ISAIAH 31

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Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt31:1

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help

and rely on horses,

who trust in chariots because they are many

and in horsemen because they are very strong,

but do not look to the Holy One of Israel

or consult the Lord! 2

And yet he is wise and brings disaster;

he does not call back his words,

but will arise against the house of the evildoers

and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. 3

The Egyptians are man, and not God,

and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.

When the Lord stretches out his hand,

the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,

and they will all perish together.
4

For thus the Lord said to me,

“As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,

and when a band of shepherds is called out against him

he is not terrified by their shouting

or daunted at their noise,

so the Lord of hosts will come down

to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. 5

Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts

will protect Jerusalem;

he will protect and deliver it;

he will spare and rescue it.”
    6 Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7 For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8

“And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;

and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;

and he shall flee from the sword,

and his young men shall be put to forced labor. 9

His rock shall pass away in terror,

and his officers desert the standard in panic,”

declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion,

and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

ISAIAH 32

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A King Will Reign in Righteousness32:1

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule in justice. 2

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a shelter from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. 3

Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,

and the ears of those who hear will give attention. 4

The heart of the hasty will understand and know,

and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. 5

The fool will no more be called noble,

nor the scoundrel said to be honorable. 6

For the fool speaks folly,

and his heart is busy with iniquity,

to practice ungodliness,

to utter error concerning the Lord,

to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,

and to deprive the thirsty of drink. 7

As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil;

he plans wicked schemes

to ruin the poor with lying words,

even when the plea of the needy is right. 8

But he who is noble plans noble things,

and on noble things he stands. Complacent Women Warned of Disaster9

Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice;

you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech. 10

In little more than a year

you will shudder, you complacent women;

for the grape harvest fails,

the fruit harvest will not come. 11

Tremble, you women who are at ease,

shudder, you complacent ones;

strip, and make yourselves bare,

and tie sackcloth around your waist. 12

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,

for the fruitful vine, 13

for the soil of my people

growing up in thorns and briers,

yes, for all the joyous houses

in the exultant city. 14

For the palace is forsaken,

the populous city deserted;

the hill and the watchtower

will become dens forever,

a joy of wild donkeys,

a pasture of flocks; 15

until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,

and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,

and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. 16

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,

and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. 17

And the effect of righteousness will be peace,

and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. 18

My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,

in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. 19

And it will hail when the forest falls down,

and the city will be utterly laid low. 20

Happy are you who sow beside all waters,

who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.

PROVERBS 17

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17:1

Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting with strife. 2

A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers. 3

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and the Lord tests hearts. 4

An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. 5

Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;

he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 6

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers. 7

Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

still less is false speech to a prince. 8

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers. 9

Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. 10

A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool. 11

An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. 12

Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs

rather than a fool in his folly. 13

If anyone returns evil for good,

evil will not depart from his house. 14

The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel breaks out. 15

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord. 16

Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom

when he has no sense? 17

A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity. 18

One who lacks sense gives a pledge

and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor. 19

Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who makes his door high seeks destruction. 20

A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity. 21

He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy. 22

A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 23

The wicked accepts a bribe in secret

to pervert the ways of justice. 24

The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25

A foolish son is a grief to his father

and bitterness to her who bore him. 26

To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness. 27

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. 28

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

HEBREWS 6

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  6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
    9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The Certainty of God’s Promise13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.