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Isaiah 15

1 The burden of Moab. For in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, `and' brought to nought; for in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, `and' brought to nought.

2 They are gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep: Moab waileth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.

3 In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one waileth, weeping abundantly.

4 And Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh; their voice is heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembleth within him.

5 My heart crieth out for Moab; her nobles `flee' unto Zoar, to Eglath-shelishi-yah: for by the ascent of Luhith with weeping they go up; for in the way of Horonaim they raise up a cry of destruction.

6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for the grass is withered away, the tender grass faileth, there is no green thing.

7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away over the brook of the willows.

8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the wailing thereof unto Eglaim, and the wailing thereof unto Beer-elim.

9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; for I will bring yet more upon Dimon, a lion upon them of Moab that escape, and upon the remnant of the land.

Isaiah 16

1 Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

2 For it shall be that, as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon.

3 Give counsel, execute justice; make thy shade as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; betray not the fugitive.

4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee; as for Moab, be thou a covert to him from the face of the destroyer. For the extortioner is brought to nought, destruction ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

5 And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness; and one shall sit thereon in truth, in the tent of David, judging, and seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.

6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, `that' he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.

7 Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, every one shall wail: for the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn, utterly stricken.

8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, `and' the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have broken down the choice branches thereof, which reached even unto Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness; its shoots were spread abroad, they passed over the sea.

9 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the `battle' shout is fallen.

10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise: no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the `vintage' shout to cease.

11 Wherefore my heart soundeth like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.

12 And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.

13 This is the word that Jehovah spake concerning Moab in time past.

14 But now Jehovah hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and of no account.

Isaiah 17

1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

3 And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith Jehovah of hosts.

4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing grain, and his arm reapeth the ears; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

6 Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost branches of a fruitful tree, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.

7 In that day shall men look unto their Maker, and their eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

8 And they shall not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they have respect to that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the sun-images.

9 In that day shall their strong cities be as the forsaken places in the wood and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it shall be a desolation.

10 For thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength; therefore thou plantest pleasant plants, and settest it with strange slips.

11 In the day of thy planting thou hedgest it in, and in the morning thou makest thy seed to blossom; but the harvest fleeth away in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

12 Ah, the uproar of many peoples, that roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!

13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.

14 At eventide, behold, terror; `and' before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that despoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Second Reading: Ephesians Chapter 6

Ephesians 6

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise),

3 that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.

5 Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men:

8 knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether `he be' bond or free.

9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, and forbear threatening: knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual `hosts' of wickedness in the heavenly `places'.

13 Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil `one'.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,

19 And on my behalf, that utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

21 But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:

22 whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with `a love' incorruptible.

Bible Background

SUPER HEROES OF THE BIBLE

ISAIAH

Part 2 of 2

The call of Isaiah is recorded in chapter 6. He records a vision that he sees and is convinced he has seen the glory of God. He is humbled and calls himself "a man of unclean lips." He expects to die because he is so unworthy to see this vision. But God sends a seraph to touch is lips with a live coal and God declares that his guilt is removed and his sin atoned for. After Isaiah goes through this experience God questions him: "Whom shall I send? and who will go for us?" Isaiah's immediate answer is:

"Here am I. Send me!"

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