Daily Bible GNT December 26 Scroll

Jesus Is Named

Luke 2 ²¹A week later, when the time came for the baby to be circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name which the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²²The time came for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification, as the Law of Moses commanded. So they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, ²³as it is written in the law of the Lord: "Every first-born male is to be dedicated to the Lord." ²⁴They also went to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law of the Lord.

²⁵At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him ²⁶and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah. ²⁷Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, ²⁸Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God:

²⁹"Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,

and you may let your servant go in peace.

³⁰With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,

³¹

which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:

³²A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles

and bring glory to your people Israel."

³³The child's father and mother were amazed at the things Simeon said about him. ³⁴Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against ³⁵and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart."

^36-37There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only seven years and was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshiped God, fasting and praying. ³⁸That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹When Joseph and Mary had finished doing all that was required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. ⁴⁰The child grew and became strong; he was full of wisdom, and God's blessings were upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. ⁴²When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the festival as usual. ⁴³When the festival was over, they started back home, but the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this; ⁴⁴they thought that he was with the group, so they traveled a whole day and then started looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵They did not find him, so they went back to Jerusalem looking for him. ⁴⁶On the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting with the Jewish teachers, listening to them and asking questions. ⁴⁷All who heard him were amazed at his intelligent answers. ⁴⁸His parents were astonished when they saw him, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you."

⁴⁹He answered them, "Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?" ⁵⁰But they did not understand his answer.

⁵¹So Jesus went back with them to Nazareth, where he was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵²Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favor with God and people.

Gog as the Instrument of God

Ezekiel 38 The LORD spoke to me. ²"Mortal man," he said, "denounce Gog, chief ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Denounce him ³and tell him that I, the Sovereign LORD, am his enemy. ⁴I will turn him around, put hooks in his jaws, and drag him and all his troops away. His army, with its horses and uniformed riders, is enormous, and every soldier carries a shield and is armed with a sword. ⁵Troops from Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with him, and all have shields and helmets. ⁶All the fighting men of the lands of Gomer and Beth Togarmah in the north are with him, and so are men from many other nations. ⁷Tell him to get ready and have all his troops ready at his command. ⁸After many years I will order him to invade a country where the people were brought back together from many nations and have lived without fear of war. He will invade the mountains of Israel, which were desolate and deserted so long, but where all the people now live in safety. ⁹He and his army and the many nations with him will attack like a storm and cover the land like a cloud."

¹⁰This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Gog: "When that time comes, you will start thinking up an evil plan. ¹¹You will decide to invade a helpless country where the people live in peace and security in unwalled towns that have no defenses. ¹²You will plunder and loot the people who live in cities that were once in ruins. They have been gathered from the nations, and now they have livestock and property and live at the crossroads of the world. ¹³The people of Sheba and Dedan and the merchants from the towns of Spain will ask you, 'Have you assembled your army and attacked in order to loot and plunder? Do you intend to get silver and gold, livestock and property, and march off with all those spoils?'"

¹⁴So the Sovereign LORD sent me to tell Gog what he was saying to him: "Now while my people Israel live in security, you will set out ¹⁵to come from your place in the far north, leading a large, powerful army of soldiers from many nations, all of them on horseback. ¹⁶You will attack my people Israel like a storm moving across the land. When the time comes, I will send you to invade my land in order to show the nations who I am, to show my holiness by what I do through you. ¹⁷You are the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through my servants, the prophets of Israel, that in days to come I would bring someone to attack Israel." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

God's Punishment of Gog

¹⁸The Sovereign LORD says, "On the day when Gog invades Israel, I will become furious. ¹⁹I declare in the heat of my anger that on that day there will be a severe earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰Every fish and bird, every animal large and small, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble for fear of me. Mountains will fall, cliffs will crumble, and every wall will collapse. ²¹I will terrify Gog with all sorts of calamities. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken. His men will turn their swords against one another. ²²I will punish him with disease and bloodshed. Torrents of rain and hail, together with fire and sulfur, will pour down on him and his army and on the many nations that are on his side. ²³In this way I will show all the nations that I am great and that I am holy. They will know then that I am the LORD."

The Defeat of Gog

Ezekiel 39 The Sovereign LORD said, "Mortal man, denounce Gog, the chief ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and tell him that I am his enemy. ²I will turn him in a new direction and lead him out of the far north until he comes to the mountains of Israel. ³Then I will knock his bow out of his left hand and his arrows out of his right hand. ⁴Gog and his army and his allies will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, and I will let their bodies be food for all the birds and wild animals. ⁵They will fall dead in the open field. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken. ⁶I will start a fire in the land of Magog and along all the seacoasts where people live undisturbed, and everyone will know that I am the LORD. ⁷I will make sure that my people Israel know my holy name, and I will not let my name be disgraced any more. Then the nations will know that I, the LORD, am the holy God of Israel."

