Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.

²But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

³When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.

⁴Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

⁵Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

⁶Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another — or maybe both.

⁷Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

⁸When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.

⁹Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.

¹⁰So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.

¹Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”

²Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.

³Remember him before your legs — the guards of your house — start to tremble; and before your shoulders — the strong men — stoop. Remember him before your teeth — your few remaining servants — stop grinding; and before your eyes — the women looking through the windows — see dimly.

⁴Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.

⁵Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

⁶Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.

⁷For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

⁸“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

⁹Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.

¹⁰The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

¹¹The words of the wise are like cattle prods — painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

¹²But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

¹³That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

¹⁴God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

¹This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.

²Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.

³How pleasing is your fragrance; your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils. No wonder all the young women love you!

⁴Take me with you; come, let’s run! The king has brought me into his bedroom. Young Women of Jerusalem How happy we are for you, O king. We praise your love even more than wine. Young Woman How right they are to adore you.

⁵I am dark but beautiful, O women of Jerusalem — dark as the tents of Kedar, dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.

⁶Don’t stare at me because I am dark — the sun has darkened my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they forced me to care for their vineyards, so I couldn’t care for myself — my own vineyard.

⁷Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you rest your sheep at noon? For why should I wander like a prostitute among your friends and their flocks?

⁸If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman, follow the trail of my flock, and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.

⁹You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.

¹⁰How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels.

¹¹We will make for you earrings of gold and beads of silver.

¹²The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.

¹³My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.

¹⁴He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En-gedi.

¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.

¹⁶You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words! The soft grass is our bed;

¹⁷fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.

¹I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain, the lily of the valley.

²Like a lily among thistles is my darling among young women.

³Like the finest apple tree in the orchard is my lover among other young men. I sit in his delightful shade and taste his delicious fruit.

⁴He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much he loves me.

⁵Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am weak with love.

⁶His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.

⁷Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right.

⁸Ah, I hear my lover coming! He is leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills.

⁹My lover is like a swift gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he is behind the wall, looking through the window, peering into the room.

¹⁰My lover said to me, “Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!

¹¹Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone.

¹²The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.

¹³The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!”

¹⁴My dove is hiding behind the rocks, behind an outcrop on the cliff. Let me see your face; let me hear your voice. For your voice is pleasant, and your face is lovely.

¹⁵Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!

¹⁶My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.

¹⁷Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, return to me, my love, like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.

¹One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come.

²So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city, searching in all its streets and squares. I will search for the one I love.” So I searched everywhere but did not find him.

³The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”

⁴Then scarcely had I left them when I found my love! I caught and held him tightly, then I brought him to my mother’s house, into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived.

⁵Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right.

⁶Who is this sweeping in from the wilderness like a cloud of smoke? Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and frankincense and every kind of spice?

⁷Look, it is Solomon’s carriage, surrounded by sixty heroic men, the best of Israel’s soldiers.

⁸They are all skilled swordsmen, experienced warriors. Each wears a sword on his thigh, ready to defend the king against an attack in the night.

⁹King Solomon’s carriage is built of wood imported from Lebanon.

¹⁰Its posts are silver, its canopy gold; its cushions are purple. It was decorated with love by the young women of Jerusalem.

¹¹Come out to see King Solomon, young women of Jerusalem. He wears the crown his mother gave him on his wedding day, his most joyous day.

¹You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.

²Your teeth are as white as sheep, recently shorn and freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin.

³Your lips are like scarlet ribbon; your mouth is inviting. Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil.

⁴Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David, jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

⁶Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.

⁷You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Come down from Mount Amana, from the peaks of Senir and Hermon, where the lions have their dens and leopards live among the hills.

⁹You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices.

¹¹Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes are scented like the cedars of Lebanon.

¹²You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride, a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.

¹³Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates with rare spices — henna with nard,

¹⁴nard and saffron, fragrant calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, and every other lovely spice.

¹⁵You are a garden fountain, a well of fresh water streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.

¹⁶Awake, north wind! Rise up, south wind! Blow on my garden and spread its fragrance all around. Come into your garden, my love; taste its finest fruits.

