WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

By WELSReligion & Spirituality Christianity

WELS Through my Bible in Three Years episodes

January 12, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 12
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 12
Isaiah 44:24 – 45:25 (EHV)

LISTEN HERE
Through My Bible – January 12
Bible reading based on Isaiah 44:24 – 45:25 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0112db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
Isaiah 44
24 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,
the Lord who formed you from the womb, says.
    I am the Lord, the one who does all things,
    who stretched out the heavens by myself,
    who hammered out the earth.
    (Who was with me then?)
25     I frustrate the signs of the deceivers
    and make fools of the fortune tellers. [1]
    I overturn the wisdom of the wise
    and turn their knowledge into foolishness.
26 He is the one who fulfills the word of his servants,
who completes the plan announced by his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, “It will be inhabited,”
and about the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins.”
27 He is the one who says to the deep ocean, “Dry up,”
the one who says, “I will dry up your rivers.”
28 He is the one who says about Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he will complete everything I desire.”
He is the one who says about Jerusalem, “It will be rebuilt,”
and who says to the temple, “Your foundations will be laid.”
Cyrus the Lord’s Anointed Shepherd
Isaiah 45
1 This is what the Lord says to his anointed one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,
    to subdue nations before him
    by stripping kings of their weapons,
    to open doors before him
    so that the gates cannot be shut.
2     I myself will go before you,
    and I will level high mountains. [2]
    I will break bronze doors into pieces,
    and I will cut through iron bars.
3     I will give you treasures hidden in darkness
    and riches concealed in secret places,
    so that you will acknowledge that I am the Lord,
    the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
4     For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    for the sake of Israel my chosen one,
    I will call you by your name.
    I will give you an honored name, though you do not know me.
5     I am the Lord, and there is no other.
    Except for me, there is no god.
    I will equip you even though you do not know me,
6     so that people will know from the rising of the sun
            to the place where it sets
        that there is no one except me.
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7     I am the one who forms light and creates darkness,
    the one who makes peace and creates disaster.
    I am the Lord, the one who does all these things.
Coming Blessings
8 Shower down, you heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness.
Let the earth open up,
so that salvation will produce fruit.
Let righteousness sprout up along with it.
I, the Lord, am creating this.
Arguing With the Lord
9 Woe to anyone who argues against the potter who formed him.
He is just a potsherd among the broken pieces of pottery on the ground.
Does clay say to its potter, “What are you making?
Your work looks like something made by a potter with no hands”?
10 Woe to anyone who says to his father, “What have you fathered?”
or to a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”
11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, who formed Israel.
    Do you wish to question me concerning things to come?
    Will you give me orders about my children
    and about the work of my hands?
12     I myself made the earth,
    and I created Adam [3] upon it.
    With my hands I stretched out the heavens,
    and I commanded all their army.
Cyrus as the Lord’s Servant
13 I myself will arouse him in righteousness,
and I will make all his roads level for him.
He himself will rebuild my city.
He will set my exiles free—
but not for a price and not for a gift,
says the Lord of Armies.
14 This is what the Lord says.
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
    and those tall Sabeans will cross over to you and become yours.
They will walk behind you and approach you in chains.
They will bow down to you and plead with you and say,
“Yes, God is with you, and there is no other.
There is no other God.”
The Hidden God Is Revealed
15 Indeed, you are a God who hides himself.
You are the God of Israel, the Savior.
16 They will be ashamed.
All of them will also be disgraced.
Together they will walk in humiliation—those experts at crafting images.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation.
You will not be ashamed or disgraced for all eternity.
18 This is what the Lord says.
He created the heavens,
He is God!
He formed the earth and made it.
Yes, he established it!
He did not create it to remain empty. [4]
He formed it to be inhabited.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
or from someplace in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants [5] of Jacob,
“Seek me in the midst of chaos.” [6]
I, the Lord, am speaking in righteousness.
I am declaring what is right.
20 Gather! Come! Draw near together,
you survivors from the nations.
They have no knowledge—
those who are lifting up their idols of wood
and praying to a god that cannot save.
21 Make an announcement and come close.
Let them consult together.
Who made this known ahead of time?
From time past who announced it?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no god except me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is no one except me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth,
because I am God,
and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by myself.
From my mouth a righteous word has gone out,
and it will not return unfulfilled.
Indeed, to me every knee will bow,
and every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 “Only in the Lord,” they will say of me,
“Only in the Lord is there true righteousness and strength.”
To him they will come and be ashamed—
all those who are angry at him.
25 In the Lord, all the descendants [7] of Israel will be justified.
They will be praised by him. [8]

