ISAIAH 61

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Exaltation of the Afflicted61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

Because the LORD has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives

And freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,

They will raise up the former devastations;

And they will repair the ruined cities,

The desolations of many generations.

5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,

And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD;

You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.

You will eat the wealth of nations,

And in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,

And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.

Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,

Everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 For I, the LORD, love justice,

I hate robbery in the burnt offering;

And I will faithfully give them their recompense

And make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,

And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.

All who see them will recognize them

Because they are the offspring whom the LORD has blessed.

10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,

My soul will exult in my God;

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,

He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,

So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise

To spring up before all the nations.

ISAIAH 62

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Zion’s Glory and New Name62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,

Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,

And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

2 The nations will see your righteousness,

And all kings your glory;

And you will be called by a new name

Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.

3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,

And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”

Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;

But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”

And your land, “Married”;

For the LORD delights in you,

And to Him your land will be married.

5 For as a young man marries a virgin,

So your sons will marry you;

And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

So your God will rejoice over you.

6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;

All day and all night they will never keep silent.

You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;

7 And give Him no rest until He establishes

And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

8 The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm,

“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies;

Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”

9 But those who garner it will eat it and praise the LORD;

And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

10 Go through, go through the gates,

Clear the way for the people;

Build up, build up the highway,

Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.

11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth,

Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes;

Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”

12 And they will call them, “The holy people,

The redeemed of the LORD”;

And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

PROVERBS 1

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The Usefulness of Proverbs  1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,

To discern the sayings of understanding,

3 To receive instruction in wise behavior,

Righteousness, justice and equity;

4 To give prudence to the naive,

To the youth knowledge and discretion,

5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,

And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

6 To understand a proverb and a figure,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

And ornaments about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us,

Let us lie in wait for blood,

Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,

We will fill our houses with spoil;

14 Throw in your lot with us,

We shall all have one purse,”

15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.

Keep your feet from their path,

16 For their feet run to evil

And they hasten to shed blood.

17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net

In the sight of any bird;

18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;

They ambush their own lives.

19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;

It takes away the life of its possessors.

Wisdom Warns20 Wisdom shouts in the street,

She lifts her voice in the square;

21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?

And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing

And fools hate knowledge?

23 “Turn to my reproof,

Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

24 “Because I called and you refused,

I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

25 And you neglected all my counsel

And did not want my reproof;

26 I will also laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when your dread comes,

27 When your dread comes like a storm

And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

When distress and anguish come upon you.

28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

29 Because they hated knowledge

And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

30 “They would not accept my counsel,

They spurned all my reproof.

31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way

And be satiated with their own devices.

32 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely

And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

JAMES 3

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The Tongue Is a Fire  3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
    See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Wisdom from Above    13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.