever the living creatures stood still, the wheels would stand still. Whenever the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

22 There was something above the heads of the living creatures like the dome of a vaulted ceiling. [12] It looked like ice. It was spectacular. It stretched out above their heads. 23 Under the dome, two of their wings were stretched out to touch the wing of another one of the creatures. Each of the creatures also had two wings covering themselves, each had two wings covering themselves—covering their bodies. [13] 24 I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of rushing water. It was like the voice of the Almighty when they moved—a sound of commotion, like the noise in an army camp. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 A voice came from above the dome that was over their heads. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

26 Above the dome that was over their heads, there was something that appeared to be a sapphire that was shaped like a throne. Seated on that throne-like form there was a figure that looked like a man. 27 I saw something like the gleam of glowing metal [14] with fire in it and all around it. It extended upward from what appeared to be the man’s waist. Below what appeared to be his waist, I saw what appeared to be fire, and a bright light surrounded him. 28 The bright light that surrounded him looked like the rainbow that is in the clouds on a rainy day.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord. When I saw this, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Philippians 4 (EHV)

1 So then, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way keep standing firm in the Lord, my dear friends.

2 I appeal to Euodia and I appeal to Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, true coworker, [1] bring these women together, who contended alongside me in the gospel, as did also Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. 9 The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord now that you have revived your concern for me once again. Actually, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I lack anything; in fact, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. 12 I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. 13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless, you did well by becoming partners with me in my affliction.

15 You Philippians know that in the beginning of your experience with the gospel, when I left Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. 16 Even while I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once for my needs. 17 Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am seeking the fruit that adds to your account. 18 I have been paid in full, and I have more than enough. I am fully supplied since I’ve received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. 19 And my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever! Amen.

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those who are from Caesar’s household. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Philippians 3:12-21 (EHV)

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature continue to think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you too. 16 Only let us think the same thing and [1] walk in line with what we already have attained.

17 Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18 To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, [2] and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Philippians 3:1-11 (EHV)

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things again to you, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evildoers. Beware of the mutilation. [1] [2] 3 For we are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, [3] who are confident in Christ Jesus, and who place no confidence in the flesh, 4 even though I have grounds for confidence also in the flesh. If anyone else thinks that he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

7 But, whatever things were a profit for me, these things I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. 8 But even more than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith. 10 I do this so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 in the hope that in some way I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Philippians 2:19-30 (EHV)

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 To be sure, I have no one else like him, [1] who will be genuinely concerned about your welfare. 21 For, the others all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven character, that as a child for his father, he served with me in the gospel. 23 So he is the one I hope to send just as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 But I have confidence in the Lord that I myself will be coming soon too.

25 I also considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as the one you sent to serve me in my need. 26 I sent him because he was longing for [2] all of you and was distressed, because you had heard that he was sick. 27 As a matter of fact, he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Now I am especially eager to send him, so that you may rejoice when you see him again, and I may be relieved. 29 Therefore, receive him in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard, 30 because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life in order to fill in what was lacking in your service to me.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Philippians 1:27 – 2:18 (EHV)

27 Just conduct yourselves in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to see you or am absent, I may hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, contending together with one soul for the faith of the gospel, 28 not frightened in any way by the adversaries. This is a sign for them of their destruction and of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been graciously granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 having the same kind of struggle that you saw I was in, and that you now hear I am still experiencing.

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider one another better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look carefully not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Indeed, [1] let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 6 Though he was by nature God, [2] he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, [3] 7 but he emptied himself by taking the nature [4] of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, [5] 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you, but also now much more in my absence, continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 In fact, it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work, for the sake of his good pleasure. 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish among a crooked and perverted generation. You shine among them like lights in the world, 16 as you hold on to [6] the word of life. Then I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I continue to be glad and rejoice with you all. 18 In the same way, also be glad and rejoice with me.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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