Footnotes
Isaiah 44:25 Or omen readers
Isaiah 45:2 The translation mountains follows the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and the Greek Old Testament. The word in the standard Hebrew text occurs only here. It may mean rough places or walls.
Isaiah 45:12 Or mankind
Isaiah 45:18 The same Hebrew word translated empty describes the first stage of creation in Genesis 1.
Isaiah 45:19 Literally the seed
Isaiah 45:19 The same Hebrew translated chaos describes the first stage of creation in Genesis 1.
Isaiah 45:25 Or all the seed
Isaiah 45:25 Or be confident in him or shine in glory

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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8 min
January 11, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 11
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 11
Isaiah 43:14 – 44:23 (EHV)

LISTEN HERE
Through My Bible – January 11
Bible reading based on Isaiah 43:14 – 44:23 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0111db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
Isaiah 43
14 This is what the Lord says,
    the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
    For your sake I am taking action against Babylon,
    and I will bring down all the Chaldeans as refugees,
        in the ships over which they rejoiced.
15     I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator, your King.
16     This is what the Lord says,
    who makes a road through the sea
    and a path through mighty waters,
17     who brings out the chariot and the horses,
    the army and the strong warrior.
    They will all lie down together.
    They will not get up.
    They are extinguished.
    Like a wick they go out.
18     Do not remember the former [1] things.
    Do not keep thinking about ancient things.
19     Watch, I am about to do a new thing.
    Now it will spring up. Don’t you know about it?
    Indeed I will make a road in the wilderness.
    In the wasteland I will make rivers.
20     The wild animals, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,
    because I am providing water in the wilderness,
    rivers in a parched wasteland,
    water for my chosen people to drink.
21     This people that I formed for myself will declare my praise.
22     But you have not called on me, O Jacob.
    Instead, you have become weary of me, O Israel.
23     You have not brought me sheep as your whole burnt offerings.
    You did not glorify me with your sacrifices.
    I did not make you serve me with a grain offering.
    I did not make you weary with demands for incense.
24     You did not purchase fragrant cane for me with silver
    or satisfy me with the fat from your sacrifices.
    Instead you have made me serve because of your sins.
    You have made me weary because of your guilt.
25     I, yes I, am he.
    I blot out your rebellious deeds for my own sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.
26     Refresh my memory.
    Let us review your case together.
    Present your defense so that you may be acquitted.
27     Your first father sinned,
    and your mediators rebelled against me.
28     Therefore I am repudiating the officials of the sanctuary,
    and I am giving Jacob over to complete destruction
    and Israel to insults. [2]
The Lord Comforts His People
Isaiah 44
But now listen, O Jacob my servant,
O Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord, your Maker, says,
the Lord who formed you from the womb, who will help you.
    Do not be afraid, my servant Jacob,
    Jeshurun, [3] whom I have chosen,
3     because I will pour out water upon a thirsty land,
    and streams of water upon dry ground.
    I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants.
4     They will spring up like a tree in a grassy meadow, [4]
    like willows beside flowing streams.
5     One person will say, “I belong to the Lord.”
    Another will be called by the name of Jacob.
    Another will write on his hand, “Belonging to the Lord,”
    and he will take the name of Israel.
The Lord Confronts Idols
6 This is what the Lord, the King of Israel,
Israel’s Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says.
    I am the first, and I am the last.
    Except for me, there is no god.
7     For who is like me? Let him declare it.
    Let him recite in order for me the things that took place
        since the time I established an ancient people.
    Or let them declare what is yet to come,
    and what is going to take place.
8     Do not tremble, and do not be frightened.
    Did I not announce this to you,
    and declare it already long ago?
    You are my witnesses.
    Is there any god except me?
    There is no other Rock. I am not aware of any other.
9     All those who form an idol are good for nothing.
    All the things which delight them provide no benefit.
    As for their witnesses—they do not see.
    They know nothing, so they will be ashamed.
10 Who is this who forms a god or casts a metal image that can provide no profit? 11 Look at him! All his associates will be ashamed. The craftsmen are merely men. Let them all gather themselves and take a stand. They will be terrified and ashamed together.
12 A blacksmith uses a cutting tool and makes an idol over hot coals. With hammers he shapes it. He makes it with his strong arm, but he becomes hungry and has no strength left. He does not drink water, and so he grows faint.
13 A woodworker stretches out a measuring line. He marks the lines with a stylus. He shapes the idol with chisels. He marks it with a compass. Then he carves it till it is shaped like a person, like a splendid man to inhabit a shrine.
14 He goes to cut down cedars for himself, or he chooses a holm tree [5] or an oak, and he lets it grow strong among the trees of a forest. Or he plants a cedar, and rain causes it to grow tall, 15 but it becomes fuel for a man to burn. He takes part of it to warm himself. He lights a fire to bake bread, and then from the rest he makes a god and worships it. He carves an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of it he burns in a fire—over that half he eats meat. He roasts meat and is satisfied. So he is warm and says, “Ah! I am warm. I see the light of the fire.” 17 Then from what is left he makes a god to serve as his idol. He bows down to it. He worships it, and he prays to it, “Save me, because you are my god.”
18 They are ignorant. They do not understand, because their eyes are plastered shut, [6] and they cannot see. Their hearts are unable to gain insight. 19 A person does not take this to heart, so he has no knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I burn in the fire, and I bake bread on its coals. I roast meat, and I eat. Should I make the rest of it into a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to a piece of wood?” 20 He is like a sheep grazing on ashes. A deceived mind leads him astray. He will not save his life, nor will he say, “Isn’t what I am holding in my right hand a fraud?”
Israel Will Be Restored
21 Remember these things, O Jacob, because you are my servant, Israel. I am forming you to be my servant. You, Israel, you will never be forgotten by me. [7] 22 I am blowing away your rebellious deeds like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, because I am redeeming you.
23 Shout for joy, you heavens, because of what the Lord is doing.
Make a joyful shout, you depths of the earth.
Burst forth with shouts of joy, you mountains,
you forest and every tree in it,
because the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and in Israel he will display his beauty.

Footnotes
Isaiah 43:18 Or first
Isaiah 43:28 Or condemnation
Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun is another name for Israel. It means the upright one.
Isaiah 44:4 The translation follows the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and some other manuscripts. The standard Hebrew text reads spring up between the grass.
Isaiah 44:14 Also called an evergreen oak
Isaiah 44:18 Or he has blinded their eyes
Isaiah 44:21 Or you must not forget me

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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9 min
January 10, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 10
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 10
Isaiah 42:1 – 43:13 (EHV)

