Isaiah 1-2
1 This is the vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem at the time of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
The Lord Accuses Israel of Sin
2 Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth!
The Lord has spoken,
“I raised ⌞my⌟ children and helped them grow,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 Oxen know their owners,
and donkeys know where their masters feed them.
But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟.
My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.
4 “How horrible it will be for a nation that sins.
⌞Its⌟ people are loaded down with guilt.
They are descendants of evildoers
and destructive children.
They have abandoned the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have turned their backs on him.
5 “Why do you still want to be beaten?
Why do you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is infected.
Your whole heart is failing.
6 From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head
there is no healthy spot left on your ⌞body⌟—
only bruises, sores, and fresh wounds.
They haven’t been cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.
7 “Your country is devastated.
Your cities are burned down.
Your fields are destroyed right before your eyes by foreigners.
Your fields are devastated and taken over by foreigners.
8 My people Zion are left like a hut in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a city under attack.”
9 If the Lord of Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Israel’s Corrupt Religion
10 Listen to the Lord’s word, you rulers of Sodom!
Pay attention to the teachings from our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 The Lord asks, “What do your many animal sacrifices mean to me?
I’ve had enough of your burnt offerings of rams
and enough fat from your fattened calves.
I’m not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.
12 When you appear in my presence,
who asked you to trample on my courtyards?
13 Don’t bring any more worthless grain offerings.
Your incense is disgusting to me,
so are your New Moon Festivals, your days of rest—holy days,
and the assemblies you call.
I can’t stand your evil assemblies.
14 I hate your New Moon Festivals and your appointed festivals.
They’ve become a burden to me,
and I’m tired of putting up with them.
15 So when you stretch out your hands ⌞in prayer⌟,
I will turn my eyes away from you.
Even though you offer many prayers,
I will not listen because your hands are covered with blood.
The Lord Invites Israel to Turn Away from Sin
16 “Wash yourselves! Become clean!
Get your evil deeds out of my sight.
Stop doing evil.
17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Arrest oppressors.
Defend orphans.
Plead the case of widows.”
18 “Come on now, let’s discuss this!” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are bright red,
they will become as white as snow.
Though they are dark red,
they will become as white as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land.
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be destroyed by swords.”
The Lord has spoken.
Jerusalem’s Future
21 How the faithful town has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice,
and righteousness lived in her.
But now murderers live there!
22 Your silver is not pure.
Your wine is watered down.
23 Your rulers are rebels, friends with thieves.
They all love bribes and run after gifts.
They never defend orphans.
They don’t notice the widows’ pleas.
24 That’s why the Lord, the Lord of Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says,
“How horrible it will be when I take revenge on my opponents!
I will avenge myself against my enemies.
25 I will turn my power against you.
I will remove your impurities with bleach.
I will get rid of all your impurities.
26 I will give you judges like you had long ago,
advisers like you had in the beginning.
After that you will be called the Righteous City,
the Faithful Town.”
27 Zion will be pardoned by ⌞the Lord’s⌟ justice,
and those who return will be pardoned
by ⌞the Lord’s⌟ righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners will be crushed at the same time,
and those who abandon the Lord will come to an end.
29 You will be ashamed of the oaks that you wanted to worship
and embarrassed by the garden that you have chosen for your gods.
30 You will be like an oak whose leaves wither
and like a garden without water.
31 Strong people will become tinder for a fire,
and their work will be the spark.
Both of them will burn together,
and there will be no one to put out the fire.
The Lord Will Teach the Nations(A)
2 This is the message which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest of the mountains
and raised above the hills.
All the nations will stream to it.
3 Then many people will come and say,
“Let’s go to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways so that we may live by them.”
The teachings will go out from Zion.
The Lord’s word will go out from Jerusalem.
4 Then he will judge disputes between nations
and settle arguments between many people.
They will hammer their swords into plowblades
and their spears into pruning shears.
Nations will never fight against each other,
and they will never train for war again.
5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let’s live in the light of the Lord.
Israel’s Sins
6 Lord, you have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob,
because they are filled with Eastern influences.
