Isaiah 47
1 “Come down and sit on the ground, O virgin daughter of Babylon; enter the darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall be prosperous no more, so as to be called comfortable and luxurious.†
2 Take a millstone and grind meal. Remove your veil, show your gray hair, uncover the shins, and pass through the rivers.
3 Your shame will be uncovered, and your disgrace will be seen. I will take your standard of living from you, and no longer deliver people to you.
4 He who delivers you has spoken; the Lord of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit down, you who are pierced to the heart; enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no longer be called the strength of a kingdom.
6 I was provoked at My people; you profaned My inheritance; I gave them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; you laid your yoke very heavy on the elderly.
7 You said, ‘I shall be a princess forever,’ but you did not understand these things in your heart, nor remember the latter end.
8 Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, who sit in confidence, who says in her heart, ‘I am, and there is no other; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know bereavement.’
9 But now these two things shall come upon you in a moment, in one day: widowhood and the loss of children. They shall come upon you in a moment because of your sorcery, the great abundance of your enchanters,
10 and your hope of evil. For you said, ‘I am, and there is no other.’ Know that your understanding of these things and your fornication will be your shame, for you said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no other.’
11 Therefore destruction shall come upon you, and you shall not know the pit into which you will fall. Trouble shall come upon you, and you will be unable to be clear of it. Destruction shall come upon you suddenly, but you will not know it.
12 Stand now with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries which you learned from your youth, if you will be able to profit from this.
13 You are wearied in your counsels. Let the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, all these shall be burned like sticks in a fire, and they shall not deliver their soul from the flame. For you have coals of fire to sit on, and these shall be your help.
15 You grew weary in your traffic from youth, and each man led himself astray, but there shall be no salvation for you.
Psalms 90
1 The praise of an ode by David. †He who dwells in the help of the Most High Shall lodge in the shelter of the God of heaven.
2 He shall say to the Lord, “You are my protector and my refuge, My God; I will hope in Him;
3 For He shall free me from the snare of the hunters, And from every troubling word.”
4 He shall overshadow you with His shoulders, And under His wings you shall hope; His truth shall encircle you with a shield.
5 You shall not be frightened by fear at night, Nor from an arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor by a thing moving in darkness, Nor by mishap and a demon of noonday.
bookmarked7 A thousand shall fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, Yet it shall not come near you;
8 But you shall observe with your eyes, And you shall see the reward of sinners.
9 For You, O Lord, are my hope; You made the Most High your refuge.
10 Evils shall not come to you, And a scourge shall not draw near your dwelling;
11 For He shall command His angels concerning you, To keep you in all your ways;
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you strike your foot against a stone;
13 You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, And you shall trample the lion and the dragon.
14 “For he hoped in Me, and I will deliver him; I will shelter him, because he knew My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will hear him; I am with him in affliction, And I will deliver and glorify him.
16 With length of days I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
Proverbs of Solomon 19
19 A malicious man shall be punished severely, And if he commits injury, he will also add this to his soul.
20 Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, That you may become wise in your last days.
21 There are many thoughts in the heart of a man, But the counsel of the Lord abides forever.†
22 Mercy is fruit to a man, And a poor righteous man is better than a rich liar.
23 The fear of the Lord is unto life for a man, And he shall lodge without fear in places where knowledge is not examined.†
24 A man who hides his hands in his bosom unrighteously, He will not even bring them up to his mouth.
1 Thessalonians 5
How to Await His Coming
1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.†
2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
Reminders Concerning Unity
12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,†
13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.
15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.†
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.†
20 Do not despise prophecies.
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Prayer and Instructions
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.†
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
25 Brethren, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.†
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.