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First Reading: Isaiah Chapter 1 and 2
Isaiah 1
1:1 Judah Called to Repentance
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 The Wickedness of Judah
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!For the LORD has spoken:"I have
nourished and brought up children,And they have rebelled against Me; 3 The ox
knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib;But Israel does not know,My
people do not consider."
4 Alas, sinful nation,A people laden with iniquity,A brood of evildoers,Children
who are corrupters!They have forsaken the LORD,They have provoked to anger The
Holy One of Israel,They have turned away backward.
5 Why should you be stricken again?You will revolt more and more.The whole head
is sick,And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the
head,There is no soundness in it,But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;They
have not been closed or bound up,Or soothed with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate,Your cities are burned with fire;Strangers devour
your land in your presence;And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8
So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard,As a hut in a garden
of cucumbers,As a besieged city. 9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a
very small remnant,We would have become like Sodom,We would have been made like
Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD,You rulers of Sodom;Give ear to the law of our
God,You people of Gomorrah: 11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your
sacrifices to Me?"Says the LORD."I have had enough of burnt offerings
of rams And the fat of fed cattle.I do not delight in the blood of bulls,Or
of lambs or goats.
12 "When you come to appear before Me,Who has required this from your hand,To
trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices;Incense is an abomination
to Me.The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies I cannot
endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed
feasts My soul hates;They are a trouble to Me,I am weary of bearing them. 15
When you spread out your hands,I will hide My eyes from you;Even though you
make many prayers,I will not hear.Your hands are full of blood.
16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;Put away the evil of your doings
from before My eyes.Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good;Seek justice,Rebuke
the oppressor; Defend the fatherless,Plead for the widow.
18 "Come now, and let us reason together,"Says the LORD,"Though
your sins are like scarlet,They shall be as white as snow;Though they are red
like crimson,They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient,You shall
eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel,You shall be devoured
by the sword";For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
21 The Degenerate City
How the faithful city has become a harlot!It was full of justice;Righteousness
lodged in it,But now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross,Your wine mixed
with water. 23 Your princes are rebellious,And companions of thieves;Everyone
loves bribes,And follows after rewards.They do not defend the fatherless,Nor
does the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord says,The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,"Ah,
I will rid Myself of My adversaries,And take vengeance on My enemies. 25 I will
turn My hand against you,And thoroughly purge away your dross,And take away
all your alloy. 26 I will restore your judges as at the first,And your counselors
as at the beginning.Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city."
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,And her penitents with righteousness.
28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,And those
who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the
terebinth trees Which you have desired;And you shall be embarrassed because
of the gardens Which you have chosen. 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose
leaf fades,And as a garden that has no water. 31 The strong shall be as tinder,And
the work of it as a spark;Both will burn together,And no one shall quench them.
Isaiah 2
2:1 The Future House of God
(Mic 4:1-5)
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's
house Shall be established on the top of the mountains,And shall be exalted
above the hills;And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and
say,"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,To the house of
the God of Jacob;He will teach us His ways,And we shall walk in His paths."For
out of Zion shall go forth the law,And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,And rebuke many people;They shall beat
their swords into plowshares,And their spears into pruning hooks;Nation shall
not lift up sword against nation,Neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 The Day of the LORD
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD.
6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,Because they are filled
with eastern ways;They are soothsayers like the Philistines,And they are pleased
with the children of foreigners. 7 Their land is also full of silver and gold,And
there is no end to their treasures;Their land is also full of horses,And there
is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is also full of idols;They worship
the work of their own hands,That which their own fingers have made. 9 People
bow down,And each man humbles himself;Therefore do not forgive them.
10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,From the terror of the LORDAnd
the glory of His majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,The haughtiness
of men shall be bowed down,And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
12 For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,Upon
everything lifted up And it shall be brought low 13 Upon all the
cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 Upon all the high mountains,And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15
Upon every high tower,And upon every fortified wall; 16 Upon all the ships of
Tarshish,And upon all the beautiful sloops. 17 The loftiness of man shall be
bowed down,And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;The LORD alone will
be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish.
19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks,And into the caves of the earth,From
the terror of the LORDAnd the glory of His majesty,When He arises to shake the
earth mightily.
20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold,Which
they made, each for himself to worship,To the moles and bats, 21 To go into
the clefts of the rocks,And into the crags of the rugged rocks,From the terror
of the LORDAnd the glory of His majesty,When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
22 Sever yourselves from such a man,Whose breath is in his nostrils;For of what
account is he?
Psalms 75
75:1 Thanksgiving for God's Righteous Judgment
To the Chief Musician. Set to"Do Not Destroy." A Psalm of Asaph.
A Song.
We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!For Your wondrous works declare
that Your name is near.
2 "When I choose the proper time,I will judge uprightly. 3 The earth and
all its inhabitants are dissolved;I set up its pillars firmly.Selah
4 "I said to the boastful, 'Do not deal boastfully,'And to the wicked,'Do
not lift up the horn. 5 Do not lift up your horn on high;Do not speak with a
stiff neck.'"
6 For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the
south. 7 But God is the Judge:He puts down one,And exalts another. 8 For in
the hand of the LORD there is a cup,And the wine is red;It is fully mixed, and
He pours it out;Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and
drink down.
9 But I will declare forever,I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 "All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off,But the horns of the
righteous shall be exalted."
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
ISAIAH
Part 1 of 4
Isaiah, the prophet, ministered during the rule of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The approximate time is 740-690 B.C. His primary focus dealt with the coming judgment on the Southern Kingdom of Judah due to its great wickedness. Isaiah identified the root of Judah's trouble in its idolatry and apostasy. Although he spoke of judgments on other nations as well, the prophet Isaiah urged the kings and the people to put their trust in God rather than in alliances with earthly powers. He comforted his people with the realization that God loves those who are faithful to Him and keep His commandments. He spoke of the future Messiah who would come to redeem the nation and restore the Kingdom.
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