LISTEN HERE
Through My Bible – January 10
Bible reading based on Isaiah 42:1 – 43:13 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0110db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
Isaiah 42
The First Servant Song [1]
The Servant Is Called to Bring Justice
1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight.
I am placing my Spirit on him.
He will announce a just verdict [2] for the nations.
2 He will not cry out.
He will not raise his voice.
He will not make his voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not snuff out.
He will faithfully bring forth a just verdict.
4 He will not burn out, and he will not be broken
until he establishes justice on the earth.
The coastlands will wait for his law. [3]
5 This is what the true God says,
the Lord who creates the heavens and stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth
and everything that it produces,
who gives breath to the people on it
and life to those who walk on it.
6     I am the Lord.
    I have called you in righteousness.
    I will hold on to your hand,
    and I will guard you.
    I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people,
    to be a light for the nations,
7     to open the eyes of the blind,
    to bring the prisoners out from the dungeon,
    and to bring those who sit in darkness out of prison.
8     I am the Lord; that is my name.
    I will not give my glory to another,
    nor my praise to idols.
9     Look, the former things have taken place,
    and I am declaring new things.
    I am making them known to you before they spring forth.
Creation Rejoices
10 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praise from the end of the earth,
you people who go down to the sea
    and everything that fills it,
you coastlands and those who inhabit them.
11 Let the wilderness and its towns lift up their voice,
along with the settlements where Kedar lives.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the mountain tops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
and let them declare his praise among the coastlands.
13 The Lord will set out like a hero.
Like a warrior, he will work himself into a frenzy.
He will shout. Yes, he will raise a war cry.
He will be heroic against his enemies.
The Lord Shouts
14 I have been silent for a long time.
I have kept still. I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman giving birth, I will scream.
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will dry up mountains and hills.
I will make all their grass wither.
I will turn rivers into islands.
I will dry up pools.
16 I will lead the blind on a way they do not know.
Along paths they do not know I will direct them.
Ahead of them I will turn darkness into light
and rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will accomplish for them.
I will not abandon them.
17 They will be turned back and completely disgraced—
those who trust in an idol,
those who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”
But Israel Does Not Notice
18 You deaf ones, listen!
You blind ones, watch carefully so that you can see!
19 Who is as blind as my servant?
Who is as deaf as my messenger whom I sent?
Who is as blind as my associate, [4]
as blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You, Israel, see many things, but you do not observe.
Israel opens his ears, but he does not hear.
21 Because of his own righteousness,
the Lord was pleased to make his law [5] great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted.
All of them are trapped in holes,
and they are hidden in prisons.
They have become plunder, and there is no rescuer.
They have become loot and no one says, “Give it back!”
23 Who among you will turn his ear toward this?
Who will pay attention and listen for the future?
24 Who gave up Jacob to looters
and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
But they were not willing to walk in his ways,
and they did not listen to his law.
25 So he poured out wrath on them,
his anger, and the violence of battle.
It set them on fire all around, but they did not understand.
It burned in them, but they did not take it to heart.
The Lord’s New Act of Salvation
Isaiah 43
1 But now this is what the Lord says,
the Lord who created you, O Jacob,
the Lord who formed you, O Israel.
    Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.
    I have called you by name. You are mine.
2     When you cross through the waters, I will be with you.
    When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away.
    When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
    and the flame will not set you on fire.
3     Because I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior,
    I gave Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4     Because you are precious and honored in my eyes,
    and I myself love you,
    I will give people in exchange for you,
    and peoples in exchange for your life.
5     Do not be afraid, because I am with you.
    From the east I will bring your offspring,
    and from the west I will gather you.
6     I will say to the north, “Give them back!”
    and to the south, “Do not hold them.”
    Bring my sons from far away
    and my daughters from the end of the earth—
7     everyone who is called by my name,
    everyone I created for my glory,
    everyone I formed,
    yes, everyone I have made.
8     Bring out the people who are blind, though they have eyes,
    and the people who are deaf, though they have ears.
9     Let all the nations be gathered together,
    and let peoples be assembled.
    Who among them has declared this?
    Who has made known to us the former things?
    Let them produce their witnesses to show that they were right,
    so that people can hear and say, “This is truth.”
10     You are my witnesses, declares the Lord.
    You are my servant, whom I have chosen,
    so that you may know me and believe in me,
    so that you will understand that I am he.
    Before me no god was formed,
    and after me there will not be another.
11     I, yes I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no savior.
12     I myself declared it.
    I brought salvation, and I announced it.
    It was not some strange god among you.
    You are my witnesses, declares the Lord,
    and I am God.
13     Indeed, from the first day, I am he.
    There is no one who can deliver anyone from my hand.
    I act, and who can reverse it?

