Isaiah 22-26
1 The word concerning the valley of Zion:
What has happened to you, now that you have all gone up to worthless houses? 2 The city is full of loud crying. Your slain men are not slain with the sword, nor are your dead those who died in war. 3 All your rulers have fled, and your captives are tightly bound, and the mighty among you have fled. 4 Therefore I said, “Let me alone; I will weep bitterly; do not labor to comfort me at the destruction of the daughter of my race.” 5 For it is a day of trouble, destruction, trampling, and error from the Lord of hosts in the Valley of Zion. They wander on the mountains, from the least to the greatest of them. 6 And the Elamites took their quivers, and there were men mounted on horses, gathered for battle. 7 It shall come to pass, your chosen valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall block up your gates. 8 They shall uncover the gates of Judah, and look in that day on the chosen houses of the city. 9 They shall uncover the secret places of the houses of the citadel of David, and see they are many. They shall see they had turned back the waters of the old pool into the city, 10 and had pulled down the houses of Jerusalem to fortify the wall for the city. 11 You also made a reservoir for yourself between the two walls of the inner old pool. But you did not look to Him who made it from the beginning, nor did you perceive Him who created it. 12 In that day the Lord of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, they celebrated in joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, so as to eat and drink wine, saying, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 14 These things are revealed in the ears of the Lord of hosts, for this sin shall not be forgiven you until you die.
15 Thus the Lord of hosts says, “Go into the chamber, to Shebna the steward, and say to him, 16 ‘What have you here, and what is this to you, that you have hewn a memorial here for yourself, and made yourself a memorial on high, and engraved a testimony for yourself in a rock? 17 Indeed the Lord of hosts will cast out and destroy such a man, and take away your robe 18 and glorious crown, and cast you into a large and unmeasured country. There you shall die, and there your beautiful chariot shall be brought to dishonor and your master’s house trampled. 19 You will be taken from your stewardship and position. 20 Then it shall be in that day, I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and give your crown to him, and I will commit your power and your stewardship into his hands. He shall be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah. 22 I will give him the glory of David, and he shall rule, and no one will oppose him. 23 I will establish him as a ruler in a trustworthy place, and he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house. 24 Everyone glorious in his father’s house will trust in him, from small to great, and they will depend on him. 25 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘the man established in a trustworthy place will be removed and fall, and the glory that was on him will be taken away; for the Lord has spoken.’ ”
1 The vision concerning Tyre:
Wail, you ships of Carthage, for Tyre has perished; and they no longer come from the land of the Citaeans, for Tyre is led captive! 2 To whom are the dwellers on the island likened—these merchants of Phoenicia, who cross over the sea 3 in great waters, the offspring of merchants? These merchants of the nations are like as when the harvest is gathered. 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea has said, “I do not labor in birth, nor bear children; neither do I rear young men, nor raise virgins.” 5 Moreover when the report reaches Egypt, sorrow will take hold of them concerning Tyre. 6 Cross over to Carthage; wail, you inhabitants on this island! 7 Was this not your arrogance from the beginning, before it was handed over? 8 Who purposed these things against Tyre? Is it inferior, or does it have no strength? Are not its merchants the glorious rulers of the earth? 9 The Lord of hosts purposed these things, to bring down all the arrogance of the glorious ones and to dishonor every glorious thing on the earth. 10 Cultivate your land, for ships are no longer coming from Carthage. 11 Your hand is no longer able at sea, the hand that provoked kings. The Lord of hosts has given a command concerning Canaan, to destroy its strength. 12 They will say, “No longer continue to insult and wrong the daughter of Sidon, and if you cross over to the Citians, neither will you be at rest there. 13 And if you depart for the land of the Chaldeans, this also was desolated by the Assyrians. Neither will you be at rest there, for its wall has fallen.” 14 Wail, you ships of Carthage, for your stronghold is destroyed! 15 Then it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be abandoned for seventy years, as the time of a king, as the time of a man; and it shall be, after the seventy years, Tyre will be as the song of a prostitute. 16 Take a harp, wander about the city, you forgotten prostitute. Play well on the harp, sing many songs, that you may be remembered. 17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre. She will be restored again as of old, and will be a marketplace for all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth. 18 Her trade and her wages will be holy to the Lord. Her trade will not be gathered for them, but for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat, drink, and be filled, as a shared meal and a memorial before the Lord.