¹I have entered my garden, my treasure, my bride! I gather myrrh with my spices and eat honeycomb with my honey. I drink wine with my milk. Young Women of Jerusalem Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of your love!

²I slept, but my heart was awake, when I heard my lover knocking and calling: “Open to me, my treasure, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”

³But I responded, “I have taken off my robe. Should I get dressed again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?”

⁴My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled within me.

⁵I jumped up to open the door for my love, and my hands dripped with perfume. My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh as I pulled back the bolt.

⁶I opened to my lover, but he was gone! My heart sank. I searched for him but could not find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply.

⁷The night watchmen found me as they made their rounds. They beat and bruised me and stripped off my veil, those watchmen on the walls.

⁸Make this promise, O women of Jerusalem — If you find my lover, tell him I am weak with love.

⁹Why is your lover better than all others, O woman of rare beauty? What makes your lover so special that we must promise this?

¹⁰My lover is dark and dazzling, better than ten thousand others!

¹¹His head is finest gold, his wavy hair is black as a raven.

¹²His eyes sparkle like doves beside springs of water; they are set like jewels washed in milk.

¹³His cheeks are like gardens of spices giving off fragrance. His lips are like lilies, perfumed with myrrh.

¹⁴His arms are like rounded bars of gold, set with beryl. His body is like bright ivory, glowing with lapis lazuli.

¹⁵His legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of finest gold. His posture is stately, like the noble cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁶His mouth is sweetness itself; he is desirable in every way. Such, O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend.

¹Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him?

²My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies.

³I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies.

⁴You are beautiful, my darling, like the lovely city of Tirzah. Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem, as majestic as an army with billowing banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away, for they overpower me. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are as white as sheep that are freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin.

⁷Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil.

⁸Even among sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless young women,

⁹I would still choose my dove, my perfect one — the favorite of her mother, dearly loved by the one who bore her. The young women see her and praise her; even queens and royal concubines sing her praises:

¹⁰“Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”

¹¹I went down to the grove of walnut trees and out to the valley to see the new spring growth, to see whether the grapevines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I realized it, my strong desires had taken me to the chariot of a noble man.

¹³Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Young Man Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers?

¹How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O queenly maiden. Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a skilled craftsman.

²Your navel is perfectly formed like a goblet filled with mixed wine. Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat bordered with lilies.

³Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle.

⁴Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.

⁵Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel, and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty. The king is held captive by its tresses.

⁶Oh, how beautiful you are! How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!

⁷You are slender like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like grape clusters, and the fragrance of your breath like apples.

⁹May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine — Young Woman Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.

¹⁰I am my lover’s, and he claims me as his own.

¹¹Come, my love, let us go out to the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers.

¹²Let us get up early and go to the vineyards to see if the grapevines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates have bloomed. There I will give you my love.

¹³There the mandrakes give off their fragrance, and the finest fruits are at our door, new delights as well as old, which I have saved for you, my lover.

¹Oh, I wish you were my brother, who nursed at my mother’s breasts. Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, and no one would criticize me.

²I would bring you to my childhood home, and there you would teach me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, my sweet pomegranate wine.

³Your left arm would be under my head, and your right arm would embrace me.

⁴Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right.

⁵Who is this sweeping in from the desert, leaning on her lover? Young Woman I aroused you under the apple tree, where your mother gave you birth, where in great pain she delivered you.

⁶Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.

⁷Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth, his offer would be utterly scorned.

⁸We have a little sister too young to have breasts. What will we do for our sister if someone asks to marry her?

⁹If she is a virgin, like a wall, we will protect her with a silver tower. But if she is promiscuous, like a swinging door, we will block her door with a cedar bar.

¹⁰I was a virgin, like a wall; now my breasts are like towers. When my lover looks at me, he is delighted with what he sees.

¹¹Solomon has a vineyard at Baal-hamon, which he leases out to tenant farmers. Each of them pays a thousand pieces of silver for harvesting its fruit.

