Daily Bible GNT December 28 Scroll

The Baptism of Jesus
(Matthew 3.13-17; Mark 1.9-11)

Luke 3 ²¹After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you."

The Ancestors of Jesus
(Matthew 1.1-17)

²³When Jesus began his work, he was about thirty years old. He was the son, so people thought, of Joseph, who was the son of Heli, ²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Kenan, ³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Two Buildings Near the Temple

Ezekiel 42 Then the man took me into the outer courtyard and led me to a building on the north side of the Temple, not far from the building at the west end of the Temple. ²This building was 168 feet long and 84 feet wide. ³On one side it faced the space 34 feet wide which was alongside the Temple, and on the other side it faced the pavement of the outer courtyard. It was built on three levels, each one set further back than the one below it. ⁴Along the north side of this building was a passageway 16 feet wide and 168 feet long, with entrances on that side. ⁵The rooms at the upper level of the building were narrower than those at the middle and lower levels because they were set further back. ⁶The rooms at all three levels were on terraces and were not supported by columns like the other buildings in the courtyard. ^7-8At the lower level the outer wall of the building was solid for 84 feet, half its length; and there were rooms in the remaining 84 feet. At the top level there were rooms in the entire length of the building. ^9-10Below these rooms at the east end of the building, where the wall of the courtyard began, there was an entrance into the outer courtyard.

At the south side of the Temple there was an identical building not far from the building at the west end of the Temple. ¹¹In front of the rooms there was a passageway just like the one on the north side. It had the same measurements, the same design, and the same kind of entrances. ¹²There was a door under the rooms on the south side of the building, at the east end where the wall began.

¹³The man said to me, "Both these buildings are holy. In them the priests who enter the LORD's presence eat the holiest offerings. Because the rooms are holy, the priests will place the holiest offerings there: the offerings of grain and the sacrifices offered for sin or as repayment offerings. ¹⁴When priests have been in the Temple and want to go to the outer courtyard, they must leave in these rooms the holy clothing they wore while serving the LORD. They must put on other clothes before going out to the area where the people gather."

The Measurements of the Temple Area

¹⁵When the man had finished measuring inside the Temple area, he took me out through the east gate and then measured the outside of the area. ¹⁶He took the measuring rod and measured the east side, and it was 840 feet. ^17-19Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side; each side had the same length, 840 feet, ²⁰so that the wall enclosed a square 840 feet on each side. The wall served to separate what was holy from what was not.

The LORD Returns to the Temple

Ezekiel 43 The man took me to the gate that faces east, ²and there I saw coming from the east the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel. God's voice sounded like the roar of the sea, and the earth shone with the dazzling light. ³This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem, and the one I saw by the Chebar River. Then I threw myself face downward on the ground. ⁴The dazzling light passed through the east gate and went into the Temple.

⁵The LORD's spirit lifted me up and took me into the inner courtyard, where I saw that the Temple was filled with the glory of the LORD. ⁶The man stood beside me there, and I heard the LORD speak to me out of the Temple: ⁷"Mortal man, here is my throne. I will live here among the people of Israel and rule them forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again disgrace my holy name by worshiping other gods or by burying the corpses of their dead kings. ⁸The kings built the doorsills and doorposts of their palace right against the doorsills and doorposts of my Temple, so that there was only a wall between us. They disgraced my holy name by all the disgusting things they did, and so in my anger I destroyed them. ⁹Now they must stop worshiping other gods and remove the corpses of their kings. If they do, I will live among them forever."

¹⁰And the LORD continued, "Mortal man, tell the people of Israel about the Temple, and let them study its plan. Make them ashamed of their sinful actions. ¹¹Then if they are ashamed of what they have done, explain the plan of the Temple to them: its design, its entrances and exits, its shape, the arrangement of everything, and all its rules and regulations. Write all this down for them so that they can see how everything is arranged and can carry out all the rules. ¹²This is the law of the Temple: All the area surrounding it on the top of the mountain is sacred and holy."