1 Behold, the Lord is about to lay waste the inhabited earth, and He will make it desolate, lay bare its surface, and scatter those who dwell therein. 2 And it shall be that the people shall be as the priest, the servant as the lord, the maiden as the mistress, the buyer as the seller, the lender as the borrower, and the debtor as the creditor. 3 The earth shall be completely laid waste and utterly plundered, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. 4 The earth mourns and the inhabited earth is ruined; the lofty of the earth mourn. 5 The earth acts lawlessly because of its inhabitants, for they transgressed the law and changed the ordinances, the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse shall devour the earth, because those who dwell in it sinned. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth shall be poor, and few people will be left. 7 The wine shall mourn, the vine shall mourn, and all the merry-hearted will groan. 8 The mirth of tambourines, the willfulness and wealth of the ungodly, and the sound of the harp have ceased. 9 They were ashamed; they did not drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10 Every city was made desolate; every house is shut up, that none may go in. 11 Wail for wine everywhere; all gladness of the earth is gone! 12 Cities shall be left desolate, and abandoned houses will be destroyed. 13 All these things shall be in the earth in the midst of the nations, in the manner someone would glean an olive tree. Thus they shall glean them when the harvest is done. 14 They shall cry aloud, and those left behind on the earth shall be glad together in the glory of the Lord. The water of the sea shall be troubled. 15 Therefore the glory of the Lord will be in the islands of the sea; the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, will be glorious. 16 From the ends of the earth we heard wonderful things, and there is hope for the godly man. They will say, “Woe to the rejecters, who reject the law!” 17 Fear, a pit, and a snare are upon you who dwell on the earth. 18 It shall be that he who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. 19 The earth shall be completely troubled, and the earth will be completely perplexed. 20 The earth bends and will be shaken like a hut, and like a drunkard overpowered with wine; and it shall fall and be unable to stand, for lawlessness is upon it. 21 Then God will bring His hand upon the host of heaven and upon the kings of the earth. 22 They will gather them and close them in a fortress and in a prison; and after many generations they shall be visited. 23 And the brick will melt and the wall shall fall, for the Lord will reign in Zion and in Jerusalem, and will be glorified before His elders.
1 O Lord my God, I will glorify You; I will sing a hymn to Your name, for You have done wonderful things, an ancient and true counsel. So be it, O Lord. 2 For You made cities into a mound; You made the foundations of their strong cities fall. The city of the ungodly shall not be built forever. 3 Therefore the poor people will bless You, and the cities of wronged people will praise You. 4 For You were a helper to every humbled city, and a protection to those who were disheartened by reason of poverty. You will deliver them from evil men, and be a shelter of the thirsty and a breath of life to the wronged. 5 They will bless You as discouraged people, thirsting in Zion because of ungodly men to whom You delivered us. 6 Then the Lord of hosts shall do this to all the nations on this mountain. They shall drink in gladness; they shall drink wine; they shall anoint themselves with ointment 7 on this mountain. Deliver all these things to the nations, for this is the counsel for all the nations. 8 Death prevailed and swallowed them, but again God wiped away every tear from every face; He took away the disgrace of His people from all the earth; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 9 Then it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God, in whom we hoped and rejoiced exceedingly; and we shall be glad in His salvation.” 10 For on this mountain God will give them rest, and the Moabite shall be trampled down, in the manner the threshing floor is tread with wagons. 11 He will spread forth His hands so as to humble man, to destroy him; and He will humble his arrogance—arrogance on which he laid his hands. 12 The height of your refuge He will humble, and bring it down to the ground.
1 In that day they shall sing this song in the land of Judah: “Behold, we have a strong city; He will make our salvation its surrounding wall. 2 Open the gates; let the people enter who keep righteousness and guard the truth, 3 and who lay hold of the truth and keep peace, 4 because they hope forever in You, O Lord, the great and eternal God, 5 who humbles and brings down those who dwell on high; the strong cities You will cast down; You will bring them down to the ground. 6 The feet of the gentle and the humble shall tread them underfoot. 7 The way of the godly is straight; and the way of the godly is prepared. 8 For the way of the Lord is judgment. We hope in Your name and in the remembrance of You, 9 which our soul desires at night. My spirit rises early in the morning to You, O God, for Your commands are a light upon the earth. Learn righteousness, you who dwell on the earth. 10 The ungodly man ceases; he will not learn righteousness on the earth; he will not do the truth; let the ungodly man be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord. 11 O Lord, Your arm is exalted, but they did not know it. But when they know it, they shall be ashamed, for jealousy will seize an untaught people; and now fire will devour the adversaries. 12 O Lord our God, grant us peace, for You render everything to us. 13 O Lord our God, possess us; O Lord, we know no other besides You; we name Your name. 14 The dead will not see life; neither will physicians raise them. Therefore You brought evils upon them and destroyed them, and took away every male of theirs. 15 Bring more evils on them, O Lord, on the glorious of the earth. 16 O Lord, I remembered You in my hard circumstances. Your chastening to us was a small affliction. 17 As a woman with child is in pain and cries out in her pangs, when she draws near the time of her delivery, so we became Your beloved because of Your fear, O Lord. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, and we have given birth. We brought forth the spirit of Your salvation on the earth. But the inhabitants of the world shall fall. 19 The dead shall rise up; and those in the tombs shall arise. Those in the earth shall be glad, for your dew is a healing for them, but the land of the ungodly shall come to an end.” 20 Come, my people, enter your closets and shut your door; hide yourself for a very short while, until the anger of the Lord is past. 21 For behold, the Lord is bringing wrath from His holy place upon the inhabitants of the earth, and the earth will uncover its blood and will not cover its slain.
Psalm 103:19–35
19 He made the moon for seasons;
The sun knows its setting.
20 You established darkness, and it was night,
Wherein all the wild animals of the forest will prowl about;
21 The young lions roar and snatch their prey,
And seek their food from God.
22 The sun arises, and they are gathered together;
And they shall be put to bed in their dens.
23 Man shall go out to his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O Lord, Your works shall be magnified greatly;
You made all things in wisdom;
The earth was filled with Your creation.
25 There is this great and spacious sea:
The creeping things are there without number;
The living things are there, both small and great;
26 There the ships pass through;
There is this dragon You formed to play therein.
27 All things wait upon You,
That You may give them food in due season.
28 When You give it to them, they shall gather it;
When You open Your hand, all things shall be filled with Your goodness.
29 But when You turn Your face away, they shall be troubled;
When You take away their breath, they shall die
And return again to their dust.
30 You shall send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created,
And You shall renew the face of the earth.
31 Let the glory of the Lord be forever;
The Lord shall be glad in His works;
32 He looks upon the earth and makes it tremble;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I exist;
34 May my words be pleasing to Him,
And I shall be glad in the Lord.
35 May sinners cease from the earth,
And the lawless, so as to be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Proverbs 22:11–15
11 Cast out a pestilent man from the assembly,
And contention will go out with him;
For whenever he sits in the assembly, he dishonors everyone.
12 The Lord loves holy hearts,
And all the blameless are acceptable to Him;
13 A king governs lips.
14 And the eyes of the Lord maintain perception,
But the lawless man despises His words.
15 A slothful man makes excuses and says,
“There is a lion in the way, and murderers in the streets.”
Titus 2
1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:
2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;
3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—
4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
6 Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.
9 Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back,
10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
Trained by Saving Grace
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.