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 7

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The Wiles of the Harlot7:1 My son, keep my words

And treasure my commandments within you.

2 Keep my commandments and live,

And my teaching as the apple of your eye.

3 Bind them on your fingers;

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

And call understanding your intimate friend;

5 That they may keep you from an adulteress,

From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

6 For at the window of my house

I looked out through my lattice,

7 And I saw among the naive,

And discerned among the youths

A young man lacking sense,

8 Passing through the street near her corner;

And he takes the way to her house,

9 In the twilight, in the evening,

In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,

Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.

11 She is boisterous and rebellious,

Her feet do not remain at home;

12 She is now in the streets, now in the squares,

And lurks by every corner.

13 So she seizes him and kisses him

And with a brazen face she says to him:

14 “I was due to offer peace offerings;

Today I have paid my vows.

15 “Therefore I have come out to meet you,

To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.

16 “I have spread my couch with coverings,

With colored linens of Egypt.

17 “I have sprinkled my bed

With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

18 “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;

Let us delight ourselves with caresses.

19 “For my husband is not at home,

He has gone on a long journey;

20 He has taken a bag of money with him,

At the full moon he will come home.”

21 With her many persuasions she entices him;

With her flattering lips she seduces him.

22 Suddenly he follows her

As an ox goes to the slaughter,

Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,

23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;

As a bird hastens to the snare,

So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24 Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,

And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,

Do not stray into her paths.

26 For many are the victims she has cast down,

And numerous are all her slain.

27 Her house is the way to Sheol,

Descending to the chambers of death.

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.