Isaiah 10
1 “Woe to those who write evil things, for when they write such things,
2 they turn aside judgment from the poor, and rob judgment from the needy of My people, that the widow may be their prey and the orphan a spoil.
3 What will they do in the day of visitation? For affliction will come to you from afar, and to whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your glory,
4 so as not to fall into captivity?” For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted.
5 “Woe to the Assyrians! The rod of My anger and wrath are in their hands.†
6 I will send My wrath against a lawless nation; and I will order My people to seize spoils and plunder, to trample down their cities, and turn them into dust.
7 However, he does not think in the same way, nor does he consider the same thing in his soul; but his heart will change, so as to utterly destroy many nations.
8 If they should say to him, ‘You alone are ruler,’
9 then he shall say, ‘Have not I taken the country above Babylon and Chalanne, where the tower was built, and taken Arabia, Damascus, and Samaria?
10 As I took these with my hand, so also shall I take all the kingdoms. Wail, O carved images in Jerusalem and Samaria!
11 For as I did to Samaria and the things made by human hands, so shall I do also to Jerusalem and her idols.’ ”
12 But it shall come to pass, when the Lord has completed all He will do on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, He will go against the arrogant heart of the king of the Assyrians and the glory of his haughty looks.
13 For he said, “I shall act in my strength and by the wisdom of my understanding. I also shall remove the boundaries of the nations and plunder their strength. I shall shake their inhabited cities.
14 I shall overtake with my hand all the inhabited world as a nest, and take them as eggs that have been left. There is no one who can escape or oppose me.”
15 Shall the ax glorify itself without him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself without him who saws with it? It is likewise if one should lift a rod or a piece of wood.
16 But it shall not be so, for the Lord of hosts will send dishonor against your honor; and He will kindle a burning fire against your glory.
17 So the Light of Israel will be as a fire, and He will sanctify him with burning fire; and it will devour the wood like grass on that day.
18 The mountains, the hills, and the forests will be consumed, and devour both soul and body, and he who flees will be like one fleeing from a burning flame.
19 Then the remnant will be few in number, and a child shall write them.
20 It shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel and those of Jacob who were saved will never again obey those who wronged them; but they will trust in God, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant of Jacob shall trust in the Mighty God.
22 For though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved; for He shall accomplish the word and cut it short in righteousness.
23 For God will accomplish the word and cut it short in all the world.
24 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian, because he shall strike you with a rod; for I am bringing a stroke upon you, that you may see the way of Egypt.†
25 Yet in a very short while, the wrath will cease, but My anger shall be against their counsel.”
26 For God will stir up enemies against them, as it was in the stroke against Midian in that place of affliction; and His anger shall be by way of the sea, in the way that leads to Egypt.
27 Thus it shall come to pass in that day, his fear will be taken from you and his yoke from your shoulder, for the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.
28 For he shall come to the city of Aiath and pass on to Migron and place his property at Michmash.
29 He will pass along the valley and arrive at Aiath. Fear will seize Ramah, the city of Saul; the daughter of Gallim will flee,
30 Laish will hear; Anathoth will hear;
31 Madmenah was astounded, so too the inhabitants of Gebim.
32 Urge them today to remain in the way. Comfort with your hand the mountain, the daughter of Zion, and the hills in Jerusalem.
33 For behold, the Master, the Lord of hosts, will trouble the glorious ones with power, and the haughty in pride shall be crushed. The lofty will be humbled,
34 and the high and mighty shall fall by the sword, and Lebanon, with its high and mighty ones.
Psalms 67
21 Our God is the God who saves us, And the issues of death belong to the Lord’s Lord.
22 But God will crush the heads of His enemies, The hairy head of those who continue in their transgressions.
23 The Lord said, “I will return from Bashan; I will return in the depths of the sea,
24 So your foot may be dipped in blood, The tongue of your dogs in the blood of your enemies.”
25 Your processionals were seen, O God, The processionals of my God and my King in the holy place.
26 The rulers drew near, singers followed after; In the midst of them came young maidens playing timbrels.
27 Bless God in the churches, The Lord from the fountains of Israel.
28 There is the young Benjamin in ecstasy; The rulers of Judea are their leaders, The rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.
29 Give command, O God, to Your power; Strengthen, O God, what You accomplished in us.
30 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring gifts to You.
31 Rebuke the wild beasts of the reed, The herd of bulls among the heifers of the peoples, Lest they shut out those proven in silver; Scatter the nations that desire wars.
32 Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall draw near to stretch out its hand to God.
33 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing to the Lord. (Pause)
34 Sing to God, who rides upon the heaven of heavens towards the east; Behold, He will speak with His voice, a voice of power.
35 Give glory to God; His magnificence is over Israel, And His power is in the clouds.
36 God is wondrous in His saints; The God of Israel shall give power and strength to His people. Blessed is God.
Proverbs of Solomon 14
Righteousness at Home
1 Wise women build houses, But those without discernment destroy them with their hands.†
2 He who walks uprightly fears the Lord, But he who is crooked in his ways will be dishonored.
3 From the mouth of a man without discernment comes a rod of arrogance, But the lips of wise men guard themselves.†
4 Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean, But where there are abundant crops, the strength of an ox is evident.
5 A faithful witness does not lie, But an unrighteous witness kindles lies.
2 Corinthians 7
1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.†
2 Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.
3 I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.
4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.
Desire and Diligence
5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.
6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
7 and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.
9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.†
10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
12 Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.
13 Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true.
15 And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him.
16 Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything.