OBADIAH 1

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Edom Will Be Humbled  1:1 The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom--

We have heard a report from the LORD,

And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying,

“Arise and let us go against her for battle”--

2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

You are greatly despised.

3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,

You who live in the clefts of the rock,

In the loftiness of your dwelling place,

Who say in your heart,

‘Who will bring me down to earth?’

4 “Though you build high like the eagle,

Though you set your nest among the stars,

From there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

5 “If thieves came to you,

If robbers by night--

O how you will be ruined!--

Would they not steal only until they had enough?

If grape gatherers came to you,

Would they not leave some gleanings?

6 “O how Esau will be ransacked,

And his hidden treasures searched out!

7 “All the men allied with you

Will send you forth to the border,

And the men at peace with you

Will deceive you and overpower you.

They who eat your bread

Will set an ambush for you.

(There is no understanding in him.)

8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the LORD,

“Destroy wise men from Edom

And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

9 “Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman,

So that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.

10 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob,

You will be covered with shame,

And you will be cut off forever.

11 “On the day that you stood aloof,

On the day that strangers carried off his wealth,

And foreigners entered his gate

And cast lots for Jerusalem--

You too were as one of them.

12 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day,

The day of his misfortune.

And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Yes, do not boast

In the day of their distress.

13 “Do not enter the gate of My people

In the day of their disaster.

Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity

In the day of their disaster.

And do not loot their wealth

In the day of their disaster.

14 “Do not stand at the fork of the road

To cut down their fugitives;

And do not imprison their survivors

In the day of their distress.

The Day of the LORD and the Future15 “For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations.

As you have done, it will be done to you.

Your dealings will return on your own head.

16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain,

All the nations will drink continually.

They will drink and swallow

And become as if they had never existed.

17 “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,

And it will be holy.

And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.

18 “Then the house of Jacob will be a fire

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esau will be as stubble.

And they will set them on fire and consume them,

So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,”

For the LORD has spoken.

19 Then those of the Negev will possess the mountain of Esau,

And those of the Shephelah the Philistine plain;

Also, possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

And Benjamin will possess Gilead.

20 And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel,

Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,

And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

Will possess the cities of the Negev.

21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion

To judge the mountain of Esau,

And the kingdom will be the LORD’S.

PROVERBS 4

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A Father’s Instruction4:1 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,

And give attention that you may gain understanding,

2 For I give you sound teaching;

Do not abandon my instruction.

3 When I was a son to my father,

Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,

4 Then he taught me and said to me,

“Let your heart hold fast my words;

Keep my commandments and live;

5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!

Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;

Love her, and she will watch over you.

7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;

And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you;

She will honor you if you embrace her.

9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace;

She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings

And the years of your life will be many.

11 I have directed you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in upright paths.

12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;

And if you run, you will not stumble.

13 Take hold of instruction; do not let go.

Guard her, for she is your life.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked

And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;

Turn away from it and pass on.

16 For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;

And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness

And drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;

They do not know over what they stumble.

20 My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your sight;

Keep them in the midst of your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them

And health to all their body.

23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For from it flow the springs of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth

And put devious speech far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly ahead

And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

26 Watch the path of your feet

And all your ways will be established.

27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;

Turn your foot from evil.

PSALM 143

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Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.A Psalm of David.
143:1 Hear my prayer, O LORD,

Give ear to my supplications!

Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!

2 And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,

For in Your sight no man living is righteous.

3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;

He has crushed my life to the ground;

He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.

4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;

My heart is appalled within me.

5 I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all Your doings;

I muse on the work of Your hands.

6 I stretch out my hands to You;

My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails;

Do not hide Your face from me,

Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.

8 Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;

For I trust in You;

Teach me the way in which I should walk;

For to You I lift up my soul.

9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;

I take refuge in You.

10 Teach me to do Your will,

For You are my God;

Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me.

In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

12 And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies

And destroy all those who afflict my soul,

For I am Your servant.