Daily Bible GNT December 10 Scroll

Wives and Husbands

Ephesians 5 ²¹Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ.

²²Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body. ²⁴And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. ²⁶He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water, ²⁷in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty--pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection. ²⁸Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. ( ²⁹None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the church; ³⁰for we are members of his body.) ³¹As the scripture says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one." ³²There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ and the church. ³³But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.

Jerusalem the Unfaithful

Ezekiel 16 The LORD spoke to me again. ²"Mortal man," he said, "point out to Jerusalem what disgusting things she has done. ³Tell Jerusalem what the Sovereign LORD is saying to her:

"You were born in the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. ⁴When you were born, no one cut your umbilical cord or washed you or rubbed you with salt or wrapped you in cloths. ⁵No one took enough pity on you to do any of these things for you. When you were born, no one loved you. You were thrown out in an open field.

⁶"Then I passed by and saw you squirming in your own blood. You were covered with blood, but I wouldn't let you die. ⁷I made you grow like a healthy plant. You grew strong and tall and became a young woman. Your breasts were well-formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked.

⁸"As I passed by again, I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love. I covered your naked body with my coat and promised to love you. Yes, I made a marriage covenant with you, and you became mine." This is what the Sovereign LORD says.

⁹"Then I took water and washed the blood off you. I rubbed olive oil on your skin. ¹⁰I dressed you in embroidered gowns and gave you shoes of the best leather, a linen headband, and a silk cloak. ¹¹I put jewels on you--bracelets and necklaces. ¹²I gave you a nose ring and earrings and a beautiful crown to wear. ¹³You had ornaments of gold and silver, and you always wore clothes of embroidered linen and silk. You ate bread made from the best flour, and had honey and olive oil to eat. Your beauty was dazzling, and you became a queen. ¹⁴You became famous in every nation for your perfect beauty, because I was the one who made you so lovely." This is what the Sovereign LORD says.

¹⁵"But you took advantage of your beauty and fame to sleep with everyone who came along. ¹⁶You used some of your clothes to decorate your places of worship, and just like a prostitute, you gave yourself to everyone. ¹⁷You took the silver and gold jewelry that I had given you, used it to make male images, and committed adultery with them. ¹⁸You took the embroidered clothes I gave you and put them on the images, and you offered to the images the olive oil and incense I had given you. ¹⁹I gave you food--the best flour, olive oil, and honey--but you offered it as a sacrifice to win the favor of idols." This is what the Sovereign LORD says.

²⁰"Then you took the sons and the daughters you had borne me and offered them as sacrifices to idols. Wasn't it bad enough to be unfaithful to me, ²¹without taking my children and sacrificing them to idols? ²²During your disgusting life as a prostitute you never once remembered your childhood--when you were naked, squirming in your own blood."

Jerusalem's Life as a Prostitute

²³The Sovereign LORD said, "You are doomed! Doomed! You did all that evil, and then ²⁴by the side of every road you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. ²⁵You dragged your beauty through the mud. You offered yourself to everyone who came by, and you were more of a prostitute every day. ²⁶You let your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, go to bed with you, and you used your prostitution to make me angry.

²⁷"Now I have raised my hand to punish you and to take away your share of my blessing. I have handed you over to the Philistines, who hate you and are disgusted with your immoral actions.

²⁸"Because you were not satisfied by the others, you went running after the Assyrians. You were their prostitute, but they didn't satisfy you either. ²⁹You were also a prostitute for the Babylonians, that nation of merchants, but they didn't satisfy you either."

³⁰This is what the Sovereign LORD is saying: "You have done all this like a shameless prostitute. ³¹On every street you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. But you are not out for money like a common prostitute. ³²You are like a woman who commits adultery with strangers instead of loving her husband. ³³A prostitute is paid, but you gave presents to all your lovers and bribed them to come from everywhere to sleep with you. ³⁴You are a special kind of prostitute. No one forced you to become one. You didn't get paid; you paid them! Yes, you are different."

God's Judgment on Jerusalem

³⁵Now then, Jerusalem, you whore! Hear what the LORD is saying.

³⁶This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "You stripped off your clothes, and like a prostitute, you gave yourself to your lovers and to all your disgusting idols, and you killed your children as sacrifices to idols. ³⁷Because of this I will bring all your former lovers together--the ones you liked and the ones you hated. I will bring them around you in a circle, and then I will strip off your clothes and let them see you naked. ³⁸I will condemn you for adultery and murder, and in my anger and fury I will punish you with death. ³⁹I will put you in their power, and they will tear down the places where you engage in prostitution and worship idols. They will take away your clothes and jewels and leave you completely naked.

⁴⁰"They will stir up a crowd to stone you, and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹They will burn your houses down and let crowds of women see your punishment. I will make you stop being a prostitute and make you stop giving gifts to your lovers. ⁴²Then my anger will be over, and I will be calm. I will not be angry or jealous any more. ⁴³You have forgotten how I treated you when you were young, and you have made me angry by all the things you did. That is why I have made you pay for them all. Why did you add sexual immorality to all the other disgusting things you did?" The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

⁴⁴The LORD said, "People will use this proverb about you, Jerusalem: 'Like mother, like daughter.' ⁴⁵You really are your mother's daughter. She detested her husband and her children. You are like your sisters, who hated their husbands and their children. You and your sister cities had a Hittite mother and an Amorite father.

