ISAIAH 1

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Rebellion of God’s People  1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;

For the LORD speaks,

“Sons I have reared and brought up,

But they have revolted against Me.

3 “An ox knows its owner,

And a donkey its master’s manger,

But Israel does not know,

My people do not understand.”

4 Alas, sinful nation,

People weighed down with iniquity,

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned the LORD,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away from Him.

5 Where will you be stricken again,

As you continue in your rebellion?

The whole head is sick

And the whole heart is faint.

6 From the sole of the foot even to the head

There is nothing sound in it,

Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,

Not pressed out or bandaged,

Nor softened with oil.

7 Your land is desolate,

Your cities are burned with fire,

Your fields--strangers are devouring them in your presence;

It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.

8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,

Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

9 Unless the LORD of hosts

Had left us a few survivors,

We would be like Sodom,

We would be like Gomorrah.

God Has Had Enough10 Hear the word of the LORD,

You rulers of Sodom;

Give ear to the instruction of our God,

You people of Gomorrah.

11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”

Says the LORD.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

And the fat of fed cattle;

And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

12 “When you come to appear before Me,

Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?

13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer,

Incense is an abomination to Me.

New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies--

I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,

They have become a burden to Me;

I am weary of bearing them.

15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer,

I will hide My eyes from you;

Yes, even though you multiply prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood.

16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;

Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.

Cease to do evil,

17 Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Reprove the ruthless,

Defend the orphan,

Plead for the widow.

“Let Us Reason”18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the LORD,

“Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.

19 “If you consent and obey,

You will eat the best of the land;

20 “But if you refuse and rebel,

You will be devoured by the sword.”

Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed21 How the faithful city has become a harlot,

She who was full of justice!

Righteousness once lodged in her,

But now murderers.

22 Your silver has become dross,

Your drink diluted with water.

23 Your rulers are rebels

And companions of thieves;

Everyone loves a bribe

And chases after rewards.

They do not defend the orphan,

Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts,

The Mighty One of Israel, declares,

“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries

And avenge Myself on My foes.

25 “I will also turn My hand against you,

And will smelt away your dross as with lye

And will remove all your alloy.

26 “Then I will restore your judges as at the first,

And your counselors as at the beginning;

After that you will be called the city of righteousness,

A faithful city.”

27 Zion will be redeemed with justice

And her repentant ones with righteousness.

28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,

And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.

29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,

And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.

30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away

Or as a garden that has no water.

31 The strong man will become tinder,

His work also a spark.

Thus they shall both burn together

And there will be none to quench them.

ISAIAH 2

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God’s Universal Reign  2:1 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that

In the last days

The mountain of the house of the LORD

Will be established as the chief of the mountains,

And will be raised above the hills;

And all the nations will stream to it.

3 And many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us concerning His ways

And that we may walk in His paths.”

For the law will go forth from Zion

And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 And He will judge between the nations,

And will render decisions for many peoples;

And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not lift up sword against nation,

And never again will they learn war.

5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

6 For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,

Because they are filled with influences from the east,

And they are soothsayers like the Philistines,

And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners.

7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold

And there is no end to their treasures;

Their land has also been filled with horses

And there is no end to their chariots.

8 Their land has also been filled with idols;

They worship the work of their hands,

That which their fingers have made.

9 So the common man has been humbled

And the man of importance has been abased,

But do not forgive them.

10 Enter the rock and hide in the dust

From the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty.

11 The proud look of man will be abased

And the loftiness of man will be humbled,

And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

A Day of Reckoning Coming12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning

Against everyone who is proud and lofty

And against everyone who is lifted up,

That he may be abased.

13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,

Against all the oaks of Bashan,

14 Against all the lofty mountains,

Against all the hills that are lifted up,

15 Against every high tower,

Against every fortified wall,

16 Against all the ships of Tarshish

And against all the beautiful craft.

17 The pride of man will be humbled

And the loftiness of men will be abased;

And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

18 But the idols will completely vanish.

19 Men will go into caves of the rocks

And into holes of the ground

Before the terror of the LORD

And the splendor of His majesty,

When He arises to make the earth tremble.

20 In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats

Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,

Which they made for themselves to worship,

21 In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs

Before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty,

When He arises to make the earth tremble.

22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;

For why should he be esteemed?

PROVERBS 5

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Pitfalls of Immorality5:1 My son, give attention to my wisdom,

Incline your ear to my understanding;

2 That you may observe discretion

And your lips may reserve knowledge.

3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey

And smoother than oil is her speech;

4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death,

Her steps take hold of Sheol.

6 She does not ponder the path of life;

Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

7 Now then, my sons, listen to me

And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her

And do not go near the door of her house,

9 Or you will give your vigor to others

And your years to the cruel one;

10 And strangers will be filled with your strength

And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;

11 And you groan at your final end,

When your flesh and your body are consumed;

12 And you say, “How I have hated instruction!

And my heart spurned reproof!

13 “I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

14 “I was almost in utter ruin

In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15 Drink water from your own cistern

And fresh water from your own well.

16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad,

Streams of water in the streets?

17 Let them be yours alone

And not for strangers with you.

18 Let your fountain be blessed,

And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe,

Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;

Be exhilarated always with her love.

20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress

And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,

And He watches all his paths.

22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked,

And he will be held with the cords of his sin.

23 He will die for lack of instruction,

And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

2 TIMOTHY 4

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“Preach the Word”  4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
    6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Personal Concerns    9 Make every effort to come to me soon; 10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. 12 But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.
    16 At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
    19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus. 21 Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren.
    22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.