Zephaniah 1 – New American Standard Bible

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

“I will completely remove all things
From the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will remove human and animal life;
I will remove the birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea,
And the ruins along with the wicked;
And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights,
And those who bow down and swear to the Lord, but also swear by Milcom,
And those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him.”

Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near,
Because the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests.
“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.
And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.
And on that day,” declares the Lord,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
Wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the hills.
Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar,
Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed;
All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.
And it will come about at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the people
Who are stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good nor harm!’
Their wealth will become plunder,
And their houses desolate;
Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

The great day of the Lord is near,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the Lord!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
That day is a day of anger,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
I will bring distress on mankind
So that they will walk like those who are blind,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
And their blood will be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the Lord’s anger;
And all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make a complete end,
Indeed a horrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

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Isaiah 24-25 – New American Standard Bible

24 Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth dwindle. The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.

The new wine mourns,
The vine decays,
All the joyful-hearted sigh.
The joy of tambourines ceases,
The noise of revelers stops,
The joy of the harp ceases.
They do not drink wine with song;
Intoxicating drink is bitter to those who drink it.
The city of chaos is broken down;
Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
All joy turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is banished.
Desolation is left in the city
And the gate is battered to ruins.
For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
Therefore glorify the Lord in the east,
The name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
In the coastlands of the sea.
From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Glory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me!
The treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
Terror and pit and snare
Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
Then it will be that the one who flees the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.
The earth is broken apart,
The earth is split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
The earth trembles like a heavy drinker
And sways like a hut,
For its wrongdoing is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, never to rise again.
So it will happen on that day,
That the Lord will punish the rebellious angels of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth on earth.
They will be gathered together
Like prisoners in the dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will be punished.
Then the moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame,
For the Lord of armies will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.

25 Lord, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have worked wonders,
Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
For You have turned a city into a heap,
A fortified city into a ruin;
A palace of strangers is no longer a city,
It will never be rebuilt.
Therefore a strong people will glorify You;
Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
For You have been a stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor in his distress,
A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the uproar of foreigners;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.

Now the Lord of armies will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will destroy the covering which is over all peoples,
The veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
And Moab will be trampled down in his place
As straw is trampled down in the water of a manure pile.
And he will spread out his hands in the middle of it
As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim,
But the Lord will lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.
The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and throw to the ground, to the dust.

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Zechariah 6 – New American Standard Bible

Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong spotted horses. So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going out to the north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the south country.” When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

Also take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: “Behold, there is a Man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the majesty and sit and rule on His throne. So He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’ Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. Those who are far away will come and build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God.

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Isaiah 39 – New American Standard Bible

At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. Hezekiah was pleased, and let them see all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the excellent olive oil, his entire armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his realm that Hezekiah did not let them see. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” Then he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not let them see.”

Isaiah then said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of armies, ‘Behold, the days are coming when everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ‘And some of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

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Psalm 129-130 – New American Standard Bible

129 A Song of Ascents.

“Many times they have attacked me from my youth up,”
Let Israel say,
“Many times they have attacked me from my youth up;
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
The Lord is righteous;
He has cut up the ropes of the wicked.

May all who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned backward;
May they be like grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up;
With which the harvester does not fill his hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his arms;
Nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

130 A Song of Ascents.

Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the sound of my pleadings.
If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
So that You may be revered.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And I wait for His word.
My soul waits in hope for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.
Israel, wait for the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his guilty deeds.

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Psalm 8 – New American Standard Bible

May 2 (Year One)

For the music director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established strength
Because of Your enemies,
To do away with the enemy and the revengeful.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You have him rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put everything under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

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Matthew 9 – New American Standard Bible

March 20 (Year One)

Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to His own city.

And they brought to Him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” And Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.” And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

While He was saying these things to them, behold, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.” Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.” But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well.

When Jesus came into the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And this news spread throughout that land.

As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that land.

And as they were going out, behold, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him. And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”