ISAIAH 46

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Babylon’s Idols and the True God46:1 Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.

The things that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the burden,

But have themselves gone into captivity.

3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,

And all the remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been borne by Me from birth

And have been carried from the womb;

4 Even to your old age I will be the same,

And even to your graying years I will bear you!

I have done it, and I will carry you;

And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

5 “To whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

6 “Those who lavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale

Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They bow down, indeed they worship it.

7 “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it;

They set it in its place and it stands there.

It does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;

It cannot deliver him from his distress.

8 “Remember this, and be assured;

Recall it to mind, you transgressors.

9 “Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,

The man of My purpose from a far country.

Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, surely I will do it.

12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded,

Who are far from righteousness.

13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant salvation in Zion,

And My glory for Israel.

ISAIAH 47

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Lament for Babylon47:1 “Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.

2 “Take the millstones and grind meal.

Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered,

Your shame also will be exposed;

I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”

4 Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5 “Sit silently, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called

The queen of kingdoms.

6 “I was angry with My people,

I profaned My heritage

And gave them into your hand.

You did not show mercy to them,

On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not consider

Nor remember the outcome of them.

8 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,

Who dwells securely,

Who says in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.

I will not sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many sorceries,

In spite of the great power of your spells.

10 “You felt secure in your wickedness and said,

‘No one sees me,’

Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;

For you have said in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

11 “But evil will come on you

Which you will not know how to charm away;

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone;

And destruction about which you do not know

Will come on you suddenly.

12 “Stand fast now in your spells

And in your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit,

Perhaps you may cause trembling.

13 “You are wearied with your many counsels;

Let now the astrologers,

Those who prophesy by the stars,

Those who predict by the new moons,

Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

14 “Behold, they have become like stubble,

Fire burns them;

They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;

There will be no coal to warm by

Nor a fire to sit before!

15 “So have those become to you with whom you have labored,

Who have trafficked with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own way;

There is none to save you.

PROVERBS 23

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On Life and Conduct23:1 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,

Consider carefully what is before you,

2 And put a knife to your throat

If you are a man of great appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

For it is deceptive food.

4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,

Cease from your consideration of it.

5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.

For wealth certainly makes itself wings

Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,

Or desire his delicacies;

7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

He says to you, “Eat and drink!”

But his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,

And waste your compliments.

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not move the ancient boundary

Or go into the fields of the fatherless,

11 For their Redeemer is strong;

He will plead their case against you.

12 Apply your heart to discipline

And your ears to words of knowledge.

13 Do not hold back discipline from the child,

Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

14 You shall strike him with the rod

And rescue his soul from Sheol.

15 My son, if your heart is wise,

My own heart also will be glad;

16 And my inmost being will rejoice

When your lips speak what is right.

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,

But live in the fear of the LORD always.

18 Surely there is a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

19 Listen, my son, and be wise,

And direct your heart in the way.

20 Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine,

Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

21 For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,

And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

22 Listen to your father who begot you,

And do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy truth, and do not sell it,

Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,

And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.

25 Let your father and your mother be glad,

And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

26 Give me your heart, my son,

And let your eyes delight in my ways.

27 For a harlot is a deep pit

And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.

28 Surely she lurks as a robber,

And increases the faithless among men.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes?

30 Those who linger long over wine,

Those who go to taste mixed wine.

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

When it sparkles in the cup,

When it goes down smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent

And stings like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange things

And your mind will utter perverse things.

34 And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,

Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.

35 “They struck me, but I did not become ill;

They beat me, but I did not know it.

When shall I awake?

I will seek another drink.”

HEBREWS 11

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The Triumphs of Faith  11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
    3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
    8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.
    13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
    17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
    23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
    30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
    32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
    39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.