⁴⁶"Your older sister, with her villages, is Samaria, in the north. Your younger sister, with her villages, is Sodom, in the south. ⁴⁷Were you satisfied to follow in their footsteps and copy their disgusting actions? No, in only a little while you were acting worse than they were in everything you did.

⁴⁸"As surely as I am the living God," the Sovereign LORD says, "your sister Sodom and her villages never did the evil that you and your villages have done. ⁴⁹She and her daughters were proud because they had plenty to eat and lived in peace and quiet, but they did not take care of the poor and the underprivileged. ⁵⁰They were proud and stubborn and did the things that I hate, so I destroyed them, as you well know.

⁵¹"Samaria did not sin half as much as you have. You have acted more disgustingly than she ever did. Your corruption makes your sisters look innocent by comparison. ⁵²And now you will have to endure your disgrace. Your sins are so much worse than those of your sisters that they look innocent beside you. Now blush and bear your shame, because you make your sisters look pure."

Sodom and Samaria Will Be Restored

⁵³The LORD said to Jerusalem, "I will make them prosperous again--Sodom and her villages and Samaria and her villages. Yes, I will make you prosperous too. ⁵⁴You will be ashamed of yourself, and your disgrace will show your sisters how well-off they are. ⁵⁵They will become prosperous again, and you and your villages will also be restored. ⁵⁶Didn't you joke about Sodom in those days when you were proud ⁵⁷and before the evil you did had been exposed? Now you are just like her--a joke to the Edomites, the Philistines, and your other neighbors who hate you. ⁵⁸You must suffer for the obscene, disgusting things you have done." The LORD has spoken.

A Covenant That Lasts Forever

⁵⁹The Sovereign LORD says, "I will treat you the way you deserve, because you ignored your promises and broke the covenant. ⁶⁰But I will honor the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will make a covenant with you that will last forever. ⁶¹You will remember how you have acted, and be ashamed of it when you get your older sister and your younger sister back. I will let them be like daughters to you, even though this was not part of my covenant with you. ⁶²I will renew my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD. ⁶³I will forgive all the wrongs you have done, but you will remember them and be too ashamed to open your mouth." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

The LORD Appoints Cyrus

Isaiah 45 The LORD has chosen Cyrus to be king.

He has appointed him to conquer nations;

he sends him to strip kings of their power;

the LORD will open the gates of cities for him.

To Cyrus the LORD says,

²"I myself will prepare your way,

leveling mountains and hills.

I will break down bronze gates

and smash their iron bars.

³I will give you treasures from dark, secret places;

then you will know that I am the LORD

and that the God of Israel has called you by name.

⁴I appoint you to help my servant Israel,

the people that I have chosen.

I have given you great honor,

although you do not know me.

⁵"I am the LORD; there is no other god.

I will give you the strength you need,

although you do not know me.

⁶I do this so that everyone

from one end of the world to the other

may know that I am the LORD

and that there is no other god.

⁷I create both light and darkness;

I bring both blessing and disaster.

I, the LORD, do all these things.

⁸I will send victory from the sky like rain;

the earth will open to receive it

and will blossom with freedom and justice.

I, the LORD, will make this happen."

The LORD of Creation and History

⁹Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker,

a pot that is like all the others?

Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing?

Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

¹⁰Do we dare say to our parents,

"Why did you make me like this?"

¹¹The LORD, the holy God of Israel,

the one who shapes the future, says:

"You have no right to question me about my children

or to tell me what I ought to do!

¹²I am the one who made the earth

and created human beings to live there.

By my power I stretched out the heavens;

I control the sun, the moon, and the stars.

¹³I myself have stirred Cyrus to action

to fulfill my purpose and put things right.

I will straighten out every road that he travels.

He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem,

and set my captive people free.

No one has hired him or bribed him to do this."

The LORD Almighty has spoken.

¹⁴The LORD says to Israel,

"The wealth of Egypt and Ethiopia will be yours,

and the tall men of Seba will be your slaves;

they will follow you in chains.

They will bow down to you and confess,

'God is with you--he alone is God.

¹⁵The God of Israel, who saves his people,

is a God who conceals himself.

¹⁶Those who make idols will all be ashamed;

all of them will be disgraced.

¹⁷But Israel is saved by the LORD,

and her victory lasts forever;

her people will never be disgraced.'"

¹⁸The LORD created the heavens--

he is the one who is God!

He formed and made the earth--

he made it firm and lasting.

He did not make it a desolate waste,

but a place for people to live.

It is he who says, "I am the LORD,

and there is no other god.

¹⁹I have not spoken in secret

or kept my purpose hidden.

I did not require the people of Israel

to look for me in a desolate waste.

I am the LORD, and I speak the truth;

I make known what is right."

The LORD of the World and the Idols of Babylon

²⁰The LORD says,

"Come together, people of the nations,

all who survive the fall of the empire;

present yourselves for the trial!

The people who parade with their idols of wood

and pray to gods that cannot save them--

those people know nothing at all!

²¹Come and present your case in court;

let the defendants consult one another.

Who predicted long ago what would happen?

Was it not I, the LORD, the God who saves his people?

There is no other god.

²²"Turn to me now and be saved,

people all over the world!

I am the only God there is.

²³My promise is true,

and it will not be changed.

I solemnly promise by all that I am:

Everyone will come and kneel before me

and vow to be loyal to me.

²⁴"They will say that only through me

are victory and strength to be found;

but all who hate me will suffer disgrace.

²⁵I, the LORD, will rescue all the descendants of Jacob,

and they will give me praise.

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.