JULY
1
PSALMS: 1, 31,
61, 91, 121
PROVERBS: 1
OLD TESTAMENT: ISAIAH 33:10 - 36:22
NEW TESTAMENT: GALATIANS 5:13 - 26
PSALMS: 1
1
Blessed is the man
who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or
stand in the way of sinners
or
sit in the seat of mockers.
2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and
on his law he meditates day and night.
3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which
yields its fruit in season
and
whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever
he does prospers.
4
Not so the wicked!
They
are like chaff
that
the wind blows away.
5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor
sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but
the way of the wicked will perish. [1]
PSALMS: 31
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let
me never be put to shame;
deliver
me in your righteousness.
2
Turn your ear to me,
come
quickly to my rescue;
be
my rock of refuge,
a
strong fortress to save me.
3
Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for
the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4
Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for
you are my refuge.
5
Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem
me, O LORD, the God of truth.
6
I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I
trust in the LORD.
7
I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for
you saw my affliction
and
knew the anguish of my soul.
8
You have not handed me over to the enemy
but
have set my feet in a spacious place.
9
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my
eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my
soul and my body with grief.
10
My life is consumed by anguish
and
my years by groaning;
my
strength fails because of my affliction, A
and
my bones grow weak. [2]
11
Because of all my enemies,
I
am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I
am a dread to my friends--
those
who see me on the street flee from me.
12
I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I
have become like broken pottery.
13
For I hear the slander of many;
there
is terror on every side;
they
conspire against me
and
plot to take my life.
14
But I trust in you, O LORD;
I
say, "You are my God."
15
My times are in your hands;
deliver
me from my enemies
and
from those who pursue me.
16
Let your face shine on your servant;
save
me in your unfailing love.
17
Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for
I have cried out to you;
but
let the wicked be put to shame
and
lie silent in the grave. B
18
Let their lying lips be silenced,
for
with pride and contempt
they
speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19
How great is your goodness,
which
you have stored up for those who fear you,
which
you bestow in the sight of men
on
those who take refuge in you.
20
In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from
the intrigues of men;
in
your dwelling you keep them safe [3]
from
accusing tongues.
21
Praise be to the LORD,
for
he showed his wonderful love to me
when
I was in a besieged city.
22
In my alarm I said,
"I
am cut off from your sight!"
Yet
you heard my cry for mercy
when
I called to you for help.
23
Love the LORD, all his saints!
The
LORD preserves the faithful,
but
the proud he pays back in full.
24
Be strong and take heart,
all
you who hope in the LORD. [4]
PSALMS: 61
For
the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
1
Hear my cry, O God;
listen
to my prayer.
2
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I
call as my heart grows faint;
lead
me to the rock that is higher than I.
3
For you have been my refuge,
a
strong tower against the foe.
4
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and
take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah
5
For you have heard my vows, O God;
you
have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6
Increase the days of the king's life,
his
years for many generations.
7
May he be enthroned in God's presence forever;
appoint
your love and faithfulness to protect him.
8
Then will I ever sing praise to your name
and
fulfill my vows day after day. [5]
PSALMS: 91
1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will
rest in the shadow of the Almighty. A
2
I will say B of the LORD, "He is my
refuge and my fortress,
my
God, in whom I trust."
3
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and
from the deadly pestilence.
4
He will cover you with his feathers,
and
under his wings you will find refuge;
his
faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor
the arrow that flies by day,
6
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor
the plague that destroys at midday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten
thousand at your right hand,
but
it will not come near you.
8
You will only observe with your eyes
and
see the punishment of the wicked.
9
If you make the Most High your dwelling--
even
the LORD, who is my refuge--
10
then no harm will befall you,
no
disaster will come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to
guard you in all your ways;
12
they will lift you up in their hands,
so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you
will trample the great lion and the serpent. [6]
14
"Because he loves me,"
says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call
upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation." [7]
PSALMS: 121
A
song of ascents.
1
I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where
does my help come from?
2
My help comes from the LORD,
the
Maker of heaven and earth.
3
He will not let your foot slip--
he
who watches over you will not slumber;
4
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will
neither slumber nor sleep.
