Month: December 2019

Zechariah

God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim

1 Ask rain from the Lordat the time of the spring rain—

The Lordwho makes the storm clouds;

And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field toeachman.

2 For the teraphim speak iniquity,

And the diviners see lying visions

And tell false dreams;

They comfort in vain.

Thereforethe peoplewander like sheep,

They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds,

And I will punish the male goats;

For the Lordof hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah,

And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

4 From them will come the cornerstone,

From them the tent peg,

From them the bow of battle,

From them every ruler,allof them together.

5 They will be as mighty men,

Treading downthe enemyin the mire of the streets in battle;

And they will fight, for the Lordwill bewith them;

And the riders on horses will be put to shame.

6 I will strengthen the house of Judah,

And I will save the house of Joseph,

And I will bring them back,

Because I have had compassion on them;

And they will be as though I had not rejected them,

For I am the Lordtheir God and I will answer them.

7 Ephraim will be like a mighty man,

And their heart will be glad as iffromwine;

Indeed, their children will seeitand be glad,

Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.

8 I will whistle for them to gather them together,

For I have redeemed them;

And they will be as numerous as they were before.

9 When I scatter them among the peoples,

They will remember Me in far countries,

And they with their children will live and come back.

10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt

And gather them from Assyria;

And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon

Until noroomcan be found for them.

11 And they will pass through the seaofdistress

And He will strike the waves in the sea,

So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;

And the pride of Assyria will be brought down

And the scepter of Egypt will depart.

12 And I will strengthen them in the Lord,

And in His name they will walk,” declares the Lord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/ZEC/10-de739bab617fcdd7c2399aba5141f8f6.mp3?version_id=100—

Zechariah

The Doomed Flock

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,

That a fire may feed on your cedars.

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,

Because the glorioustreeshave been destroyed;

Wail, O oaks of Bashan,

For the impenetrable forest has come down.

3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,

For their glory is ruined;

There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,

For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

4 Thus says the Lordmy God, “Pasture the flockdoomedto slaughter.

5 Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, andeach ofthose who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.

6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliverthemfrom their power.”

7 So I pastured the flockdoomedto slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock.

8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.

9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

10 I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

11 So it was broken on that day, andthus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord.

12 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, givememy wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirtyshekelsof silver as my wages.

13 Then the Lordsaid to me, “Throw it to the potter,thatmagnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirtyshekelsof silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 The Lordsaid to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fatsheepand tear off their hoofs.

17 Woe to the worthless shepherd

Who leaves the flock!

A sword will be on his arm

And on his right eye!

His arm will be totally withered

And his right eye will be blind.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/ZEC/11-b6305f4480b871af55428e42b876b508.mp3?version_id=100—

Zechariah

Zechariah 12

Jerusalem to Be Attacked

1 Theburden of the word of the Lordconcerning Israel.

Thusdeclares the Lordwho stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,

2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.

3 It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

4 In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lordof hosts, their God.’

6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.

7 The Lordalso will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.

8 In that day the Lordwill defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of Davidwill belike God, like the angel of the Lordbefore them.

9 And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

11 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;

13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;

14 all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/ZEC/12-8defaeb9963802cbc931ef2834ca2c9d.mp3?version_id=100—

Zechariah

Zechariah 13

False Prophets Ashamed

1 “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

2 “It will come about in that day,” declares the Lordof hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

3 And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.

4 Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;

5 but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’

6 And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Thosewith which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

And against the man, My Associate,”

Declares the Lordof hosts.

“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;

And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

8 It will come about in all the land,”

Declares the Lord,

“That two parts in it will be cut offandperish;

But the third will be left in it.

9 And I will bring the third part through the fire,

Refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them;

I will say, ‘They are My people,’

And they will say, ‘The Lordis my God.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/ZEC/13-35aca52ea8a009e6495eba02cb55e8c5.mp3?version_id=100—

Zechariah

Zechariah 14

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Foes

1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lordwhen the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.

2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.

3 Then the Lordwill go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come,andall the holy ones with Him!

6 In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle.

7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.

