Daily Bible GNT November 25 Scroll

The Promise of the Lord's Coming

2 Peter 3 My dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written you. In both letters I have tried to arouse pure thoughts in your minds by reminding you of these things. ²I want you to remember the words that were spoken long ago by the holy prophets, and the command from the Lord and Savior which was given you by your apostles. ³First of all, you must understand that in the last days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you ⁴and will ask, "He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world!" ⁵They purposely ignore the fact that long ago God gave a command, and the heavens and earth were created. The earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶and it was also by water, the water of the flood, that the old world was destroyed. ⁷But the heavens and the earth that now exist are being preserved by the same command of God, in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the day when godless people will be judged and destroyed.

⁸But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same. ⁹The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.

¹⁰But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish. ¹¹Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, ¹²as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon--the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. ¹³But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.

¹⁴And so, my friends, as you wait for that Day, do your best to be pure and faultless in God's sight and to be at peace with him. ¹⁵Look on our Lord's patience as the opportunity he is giving you to be saved, just as our dear friend Paul wrote to you, using the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction.

¹⁷But you, my friends, already know this. Be on your guard, then, so that you will not be led away by the errors of lawless people and fall from your safe position. ¹⁸But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.

God's Promise to Baruch

Jeremiah 45 In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, Baruch wrote down what I had dictated to him. Then I told him ²that the LORD, the God of Israel, had said, "Baruch, ³you are saying, 'I give up! The LORD has added sorrow to my troubles. I am worn out from groaning, and I can't find any rest!'

⁴"But I, the LORD, am tearing down what I have built and pulling up what I have planted. I will do this to the entire earth. ⁵Are you looking for special treatment for yourself ? Don't do it. I am bringing disaster on all people, but you will at least escape with your life, wherever you go. I, the LORD, have spoken."

Egypt's Defeat at Carchemish

Jeremiah 46 The LORD spoke to me about the nations, ²beginning with Egypt. This is what he said about the army of King Neco of Egypt, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah:

³"The Egyptian officers shout,

'Get your shields ready

and march into battle!

⁴Harness your horses and mount them!

Fall in line and put on your helmets!

Sharpen your spears!

Put on your armor!'

⁵"But what do I see?" asks the LORD.

"They are turning back in terror.

Their soldiers are beaten back;

overcome with fear, they run as fast as they can

and do not look back.

⁶Those who run fast cannot get away;

the soldiers cannot escape.

In the north, by the Euphrates,

they stumble and fall.

⁷Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like a river flooding its banks?

⁸It is Egypt, rising like the Nile,

like a river flooding its banks.

Egypt said, 'I will rise and cover the world;

I will destroy cities and the people who live there.

⁹Command the horses to go

and the chariots to roll!

Send out the soldiers:

men from Ethiopia and Libya, carrying shields,

and skilled archers from Lydia.'"

¹⁰This is the day of the Sovereign LORD Almighty:

today he will take revenge;

today he will punish his enemies.

His sword will eat them until it is full,

and drink their blood until it is satisfied.

Today the Almighty sacrifices his victims

in the north, by the Euphrates.

¹¹People of Egypt, go to Gilead

and look for medicine!

All your medicine has proved useless;

nothing can heal you.

¹²Nations have heard of your shame;

everyone has heard you cry.

One soldier trips over another,

and both of them fall to the ground.

The Coming of Nebuchadnezzar

¹³When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came to attack Egypt, the LORD spoke to me. He said,

¹⁴"Proclaim it in the towns of Egypt,

in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes:

'Get ready to defend yourselves;

all you have will be destroyed in war!

¹⁵Why has your mighty god Apis fallen?

The LORD has struck him down!'

¹⁶Your soldiers have stumbled and fallen;

each one says to the other,

'Hurry! Let's go home to our people

and escape the enemy's sword!'

¹⁷"Give the king of Egypt a new name--

'Noisy Braggart Who Missed His Chance.'

¹⁸I, the LORD Almighty, am king.

I am the living God.

As Mount Tabor towers above the mountains

and Mount Carmel stands high above the sea,

so will be the strength of the one who attacks you.

¹⁹Get ready to be taken prisoner,

you people of Egypt!

Memphis will be made a desert,

a ruin where no one lives.

²⁰Egypt is like a splendid cow,

attacked by a stinging fly from the north.

²¹Even her hired soldiers

are helpless as calves.

They did not stand and fight;

all of them turned and ran.

The day of their doom had arrived,

the time of their destruction.

²²Egypt runs away, hissing like a snake,

as the enemy's army approaches.

They attack her with axes,

like people cutting down trees

²³

and destroying a thick forest.

Their soldiers are too many to count;

they outnumber the locusts.

²⁴The people of Egypt are put to shame;

they are conquered by the people of the north.

I, the LORD, have spoken."

²⁵The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "I am going to punish Amon, the god of Thebes, together with Egypt and its gods and kings. I am going to take the king of Egypt and all who put their trust in him, ²⁶and hand them over to those who want to kill them, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army. But later on, people will live in Egypt again, as they did in times past. I, the LORD, have spoken.

The LORD Will Save His People

²⁷"My people, do not be afraid,

people of Israel, do not be terrified.

I will rescue you from that faraway land,

from the land where you are prisoners.

You will come back home and live in peace;

you will be secure, and no one will make you afraid.

²⁸I will come to you and save you.

I will destroy all the nations

where I have scattered you,

but I will not destroy you.

I will not let you go unpunished;

but when I punish you, I will be fair.

I, the LORD, have spoken."

An Evening Prayer

Psalm 141 I call to you, LORD; help me now!

Listen to me when I call to you.

²Receive my prayer as incense,

my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

³LORD, place a guard at my mouth,

a sentry at the door of my lips.

⁴Keep me from wanting to do wrong

and from joining evil people in their wickedness.

May I never take part in their feasts.

⁵Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness,

but I will never accept honor from evil people,

because I am always praying against their evil deeds.

⁶When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs,

the people will admit that my words were true.

⁷Like wood that is split and chopped into bits,

so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.

⁸But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign LORD.

I seek your protection;

don't let me die!

⁹Protect me from the traps they have set for me,

from the snares of those evildoers.

¹⁰May the wicked fall into their own traps

while I go by unharmed.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.