ISAIAH 20-22

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A Sign Against Egypt and Cush  20:1 In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
    3 Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’” Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon  21:1 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,

it comes from the wilderness,

from a terrible land. 2

A stern vision is told to me;

the traitor betrays,

and the destroyer destroys.

Go up, O Elam;

lay siege, O Media;

all the sighing she has caused

I bring to an end. 3

Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;

pangs have seized me,

like the pangs of a woman in labor;

I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;

I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 4

My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;

the twilight I longed for

has been turned for me into trembling. 5

They prepare the table,

they spread the rugs,

they eat, they drink.

Arise, O princes;

oil the shield! 6

For thus the Lord said to me:

“Go, set a watchman;

let him announce what he sees. 7

When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,

riders on donkeys, riders on camels,

let him listen diligently,

very diligently.” 8

Then he who saw cried out:

“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,

continually by day,

and at my post I am stationed

whole nights. 9

And behold, here come riders,

horsemen in pairs!”

And he answered,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;

and all the carved images of her gods

he has shattered to the ground.” 10

O my threshed and winnowed one,

what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel, I announce to you.
    11 The oracle concerning Dumah.

One is calling to me from Seir,

“Watchman, what time of the night?

Watchman, what time of the night?” 12

The watchman says:

“Morning comes, and also the night.

If you will inquire, inquire;

come back again.”
    13 The oracle concerning Arabia.

In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,

O caravans of Dedanites. 14

To the thirsty bring water;

meet the fugitive with bread,

O inhabitants of the land of Tema. 15

For they have fled from the swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bent bow,

and from the press of battle.
    16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.” An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem  22:1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

What do you mean that you have gone up,

all of you, to the housetops, 2

you who are full of shoutings,

tumultuous city, exultant town?

Your slain are not slain with the sword

or dead in battle. 3

All your leaders have fled together;

without the bow they were captured.

All of you who were found were captured,

though they had fled far away. 4

Therefore I said:

“Look away from me;

let me weep bitter tears;

do not labor to comfort me

concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5

For the Lord God of hosts has a day

of tumult and trampling and confusion

in the valley of vision,

a battering down of walls

and a shouting to the mountains. 6

And Elam bore the quiver

with chariots and horsemen,

and Kir uncovered the shield. 7

Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,

and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. 8

He has taken away the covering of Judah.
    In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12

In that day the Lord God of hosts

called for weeping and mourning,

for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13

and behold, joy and gladness,

killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,

eating flesh and drinking wine.

“Let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.” 14

The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:

“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”

says the Lord God of hosts.
    15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”

PROVERBS 11

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11:1

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,

but a just weight is his delight. 2

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,

but with the humble is wisdom. 3

The integrity of the upright guides them,

but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. 4

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,

but righteousness delivers from death. 5

The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,

but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. 6

The righteousness of the upright delivers them,

but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. 7

When the wicked dies, his hope will perish,

and the expectation of wealth perishes too. 8

The righteous is delivered from trouble,

and the wicked walks into it instead. 9

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,

but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. 10

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. 11

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. 12

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man of understanding remains silent. 13

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,

but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. 14

Where there is no guidance, a people falls,

but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. 15

Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm,

but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure. 16

A gracious woman gets honor,

and violent men get riches. 17

A man who is kind benefits himself,

but a cruel man hurts himself. 18

The wicked earns deceptive wages,

but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. 19

Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,

but he who pursues evil will die. 20

Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord,

but those of blameless ways are his delight. 21

Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,

but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. 22

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout

is a beautiful woman without discretion. 23

The desire of the righteous ends only in good,

the expectation of the wicked in wrath. 24

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered. 26

The people curse him who holds back grain,

but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it. 27

Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,

but evil comes to him who searches for it. 28

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,

but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. 29

Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,

and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise. 31

If the righteous is repaid on earth,

how much more the wicked and the sinner!

PSALM 106

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Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good106:1

Praise the Lord!

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever! 2

Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,

or declare all his praise? 3

Blessed are they who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times!
4

Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you save them, 5

that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory with your inheritance.
6

Both we and our fathers have sinned;

we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. 7

Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wondrous works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,

but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. 8

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

that he might make known his mighty power. 9

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,

and he led them through the deep as through a desert. 10

So he saved them from the hand of the foe

and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. 11

And the waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left. 12

Then they believed his words;

they sang his praise.
13

But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his counsel. 14

But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert; 15

he gave them what they asked,

but sent a wasting disease among them.
16

When men in the camp were jealous of Moses

and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, 17

the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the company of Abiram. 18

Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.
19

They made a calf in Horeb

and worshiped a metal image. 20

They exchanged the glory of God

for the image of an ox that eats grass. 21

They forgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt, 22

wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. 23

Therefore he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24

Then they despised the pleasant land,

having no faith in his promise. 25

They murmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord. 26

Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 27

and would make their offspring fall among the nations,

scattering them among the lands.
28

Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; 29

they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them. 30

Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

and the plague was stayed. 31

And that was counted to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.
32

They angered him at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account, 33

for they made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34

They did not destroy the peoples,

as the Lord commanded them, 35

but they mixed with the nations

and learned to do as they did. 36

They served their idols,

which became a snare to them. 37

They sacrificed their sons

and their daughters to the demons; 38

they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

and the land was polluted with blood. 39

Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and played the whore in their deeds.
40

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage; 41

he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them. 42

Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power. 43

Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes

and were brought low through their iniquity.
44

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

when he heard their cry. 45

For their sake he remembered his covenant,

and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 46

He caused them to be pitied

by all those who held them captive.
47

Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.
48

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!