Isaiah 7
1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, there came up Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it; but they could not conquer it.
2 Then it was reported to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces made an agreement with Ephraim.” So his soul and the soul of his people was confounded, as a tree of the woods is shaken by the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field,†
4 and say to him, ‘Guard yourself and be silent; do not fear, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for when My fierce anger is over, again I shall heal.
5 The son of Syria and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying,
6 “Let us go up against Judah and talk with them, and let us turn them to our side, and let us make the son of Tabel king of it.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “This counsel shall not continue, nor shall it come to pass.
8 But the head of Syria is Damascus; nevertheless, in sixty-five years the kingdom of Ephraim will cease being a people.
9 Also the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son, and if you do not believe this, neither will you understand it.” ’ ”
10 Moreover the Lord added this to Ahaz, saying,
11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I tempt the Lord.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary the Lord also?†
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey He shall eat before He knows to prefer evil or choose the good,
16 for before the Child knows good or evil, He refuses the evil to choose the good; and the land you fear because of the presence of the two kings will be abandoned.
17 But God will bring the king of Assyria upon you, your people and your father’s house—days that have not yet come, from the days Ephraim took away from Judah the king of the Assyrians.”
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that rules over part of the river of Egypt, and for the bee in the land of Assyria.
19 All of them will come and rest in the ravines of the country, in the clefts of the rocks, in the caves and every crevice and tree.
20 In that day, the Lord will shave—with a large and blood-drenched razor belonging to the king of Assyria beyond the river—the head and the hair of the legs, and will also remove the beard.
21 It shall be in that day, a man will rear a heifer and two sheep.
22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give, everyone left in the land will eat butter and honey.
23 It shall happen in that day, wherever there could be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, it will be a barren land with thorn-plants.†
24 Men will enter there with bows and arrows, for all the land will be barren and with thorn-plants.
25 Every mountain shall certainly be plowed, and there shall be no fear there from barren land and thorn-plants, for it will be a pasture for sheep and a place for oxen to roam.
Psalms 65
1 For the End; an ode of a psalm of resurrection. †Shout to God, all the earth;
2 Sing now to His name; Give glory to His praise.
3 Say to God, “How fearful are Your works; In the greatness of Your power Your enemies will lie to You;
4 Let all the earth worship You and sing to You; Let them sing to Your name.” (Pause)
5 Come and see the works of God; He is more fearful in His counsels than the sons of men,
6 Who turns the sea into dry land; They will cross over the river on foot. There we will be glad in Him,
7 In Him who as Lord shall rule in His power forever; His eyes will look at the Gentiles; Let not those who provoke Him be exalted in themselves. (Pause)
8 Bless our God, you Gentiles, And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who established my soul in life, And who did not permit my feet to be moved.
10 For You, O God, tested us; You tried us in the fire, as silver is purified by fire.
11 You brought us into the snare; You laid affliction on our back.
12 You put men on our heads; We went through fire and water, And You led us into a refreshing place.
13 I will go into Your house with whole burnt offerings; I will pay You the vows
14 My lips uttered, And my mouth spoke in my affliction;
15 I will offer You whole burnt offerings full of marrow; With incense and rams, I will offer oxen with a young he-goat. (Pause)
16 Come and hear, and I will describe to you, All who fear God, What things He did for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth, And I exalted Him with my tongue.
18 If I regarded wrongdoing in my heart, Let not the Lord hear me.
19 Therefore God heard me; He gave heed to the voice of my supplication.
20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me.
Proverbs of Solomon 13
11 An evil man does evil things with arrogance, But those who know themselves are wise.†
12 Property hastily gained with lawlessness becomes diminished, But he who gathers for himself with godliness will be increased; A righteous man has compassion and lends.
13 A man who begins to give aid heartily is better Than he who only promises and leads another to hope; A good desire is a tree of life.
14 He who despises a matter will be despised by it, But he who fears the commandment, this man is in good health.
15 To a deceitful son there shall be nothing good, But for a wise servant, his deeds shall be prosperous, And his way shall be led aright.†
2 Corinthians 4
Paul’s Faithfulness to the Gospel
1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.†
2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,†
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.†
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The Power of an Apostle
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.†
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;†
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Seeing the Unseen
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.†
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,†
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.†