ISAIAH 27

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The Redemption of Israel  27:1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2

In that day,

“A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 3

I, the Lord, am its keeper;

every moment I water it.

Lest anyone punish it,

I keep it night and day; 4

I have no wrath.

Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!

I would march against them,

I would burn them up together. 5

Or let them lay hold of my protection,

let them make peace with me,

let them make peace with me.”
6

In days to come Jacob shall take root,

Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots

and fill the whole world with fruit.
7

Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?

Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? 8

Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them;

he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 9

Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,

and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:

when he makes all the stones of the altars

like chalkstones crushed to pieces,

no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing. 10

For the fortified city is solitary,

a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;

there the calf grazes;

there it lies down and strips its branches. 11

When its boughs are dry, they are broken;

women come and make a fire of them.

For this is a people without discernment;

therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;

he who formed them will show them no favor.
    12 In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

ISAIAH 28

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Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem28:1

Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,

and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,

which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! 2

Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;

like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,

like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,

he casts down to the earth with his hand. 3

The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim

will be trodden underfoot; 4

and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,

which is on the head of the rich valley,

will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer:

when someone sees it, he swallows it

as soon as it is in his hand.
5

In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,

and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, 6

and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,

and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7

These also reel with wine

and stagger with strong drink;

the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,

they are swallowed by wine,

they stagger with strong drink,

they reel in vision,

they stumble in giving judgment. 8

For all tables are full of filthy vomit,

with no space left.
9

“To whom will he teach knowledge,

and to whom will he explain the message?

Those who are weaned from the milk,

those taken from the breast? 10

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,

line upon line, line upon line,

here a little, there a little.”
11

For by people of strange lips

and with a foreign tongue

the Lord will speak to this people, 12

to whom he has said,

“This is rest;

give rest to the weary;

and this is repose”;

yet they would not hear. 13

And the word of the Lord will be to them

precept upon precept, precept upon precept,

line upon line, line upon line,

here a little, there a little,

that they may go, and fall backward,

and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion14

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,

who rule this people in Jerusalem! 15

Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,

and with Sheol we have an agreement,

when the overwhelming whip passes through

it will not come to us,

for we have made lies our refuge,

and in falsehood we have taken shelter”; 16

therefore thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

a stone, a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ 17

And I will make justice the line,

and righteousness the plumb line;

and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” 18

Then your covenant with death will be annulled,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;

when the overwhelming scourge passes through,

you will be beaten down by it. 19

As often as it passes through it will take you;

for morning by morning it will pass through,

by day and by night;

and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. 20

For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,

and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. 21

For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim;

as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;

to do his deed—strange is his deed!

and to work his work—alien is his work! 22

Now therefore do not scoff,

lest your bonds be made strong;

for I have heard a decree of destruction

from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
23

Give ear, and hear my voice;

give attention, and hear my speech. 24

Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?

Does he continually open and harrow his ground? 25

When he has leveled its surface,

does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,

and put in wheat in rows

and barley in its proper place,

and emmer as the border? 26

For he is rightly instructed;

his God teaches him.
27

Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,

nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,

but dill is beaten out with a stick,

and cumin with a rod. 28

Does one crush grain for bread?

No, he does not thresh it forever;

when he drives his cart wheel over it

with his horses, he does not crush it. 29

This also comes from the Lord of hosts;

he is wonderful in counsel

and excellent in wisdom.

PROVERBS 15

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15:1

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly. 3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5

A fool despises his father’s instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is prudent. 6

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked. 7

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools. 8

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. 9

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves him who pursues righteousness. 10

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;

whoever hates reproof will die. 11

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;

how much more the hearts of the children of man! 12

A scoffer does not like to be reproved;

he will not go to the wise. 13

A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. 14

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly. 15

All the days of the afflicted are evil,

but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. 16

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord

than great treasure and trouble with it. 17

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is

than a fattened ox and hatred with it. 18

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. 19

The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a level highway. 20

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish man despises his mother. 21

Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

but a man of understanding walks straight ahead. 22

Without counsel plans fail,

but with many advisers they succeed. 23

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

and a word in season, how good it is! 24

The path of life leads upward for the prudent,

that he may turn away from Sheol beneath. 25

The Lord tears down the house of the proud

but maintains the widow’s boundaries. 26

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

but gracious words are pure. 27

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,

but he who hates bribes will live. 28

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. 29

The Lord is far from the wicked,

but he hears the prayer of the righteous. 30

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

and good news refreshes the bones. 31

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

will dwell among the wise. 32

Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. 33

The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

HEBREWS 4

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  4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath,

‘They shall not enter my rest,’”although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
    11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Jesus the Great High Priest14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.