Tuesday, March 3

7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is His beloved plant. I waited for it to bring forth judgment, but it brought forth lawlessness, and not righteousness, but a cry.

8Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, to take something from their neighbor. Surely you will not dwell alone in the land.

9For these things reached the ears of the Lord of hosts, for though many large and beautiful houses should be built, they shall be desolate, for there shall be no one to live in them.

10For where ten yoke of oxen shall work, the land shall yield one jar, and whoever sows six homers shall receive three measures.

11Woe to those who rise early in the morning to follow intoxicating drink; to those who continue until night, for wine shall inflame them.

12For they drink wine with the harp, the strings, the tambourine and flute, but they do not look at the deeds of the Lord, nor consider the works of His hands!

13Therefore my people became captives, because they did not know the Lord; and a multitude died through hunger and thirst for water.

14Hades enlarged itself and opened its mouth continually. The glorious, the great, the wealthy, and the troublesome shall descend into it.

15A man shall be humiliated, and a man shall be dishonored; and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

16But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the Holy God shall be glorified in righteousness.

8Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

9Then God said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He replied, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?'

10Thus God said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.

11So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

12When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You will be groaning and trembling on the earth.'

13Then Cain said to the Lord, 'My guilt is too great to be forgiven!

14Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be groaning and trembling on the earth. Then it will happen if anyone finds me, he will kill me.'

15So the Lord God said to him, 'Not so! Whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.' Thus the Lord set a sign on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

1My son, hold fast to wisdom And incline your ear to my words,

2That you may guard good thinking; And I command you with the perception of my lips.

3Do not join yourself to a base woman, For honey drips from the lips of a prostitute, Or for a season she is pleasing to your taste;

4Afterward, however, you will find her more bitter than gall And sharper than a two-edged sword.

5For feet lacking discernment lead those using her down into Hades with death; Her footsteps are not planted,

6For she does not travel the ways of life; And her paths are slippery and not easy to discern.

7Now therefore, my son, hear me, And do not make my words invalid;

8Make your way distant from her And do not come near the doors of her house,

9That you may not give away your life to others And your existence to the merciless;

10That strangers may not be filled with your strength, And your labors go into the houses of strangers,

11And you should feel regret at the last, When the flesh of your body is consumed;

12And you will say, "How I hated instruction And turned my heart away from reproofs;

13I did not hear the voice of my instructor and teacher, Nor did I incline my ear;

14Little by little I was in every evil In the midst of the church and congregation."

15Drink waters from your vessels And from the fountains of your spring.