Footnotes
Isaiah 42:1 The Lord has many servants. Among his servants in Isaiah are Israel and Cyrus. In this collection of songs his Servant par excellance is Jesus the Messiah.
Isaiah 42:1 Or bring forth justice
Isaiah 42:4 Or teaching. Law here refers to the whole Word of God.
Isaiah 42:19 Or my dedicated one or the one at peace with me. The meaning of this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 42:21 Or teaching

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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9 min
January 09, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 9
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 9
Isaiah 41 (EHV)

LISTEN HERE
Through My Bible – January 9
Bible reading based on Isaiah 41 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0109db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
Isaiah 41
A Summons to Judgment
1 Prepare to present your case to me, [1] you coastlands,
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come near. Yes, let them say,
“We will gather together for the verdict.”
A Mystery Man Is Summoned From the East
2 Who has aroused this one from the east?
In righteousness he summons him to his feet.
He gives nations to him
and causes him to rule over kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes by safely.
His feet do not touch the ground. [2]
4 Who accomplished this and carried it out
by summoning generations from the beginning?
The Lord Controls History
I, the Lord, am the first,
and at the very end I will still be the one.
5 The coastlands see and fear.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They draw near. They come.
The Idol Makers Appear
6 Each one assists his neighbor,
and to his brother he says, “Be strong.”
7 The craftsman strengthens the refiner.
The one who flattens with the hammer
    strengthens the one who strikes the anvil.
Concerning the soldering he says, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
The Lord Is Your Defender
8 But you, O Israel, my servant,
O Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring [3] of Abraham, whom I love,
9 whom I have snatched from the ends of the earth,
whom I have called from its corners—
I have said to you, “You are my servant.”
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not be overwhelmed, [4] for I am your God.
I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 Just watch, they will be ashamed and humiliated—
all those who are angry with you.
They will become nothing and perish—
those men who oppose you.
12 You will look for them, but you will not find them—
those men who contend against you.
They will become absolutely nothing, less than nothing—
those men who battle against you.
13 For I am the Lord your God.
I am the one who is holding on to your right hand.
I am the one who says to you, “Do not fear. I myself am helping you.”
14 Do not fear, you worm, Jacob, you few men of Israel. [5]
I myself am helping you, declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Look, I am making you into a sharp, new threshing sledge
    with double-edged blades.
You will thresh mountains and crush them.
You will turn hills into chaff.
16 You will winnow them,
and a wind will lift them up.
A strong wind will scatter them.
But you, you will rejoice in the Lord.
In the Holy One of Israel you will be confident.
17 The afflicted and the poor seek water, but there is none.
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, I myself will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them.
18 I will open rivers on the barren heights.
In the middle of valleys there will be springs.
I will turn the wilderness into a pool of water,
and the dry land will pour out water.
19 In the wilderness I will place cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
In the wasteland I will plant fir, maple, and pines together,
20 so that they may see and know,
and pay attention and perceive this all together,
    that the hand of the Lord has done this,
    and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Idols Are Placed on Trial
21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your strongest points,” says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them present and declare to us what is going to occur.
What were the first things you predicted?
Tell us, so that we can ponder them,
so that we can know their outcome.
Or, announce to us the coming things.
23 Declare to us the things that are still coming in the distant future.
Then we will know that you are gods.
In fact, just do something, do anything—good or evil,
so that we may be overwhelmed and terrified together.
24 Look, you are less than nothing,
and your work is less than zero.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
The Man From the North
25 I have stirred up someone from the north,
and he is coming from the rising of the sun.
He will call upon my name.
He will walk over rulers as if they were mud,
the way a potter tramples clay.
26 Who declared this from the beginning so that we could know it,
and ahead of time so that we could say, “He is right”?
In fact, not one of them declares this.
In fact, not one of them makes this known.
In fact, no one hears you say anything.
27 I was first to announce to Zion, “Look, here they are,”
and I sent a herald of good news to Jerusalem.
28 When I looked, there was no one.
None of them could give advice,
even when I kept asking them to respond.
29 Look, all of them are useless.
Their works are nothing.
Their images are empty wind.