5
The LORD watches over you--
the
LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor
the moon by night.
7
The LORD will keep you from all harm--
he
will watch over your life;
8
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both
now and forevermore. [8]
PROVERBS: 1
1
1 The proverbs of Solomon
son of David, king of Israel:
2
for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for
understanding words of insight;
3
for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing
what is right and just and fair;
4
for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge
and discretion to the young--
5
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and
let the discerning get guidance--
6
for understanding proverbs and parables,
the
sayings and riddles of the wise.
7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but
fools A despise wisdom and discipline.
8
Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and
do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9
They will be a garland to grace your head
and
a chain to adorn your neck.
10
My son, if sinners entice you,
do
not give in to them.
11
If they say, "Come along with us;
let's
lie in wait for someone's blood,
let's
waylay some harmless soul;
12
let's swallow them alive, like the grave, B
[9]
and
whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13
we will get all sorts of valuable things
and
fill our houses with plunder;
14
throw in your lot with us,
and
we will share a common purse"--
15
my son, do not go along with them,
do
not set foot on their paths;
16
for their feet rush into sin,
they
are swift to shed blood.
17
How useless to spread a net
in
full view of all the birds!
18
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they
waylay only themselves!
19
Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it
takes away the lives of those who get it.
20
Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she
raises her voice in the public squares;
21
at the head of the noisy streets C she
cries out,
in
the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22
"How long will you
simple ones D love your simple
ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23
If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you.
24
But since you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25
since you ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,
I will mock when calamity overtakes you--
27
when calamity overtakes you like a
storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28
"Then they will call
to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm." [11]
OLD TESTAMENT: ISAIAH 33:10 - 36:22
10 "Now will I arise," says the LORD.
"Now will I be exalted;
now will I be
lifted up.
11 You conceive chaff,
you give
birth to straw;
your breath
is a fire that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned as if to lime;
like cut
thornbushes they will be set ablaze."
13 You
who are far away, hear what I have done;
you who are near,
acknowledge my power!
14 The
sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the
godless:
"Who of us can
dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with
everlasting burning?"
15 He
who walks righteously
and speaks what is
right,
who rejects gain from
extortion
and keeps his hand from
accepting bribes,
who stops his ears
against plots of murder
and shuts his eyes
against contemplating evil--
16 this
is the man who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the
mountain fortress.
His bread will be
supplied,
and water will not fail
him.
17 Your
eyes will see the king in his beauty [12]
and view a land that
stretches afar.
18 In
your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:
"Where is that
chief officer?
Where is the one who
took the revenue?
Where is the officer in
charge of the towers?"
19 You
will see those arrogant people no more,
those people of an
obscure speech,
with their strange,
incomprehensible tongue.
20 Look
upon Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see
Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent
that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be
pulled up,
nor any of its ropes
broken.
21 There
the LORD will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place
of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will
ride them,
no mighty ship will sail
them.
22 For
the LORD is our judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
it is he who will save
us.
23 Your
rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held
secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of
spoils will be divided [13]
and even the lame will
carry off plunder.
24 No
one living in Zion will say, "I am ill";
and the sins of those
who dwell there will be forgiven.
34 1
Come near, you nations, and listen;
pay attention, you
peoples!
Let the earth hear, and
all that is in it,
the world, and all that
comes out of it!
2 The
LORD is angry with all nations;
his wrath is upon all
their armies.
He will totally destroy A
them,
he will give them over
to slaughter.
3 Their
slain will be thrown out,
their dead bodies will
send up a stench;
the mountains will be
soaked with their blood.
4 All
the stars of the heavens will be dissolved
and the sky rolled up
like a scroll;
all the starry host will
fall
like withered leaves
from the vine,
like shriveled figs from
the fig tree.
5 My
sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in
judgment on Edom, [14]
the people I have
totally destroyed.
6 The
sword of the LORD is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat--
the blood of lambs and
goats,
fat from the kidneys of
rams.
For the LORD has a
sacrifice in Bozrah
and a great slaughter in
Edom.
