Isaiah 57
1 See how the righteous man perishes, and no one takes it to heart. Righteous men are taken away, and no one notices it; and the righteous man is taken away from the presence of wrongdoing.†
2 His burial shall be in peace, for he was taken from the midst of it.
3 “But come here, you lawless sons, a seed of adulterers and of a prostitute.†
4 In whom did you delight? And against whom did you open your mouth? Against whom did you loosen your tongue? Are you not the children of destruction, a lawless seed?
5 You are those who call upon their idols under leafy trees and slay their children in the midst of the rocks.
6 That is your portion, this is your lot, for you poured out drink offerings to them, and to them you offered up sacrifices; therefore, shall I not be angry for these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain, there was your bed, and there you carried up your sacrifices.
8 Also behind the posts of your door, you put your memorials. You supposed if you departed from Me, it would be a better thing. You loved those who slept with you,
9 and multiplied your fornication with them. You increased their number far away from you, and sent ambassadors beyond your borders. You turned aside and humbled yourselves, even to Hades.
10 You grew weary with many ways, but you did not say, ‘I will cease strengthening myself,’ for you practiced these things; therefore, you did not supplicate Me.
11 Whom did you respect and fear, so as to lie to Me, and not remember Me, nor take Me into your heart and mind? So when I see you, I disregard you, for you do not fear Me.
12 And I will declare My righteousness, and your evils, which will not profit you.
13 When you cry out, let them deliver you in your tribulation, for wind and storm will take them and carry them all away. But those who hold fast to Me shall possess the land and inherit My holy mountain.
14 They shall say, ‘Cleanse the ways before His face, and take away the obstacles from the way of My people.’ ”†
15 The Lord, the Most High who dwells on high forever, the Holy One among His saints, whose name is the Lord Most High, who rests among His saints, and who gives patience to the fainthearted and life to the broken-hearted, says this:†
16 “I will not punish you forever, nor will I always be angry with you, for My Spirit shall go forth from Me, and I made every breath.
17 Because of sin for a time I grieved him, and struck him, and turned away My face from him; and he was grieved, and he went on sorrowful in his ways.
18 I saw his ways, and healed him; and I comforted him, and gave him true comfort.
19 There is peace upon peace to those far off and those near; and the Lord says, ‘I will heal them.’
20 But wrongdoers shall be tossed here and there by waves, and be unable to rest.
21 There is no joy to the ungodly,” says the Lord God.
Psalms 101
1 A prayer by a poor man, when he was depressed and poured out his supplication before the Lord. †
2 Hear my prayer, O Lord, And let my cry come to You.
3 Do not turn Your face from me; In the day when I am afflicted, incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call upon You, hear me quickly.
4 For my days vanished like smoke, And my bones burned up like firewood.
5 I was cut down like grass, and my heart became withered, For I forgot to eat my bread.
6 Because of the sound of my groaning, My bones cleaved to my flesh.
7 I have become like a pelican in a desert; I have become like an owl in a ruined house;
8 I kept watch, and have become Like a sparrow alone on a housetop.
9 My enemies reproached me all day long, And those who praised me swore against me.
10 For I ate ashes like bread, And mixed my drink with weeping
11 Because of the wrath of Your countenance and Your anger; For You lifted me up and broke me down.
12 My days were far spent like a shadow, And I am withered like grass.
13 But You, O Lord, remain forever, And Your remembrance is from generation to generation.
14 When You rise up, You shall have compassion on Zion, For it is time to have compassion on her, because the time is come;
15 For Your servants took pleasure in her stones, And they shall have compassion for her dust.
Proverbs of Solomon 21
16 A man in need loves merriment, Loving wine and oil as wealth.
17 A lawless man is the outcast of a righteous man.
18 It is better to live in a desert Than with a contentious, talkative, and quick-tempered woman.
19 A treasury of desire will rest upon the mouth of a wise man, But men without discernment shall swallow it.
20 The way of righteousness and mercy shall find life and glory.
2 Timothy 1
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thanksgiving for Timothy
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,
4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,
5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
Timothy’s Gift, the Power of God
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.†
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.†
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,†
10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,†
11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Fidelity in Spite of Desertions
13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.†
14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain;
17 but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me.
18 The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.†