Footnotes
Isaiah 41:1 Or be silent before me. The Hebrew root used here does often mean be silent, but the context seems to require a preparation for legal action. There is a Hebrew homonym that means fabricate. This meaning fits the context. The Greek Old Testament and the parallelism also support this meaning.
Isaiah 41:3 Literally he does not enter a path with his feet. This seems to mean that he moves so fast that his feet don’t touch the ground, or that he goes in new paths where he has never gone before, or that he quickly gains new territory.
Isaiah 41:8 Literally the seed
Isaiah 41:10 Or dismayed
Isaiah 41:14 Or you insect, Israel. The Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll reads dead ones.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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7 min
January 08, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 8
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 8
Isaiah 40 (EHV)

LISTEN HERE
Through My Bible – January 8
Bible reading based on Isaiah 40 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0108db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
Isaiah 40
Overview of the Lord’s Plan
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out to her.
Her warfare [1] really is over.
Her guilt is fully paid for.
Yes, she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice is calling out:
In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord.
In the wasteland make a level [2] highway for our God.
4 Every valley will be raised up,
and every mountain and hill will be made low.
The rugged ground will become level,
and the rough places will become a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all flesh together will see it.
    Yes, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry out?”
    All flesh is grass,
    and all its beauty [3] is like a wildflower in the countryside.
7     Grass withers, flowers fade,
    when the breath [4] of the Lord blows on them.
    Yes, the people are grass.
8     Grass withers, flowers fade,
    but the Word of our God endures forever.
9 Get up on a high mountain,
O Zion, you herald of good news.
Lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, you herald of good news.
Lift it up! Do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Look, God the Lord will come with strength,
and his arm is ruling for him.
Look, his reward is with him.
The result of his work is in front of him.
11 Like a shepherd he will care for his flock.
With his arm he will gather the lambs.
He will lift them up on his lap.
He will gently lead the nursing mothers.
The Lord Is Beyond Compare
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?
Who marked off the heavens with the width of his hand?
Who scooped up the dust of the earth with a measuring cup?
Who weighed the mountains with a balance
and the hills with scales?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord?
Who can teach him anything or serve as his advisor?
14 Who was his advisor to give him insight?
Who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge?
Who showed him the way to complete understanding?
15 Indeed, nations are like a drop in a bucket,
and they are treated like powder on a scale.
Look, he lifts up islands like dust!
16 Not even the forests of Lebanon could provide enough wood to burn,
and its animals are not enough for a whole burnt offering.
17 All the nations are nothing to him.
By him they are regarded as worthless,
as less than nothing.
18 So to whom will you compare God?
What image can you compare to him?
19 A craftsman casts the idol,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold.
He forges silver chains for it.
20 He chooses mulberry wood as an offering, [5]
wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skillful craftsman
    to erect an idol that will not fall over.
21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood it from the founding of the earth?
22 He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth.
To him its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and he spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He is the one who reduces dignitaries to nothing.
He makes the judges of the world useless.
24 They have hardly been planted.
They have hardly been sown.
Their stem has hardly taken root in the earth.
Then he blows on them, and they dry up.
A driving storm carries them away like chaff.
25 To whom can you compare me as if we were equals?
says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and see who created these things.
See who brings out their army in great number
and calls them all by name.
Because of his great strength and mighty power,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you speak, O Jacob?
O Israel, why do you say,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and justice for me is ignored by my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the eternal God.
He is the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired, and he will not become weary.
No one can find a limit to his understanding.
29 He is the one who gives strength to the weak,
and he increases the strength of those who lack power.
30 Young men grow tired and become weary.
Even strong men stumble and fall.
31 But those who wait for the Lord will receive new strength.
They will lift up their wings and soar like eagles.
They will run and not become weary.
They will walk and not become tired.

