Daily Bible GNT December 25 Scroll

The Birth of Jesus
(Matthew 1.18-25)

Luke 2 At that time Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. ²When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. ³Everyone, then, went to register himself, each to his own hometown.

⁴Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. ⁵He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, ⁶and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. ⁷She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger--there was no room for them to stay in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, ¹⁰but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. ¹¹This very day in David's town your Savior was born--Christ the Lord! ¹²And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great army of heaven's angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:

¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!"

¹⁵When the angels went away from them back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. ¹⁷When the shepherds saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child. ¹⁸All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said. ¹⁹Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. ²⁰The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.

The Valley of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37 I felt the powerful presence of the LORD, and his spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered with bones. ²He led me all around the valley, and I could see that there were very many bones and that they were very dry. ³He said to me, "Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?"

I replied, "Sovereign LORD, only you can answer that!"

⁴He said, "Prophesy to the bones. Tell these dry bones to listen to the word of the LORD. ⁵Tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. ⁶I will give you sinews and muscles, and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

⁷So I prophesied as I had been told. While I was speaking, I heard a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together. ⁸While I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then with skin. But there was no breath in the bodies.

⁹God said to me, "Mortal man, prophesy to the wind. Tell the wind that the Sovereign LORD commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life."

¹⁰So I prophesied as I had been told. Breath entered the bodies, and they came to life and stood up. There were enough of them to form an army.

¹¹God said to me, "Mortal man, the people of Israel are like these bones. They say that they are dried up, without any hope and with no future. ¹²So prophesy to my people Israel and tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to open their graves. I am going to take them out and bring them back to the land of Israel. ¹³When I open the graves where my people are buried and bring them out, they will know that I am the LORD. ¹⁴I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let them live in their own land. Then they will know that I am the LORD. I have promised that I would do this--and I will. I, the LORD, have spoken."

Judah and Israel in One Kingdom

¹⁵The LORD spoke to me again. ¹⁶"Mortal man," he said, "take a wooden stick and write on it the words, 'The kingdom of Judah.' Then take another stick and write on it the words, 'The kingdom of Israel.' ¹⁷Then hold the two sticks end to end in your hand so that they look like one stick. ¹⁸When your people ask you to tell them what this means, ¹⁹tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to take the stick representing Israel and put it with the one that represents Judah. Out of the two I will make one stick and hold it in my hand.

²⁰"Hold in your hand the two sticks and let the people see them. ²¹Then tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land. ²²I will unite them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. They will have one king to rule over them, and they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms. ²³They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols any more or corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them; they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴A king like my servant David will be their king. They will all be united under one ruler and will obey my laws faithfully. ²⁵They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant David will rule them forever. ²⁶I will make a covenant with them that guarantees their security forever. I will establish them and increase their population, and will see to it that my Temple stands forever in their land. ²⁷I will live there with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸When I place my Temple there to be among them forever, then the nations will know that I, the LORD, have chosen Israel to be my own people."

The Future Glory of Jerusalem

Isaiah 60 Arise, Jerusalem, and shine like the sun;

The glory of the LORD is shining on you!

²Other nations will be covered by darkness,

But on you the light of the LORD will shine;

The brightness of his presence will be with you.

³Nations will be drawn to your light,

And kings to the dawning of your new day.

⁴Look around you and see what is happening:

Your people are gathering to come home!

Your sons will come from far away;

Your daughters will be carried like children.

⁵You will see this and be filled with joy;

You will tremble with excitement.

The wealth of the nations will be brought to you;

From across the sea their riches will come.

⁶Great caravans of camels will come, from Midian and Ephah.

They will come from Sheba, bringing gold and incense.

People will tell the good news of what the LORD has done!

⁷All the sheep of Kedar and Nebaioth

Will be brought to you as sacrifices

And offered on the altar to please the LORD.

The LORD will make his Temple more glorious than ever.

⁸What are these ships that skim along like clouds,

Like doves returning home?

⁹They are ships coming from distant lands,

Bringing God's people home.

They bring with them silver and gold

To honor the name of the LORD,

The holy God of Israel,

Who has made all nations honor his people.

¹⁰The LORD says to Jerusalem,

"Foreigners will rebuild your walls,

And their kings will serve you.

In my anger I punished you,

But now I will show you my favor and mercy.

¹¹Day and night your gates will be open,

So that the kings of the nations

May bring you their wealth.

¹²But nations that do not serve you

Will be completely destroyed.

¹³"The wood of the pine, the juniper, and the cypress,

The finest wood from the forests of Lebanon,

Will be brought to rebuild you, Jerusalem,

To make my Temple beautiful,

To make my city glorious.

¹⁴The descendants of those who oppressed you will come

And bow low to show their respect.

All who once despised you will worship at your feet.

They will call you 'The City of the LORD,'

'Zion, the City of Israel's Holy God.'

¹⁵"You will no longer be forsaken and hated,

A city deserted and desolate.

I will make you great and beautiful,

A place of joy forever and ever.

¹⁶Nations and kings will care for you

As a mother nurses her child.

You will know that I, the LORD, have saved you,

That the mighty God of Israel sets you free.

¹⁷"I will bring you gold instead of bronze,

Silver and bronze instead of iron and wood,

And iron instead of stone.

Your rulers will no longer oppress you;

I will make them rule with justice and peace.

¹⁸The sounds of violence will be heard no more;

Destruction will not shatter your country again.

I will protect and defend you like a wall;

You will praise me because I have saved you.

¹⁹"No longer will the sun be your light by day

Or the moon be your light by night;

I, the LORD, will be your eternal light;

The light of my glory will shine on you.

²⁰Your days of grief will come to an end.

I, the LORD, will be your eternal light,

More lasting than the sun and moon.

²¹Your people will all do what is right,

And will possess the land forever.

I planted them, I made them,

To reveal my greatness to all.

²²Even your smallest and humblest family

Will become as great as a powerful nation.

When the right time comes,

I will make this happen quickly.

I am the LORD!"

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.