⁸The Sovereign LORD said, "The day I spoke about is certain to come. ⁹The people who live in the cities of Israel will go out and collect the abandoned weapons for firewood. They will build fires with the shields, bows, arrows, spears, and clubs, and have enough to last for seven years. ¹⁰They will not have to gather firewood in the fields or cut down trees in the forest, because they will have the abandoned weapons to burn. They will loot and plunder those who looted and plundered them." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

The Burial of Gog

¹¹The LORD said, "When all this happens, I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, in Travelers' Valley, east of the Dead Sea. Gog and all his army will be buried there, and the valley will be called 'The Valley of Gog's Army.' ¹²It will take the Israelites seven months to bury all the corpses and make the land clean again. ¹³Everyone in the land will help bury them, and they will be honored for this on the day of my victory. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken. ¹⁴After the seven months are over, men will be chosen to travel through the land in order to find and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, so that they can make the land clean. ¹⁵As they go up and down the country, every time they find a human bone, they will put a marker beside it so that the gravediggers can come and bury it in the Valley of Gog's Army. ¹⁶(There will be a town nearby named after the army.) And so the land will be made clean again."

¹⁷The Sovereign LORD said to me, "Mortal man, call all the birds and animals to come from all around to eat the sacrifice I am preparing for them. It will be a huge feast on the mountains of Israel, where they can eat meat and drink blood. ¹⁸They are to eat the bodies of soldiers and drink the blood of the rulers of the earth, all of whom will be killed like rams or lambs or goats or fat bulls. ¹⁹When I kill these people like sacrifices, the birds and animals are to eat all the fat they can hold and to drink blood until they are drunk. ²⁰At my table they will eat all they can hold of horses and their riders and of soldiers and fighting men. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

The Restoration of Israel

²¹The LORD said, "I will let the nations see my glory and show them how I use my power to carry out my just decisions. ²²The Israelites will know from then on that I am the LORD their God. ²³And the nations will know that the Israelites went into exile because of the sins which they committed against me. I turned away from them and let their enemies defeat them and kill them in battle. ²⁴I gave them what they deserved for their uncleanness and their wickedness, and I turned away from them."

²⁵The Sovereign LORD said, "But now I will be merciful to Jacob's descendants, the people of Israel, and make them prosperous again. I will protect my holy name. ²⁶When they are once more living in safety in their own land, with no one to threaten them, they will be able to forget how they were disgraced for having betrayed me. ²⁷In order to show to the many nations that I am holy, I will bring my people back from all the countries where their enemies live. ²⁸Then my people will know that I am the LORD their God. They will know this, because I sent them into captivity and now gather them and bring them back into their own land, not leaving even one of them behind. ²⁹I will pour out my spirit on the people of Israel and never again turn away from them. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken."

The Good News of Deliverance

Isaiah 61 The Sovereign LORD has filled me with his Spirit.

He has chosen me and sent me

To bring good news to the poor,

To heal the broken-hearted,

To announce release to captives

And freedom to those in prison.

²He has sent me to proclaim

That the time has come

When the LORD will save his people

And defeat their enemies.

He has sent me to comfort all who mourn,

³To give to those who mourn in Zion

Joy and gladness instead of grief,

A song of praise instead of sorrow.

They will be like trees

That the LORD himself has planted.

They will all do what is right,

And God will be praised for what he has done.

⁴They will rebuild cities that have long been in ruins.

⁵My people, foreigners will serve you.

They will take care of your flocks

And farm your land and tend your vineyards.

⁶And you will be known as the priests of the LORD,

The servants of our God.

You will enjoy the wealth of the nations

And be proud that it is yours.

⁷Your shame and disgrace are ended.

You will live in your own land,

And your wealth will be doubled;

Your joy will last forever.

⁸The LORD says,

"I love justice and I hate oppression and crime.

I will faithfully reward my people

And make an eternal covenant with them.

⁹They will be famous among the nations;

Everyone who sees them will know

That they are a people whom I have blessed."

¹⁰Jerusalem rejoices because of what the LORD has done.

She is like a bride dressed for her wedding.

God has clothed her with salvation and victory.

¹¹As surely as seeds sprout and grow,

The Sovereign LORD will save his people,

And all the nations will praise him.

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.