ISAIAH 20-22

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Prophecy about Egypt and Ethiopia  20:1 In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2 at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. 3 And the LORD said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. 6 So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’”
God Commands That Babylon Be Taken  21:1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As windstorms in the Negev sweep on,

It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.

2 A harsh vision has been shown to me;

The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.

Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media;

I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused.

3 For this reason my loins are full of anguish;

Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.

I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.

4 My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;

The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.

5 They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;

“Rise up, captains, oil the shields,”

6 For thus the Lord says to me,

“Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees.

7 “When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,

A train of donkeys, a train of camels,

Let him pay close attention, very close attention.”

8 Then the lookout called,

“O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,

And I am stationed every night at my guard post.

9 “Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”

And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;

And all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”

10 O my threshed people, and my afflicted of the threshing floor!

What I have heard from the LORD of hosts,

The God of Israel, I make known to you.

Oracles about Edom and Arabia    11 The oracle concerning Edom.

One keeps calling to me from Seir,

“Watchman, how far gone is the night?

Watchman, how far gone is the night?”

12 The watchman says,

“Morning comes but also night.

If you would inquire, inquire;

Come back again.”

    13 The oracle about Arabia.

In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night,

O caravans of Dedanites.

14 Bring water for the thirsty,

O inhabitants of the land of Tema,

Meet the fugitive with bread.

15 For they have fled from the swords,

From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow

And from the press of battle.

    16 For thus the Lord said to me, “In a year, as a hired man would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will terminate; 17 and the remainder of the number of bowmen, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken.”
The Valley of Vision  22:1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?

2 You who were full of noise,

You boisterous town, you exultant city;

Your slain were not slain with the sword,

Nor did they die in battle.

3 All your rulers have fled together,

And have been captured without the bow;

All of you who were found were taken captive together,

Though they had fled far away.

4 Therefore I say, “Turn your eyes away from me,

Let me weep bitterly,

Do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

5 For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of panic, subjugation and confusion

In the valley of vision,

A breaking down of walls

And a crying to the mountain.

6 Elam took up the quiver

With the chariots, infantry and horsemen;

And Kir uncovered the shield.

7 Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,

And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.

8 And He removed the defense of Judah.

In that day you depended on the weapons of the house of the forest,

9 And you saw that the breaches

In the wall of the city of David were many;

And you collected the waters of the lower pool.

10 Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem

And tore down houses to fortify the wall.

11 And you made a reservoir between the two walls

For the waters of the old pool.

But you did not depend on Him who made it,

Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

12 Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing,

To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.

13 Instead, there is gaiety and gladness,

Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,

Eating of meat and drinking of wine:

“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”

14 But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me,

“Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you

Until you die,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.

    15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts,

“Come, go to this steward,

To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household,

16 ‘What right do you have here,

And whom do you have here,

That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here,

You who hew a tomb on the height,

You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?

17 ‘Behold, the LORD is about to hurl you headlong, O man.

And He is about to grasp you firmly

18 And roll you tightly like a ball,

To be cast into a vast country;

There you will die

And there your splendid chariots will be,

You shame of your master’s house.’

19 “I will depose you from your office,

And I will pull you down from your station.

20 “Then it will come about in that day,

That I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

21 And I will clothe him with your tunic

And tie your sash securely about him.

I will entrust him with your authority,

And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,

When he opens no one will shut,

When he shuts no one will open.

23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place,

And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.

24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars. 25 In that day,” declares the LORD of hosts, “the peg driven in a firm place will give way; it will even break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”

PROVERBS 15

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,

But the mouth of fools spouts folly.

3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place,

Watching the evil and the good.

4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life,

But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline,

But he who regards reproof is sensible.

6 Great wealth is in the house of the righteous,

But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge,

But the hearts of fools are not so.

8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,

But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,

But He loves one who pursues righteousness.

10 Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way;

He who hates reproof will die.

11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD,

How much more the hearts of men!

12 A scoffer does not love one who reproves him,

He will not go to the wise.

13 A joyful heart makes a cheerful face,

But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

14 The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge,

But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

15 All the days of the afflicted are bad,

But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD

Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

17 Better is a dish of vegetables where love is

Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

19 The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns,

But the path of the upright is a highway.

20 A wise son makes a father glad,

But a foolish man despises his mother.

21 Folly is joy to him who lacks sense,

But a man of understanding walks straight.

22 Without consultation, plans are frustrated,

But with many counselors they succeed.

23 A man has joy in an apt answer,

And how delightful is a timely word!

24 The path of life leads upward for the wise

That he may keep away from Sheol below.

25 The LORD will tear down the house of the proud,

But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

26 Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD,

But pleasant words are pure.

27 He who profits illicitly troubles his own house,

But he who hates bribes will live.

28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

29 The LORD is far from the wicked,

But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

30 Bright eyes gladden the heart;

Good news puts fat on the bones.

31 He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof

Will dwell among the wise.

32 He who neglects discipline despises himself,

But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.

33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom,

And before honor comes humility.

PSALM 106

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Israel’s Rebelliousness and the LORD’S Deliverances.106:1 Praise the LORD!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,

Or can show forth all His praise?

3 How blessed are those who keep justice,

Who practice righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people;

Visit me with Your salvation,

5 That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,

That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,

That I may glory with Your inheritance.

6 We have sinned like our fathers,

We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;

They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,

But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

8 Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,

That He might make His power known.

9 Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,

And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.

10 So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,

And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

11 The waters covered their adversaries;

Not one of them was left.

12 Then they believed His words;

They sang His praise.

13 They quickly forgot His works;

They did not wait for His counsel,

14 But craved intensely in the wilderness,

And tempted God in the desert.

15 So He gave them their request,

But sent a wasting disease among them.

16 When they became envious of Moses in the camp,

And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,

17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

And engulfed the company of Abiram.

18 And a fire blazed up in their company;

The flame consumed the wicked.

19 They made a calf in Horeb

And worshiped a molten image.

20 Thus they exchanged their glory

For the image of an ox that eats grass.

21 They forgot God their Savior,

Who had done great things in Egypt,

22 Wonders in the land of Ham

And awesome things by the Red Sea.

23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them,

Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,

To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land;

They did not believe in His word,

25 But grumbled in their tents;

They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

26 Therefore He swore to them

That He would cast them down in the wilderness,

27 And that He would cast their seed among the nations

And scatter them in the lands.

28 They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,

And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,

And the plague broke out among them.

30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,

And so the plague was stayed.

31 And it was reckoned to him for righteousness,

To all generations forever.

32 They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,

So that it went hard with Moses on their account;

33 Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,

He spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They did not destroy the peoples,

As the LORD commanded them,

35 But they mingled with the nations

And learned their practices,

36 And served their idols,

Which became a snare to them.

37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,

38 And shed innocent blood,

The blood of their sons and their daughters,

Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with the blood.

39 Thus they became unclean in their practices,

And played the harlot in their deeds.

40 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people

And He abhorred His inheritance.

41 Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,

And those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies also oppressed them,

And they were subdued under their power.

43 Many times He would deliver them;

They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,

And so sank down in their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless He looked upon their distress

When He heard their cry;

45 And He remembered His covenant for their sake,

And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.

46 He also made them objects of compassion

In the presence of all their captors.

47 Save us, O LORD our God,

And gather us from among the nations,

To give thanks to Your holy name

And glory in Your praise.

48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

From everlasting even to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the LORD!