Isaiah 9
1 Do this first and do it quickly: O country of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, and the rest dwelling along the seacoast and parts of Judea, and the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, a people who walk in darkness, behold a great light; and you who dwell in the country of the shadow of death, upon you a light will shine.
2 The multitude of the people, whom You brought down in Your joy, they shall also rejoice in Your presence, as those who rejoice in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoils.
3 For the yoke lying upon them and the rod upon their neck is taken away, for the Lord broke the rod of the exactors as in the day of Midian.†
4 For every robe and garment gathered by deceit, they shall repay with money, and they shall be willing to do this, even though they were burned with fire.
5 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. His name will be called the Angel of Great Counsel, for I shall bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health by Him.
6 Great shall be His government, and of His peace there is no end. His peace shall be upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establish it with righteousness and judgment, from that time forward and unto ages of ages. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.
7 The Lord sent death against Jacob, and it came on Israel.
8 All the people will know—Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria—who say in pride and arrogance of heart,†
9 “The bricks fell, but let us hew stones; and let us cut down sycamores and cedars, and we shall build ourselves a tower.”
10 But God shall overthrow those who rise up against them on Mt. Zion, and scatter their enemies:
11 the Syrians from the rising of the sun, the Greeks from the setting of the sun, and those who shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted.
12 But the people did not turn until they were struck, yet they did not seek the Lord.
13 So the Lord took away head and tail from Israel, great and small, in one day.
14 The elder and those who admire persons, this is the head. The prophet who teaches lawlessness, this is the tail.
15 For those who bless this people lead them astray, and they lead them astray so as to destroy them.
16 Therefore God will have no joy in their young men, nor mercy on their orphans and widows. For all of them are lawless and evil. Every mouth speaks injustices. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted.
17 For lawlessness burns like fire, and like dry grass, it shall be consumed by fire and burn in the thickets of the forest. It shall devour all the hills round about.
18 Because of the Lord’s wrath the entire land is burned up, and the people are as fuel for the fire. No man will have mercy on his brother.
19 But one shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand and not be satisfied. Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
20 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim and Ephraim Manasseh. Together they shall besiege Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted.
Psalms 67
1 For the End; a psalm of an ode; by David. †
2 Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, And let those who hate Him flee from before His face.
3 As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish; As wax melts before the fire, So let the sinners perish from the face of God.
4 And let the righteous be glad; Let them greatly rejoice before God; Let them be glad with merriment.
5 Sing to God; sing to His name; Make ready the way for Him Who rides upon the sunset; His name is the Lord; And greatly rejoice before Him. Let them be troubled before His face,
6 He who is the father of orphans and the judge of widows; God is in His holy place.
7 God settles the solitary in a house; With courage He leads out those in bondage, Likewise those who rebel, who dwell in tombs.
8 O God, when You went forth before Your people, When You passed through the desert, (Pause)
9 The earth shook; truly the heavens let the rain fall, Before the face of the God of Sinai, Before the face of the God of Israel.
10 You, O God, willingly grant rain to Your inheritance, And it was weakened, but You restored it.
11 Your creatures are dwelling in it; In Your goodness, O God, You provide for the poor.
12 The Lord will give His word To those proclaiming the gospel with great power,
13 He who is the King of hosts of the beloved, That He may divide the booty for the beauty of the house.
14 If you fall asleep in the midst of your portions, You will have the wings of a dove, all covered with silver, And her back with yellow gold. (Pause)
15 When the heavenly One appoints kings over it, They shall become as white as the snow on Zalmon.
16 The mountain of God is a fertile mountain, A mountain richly curdled with milk, a fat mountain.
17 Why do you think about other mountains richly curdled with milk? This is the mountain God consented to dwell in; Truly the Lord will lodge in it to the end.
18 God’s chariot is ten thousand-fold, Thousands abounding in numbers; The Lord is among them at Sinai in the holy place.
19 You ascended on high, You led captivity captive; You received gifts for mankind, Truly for the disobedient, so they may dwell there. The Lord God is blessed;
20 Blessed is the Lord from day to day; The God of our salvation will bring prosperity upon us. (Pause)
Proverbs of Solomon 13
22 He who walks with the wise shall be wise, But he who walks with those without discernment will be known.
23 Evil things shall pursue sinners, But good things will overtake the righteous.†
24 A good man will inherit sons of sons, But the wealth of the ungodly will be stored up for the righteous.
25 The righteous shall live in wealth many years, But the unrighteous will be destroyed suddenly.
26 He who spares the rod hates his son, But he who loves him instructs him with care.†
27 A righteous man eats and satisfies his soul, But the souls of the ungodly are in want.
2 Corinthians 6
The Marks of Apostleship
1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.†
2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
3 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,
5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;
6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,
7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;
9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
A Plea for Holiness
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open.†
12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?†
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” †
18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”