The One Year Bible TLB (208 page)

Proverbs 24:9-10

The rebel’s schemes are sinful, and the mocker is the scourge of all mankind.

10
 You are a poor specimen if you can’t stand the pressure of adversity.

Isaiah 60:1–62:5

Philippians 1:27–2:18

Psalm 72:1-20

Proverbs 24:11-12

Isaiah 60:1–62:5

Arise, my people! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the Lord is streaming from you.
2
 Darkness as black as night shall cover all the peoples of the earth, but the glory of the Lord will shine from you.
3
 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see the glory of the Lord upon you.

4
 Lift up your eyes and see! For your sons and daughters are coming home to you from distant lands.
5
 Your eyes will shine with joy, your hearts will thrill, for merchants from around the world will flow to you, bringing you the wealth of many lands.
6
 Vast droves of camels will converge upon you, dromedaries from Midian and Sheba and Ephah too, bringing gold and incense to add to the praise of God.
7
 The flocks of Kedar shall be given you, and the rams of Nabaioth for my altars, and I will glorify my glorious Temple in that day.

8
 And who are these who fly like a cloud to Israel, like doves to their nests?
9
 I have reserved the ships of many lands, the very best,
*
to bring the sons of Israel home again from far away, bringing their wealth with them. For the Holy One of Israel, known around the world, has glorified you in the eyes of all.

10
 Foreigners will come and build your cities. Presidents and kings will send you aid. For though I destroyed you in my anger, I will have mercy on you through my grace.
11
 Your gates will stay wide open around the clock to receive the wealth of many lands. The kings of the world will cater to you.
12
 For the nations refusing to be your allies
*
will perish; they shall be destroyed.
13
 The glory of Lebanon will be yours—the forests of firs, pines, and box trees—to beautify my sanctuary. My Temple will be glorious.

14
 The sons of anti-Semites will come and bow before you! They will kiss your feet! They will call Jerusalem “The City of the Lord” and “The Glorious Mountain of the Holy One of Israel.”

15
 Though once despised and hated and rebuffed by all, you will be beautiful forever, a joy for all the generations of the world, for I will make you so.
16
 Powerful kings and mighty nations shall provide you with the choicest of their goods to satisfy your every need, and you will know at last and really understand that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
17
 I will exchange your brass for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for brass, your stones for iron. Peace and righteousness shall be your taskmasters!
18
 Violence will disappear out of your land—all war will end. Your walls will be “Salvation” and your gates “Praise.”

19
 No longer will you need the sun or moon to give you light, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and he will be your glory.
20
 Your sun shall never set; the moon shall not go down—for the Lord will be your everlasting light; your days of mourning all will end.
21
 All your people will be good. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands; this will bring me glory.
22
 The smallest family shall multiply into a clan; the tiny group shall be a mighty nation. I, the Lord, will bring it all to pass when it is time.

61:
1
 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind.
2
 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies.
3
 To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.

4
 And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities long ago destroyed, reviving them though they have lain there many generations.
5
 Foreigners shall be your servants; they shall feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards.
6
 You shall be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. You shall be fed with the treasures of the nations and shall glory in their riches.
7
 Instead of shame and dishonor, you shall have a double portion of prosperity and everlasting joy.

8
 For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9
 Their descendants shall be known and honored among the nations; all shall realize that they are a people God has blessed.

10
 Let me tell you how happy God has made me! For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and draped about me the robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.
11
 The Lord will show the nations of the world his justice; all will praise him. His righteousness shall be like a budding tree, or like a garden in early spring, full of young plants springing up everywhere.

62:
1
 Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I will not cease to pray for her or to cry out to God on her behalf until she shines forth in his righteousness and is glorious in his salvation.
2
 The nations shall see your righteousness. Kings shall be blinded by your glory; and God will confer on you a new name.
3
 He will hold you aloft in his hands for all to see—a splendid crown for the King of kings.
4
 Never again shall you be called “The God-forsaken Land” or the “Land That God Forgot.” Your new name will be “The Land of God’s Delight” and “The Bride,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his own.
5
 Your children will care for you, O Jerusalem, with joy like that of a young man who marries a virgin; and God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom with his bride.

Philippians 1:27–2:18

But whatever happens to me, remember always to live as Christians should, so that whether I ever see you again or not, I will keep on hearing good reports that you are standing side by side with one strong purpose—to tell the Good News
28
 fearlessly, no matter what your enemies may do. They will see this as a sign of their downfall, but for you it will be a clear sign from God that he is with you, and that he has given you eternal life with him.
29
 For to you has been given the privilege not only of trusting him but also of suffering for him.
30
 We are in this fight together. You have seen me suffer for him in the past; and I am still in the midst of a great and terrible struggle now, as you know so well.

2:
1
 Is there any such thing as Christians cheering each other up? Do you love me enough to want to help me? Does it mean anything to you that we are brothers in the Lord, sharing the same Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic at all?
2
 Then make me truly happy by loving each other and agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, working together with one heart and mind and purpose.

3
 Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.
4
 Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing.

5
 Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ,
6
 who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God,
7
 but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.
*
8
 And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross.
*

9
 Yet it was because of this that God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name which is above every other name,
10
 that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11
 and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12
 Dearest friends, when I was there with you, you were always so careful to follow my instructions. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to do the good things that result from being saved, obeying God with deep reverence, shrinking back from all that might displease him.
13
 For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.

14
 In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing
15
 so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked and stubborn. Shine out among them like beacon lights,
16
 holding out to them the Word of Life.

Then when Christ returns, how glad I will be that my work among you was so worthwhile.
17
 And if my lifeblood is, so to speak, to be poured out over your faith, which I am offering up to God as a sacrifice—that is, if I am to die for you—even then I will be glad and will share my joy with each of you.
18
 For you should be happy about this, too, and rejoice with me for having this privilege of dying for you.

Psalm 72:1-20

O God, help the king to judge as you would, and help his son to walk in godliness.
2
 Help him to give justice to your people, even to the poor.
3
 May the mountains and hills flourish in prosperity because of his good reign.
4
 Help him to defend the poor and needy and to crush their oppressors.
5
 May the poor and needy revere you constantly, as long as sun and moon continue in the skies! Yes, forever!

6
 May the reign of this son of mine
*
be as gentle and fruitful as the springtime rains upon the grass—like showers that water the earth!
7
 May all good men flourish in his reign with abundance of peace to the end of time.

8
 Let him reign from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9
 The desert nomads shall bow before him; his enemies shall fall face downward in the dust.
10
 Kings along the Mediterranean coast—the kings of Tarshish and the islands—and those from Sheba and from Seba—all will bring their gifts.
11
 Yes, kings from everywhere! All will bow before him! All will serve him!

12
 He will take care of the helpless and poor when they cry to him; for they have no one else to defend them.
13
 He feels pity for the weak and needy and will rescue them.
14
 He will save them from oppression and from violence, for their lives are precious to him.

15
 And he shall live; and to him will be given the gold of Sheba, and there will be constant praise for him.
*
His people will bless him all day long.
16
 Bless us with abundant crops throughout the land, even on the highland plains; may there be fruit like that of Lebanon; may the cities be as full of people as the fields are of grass.
17
 His name will be honored forever; it will continue as the sun; and all will be blessed in him; all nations will praise him.

18
 Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who only does wonderful things!
19
 Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

20
 (This ends the psalms of David, son of Jesse.)

Proverbs 24:11-12

Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and he knows you knew! And he will reward everyone according to his deeds.