Isaiah 11
1 There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his root.
2 The Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness.†
3 The Spirit of the fear of God shall fill Him. He shall not judge by reputation nor convict by common talk.
4 But He will judge the cause of the humble, and reprove the humble of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the word of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the ungodly.
5 He shall gird His loins with righteousness and cover his sides with truth.
6 “The wolf shall feed with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf, the bull, and the lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them.†
7 The cow and the bear shall graze together, and their young ones shall lie down together. The lion and the ox shall eat straw together.
8 The nursing child shall play by the hole of asps, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the den of asps.
9 They shall not hurt nor be able to destroy anyone on My holy mountain, for the whole world shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas.
10 “It shall come to pass in that day that there shall be a Root of Jesse who shall arise to rule nations. The Gentiles shall hope in Him, and His resting place shall be honorable.”†
11 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will show His hand again to be zealous for the remnant left of His people: left by the Assyrians and by Egypt, Babylon and Ethiopia, and by the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia.†
12 He shall set up a sign for the Gentiles and will assemble the lost ones of Israel. He shall gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth.
13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be destroyed. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not afflict Ephraim.
14 But they shall spread sails on the ships of foreigners, and together they shall plunder the sea and the people of the East and Edom. They shall lay their hands first on Moab, but the sons of Ammon shall obey them first.
15 The Lord shall make desolate the Sea of Egypt, and He will lay His hand on the river with a violent wind, and will strike the seven channels, that men might pass across it in sandals.
16 “There shall be a highway for the remnant of My people in Egypt, and it will be for Israel as in the day he came out of the land of Egypt.”†
Isaiah 12
1 And in that day, you will say, “I will bless You, O Lord. Although You were angry with me, You turned away Your anger and had mercy on me.
2 Behold, God is my Savior and Lord. I will trust in Him and be saved by Him. I will not be afraid, for the Lord is my glory and my praise. He has become my salvation.”
3 You will draw water with gladness from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day, you will say, “Praise the Lord; call upon His name. Declare His glorious things among the Gentiles and make mention that His name is exalted.†
5 Sing to the name of the Lord, for He has done great things. Declare this in all the earth.
6 Exult and be glad, O inhabitants of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is exalted in her midst.”
Psalms 68
1 For the End, concerning things that shall be changed; by David. †
2 Save me, O God, for the waters flood my soul.
3 I am stuck in the mire of the sea, and there is no place to stand; I came into the depths of the sea, and the storm overwhelmed me.
4 I grow weary with crying; my throat is hoarse; My eyes fail me from hoping in my God.
5 Those who hate me without a cause multiplied even more than the hairs of my head; My enemies who persecute me unjustly have become strong; Then I paid for things I did not steal.
6 O God, You know my foolishness, And my transgressions are not hidden from You.
7 O Lord, O Lord of hosts, let not those who wait for You be put to shame because of me; O God of Israel, let not those who seek You feel ashamed because of me.
8 For Your sake I bore disgrace; Humiliation covered my face.
9 I am become a stranger to my brothers, An alien to my mother’s sons;
10 For the zeal of Your house consumed me, And the insults of those who disgraced You fell on me.
11 I bent down my soul with fasting, And it became a disgrace for me.
12 I also made sackcloth my garment, And I became a byword to them.
13 Those who sit at the gate were talking against me, And those who drink wine were singing about me.
14 But I, O Lord, pray with my prayer to You; It is the time of Your goodwill, O God, in the abundance of Your mercies; In the truth of Your salvation, hear me.
15 Save me from the mire, that I may not be stuck therein; Deliver me from those who hate me, and from the depths of the waters.
16 Let not a storm of water drown me; Neither let the deep swallow me up, Nor the well enclose its mouth upon me.
17 Hear me, O Lord, for Your mercy is good; According to Your abundant compassion, look upon me.
18 Turn not Your face from Your child, For I am afflicted; hear me speedily.
19 Give heed to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.
20 For You know my disgrace And my shame and humiliation; All who afflict me are before You.
Proverbs of Solomon 14
6 You will seek wisdom in the company of evil men, and you will not find it; But perception is easily found with the discerning.†
7 All things are contrary to a man without discernment, But the weapons of perception are wise lips.†
8 The wisdom of astute men will know their ways, But the folly of men without discernment is in their deceit.†
9 The houses of the lawless are due for purification, But the houses of the righteous are acceptable.
10 If the heart of a man is controlled by feelings, his soul is sorrowful, But when he rejoices, it is not mingled with arrogance.
2 Corinthians 8
Models to Imitate
1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:†
2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.
3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,
4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.†
6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well.
7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us— see that you abound in this grace also.
8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.†
The Ideal of Mutual Giving
10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;
11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.
12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.
13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened;
14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.
15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
Accountability for This Collection
16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.
17 For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord.
18 And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches,
19 and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind,
20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—
21 providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
22 And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you.
23 If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.
24 Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.†