The Altar

¹³These are the measurements of the altar, using the same unit of measure as in measuring the Temple. All around the base of the altar there was a gutter 20 inches deep and 20 inches wide, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. ¹⁴The lowest section of the altar, from the top of the base, was 4 feet high. The next section was set back from the edge 20 inches all around, and was 7 feet high. The section after that was also set back from the edge 20 inches all around. ¹⁵This top section, on which the sacrifices were burned, was also 7 feet high. The projections on the four corners were higher than the rest of the top. ¹⁶The top of the altar was a square, 20 feet on each side. ¹⁷The middle section was also a square, 24 feet on each side, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. (The gutter was 20 inches wide.) The steps going up the altar were on the east side.

The Consecration of the Altar

¹⁸The Sovereign LORD said to me, "Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. When the altar is built, you are to dedicate it by burning sacrifices on it and by sprinkling on it the blood of the animals that were sacrificed. ¹⁹Those priests belonging to the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok are the only ones who are to come into my presence to serve me. I, the Sovereign LORD, command this. You will give them a young bull to offer as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁰You are to take some of its blood and put it on the projections on the top corners of the altar, on the corners of the middle section of the altar, and all around its edges. In this way you will purify the altar and consecrate it. ²¹You are to take the bull that is offered as a sacrifice for sin and burn it at the specified place outside the Temple area. ²²The next day you are to take a male goat without any defects and offer it as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood the same way you did with the bull. ²³When you have finished doing that, take a young bull and a young ram, both of them without any defects, ²⁴and bring them to me. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and burn them as an offering to me. ²⁵Each day for seven days you are to offer a goat, a bull, and a ram as sacrifices for sin. All of them must be without any defects. ²⁶For seven days the priests are to consecrate the altar and make it ready for use. ²⁷When the week is over, the priests are to begin offering on the altar the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings of the people. Then I will be pleased with all of you. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

The LORD's Victory over the Nations

Isaiah 63 "Who is this coming from the city of Bozrah in Edom? Who is this so splendidly dressed in red, marching along in power and strength?"

It is the LORD, powerful to save, coming to announce his victory.

²"Why is his clothing so red, like that of someone who tramples grapes to make wine?"

³The LORD answers, "I have trampled the nations like grapes, and no one came to help me. I trampled them in my anger, and their blood has stained all my clothing. ⁴I decided that the time to save my people had come; it was time to punish their enemies. ⁵I was amazed when I looked and saw that there was no one to help me. But my anger made me strong, and I won the victory myself. ⁶In my anger I trampled whole nations and shattered them. I poured out their lifeblood on the ground."

The LORD's Goodness to Israel

⁷I will tell of the LORD's unfailing love;

I praise him for all he has done for us.

He has richly blessed the people of Israel

because of his mercy and constant love.

⁸The LORD said, "They are my people; they will not deceive me." And so he saved them ⁹from all their suffering. It was not an angel, but the LORD himself who saved them. In his love and compassion he rescued them. He had always taken care of them in the past, ¹⁰but they rebelled against him and made his holy spirit sad. So the LORD became their enemy and fought against them.

¹¹But then they remembered the past, the days of Moses, the servant of the LORD, and they asked, "Where now is the LORD, who saved the leaders of his people from the sea? Where is the LORD, who gave his spirit to Moses? ^12-13Where is the LORD, who by his power did great things through Moses, dividing the waters of the sea and leading his people through the deep water, to win everlasting fame for himself ?"

Led by the LORD, they were as sure-footed as wild horses, and never stumbled. ¹⁴As cattle are led into a fertile valley, so the LORD gave his people rest. He led his people and brought honor to his name.

A Prayer for Mercy and Help

¹⁵LORD, look upon us from heaven, where you live in your holiness and glory. Where is your great concern for us? Where is your power? Where are your love and compassion? Do not ignore us. ¹⁶You are our father. Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob do not acknowledge us, but you, LORD, are our father, the one who has always rescued us. ¹⁷Why do you let us stray from your ways? Why do you make us so stubborn that we turn away from you? Come back, for the sake of those who serve you, for the sake of the people who have always been yours.

¹⁸We, your holy people, were driven out by our enemies for a little while; they trampled down your sanctuary. ¹⁹You treat us as though you had never been our ruler, as though we had never been your people.

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.