8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

9 And the Lordwill be king over all the earth; in that day the Lordwill bethe onlyone, and His namethe onlyone.

10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.

11 People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.

12 Now this will be the plague with which the Lordwill strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.

13 It will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lordwill fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another.

14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.

15 So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lordof hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lordof hosts, there will be no rain on them.

18 If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then norain will fallon them; it will be the plague with which the Lordsmites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

20 In that day there willbe inscribedon the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’shouse will be like the bowls before the altar.

21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lordof hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lordof hosts in that day.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/ZEC/14-8be4248436de9fe7bfc71ed77753fd9e.mp3?version_id=100—

Malachi

Malachi 1

God’s Love for Jacob

1 The oracle of the word of the Lordto Israel through Malachi.

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Wasnot Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob;

3 but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation andappointedhis inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

4 Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lordof hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; andmenwill call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the Lordis indignant forever.”

5 Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The Lordbe magnified beyond the border of Israel!”

Sin of the Priests

6 “ ‘A son honorshisfather, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lordof hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

7 Youare presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the Lordis to be despised.’

8 But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lordof hosts.

9 “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lordof hosts.

10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindlefire onMy altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lordof hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.

11 For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My namewill begreat among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offeringthat ispure; for My namewill begreat among the nations,” says the Lordof hosts.

12 “But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

13 You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the Lordof hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery andwhat islame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord.

14 “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the Lordof hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAL/1-6d819102431378e05ff369722db9b90f.mp3?version_id=100—

Malachi

Malachi 2

Priests to Be Disciplined

1 “And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

2 If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lordof hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed themalready,because you are not takingitto heart.

3 Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.

4 Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lordof hosts.

5 “My covenant with him wasone oflife and peace, and I gave them to himas an object ofreverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

6 True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.

7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lordof hosts.

8 But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lordof hosts.

9 “So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.

Sin in the Family

10 “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lordwhich He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

12 Asfor the man who does this, may the Lordcut off from the tents of Jacobeveryonewho awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lordof hosts.

13 “This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lordwith tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or acceptsit withfavor from your hand.

14 Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lordhas been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

15 But not one has donesowho has a remnant of the Spirit. And what didthatonedowhile he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.

16 For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lordof hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

17 You have wearied the Lordwith your words. Yet you say, “How have we weariedHim?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAL/2-56297f03afccc56ebc9a02d4aa5e5dd7.mp3?version_id=100—

Malachi

Malachi 3

Book Bible Holy Scripture New Testament Pitched

The Purifier

1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lordof hosts.

2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

3 He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lordofferings in righteousness.

4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lordas in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the Lordof hosts.

6 “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

7 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not keptthem.Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lordof hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

You Have Robbed God

8 “Will a manrob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

9 You are cursed with a curse, for you arerobbing Me, the whole nationof you!

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lordof hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing untilit overflows.

11 Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field castits grapes,” says the Lordof hosts.

12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lordof hosts.

13 “Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’

14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lordof hosts?

15 So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.’ ”

The Book of Remembrance

16 Then those whofeared the Lordspoke to one another, and the Lordgave attention and heardit,and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lordand who esteem His name.

17 “They will be Mine,” says the Lordof hosts, “on the day that I prepareMyown possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAL/3-ab72974b199c31e3f03ab82767a090ca.mp3?version_id=100—

Malachi

Malachi 4

Final Admonition

1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lordof hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”

2 “But for you whofear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

3 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lordof hosts.

4 “Remember the law of Moses My servant,even thestatutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers totheirchildren and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAL/4-48222b650b613cfa05c7610272c30dfd.mp3?version_id=100—

Matthew

Matthew 1

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father ofJudah and his brothers.

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

6 Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon byBathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.

7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.

11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.

15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.

16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, plannedto send her away secretly.

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has beenconceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 “Behold,the virgin shall be with child and shall bear aSon,and they shall callHis nameImmanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and tookMaryas his wife,

25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/MAT/1-47707aa4329813735751095f30854540.mp3?version_id=100—