They are fortunetellers like the Philistines,
and they make deals with foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols,
and they worship what their hands have shaped
and what their fingers have molded.
9 People will be brought down. Everyone will be humbled.
Do not forgive them.
10 Go in among the rocks and hide underground
because of the Lord’s terrifying presence
and the honor of his majesty.
11 The eyes of arrogant people will be humbled.
High and mighty people will be brought down.
On that day the Lord alone will be honored.
The Day of the Lord’s Judgment
12 The Lord of Armies will have his day
against all who are arrogant and conceited
and all who are proud of themselves (they will be humbled),
13 against all the towering and mighty cedars of Lebanon
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 against all the high mountains
and all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower
and every fortified wall,
16 against all the large ships of Tarshish
and all the beautiful boats.
17 Then arrogant people will be brought down,
and high and mighty people will be humbled.
On that day the Lord alone will be honored.
18 Then idols will disappear completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks
and into holes in the ground
because of the Lord’s terrifying presence
and the honor of his majesty
when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw to the moles and the bats
the silver and gold idols that they made
for themselves to worship.
21 They will go into caves in the rocks
and into cracks in the cliffs
because of the Lord’s terrifying presence
and the honor of his majesty
when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 Stop trusting people.
Their life is in their nostrils.
How can they be worth anything?
Cross references:
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
2 Corinthians 10
Paul’s Authority to Speak Forcefully
10 I, Paul, make my appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ. I’m the one who is humble when I’m with you but forceful toward you when I’m not with you. 2 I beg you that when I am with you I won’t have to deal forcefully with you. I expect I will have to because some people think that we are only guided by human motives. 3 Of course we are human, but we don’t fight like humans. 4 The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments 5 and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ. 6 We are ready to punish every act of disobedience when you have become completely obedient.
7 Look at the plain facts! If anyone is confident he belongs to Christ, he should take note that we also belong to Christ. 8 So, if I brag a little too much about the authority which the Lord gave us, I’m not ashamed. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt you.
9 I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 I know that someone is saying that my letters are powerful and strong, but that I’m a weakling and a terrible speaker. 11 The person who is saying those things should take note of this fact: When we are with you we will do the things that we wrote about in our letters when we weren’t with you.
Paul’s Reason for Bragging
12 We wouldn’t put ourselves in the same class with or compare ourselves to those who are bold enough to make their own recommendations. Certainly, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves to themselves, they show how foolish they are.
13 How can we brag about things that no one can evaluate? Instead, we will only brag about what God has given us to do—coming to ⌞the city of Corinth⌟ where you live. 14 It’s not as though we hadn’t already been to Corinth. We’re not overstating the facts. The fact is that we were the first to arrive in Corinth with the Good News about Christ. 15 How can we brag about things done by others that can’t be evaluated?
We have confidence that as your faith grows, you will think enough of us to give us the help we need to carry out our assignment— 16 spreading the Good News in the regions far beyond you. We won’t brag about things already accomplished by someone else.
17 “Whoever brags should brag about what the Lord has done.” 18 It isn’t the person who makes his own recommendation who receives approval, but the person whom the Lord recommends.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Psalm 52
For the choir director; a maskil; a psalm by David when Doeg (who was from Edom) told Saul that David had come to Ahimelech’s home.
52 Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero?
The mercy of God lasts all day long!
2 Your tongue makes up threats.
It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit.
3 You prefer evil to good.
You prefer lying to speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love every destructive accusation, you deceitful tongue!
5 But God will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and drag you out of your tent.
He will pull your roots out of this world of the living. Selah
6 Righteous people will see ⌞this⌟ and be struck with fear.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look at this person who refused to make God his fortress!
Instead, he trusted his great wealth
and became strong through his greed.”
8 But I am like a large olive tree in God’s house.
I trust the mercy of God forever and ever.
9 I will give thanks to you forever
for what you have done.
In the presence of your godly people,
I will wait with hope in your good name.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 22:26-27
26 Do not be ⌞found⌟ among those who make deals with a handshake,
among those who guarantee other people’s loans.
27 If you have no money to pay back a loan,
why should your bed be repossessed?
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.