December 10  

Daily Bible in a Year

Daily Old and New Testaments, Psalms, and Proverbs

  •   Amos 1-3
    Amos 1-3

    1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds[a] of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years[b] before the earthquake.

    Judgment on Israel's Neighbors
    2 And he said:

    “The Lord roars from Zion
         and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
     the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
         and the top of Carmel withers.”

    3 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Damascus,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[c]
     because they have threshed Gilead
         with threshing sledges of iron.

    4 
    So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,
         and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

    5 
    I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,
         and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,[d]
     and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;
         and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,”
     says the Lord.

    6 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Gaza,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
     because they carried into exile a whole people
         to deliver them up to Edom.

    7 
    So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
         and it shall devour her strongholds.

    8 
    I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,
         and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
     I will turn my hand against Ekron,
         and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
     says the Lord God.

    9 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Tyre,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
     because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,
         and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

    10 
    So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,
         and it shall devour her strongholds.”

    11 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Edom,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
     because he pursued his brother with the sword
         and cast off all pity,
     and his anger tore perpetually,
         and he kept his wrath forever.

    12 
    So I will send a fire upon Teman,
         and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.”

    13 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of the Ammonites,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
     because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,
         that they might enlarge their border.

    14 
    So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,
         and it shall devour her strongholds,
     with shouting on the day of battle,
         with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;

    15 
    and their king shall go into exile,
         he and his princes[e] together,”
     says the Lord.

    2 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Moab,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[f]
     because he burned to lime
         the bones of the king of Edom.

    2 
    So I will send a fire upon Moab,
         and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
     and Moab shall die amid uproar,
         amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;

    3 
    I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
         and will kill all its princes[g] with him,”
     says the Lord.

    Judgment on Judah

    4 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Judah,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
     because they have rejected the law of the Lord,
         and have not kept his statutes,
     but their lies have led them astray,
         those after which their fathers walked.

    5 
    So I will send a fire upon Judah,
         and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

    Judgment on Israel
    6 Thus says the Lord:

    “For three transgressions of Israel,
         and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
     because they sell the righteous for silver,
         and the needy for a pair of sandals—

    7 
    those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
         and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
     a man and his father go in to the same girl,
         so that my holy name is profaned;

    8 
    they lay themselves down beside every altar
         on garments taken in pledge,
     and in the house of their God they drink
         the wine of those who have been fined.

    9 
    “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
         whose height was like the height of the cedars
         and who was as strong as the oaks;
     I destroyed his fruit above
         and his roots beneath.

    10 
    Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
         and led you forty years in the wilderness,
         to possess the land of the Amorite.

    11 
    And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
         and some of your young men for Nazirites.
         Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
     declares the Lord.

    12 
    “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
         and commanded the prophets,
         saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’

    13 
    “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
         as a cart full of sheaves presses down.

    14 
    Flight shall perish from the swift,
         and the strong shall not retain his strength,
         nor shall the mighty save his life;

    15 
    he who handles the bow shall not stand,
         and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,
         nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;

    16 
    and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
         shall flee away naked in that day,”
     declares the Lord.

    Israel's Guilt and Punishment
    3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
    2 
    “You only have I known
         of all the families of the earth;
     therefore I will punish you
         for all your iniquities.

    3 
    “Do two walk together,
         unless they have agreed to meet?

    4 
    Does a lion roar in the forest,
         when he has no prey?
     Does a young lion cry out from his den,
         if he has taken nothing?

    5 
    Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
         when there is no trap for it?
     Does a snare spring up from the ground,
         when it has taken nothing?

    6 
    Is a trumpet blown in a city,
         and the people are not afraid?
     Does disaster come to a city,
         unless the Lord has done it?

    7 
    “For the Lord God does nothing
         without revealing his secret
         to his servants the prophets.

    8 
    The lion has roared;
         who will not fear?
     The Lord God has spoken;
         who can but prophesy?”

    9 
    Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod
         and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
     and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
         and see the great tumults within her,
         and the oppressed in her midst.”

    10 
    “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
         “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

    11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

    “An adversary shall surround the land
         and bring down[h] your defenses from you,
         and your strongholds shall be plundered.”

    12 Thus says the Lord: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part[i] of a bed.
    13 
    “Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,”
         declares the Lord God, the God of hosts,

    14 
    “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
         I will punish the altars of Bethel,
     and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
         and fall to the ground.

    15 
    I will strike the winter house along with the summer house,
         and the houses of ivory shall perish,
     and the great houses[j] shall come to an end,”
     declares the Lord.

    Footnotes:
    1. Amos 1:1 Or sheep breeders
    2. Amos 1:1 Or during two years
    3. Amos 1:3 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13
    4. Amos 1:5 Or On
    5. Amos 1:15 Or officials
    6. Amos 2:1 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 4, 6
    7. Amos 2:3 Or officials
    8. Amos 3:11 Hebrew An adversary, one who surrounds the land—he shall bring down
    9. Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
    10. Amos 3:15 Or and many houses
  •   Revelation 2:1-17
    Revelation 2:1-17

    To the Church in Ephesus
    2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
    2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

    To the Church in Smyrna
    8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
    9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander[a] of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

    To the Church in Pergamum
    12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
    13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith[b] even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

    Footnotes:
    1. Revelation 2:9 Greek blasphemy
    2. Revelation 2:13 Or your faith in me
  •   Psalm 129
    Psalm 129

    They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth
    A Song of Ascents.
    129 
    “Greatly[a] have they afflicted me from my youth”—
         let Israel now say—

    2 
    “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
         yet they have not prevailed against me.

    3 
    The plowers plowed upon my back;
         they made long their furrows.”

    4 
    The Lord is righteous;
         he has cut the cords of the wicked.

    5 
    May all who hate Zion
         be put to shame and turned backward!

    6 
    Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
         which withers before it grows up,

    7 
    with which the reaper does not fill his hand
         nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

    8 
    nor do those who pass by say,
         “The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
         We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

    Footnotes:
    1. Psalm 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2
  •   Proverbs 29:19-20

    Proverbs 29:19-20

    18 
    Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,[a]
         but blessed is he who keeps the law.

    Footnotes:
    1. Proverbs 29:18 Or the people are discouraged


    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.