ISAIAH 23

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The Fall of Tyre  23:1 The oracle concerning Tyre.

Wail, O ships of Tarshish,

For Tyre is destroyed, without house or harbor;

It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus.

2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,

You merchants of Sidon;

Your messengers crossed the sea

3 And were on many waters.

The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;

And she was the market of nations.

4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;

For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,

“I have neither travailed nor given birth,

I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”

5 When the report reaches Egypt,

They will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.

6 Pass over to Tarshish;

Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland.

7 Is this your jubilant city,

Whose origin is from antiquity,

Whose feet used to carry her to colonize distant places?

8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,

Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?

9 The LORD of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty,

To despise all the honored of the earth.

10 Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish,

There is no more restraint.

11 He has stretched His hand out over the sea,

He has made the kingdoms tremble;

The LORD has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strongholds.

12 He has said, “You shall exult no more, O crushed virgin daughter of Sidon.

Arise, pass over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”

    13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans--this is the people which was not; Assyria appointed it for desert creatures--they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.

14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,

For your stronghold is destroyed.

15 Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

16 Take your harp, walk about the city,

O forgotten harlot;

Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,

That you may be remembered.

17 It will come about at the end of seventy years that the LORD will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her harlot’s wages and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her harlot’s wages will be set apart to the LORD; it will not be stored up or hoarded, but her gain will become sufficient food and choice attire for those who dwell in the presence of the LORD.

ISAIAH 24

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Judgment on the Earth  24:1 Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the LORD has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. 5 The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.
7 The new wine mourns,

The vine decays,

All the merry-hearted sigh.

8 The gaiety of tambourines ceases,

The noise of revelers stops,

The gaiety of the harp ceases.

9 They do not drink wine with song;

Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

10 The city of chaos is broken down;

Every house is shut up so that none may enter.

11 There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;

All joy turns to gloom.

The gaiety of the earth is banished.

12 Desolation is left in the city

And the gate is battered to ruins.

13 For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,

As the shaking of an olive tree,

As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;

They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the LORD.

15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the east,

The name of the LORD, the God of Israel,

In the coastlands of the sea.

16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory to the Righteous One,”

But I say, “Woe to me! Woe to me! Alas for me!

The treacherous deal treacherously,

And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”

17 Terror and pit and snare

Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth.

18 Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit,

And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;

For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.

19 The earth is broken asunder,

The earth is split through,

The earth is shaken violently.

20 The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard

And it totters like a shack,

For its transgression is heavy upon it,

And it will fall, never to rise again.

21 So it will happen in that day,

That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high,

And the kings of the earth on earth.

22 They will be gathered together

Like prisoners in the dungeon,

And will be confined in prison;

And after many days they will be punished.

23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed,

For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

And His glory will be before His elders.

PROVERBS 12

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

But he who hates reproof is stupid.

2 A good man will obtain favor from the LORD,

But He will condemn a man who devises evil.

3 A man will not be established by wickedness,

But the root of the righteous will not be moved.

4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,

But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.

5 The thoughts of the righteous are just,

But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more,

But the house of the righteous will stand.

8 A man will be praised according to his insight,

But one of perverse mind will be despised.

9 Better is he who is lightly esteemed and has a servant

Than he who honors himself and lacks bread.

10 A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal,

But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

11 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,

But he who pursues worthless things lacks sense.

12 The wicked man desires the booty of evil men,

But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,

But the righteous will escape from trouble.

14 A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,

And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him.

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

16 A fool’s anger is known at once,

But a prudent man conceals dishonor.

17 He who speaks truth tells what is right,

But a false witness, deceit.

18 There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,

But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

19 Truthful lips will be established forever,

But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,

But counselors of peace have joy.

21 No harm befalls the righteous,

But the wicked are filled with trouble.

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,

But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

23 A prudent man conceals knowledge,

But the heart of fools proclaims folly.

24 The hand of the diligent will rule,

But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,

But a good word makes it glad.

26 The righteous is a guide to his neighbor,

But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

27 A lazy man does not roast his prey,

But the precious possession of a man is diligence.

28 In the way of righteousness is life,

And in its pathway there is no death.

PSALM 107

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The LORD Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary

3 And gathered from the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region;

They did not find a way to an inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty;

Their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He delivered them out of their distresses.

7 He led them also by a straight way,

To go to an inhabited city.

8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,

And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Prisoners in misery and chains,

11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God

And spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;

They stumbled and there was none to help.

13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

And broke their bands apart.

15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

16 For He has shattered gates of bronze

And cut bars of iron asunder.

17 Fools, because of their rebellious way,

And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,

And they drew near to the gates of death.

19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

20 He sent His word and healed them,

And delivered them from their destructions.

21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And tell of His works with joyful singing.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters;

24 They have seen the works of the LORD,

And His wonders in the deep.

25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,

Which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;

Their soul melted away in their misery.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,

And were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

And He brought them out of their distresses.

29 He caused the storm to be still,

So that the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,

So He guided them to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

32 Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people,

And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

33 He changes rivers into a wilderness

And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

34 A fruitful land into a salt waste,

Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water

And a dry land into springs of water;

36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell,

So that they may establish an inhabited city,

37 And sow fields and plant vineyards,

And gather a fruitful harvest.

38 Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly,

And He does not let their cattle decrease.

39 When they are diminished and bowed down

Through oppression, misery and sorrow,

40 He pours contempt upon princes

And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

41 But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction,

And makes his families like a flock.

42 The upright see it and are glad;

But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

43 Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things,

And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.

PSALM 108

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God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.A Song, a Psalm of David.
108:1 My heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

2 Awake, harp and lyre;

I will awaken the dawn!

3 I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples,

And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

4 For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,

And Your truth reaches to the skies.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

And Your glory above all the earth.

6 That Your beloved may be delivered,

Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

7 God has spoken in His holiness:

“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem

And measure out the valley of Succoth.

8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;

Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;

Judah is My scepter.

9 “Moab is My washbowl;

Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;

Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”

10 Who will bring me into the besieged city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?

And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

12 Oh give us help against the adversary,

For deliverance by man is in vain.

13 Through God we will do valiantly,

And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.