Daily Bible GNT December 08 Scroll

The New Life in Christ

Ephesians 4 ¹⁷In the Lord's name, then, I warn you: do not continue to live like the heathen, whose thoughts are worthless ¹⁸and whose minds are in the dark. They have no part in the life that God gives, for they are completely ignorant and stubborn. ¹⁹They have lost all feeling of shame; they give themselves over to vice and do all sorts of indecent things without restraint.

²⁰That was not what you learned about Christ! ²¹You certainly heard about him, and as his followers you were taught the truth that is in Jesus. ²²So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to--the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. ²³Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, ²⁴and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.

²⁵No more lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ. ²⁶If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. ²⁷Don't give the Devil a chance. ²⁸If you used to rob, you must stop robbing and start working, in order to earn an honest living for yourself and to be able to help the poor. ²⁹Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you. ³⁰And do not make God's Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God's mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. ³²Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.

The Prophet as a Refugee

Ezekiel 12 The LORD spoke to me. ²"Mortal man," he said, "you are living among rebellious people. They have eyes, but they see nothing; they have ears, but they hear nothing, because they are rebellious.

³"Now, mortal man, pack a bundle just as a refugee would and start out before nightfall. Let everyone see you leaving and going to another place. Maybe those rebels will notice you. ⁴While it is still daylight, pack your bundle for exile, so that they can see you, and then let them watch you leave in the evening as if you were going into exile. ⁵While they are watching, break a hole through the wall of your house and take your pack out through it. ⁶Let them watch you putting your pack on your shoulder and going out into the dark with your eyes covered, so that you can't see where you are going. What you do will be a warning to the Israelites."

⁷I did what the LORD told me to do. That day I packed a bundle as a refugee would, and that evening as it was getting dark I dug a hole in the wall with my hands and went out. While everyone watched, I put the pack on my shoulder and left.

⁸The next morning the LORD spoke to me. ⁹"Mortal man," he said, "now that those Israelite rebels are asking you what you're doing, ¹⁰tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them. This message is for the prince ruling in Jerusalem and for all the people who live there. ¹¹Tell them that what you have done is a sign of what will happen to them--they will be refugees and captives. ¹²The prince who is ruling them will shoulder his pack in the dark and escape through a hole that they dig for him in the wall. He will cover his eyes and not see where he is going. ¹³But I will spread out my net and trap him in it. Then I will take him to the city of Babylon, where he will die without having seen it. ¹⁴I will scatter in every direction all the members of his court and his advisers and bodyguards, and people will search for them to kill them.

¹⁵"When I scatter them among the other nations and in foreign countries, they will know that I am the LORD. ¹⁶I will let a few of them survive the war, the famine, and the diseases, so that there among the nations they will realize how disgusting their actions have been and will acknowledge that I am the LORD."

The Sign of the Trembling Prophet

¹⁷The LORD spoke to me. ¹⁸"Mortal man," he said, "tremble when you eat, and shake with fear when you drink. ¹⁹Tell the whole nation that this is the message of the Sovereign LORD to the people of Jerusalem who are still living in their land: They will tremble when they eat and shake with fear when they drink. Their land will be stripped bare, because everyone who lives there is lawless. ²⁰Cities that are now full of people will be destroyed, and the country will be made a wilderness. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

A Popular Proverb and an Unpopular Message

²¹The LORD spoke to me. ²²"Mortal man," he said, "why do the people of Israel repeat this proverb: 'Time goes by, and predictions come to nothing'? ²³Now tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, have to say about that. I will put an end to that proverb. It won't be repeated in Israel any more. Tell them instead: The time has come, and the predictions are coming true!

²⁴"Among the people of Israel there will be no more false visions or misleading prophecies. ²⁵I, the LORD, will speak to them, and what I say will be done. There will be no more delay. In your own lifetime, you rebels, I will do what I have warned you I would do. I have spoken," says the Sovereign LORD.

²⁶The LORD said to me, ²⁷"Mortal man, the Israelites think that your visions and prophecies are about the distant future. ²⁸So tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: There will be no more delay. What I have said will be done. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"

Prophecy against False Male Prophets

Ezekiel 13 The LORD spoke to me. ²"Mortal man," he said, "denounce the prophets of Israel who make up their own prophecies. Tell them to listen to the word of the LORD."

³This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "These foolish prophets are doomed! They provide their own inspiration and invent their own visions. ⁴People of Israel, your prophets are as useless as foxes living among the ruins of a city. ⁵They don't guard the places where the walls have crumbled, nor do they rebuild the walls, and so Israel cannot be defended when war comes on the day of the LORD. ⁶Their visions are false, and their predictions are lies. They claim that they are speaking my message, but I have not sent them. Yet they expect their words to come true! ⁷I tell them: Those visions you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You say that they are my words, but I haven't spoken to you!"

⁸So the Sovereign LORD says to them, "Your words are false, and your visions are lies. I am against you. ⁹I am about to punish you prophets who have false visions and make misleading predictions. You will not be there when my people gather to make decisions; your names will not be included in the list of the citizens of Israel; you will never return to your land. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.