Footnotes
Isaiah 40:2 Or hard labor
Isaiah 40:3 Or straight
Isaiah 40:6 The Hebrew literally reads mercy or faithfulness.
Isaiah 40:7 The word also means wind and Spirit.
Isaiah 40:20 Or the poor person chooses wood as an offering

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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7 min
January 07, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 7
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 7
2 John & 3 John (EHV)

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Through My Bible – January 7
Bible reading based on 2 John and 3 John (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0107db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
2 John
Greeting
The Elder,
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—not only I, but also everyone who knows the truth— 2 because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from [1] Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Keep on Walking According to God’s Word
4 I was overjoyed to find out that some of your children are walking in the truth, in keeping with the command we received from the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing a new command to you, but the one we have had from the beginning—let us love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command: Just as you have heard from the beginning, keep on walking in it.
Beware of Deceivers
7 Many deceivers who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh have gone out into the world. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves so that you do not lose what we [2] have labored for but receive a full reward.
9 Anyone who goes on ahead and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If someone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house. Do not even wish him well. 11 For the one who wishes him well shares in his wicked works.
Final Greetings
12 I have many things to write to you, but I did not want to do it with paper and ink. I hope instead to be with you and speak to you face to face so that our [3] joy may be made complete.
13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.
3 John
Greeting
The Elder,
To dear Gaius, whom I love in the truth:
Joy at Gaius’ Faithfulness and Cooperation in the Truth
2 Dear friend, I pray that you are doing well in every way and have good health, just as your soul is doing well. 3 Indeed, I was overjoyed when brothers [4] came and testified to your truthfulness because you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than when I hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful in what you are doing for the brothers even though they are strangers. 6 They have testified before the church about your love. You will do well to send them off in a manner worthy of God. 7 They went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore, we have an obligation to support such men, so that we may be coworkers for the truth.
A Warning About Diotrephes
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, does not welcome us. 10 For this reason, if I do come, I will call attention to what he is doing. He is disparaging us with wicked words, and he is not content with that. He also refuses to welcome the brothers. He even hinders and puts out of the church those who wish to welcome them.
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does what is good is from God. The one who does what is evil has not seen God.
12 Demetrius has been endorsed by everyone, even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greeting
13 I had many things to write you, but I do not want to do it with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will speak face to face.
15 Peace to you. Your friends here send their greetings to you. Greet our friends there by name.

Footnotes
2 John 1:3 Some witnesses to the text add the Lord. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)
2 John 1:8 Some witnesses to the text read you.
2 John 1:12 Some witnesses to the text read your
3 John 1:3 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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5 min
January 06, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 6
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 6
1 John 5:4-21 (EHV)

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Through My Bible – January 6
Bible reading based on 1 John 5:4-21 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0106db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
1 John 5
4 because everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 This is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ. He did not come by the water alone but by the water and by the blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 In fact, there are three that testify: [1] 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three are one.
9 If we accept the testimony of people, God’s testimony is even greater, because it is the testimony that God gave about his Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in him, but the one who does not believe has made God out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God gave about his Son. 11 This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
14 This is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we also know that we receive the things we have asked from him.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not result in death, he will ask, and God will give life—to those who commit sin that does not result in death. There is sin that results in death; I am not saying that he should ask about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin that does not result in death.
18 We know that anyone who has been born of God does not go on sinning. But the one who was born of God protects him, [2] and the Evil One cannot take hold of him. 19 We know that we are from God and that the whole world lies in the grip of the Evil One. 20 We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children, guard yourselves from idols.