7 And
the wild oxen will fall with them,
the bull calves and the
great bulls.
Their land will be
drenched with blood,
and the dust will be
soaked with fat.
8 For
the LORD has a day of vengeance,
a year of retribution,
to uphold Zion's cause.
9 Edom's
streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning
sulfur;
her land will become
blazing pitch!
10 It
will not be quenched night and day;
its smoke will rise
forever.
From generation to
generation it will lie desolate;
no one will ever pass
through it again.
11 The
desert owl B and screech owl C will possess it;
the great owl D
and the raven will nest there.
God will stretch out
over Edom
the measuring line of
chaos
and the plumb line of
desolation. [15]
12 Her
nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes will
vanish away.
13 Thorns
will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her
strongholds.
She will become a haunt
for jackals,
a home for owls.
14 Desert
creatures will meet with hyenas,
and wild goats will
bleat to each other;
there the night
creatures will also repose
and find for themselves
places of rest.
15 The
owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and
care for her young under the shadow of her wings;
there also the falcons
will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look
in the scroll of the LORD and read:
None of these will be
missing,
not one will lack her
mate.
For it is his mouth that
has given the order,
and his Spirit will
gather them together.
17 He
allots their portions;
his hand distributes
them by measure.
They will possess it
forever
and dwell there from
generation to generation. [16]
35 1
The desert and the parched land will be
glad;
the wilderness will
rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it
will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly
and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon
will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel
and Sharon;
they will see the glory
of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen
the feeble hands,
steady the knees that
give way;
4 say
to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God
will come,
he will
come with vengeance;
with
divine retribution
he will
come to save you."
5 Then
will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf
unstopped.
6 Then
will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue
shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in
the wilderness
and streams in the
desert.
7 The
burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling
springs.
In the haunts where
jackals once lay, [17]
grass and reeds and
papyrus will grow.
8 And
a highway will be there;
it will be called the
Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not
journey on it;
it will be for those who
walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go
about on it. A
9 No
lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious
beast get up on it;
they will not be found
there.
But only the redeemed
will walk there,
10
and the ransomed of the LORD will
return.
They will enter Zion
with singing;
everlasting joy will
crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will
overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing
will flee away.
36 1
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign,
Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured
them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a
large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander
stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's
Field, 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the
secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.
4 The
field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah, [18]
"`This is what the
great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence
of yours? 5 You say you have strategy and military strength--but you
speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 6
Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff,
which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh
king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 7 And if you say to me,
"We are depending on the LORD our God"--isn't he the one whose high
places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You
must worship before this altar"?
8 "`Come
now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two
thousand horses--if you can put riders on them! 9 How then can you
repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even though you are
depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Furthermore, have I
come to attack and destroy this land without the LORD? The LORD himself told me
to march against this country and destroy it.'"
11 Then
Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, "Please speak to
your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew
in the hearing of the people on the wall."
12 But
the commander replied, "Was it only to your master and you that my master
sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall--who, like
you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?"
13 Then
the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, "Hear the words of the great
king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: Do not let
Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! 15 Do not let Hezekiah
persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, `The
LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the
king of Assyria.'
16 "Do
not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with
me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig
tree and drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take
you to a land like your own--a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and
vineyards.
18 "Do
not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, `The LORD will deliver us.' Has the
god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of
Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 20 Who of all
the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then
can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my [19]
hand?"
21 But
the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had
commanded, "Do not answer him."
22 Then
Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah
son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told
him what the field commander had said. [20]
NEW TESTAMENT: GALATIANS 5:13 - 26
13 You,
my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the
sinful nature A; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The
entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love
your neighbor as yourself." B 15 If you keep
on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each
other.
16 So
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful
nature.
17 For
the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what
is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that
you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under law.
19 The
acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who
live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by
the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not
become conceited, provoking and envying each other. [21]
[1]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[2]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[3]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[4]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[5]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[6]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[7]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[8]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[9]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[10] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[11] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[12] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[13] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[14] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[15] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[16] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[17] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[18] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[19] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[20] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[21] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment