Daily Bible GNT November 29 Scroll

The Purpose of the Law

Galatians 3 ²¹Does this mean that the Law is against God's promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it. ²²But the scripture says that the whole world is under the power of sin; and so the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe.

²³But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed. ²⁴And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith. ²⁵Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.

²⁶It is through faith that all of you are God's children in union with Christ Jesus. ²⁷You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. ²⁸So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. ²⁹If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.
Galatians 4 But now to continue--the son who will receive his father's property is treated just like a slave while he is young, even though he really owns everything. ²While he is young, there are men who take care of him and manage his affairs until the time set by his father. ³In the same way, we too were slaves of the ruling spirits of the universe before we reached spiritual maturity. ⁴But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law, ⁵to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might become God's children.

⁶To show that you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, "Father, my Father." ⁷So then, you are no longer a slave but a child. And since you are his child, God will give you all that he has for his children.

Paul's Concern for the Galatians

⁸In the past you did not know God, and so you were slaves of beings who are not gods. ⁹But now that you know God--or, I should say, now that God knows you--how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again? ¹⁰You pay special attention to certain days, months, seasons, and years. ¹¹I am worried about you! Can it be that all my work for you has been for nothing?

¹²I beg you, my friends, be like me. After all, I am like you. You have not done me any wrong. ¹³You remember why I preached the gospel to you the first time; it was because I was sick. ¹⁴But even though my physical condition was a great trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you received me as you would an angel from heaven; you received me as you would Christ Jesus. ¹⁵You were so happy! What has happened? I myself can say that you would have taken out your own eyes, if you could, and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

¹⁷Those other people show a deep interest in you, but their intentions are not good. All they want is to separate you from me, so that you will have the same interest in them as they have in you. ¹⁸Now, it is good to have such a deep interest if the purpose is good--this is true always, and not merely when I am with you. ¹⁹My dear children! Once again, just like a mother in childbirth, I feel the same kind of pain for you until Christ's nature is formed in you. ²⁰How I wish I were with you now, so that I could take a different attitude toward you. I am so worried about you!

The Book of
LAMENTATIONS

The Sorrows of Jerusalem

Lamentations 1 How lonely lies Jerusalem, once so full of people!

Once honored by the world, she is now like a widow;

The noblest of cities has fallen into slavery.

²All night long she cries; tears run down her cheeks.

Of all her former friends, not one is left to comfort her.

Her allies have betrayed her and are all against her now.

³Judah's people are helpless slaves, forced away from home.

They live in other lands, with no place to call their own--

Surrounded by enemies, with no way to escape.

⁴No one comes to the Temple now to worship on the holy days.

The young women who sang there suffer, and the priests can only groan.

The city gates stand empty, and Zion is in agony.

⁵Her enemies succeeded; they hold her in their power.

The LORD has made her suffer for all her many sins;

Her children have been captured and taken away.

⁶The splendor of Jerusalem is a thing of the past.

Her leaders are like deer that are weak from hunger,

Whose strength is almost gone as they flee from the hunters.

⁷A lonely ruin now, Jerusalem recalls her ancient splendor.

When she fell to the enemy, there was no one to help her;

Her conquerors laughed at her downfall.

⁸Her honor is gone; she is naked and held in contempt.

She groans and hides her face in shame.

Jerusalem made herself filthy with terrible sin.

⁹Her uncleanness was easily seen, but she showed no concern for her fate.

Her downfall was terrible; no one can comfort her.

Her enemies have won, and she cries to the LORD for mercy.

¹⁰The enemies robbed her of all her treasures.

She saw them enter the Temple itself,

Where the LORD had forbidden Gentiles to go.

¹¹Her people groan as they look for something to eat;

They exchange their treasures for food to keep themselves alive.

"Look at me, LORD," the city cries; "see me in my misery."

¹²"Look at me!" she cries to everyone who passes by.

"No one has ever had pain like mine,

Pain that the LORD brought on me in the time of his anger.

¹³"He sent fire from above, a fire that burned inside me.

He set a trap for me and brought me to the ground.

Then he abandoned me and left me in constant pain.

¹⁴"He took note of all my sins and tied them all together;

He hung them around my neck, and I grew weak beneath the weight.

The Lord gave me to my foes, and I was helpless against them.

¹⁵"The Lord laughed at all my strongest soldiers;

He sent an army to destroy my young men.

He crushed my people like grapes in a wine press.

¹⁶"That is why my eyes are overflowing with tears.

No one can comfort me; no one can give me courage.

The enemy has conquered me; my people have nothing left.

¹⁷"I stretch out my hands, but no one will help me.

The LORD has called enemies against me from every side;

They treat me like some filthy thing.

¹⁸"But the LORD is just, for I have disobeyed him.

Listen to me, people everywhere; look at me in my pain.

My young men and women have been taken away captive.

¹⁹"I called to my allies, but they refused to help me.

The priests and the leaders died in the city streets,

Looking for food to keep themselves alive.

²⁰"Look, O LORD, at my agony, at the anguish of my soul!

My heart is broken in sorrow for my sins.

There is murder in the streets; even indoors there is death.

²¹"Listen to my groans; there is no one to comfort me.

My enemies are glad that you brought disaster on me.

Bring the day you promised; make my enemies suffer as I do.

²²"Condemn them for all their wickedness;

Punish them as you punished me for my sins.

I groan in misery, and I am sick at heart."

The Lord's Punishment of Jerusalem

Lamentations 2 The Lord in his anger has covered Zion with darkness.

Its heavenly splendor he has turned into ruins.

On the day of his anger he abandoned even his Temple.

²The Lord destroyed without mercy every village in Judah

And tore down the forts that defended the land.

He brought disgrace on the kingdom and its rulers.

³In his fury he shattered the strength of Israel;

He refused to help us when the enemy came.

He raged against us like fire, destroying everything.

⁴He aimed his arrows at us like an enemy;

He killed all those who were our joy and delight.

Here in Jerusalem we felt his burning anger.

⁵Like an enemy, the Lord has destroyed Israel;

He has left her forts and palaces in ruins.

He has brought on the people of Judah unending sorrow.

⁶He smashed to pieces the Temple where we worshiped him;

He has put an end to holy days and Sabbaths.

King and priest alike have felt the force of his anger.

⁷The Lord rejected his altar and deserted his holy Temple;

He allowed the enemy to tear down its walls.

They shouted in victory where once we had worshiped in joy.

⁸The LORD was determined that the walls of Zion should fall;

He measured them off to make sure of total destruction.

The towers and walls now lie in ruins together.

⁹The gates lie buried in rubble, their bars smashed to pieces.

The king and the noblemen now are in exile.

The Law is no longer taught, and the prophets have no visions from the LORD.

¹⁰Jerusalem's old men sit on the ground in silence,

With dust on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies.

Young women bow their heads to the ground.

¹¹My eyes are worn out with weeping; my soul is in anguish.

I am exhausted with grief at the destruction of my people.

Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.

¹²Hungry and thirsty, they cry to their mothers;

They fall in the streets as though they were wounded,

And slowly die in their mothers' arms.

¹³O Jerusalem, beloved Jerusalem, what can I say?

How can I comfort you? No one has ever suffered like this.

Your disaster is boundless as the ocean; there is no possible hope.

¹⁴Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies;

Their preaching deceived you by never exposing your sin.

They made you think you did not need to repent.

¹⁵People passing by the city look at you in scorn.

They shake their heads and laugh at Jerusalem's ruins:

"Is this that lovely city? Is this the pride of the world?"

¹⁶All your enemies mock you and glare at you with hate.

They curl their lips and sneer, "We have destroyed it!

This is the day we have waited for!"

¹⁷The LORD has finally done what he threatened to do:

He has destroyed us without mercy, as he warned us long ago.

He gave our enemies victory, gave them joy at our downfall.

¹⁸O Jerusalem, let your very walls cry out to the Lord!

Let your tears flow like rivers night and day;

Wear yourself out with weeping and grief !

¹⁹All through the night get up again and again to cry out to the Lord;

Pour out your heart and beg him for mercy on your children--

Children starving to death on every street corner!

²⁰Look, O LORD! Why are you punishing us like this?

Women are eating the bodies of the children they loved!

Priests and prophets are being killed in the Temple itself !

²¹Young and old alike lie dead in the streets,

Young men and women, killed by enemy swords.

You slaughtered them without mercy on the day of your anger.

²²You invited my enemies to hold a carnival of terror all around me,

And no one could escape on that day of your anger.

They murdered my children, whom I had raised and loved.

A Hymn of Praise

Psalm 145 I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king;

I will thank you forever and ever.

²Every day I will thank you;

I will praise you forever and ever.

³The LORD is great and is to be highly praised;

his greatness is beyond understanding.

⁴What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next;

they will proclaim your mighty acts.

⁵They will speak of your glory and majesty,

and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.

⁶People will speak of your mighty deeds,

and I will proclaim your greatness.

⁷They will tell about all your goodness

and sing about your kindness.

⁸The LORD is loving and merciful,

slow to become angry and full of constant love.

⁹He is good to everyone

and has compassion on all he made.

¹⁰All your creatures, LORD, will praise you,

and all your people will give you thanks.

¹¹They will speak of the glory of your royal power

and tell of your might,

¹²so that everyone will know your mighty deeds

and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.

¹³Your rule is eternal,

and you are king forever.

The LORD is faithful to his promises;

he is merciful in all his acts.

¹⁴He helps those who are in trouble;

he lifts those who have fallen.

¹⁵All living things look hopefully to you,

and you give them food when they need it.

¹⁶You give them enough

and satisfy the needs of all.

¹⁷The LORD is righteous in all he does,

merciful in all his acts.

¹⁸He is near to those who call to him,

who call to him with sincerity.

¹⁹He supplies the needs of those who honor him;

he hears their cries and saves them.

²⁰He protects everyone who loves him,

but he will destroy the wicked.

²¹I will always praise the LORD;

let all his creatures praise his holy name forever.

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.