ISAIAH 3

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Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem3:1

For behold, the Lord God of hosts

is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah

support and supply,

all support of bread,

and all support of water; 2

the mighty man and the soldier,

the judge and the prophet,

the diviner and the elder, 3

the captain of fifty

and the man of rank,

the counselor and the skillful magician

and the expert in charms. 4

And I will make boys their princes,

and infants shall rule over them. 5

And the people will oppress one another,

every one his fellow

and every one his neighbor;

the youth will be insolent to the elder,

and the despised to the honorable.
6

For a man will take hold of his brother

in the house of his father, saying:

“You have a cloak;

you shall be our leader,

and this heap of ruins

shall be under your rule”; 7

in that day he will speak out, saying:

“I will not be a healer;

in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;

you shall not make me

leader of the people.” 8

For Jerusalem has stumbled,

and Judah has fallen,

because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,

defying his glorious presence.
9

For the look on their faces bears witness against them;

they proclaim their sin like Sodom;

they do not hide it.

Woe to them!

For they have brought evil on themselves. 10

Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,

for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. 11

Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,

for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. 12

My people—infants are their oppressors,

and women rule over them.

O my people, your guides mislead you

and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
13

The Lord has taken his place to contend;

he stands to judge peoples. 14

The Lord will enter into judgment

with the elders and princes of his people:

“It is you who have devoured the vineyard,

the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15

What do you mean by crushing my people,

by grinding the face of the poor?”declares the Lord God of hosts.
16

The Lord said:

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty

and walk with outstretched necks,

glancing wantonly with their eyes,

mincing along as they go,

tinkling with their feet, 17

therefore the Lord will strike with a scab

the heads of the daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
    18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and nose rings; 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
24

Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;

and instead of a belt, a rope;

and instead of well-set hair, baldness;

and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth;

and branding instead of beauty. 25

Your men shall fall by the sword

and your mighty men in battle. 26

And her gates shall lament and mourn;

empty, she shall sit on the ground.

ISAIAH 4

« Isaiah 3 | Isaiah 4 | Isaiah 5 »

  4:1 And seven women shall 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.” The Branch of the Lord Glorified2 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

PROVERBS 7

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Warning Against the Adulteress7:1

My son, keep my words

and treasure up my commandments with you; 2

keep my commandments and live;

keep 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 insight your intimate friend, 5

to keep you from the forbidden woman,

from the adulteress with her smooth words.
6

For at the window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice, 7

and I have seen among the simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man lacking sense, 8

passing along the street near her corner,

taking the road to her house 9

in the twilight, in the evening,

at the time of night and darkness.
10

And behold, the woman meets him,

dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. 11

She is loud and wayward;

her feet do not stay at home; 12

now in the street, now in the market,

and at every corner she lies in wait. 13

She seizes him and kisses him,

and with bold face she says to him, 14

“I had to offer sacrifices,

and today I have paid my vows; 15

so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you. 16

I have spread my couch with coverings,

colored linens from Egyptian linen; 17

I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,

aloes, and cinnamon. 18

Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love. 19

For my husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey; 20

he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”
21

With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with her smooth talk she compels him. 22

All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast 23

till an arrow pierces its liver;

as a bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24

And now, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth. 25

Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths, 26

for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are a mighty throng. 27

Her house is the way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.

TITUS 1

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Greeting  1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command 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 for Elders5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
    10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.