ISAIAH 3

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God Will Remove the Leaders3:1 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah

Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread

And the whole supply of water;

2 The mighty man and the warrior,

The judge and the prophet,

The diviner and the elder,

3 The captain of fifty and the honorable man,

The counselor and the expert artisan,

And the skillful enchanter.

4 And I will make mere lads their princes,

And capricious children will rule over them,

5 And the people will be oppressed,

Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;

The youth will storm against the elder

And the inferior against the honorable.

6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying,

“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler,

And these ruins will be under your charge,”

7 He will protest on that day, saying,

“I will not be your healer,

For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;

You should not appoint me ruler of the people.”

8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,

Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD,

To rebel against His glorious presence.

9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them,

And they display their sin like Sodom;

They do not even conceal it.

Woe to them!

For they have brought evil on themselves.

10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them,

For they will eat the fruit of their actions.

11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,

For what he deserves will be done to him.

12 O My people! Their oppressors are children,

And women rule over them.

O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray

And confuse the direction of your paths.

God Will Judge13 The LORD arises to contend,

And stands to judge the people.

14 The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people,

“It is you who have devoured the vineyard;

The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

15 “What do you mean by crushing My people

And grinding the face of the poor?”

Declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Judah’s Women Denounced16 Moreover, the LORD said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud

And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes,

And go along with mincing steps

And tinkle the bangles on their feet,

17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,

And the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”

18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 finger rings, nose rings, 22 festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, 23 hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.

24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction;

Instead of a belt, a rope;

Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp;

Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth;

And branding instead of beauty.

25 Your men will fall by the sword

And your mighty ones in battle.

26 And her gates will lament and mourn,

And deserted she will sit on the ground.

ISAIAH 4

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A Remnant Prepared  4:1 For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!”
    2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. 3 It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, 5 then the LORD will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6 There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

PROVERBS 6

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Parental Counsel6:1 My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,

Have given a pledge for a stranger,

2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,

Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;

Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,

Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

4 Give no sleep to your eyes,

Nor slumber to your eyelids;

5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand

And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

7 Which, having no chief,

Officer or ruler,

8 Prepares her food in the summer

And gathers her provision in the harvest.

9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”--

11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond

And your need like an armed man.

12 A worthless person, a wicked man,

Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,

13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,

Who points with his fingers;

14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,

Who spreads strife.

15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;

Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

16 There are six things which the LORD hates,

Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that run rapidly to evil,

19 A false witness who utters lies,

And one who spreads strife among brothers.

20 My son, observe the commandment of your father

And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21 Bind them continually on your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk about, they will guide you;

When you sleep, they will watch over you;

And when you awake, they will talk to you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

24 To keep you from the evil woman,

From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,

And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom

And his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can a man walk on hot coals

And his feet not be scorched?

29 So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals

To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

31 But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold;

He must give all the substance of his house.

32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;

He who would destroy himself does it.

33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,

And his reproach will not be blotted out.

34 For jealousy enrages a man,

And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 He will not accept any ransom,

Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.

TITUS 1

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Salutation  1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,
    4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Qualifications of Elders    5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
    10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.