Wednesday, March 8

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

17Those plundered shall be fed as bulls, and lambs shall eat on the waste places of those taken away.

18Woe to those who draw sins to themselves as with a long rope and lawlessness as with the strap of a cow's yoke,

19who say, 'Let Him speedily hasten what He will do that we may see it, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it!'

20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

21Woe to those who are intelligent in their own eyes and expert in their own sight!

22Woe to your strong ones who drink wine and the mighty ones who mix intoxicating drink,

23who justify the ungodly for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man!

24Therefore in the manner that stubble shall be burned by coals of fire and consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be like chaff and their flower shall go up like dust, for they did not will to do the law of the Lord of hosts, but despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25Thus the wrath of the Lord of hosts is furious against His people. He laid His hand on them and struck them. The mountains were provoked, and their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the road. For all this His anger was not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted.

16Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod opposite Eden.

17And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch.

18To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael; and Mehujael begot Methushael; and Methushael begot Lamech.

19Then Lamech took two wives for himself: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.

20So Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

21His brother's name was Jubal. He is the one who invented the psaltery and harp.

22As for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, a smith and a manufacturer of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23Then Lamech said to his wives Adah and Zillah: 'Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech, And listen carefully to my words, Because I killed a man for wounding me And a young man for hurting me.

24If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.'

25Again Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Seth, saying, 'God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.'

26As for Seth, to him also a son was born. He named him Enosh, and he hoped in the Lord God and called upon His name.

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

16Do not let the waters from your fountain be spilled by you, But let your waters pass through your wide places;

17Let them be only for you, And let no stranger partake with you;

18Let the fountain of your water be for you alone, And rejoice together with the wife of your youth.

19Let your loving deer and graceful colt keep company with you, And let her alone go before you and be with you at all times; For in living with her love, you will be great.

20Do not be intimate with a strange woman, Neither cling to the embrace of a woman not your own;

21For the ways of man are before the eyes of God, And He keeps close watch on all his paths.

22Lawless women ensnare a man, But each man is bound by the chains of his own sins.

23Such a man dies with the uninstructed And is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance; And he is destroyed by lack of discernment.

1My son, if you assume the debt of your friend, You will deliver your hand to an enemy;

2For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, And he is conquered by the utterances of his own mouth.

3My son, do what I command you, and you will save yourself; For you came into the hands of evil things through your friend;

9All the nations are gathered together, and the rulers shall be assembled from among them. Who will declare these things or tell us things from the beginning? Let them bring forth their witnesses, and be proven right; and let them speak the truth.

10'You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God, 'and My Servant whom I chose, that you may know and believe, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other God, nor shall there be after Me.

11I am God, and besides Me there is no one who saves.

12I proclaimed, and I saved. I denounced foreign gods so there were none among you. You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God.

13'Even from the beginning, there is no one who can deliver out of My hands; I will work, and who will reverse it?'

14Thus says the Lord God who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I will send to Babylon and arouse all who flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships.

1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torture will ever touch them.

2In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died, And their departure was considered to be misfortune,

3And their passage from us to be their destruction; But they are at peace.

4For though in man's view they were punished, Their hope is full of immortality.

5Though chastened in a few things, Great kindness will be shown them, For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.

6He tested them like gold in a furnace And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.

7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, And they will run about like sparks through straw.

8They will judge nations and rule over peoples, And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.

9Those who trust in Him will understand truth, And the faithful shall continue with Him in love, Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

15But the righteous live forever, And their reward is with the Lord; And their care is by the Most High.

16Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord, Because He will shelter them with His right hand And protect them with His arm.

17He will take His zeal as His full armor And will turn His creation into weapons against His enemies.

18He will wear righteousness as a breastplate And put on impartial judgment as a helmet.

19He will take holiness as an unconquerable shield

20And sharpen His relentless wrath for a sword; And creation will fight with Him against the senseless.

21Well-aimed flashes of lightning will strike And leap to their object as from a well-drawn bow of clouds;

22And hailstones full of anger will be hurled As from an engine of war. The water of the sea will be vexed with them, And the rivers will wash over them severely.

23A powerful wind will oppose them, And like a storm it will winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste all the earth, And wrongdoing will overturn the thrones of rulers.

1Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.

2Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, And take pride in yourself over a multitude of nations.

3For power was given to you from the Lord, And your lordship from the Most High, Who will make a careful search of your works And examine closely your plans.