¹²But my vineyard is mine to give, and Solomon need not pay a thousand pieces of silver. But I will give two hundred pieces to those who care for its vines.

¹³O my darling, lingering in the gardens, your companions are fortunate to hear your voice. Let me hear it, too!

¹⁴Come away, my love! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

¹These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He saw these visions during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.

²Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the LORD says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.

³Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care — but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”

⁴Oh, what a sinful nation they are — loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the LORD. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

⁵Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.

⁶You are battered from head to foot — covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds — without any soothing ointments or bandages.

⁷Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned. Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes and destroy everything they see.

⁸Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.

⁹If the LORD of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.

¹⁰Listen to the LORD, you leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”

¹¹“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹²When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?

¹³Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting — they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.

¹⁴I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!

¹⁵When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

¹⁶Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.

¹⁷Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

¹⁸“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.

¹⁹If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.

²⁰But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

²¹See how Jerusalem, once so faithful, has become a prostitute. Once the home of justice and righteousness, she is now filled with murderers.

²²Once like pure silver, you have become like worthless slag. Once so pure, you are now like watered-down wine.

²³Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.

²⁴Therefore, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “I will take revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes!

²⁵I will raise my fist against you. I will melt you down and skim off your slag. I will remove all your impurities.

²⁶Then I will give you good judges again and wise counselors like you used to have. Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice and the Faithful City.”

²⁷Zion will be restored by justice; those who repent will be revived by righteousness.

²⁸But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who desert the LORD will be consumed.

²⁹You will be ashamed of your idol worship in groves of sacred oaks. You will blush because you worshiped in gardens dedicated to idols.

³⁰You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water.

³¹The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.

¹This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

²In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house will be the highest of all — the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.

³People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the LORD’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.

⁴The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.

⁵Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD!

⁶For the LORD has rejected his people, the descendants of Jacob, because they have filled their land with practices from the East and with sorcerers, as the Philistines do. They have made alliances with pagans.

⁷Israel is full of silver and gold; there is no end to its treasures. Their land is full of warhorses; there is no end to its chariots.

⁸Their land is full of idols; the people worship things they have made with their own hands.

⁹So now they will be humbled, and all will be brought low — do not forgive them.

¹⁰Crawl into caves in the rocks. Hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the glory of his majesty.

¹¹Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. Only the LORD will be exalted on that day of judgment.

¹²For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.

¹³He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon and all the mighty oaks of Bashan.

¹⁴He will level all the high mountains and all the lofty hills.

¹⁵He will break down every high tower and every fortified wall.

¹⁶He will destroy all the great trading ships and every magnificent vessel.

¹⁷Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the LORD will be exalted on that day of judgment.

¹⁸Idols will completely disappear.

¹⁹When the LORD rises to shake the earth, his enemies will crawl into holes in the ground. They will hide in caves in the rocks from the terror of the LORD and the glory of his majesty.

²⁰On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,

²¹while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the LORD and the glory of his majesty as he rises to shake the earth.

²²Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?

¹The Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water,

²all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders,

³army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.

⁴I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.

⁵People will oppress each other — man against man, neighbor against neighbor. Young people will insult their elders, and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.

⁶In those days a man will say to his brother, “Since you have a coat, you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of ruins!”

⁷But he will reply, “No! I can’t help. I don’t have any extra food or clothes. Don’t put me in charge!”

⁸For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the LORD and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.

⁹The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!

¹¹But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.

¹²Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road.

¹³The LORD takes his place in court and presents his case against his people.

¹⁴The LORD comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people: “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.

¹⁵How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁶The LORD says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.

¹⁷So the Lord will send scabs on her head; the LORD will make beautiful Zion bald.”

¹⁸On that day of judgment the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,

¹⁹earrings, bracelets, and veils;

²⁰scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms;

²¹rings, jewels,

²²party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;

²³mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.

²⁴Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink. She will wear a rope for a sash, and her elegant hair will fall out. She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes. Shame will replace her beauty.

²⁵The men of the city will be killed with the sword, and her warriors will die in battle.

²⁶The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.