Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, everyone of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.

Daily Bible Reading: Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Jeremiah 30:12-22 (NRSV)

12For thus says the LORD:
Your hurt is incurable,
your wound is grievous.
13There is no one to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
no healing for you.
14All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,
the punishment of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous.
15Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous,
I have done these things to you.
16Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and all your foes, everyone of them, shall go into captivity;
those who plunder you shall be plundered,
and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal,
says the LORD,

because they have called you an outcast:
"It is Zion; no one cares for her!"
18Thus says the LORD:
I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,
and the citadel set on its rightful site.
19Out of them shall come thanksgiving,
and the sound of merrymakers.
I will make them many, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be disdained.
20Their children shall be as of old,
their congregation shall be established before me;
and I will punish all who oppress them.
21Their prince shall be one of their own,
their ruler shall come from their midst;
I will bring him near, and he shall approach me,
for who would otherwise dare to approach me?
says the LORD.

22And you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.

When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the LORD

Daily Bible Reading: Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Jeremiah 29:1-14 (NRSV)

1These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. 3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said: 4Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the LORD.

10For thus says the LORD: Only when Babylon's seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14I will let you find me, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Daily Bible Reading: Thursday, November 16, 2023

Psalm 90:1-12 (NRSV)

​1LORD, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3You turn us back to dust,
and say, "Turn back, you mortals."
4For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
5You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.
10The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
12So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.

ELCA's daily Bible readings are chosen from "Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings," prepared by Consultation on the Common Texts, © 2005.
All text is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches USA, and is used by permission. All rights reserved.