Footnotes
1 John 5:7 Only a very few late Greek witnesses to the text read testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 8 And there are three that testify on earth:
1 John 5:18 Some witnesses to the text read himself.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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4 min
January 05, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 5
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 5
1 John 4:7-5:3 (EHV)

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Through My Bible – January 5
Bible reading based on 1 John 4:7-5:3 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0105db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
1 John 4
God Is Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love has not known God, because God is love. 9 This is how God’s love for us was revealed: God has sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us so much, we also should love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love has been brought to its goal in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16 We also have come to know and trust the love that God has for us.
God is love. Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17 In this way his love has been brought to its goal among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are just like Jesus. [1] 18 There is no fear in love, but complete love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who continues to be afraid has not been brought to the goal in love.
19 We love [2] because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For how can anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, [3] love God, whom he has not seen? 21 This then is the command we have from him: The one who loves God should also love his brother.
1 John 5
Faith, Love, and Obedience
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the God who has given birth [4] also loves one who has been born of him. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: that we keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

Footnotes
1 John 4:17 Literally that one
1 John 4:19 A few witnesses to the text add God or him.
1 John 4:20 A few witnesses to the text read For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God.
1 John 5:1 Or everyone who loves the Father

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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4 min
January 04, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 4
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 4
1 John 3:11-4:6 (EHV)

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Through My Bible – January 4
Bible reading based on 1 John 3:11-4:6 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0104db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
1 John 3
Love One Another
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: Love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, while those of his brother were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,[1] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love[2] remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. 16 This is how we have come to know love: Jesus[3] laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need but closes his heart against him—how can God’s love remain in him? 18 Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth.
19 This is how we know that we are of the truth and how we will set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God. 22 We also receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight. 23 This then is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love one another just as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps his commands remains in God[4] and God[5] in him. This is how we know that he remains in us: We know it from the Spirit, whom he has given to us.
John 4
Test the Spirits
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit who does not confess Jesus[6] is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is already in the world. 4 You are from God, dear children, and you have overcome the false prophets,[7] because the one in you is greater than the one in the world. 5 They are from the world. That is why they speak from a worldly perspective and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we can distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Footnotes
1 John 3:13 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
1 John 3:14 Some witnesses to the text add his brother.
1 John 3:16 Literally that one
1 John 3:24 Literally him
1 John 3:24 Literally he
1 John 4:3 Some witnesses to the text read that Jesus has come in the flesh.
1 John 4:4 Literally them, referring to the false prophets of verse 1.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
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4 min
January 03, 2025Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 3
Through My Bible Yr 2 – January 3
1 John 2:28-3:10 (EHV)

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Through My Bible – January 3
Bible reading based on 1 John 2:28-3:10 (EHV)
https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0103db.mp3
See series: Through My Bible
1 John 2
28 So now, dear children, remain in him so that we may be confident when he appears and may be unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, then you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
1 John 3
Love From the Father
1 See the kind of love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are! The world does not know us, because it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, we are children of God now, but what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he is revealed we will be like him, and we will see him as he really is. 3 Everyone who has this hope purifies himself just as Jesus [1] is pure.
4 Everyone who commits sin also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away our sins and in him there is no sin. 6 Anyone who remains in him does not sin. The person who keeps on sinning has not seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone deceive you. Whoever does what is right is righteous just as Jesus [2] is righteous. 8 The one who continues to sin is of the Devil, because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning. This is why the Son of God appeared: to destroy the works of the Devil. 9 Nobody who has been born of God continues to commit sin, because God’s seed remains in him. He cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how the children of God and the children of the Devil are obvious: Everyone who does not do what is right is not from God, along with everyone who does not love his brother.

Footnotes
1 John 3:3 Literally that one
1 John 3:7 Literally that one

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