¹⁰"The prophets mislead my people by saying that all is well. All is certainly not well! My people have put up a wall of loose stones, and then the prophets have come and covered it with whitewash. ¹¹Tell the prophets that their wall is going to fall down. I will send a pouring rain. Hailstones will fall on it, and a strong wind will blow against it. ¹²The wall will collapse, and everyone will ask you what good the whitewash did."

¹³Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "In my anger I will send a strong wind, pouring rain, and hailstones to destroy the wall. ¹⁴I intend to break down the wall they whitewashed, to shatter it, and to leave the foundation stones bare. It will collapse and kill you all. Then everyone will know that I am the LORD.

¹⁵"The wall and those who covered it with whitewash will feel the force of my anger. Then I will tell you that the wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it-- ¹⁶those prophets who assured Jerusalem that all was well, when all was not well!" The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

Prophecy against False Female Prophets

¹⁷The LORD said, "Now, mortal man, look at the women among your people who make up predictions. Denounce them ¹⁸and tell them what the Sovereign LORD is saying to them:

"You women are doomed! You sew magic wristbands for everyone and make magic scarves for everyone to wear on their heads, so that they can have power over other people's lives. You want to possess the power of life and death over my people and to use it for your own benefit. ¹⁹You dishonor me in front of my people in order to get a few handfuls of barley and a few pieces of bread. You kill people who don't deserve to die, and you keep people alive who don't deserve to live. So you tell lies to my people, and they believe you."

²⁰Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I hate the wristbands that you use in your attempt to control life and death. I will rip them off your arms and set free the people that you were controlling. ²¹I will rip off your scarves and let my people escape from your power once and for all. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

²²"By your lies you discourage good people, whom I do not wish to hurt. You prevent evil people from giving up evil and saving their lives. ²³So now your false visions and misleading predictions are over. I am rescuing my people from your power, so that you will know that I am the LORD."

God Promises to Rescue His People

Isaiah 43 Israel, the LORD who created you says,

"Do not be afraid--I will save you.

I have called you by name--you are mine.

²When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you;

your troubles will not overwhelm you.

When you pass through fire, you will not be burned;

the hard trials that come will not hurt you.

³For I am the LORD your God,

the holy God of Israel, who saves you.

I will give up Egypt to set you free;

I will give up Ethiopia and Seba.

⁴I will give up whole nations to save your life,

because you are precious to me

and because I love you and give you honor.

⁵Do not be afraid--I am with you!

"From the distant east and the farthest west

I will bring your people home.

⁶I will tell the north to let them go

and the south not to hold them back.

Let my people return from distant lands,

from every part of the world.

⁷They are my own people,

and I created them to bring me glory."

Israel Is the LORD's Witness

⁸God says,

"Summon my people to court.

They have eyes, but they are blind;

they have ears, but they are deaf !

⁹Summon the nations to come to the trial.

Which of their gods can predict the future?

Which of them foretold what is happening now?

Let these gods bring in their witnesses

to prove that they are right,

to testify to the truth of their words.

¹⁰"People of Israel, you are my witnesses;

I chose you to be my servant,

so that you would know me and believe in me

and understand that I am the only God.

Besides me there is no other god;

there never was and never will be.

¹¹"I alone am the LORD,

the only one who can save you.

¹²I predicted what would happen,

and then I came to your aid.

No foreign god has ever done this;

you are my witnesses.

¹³I am God and always will be.

No one can escape from my power;

no one can change what I do."

Escape from Babylon

¹⁴Israel's holy God, the LORD who saves you, says,

"To save you, I will send an army against Babylon;

I will break down the city gates,

and the shouts of her people will turn into crying.

¹⁵I am the LORD, your holy God.

I created you, Israel, and I am your king."

¹⁶Long ago the LORD made a road through the sea,

a path through the swirling waters.

¹⁷He led a mighty army to destruction,

an army of chariots and horses.

Down they fell, never to rise,

snuffed out like the flame of a lamp!

¹⁸But the LORD says,

"Do not cling to events of the past

or dwell on what happened long ago.

¹⁹Watch for the new thing I am going to do.

It is happening already--you can see it now!

I will make a road through the wilderness

and give you streams of water there.

²⁰Even the wild animals will honor me;

jackals and ostriches will praise me

when I make rivers flow in the desert

to give water to my chosen people.

²¹They are the people I made for myself,

and they will sing my praises!"

Israel's Sin

²²The LORD says,

"But you were tired of me, Israel;

you did not worship me.

²³You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep;

you did not honor me with your sacrifices.

I did not burden you by demanding offerings

or wear you out by asking for incense.

²⁴You didn't buy incense for me

or satisfy me with the fat of your animals.

Instead you burdened me with your sins;

you wore me out with the wrongs you have committed.

²⁵And yet, I am the God who forgives your sins,

and I do this because of who I am.

I will not hold your sins against you.

²⁶"Let us go to court; bring your accusation!

Present your case to prove you are in the right!

²⁷Your earliest ancestor sinned;

your leaders sinned against me,

²⁸

and your rulers profaned my sanctuary.

So I brought destruction on Israel;

I let my own people be insulted."

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.