Psalm 109 - Isaiah 1 - Isaiah 2 - Isaiah 3 - Isaiah 4

Psalm 109

1> God of my praise, don't remain silent,

2For they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

3They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.

4In return for my love, they are my adversaries; But I am in prayer.

5They have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

6Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand.

7When he is judged, let him come forth guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin.

8Let his days be few. Let another take his office.

9Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

10Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.

11Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.

12Let there be none to extend kindness to him, Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.

13Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.

14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don't let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

15Let them be before Yahweh continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

16Because he didn't remember to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, The broken in heart, to kill them.

17Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn't delight in blessing, and it was far from him.

18He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, Like oil into his bones.

19Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, For the belt that is always around him.

20This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, Of those who speak evil against my soul.

21But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name's sake, Because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;

22For I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.

23I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.

24My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.

25I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.

26Help me, Yahweh, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness;

27That they may know that this is your hand; That you, Yahweh, have done it.

28They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, But your servant shall rejoice.

29Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

30I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.

31For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.

The Prophets Before the Exile

Isaiah 1

1The 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. 2Hear, heavens, And listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against me. 3The ox knows his owner, And the donkey his master's crib; But Israel doesn't know, My people don't consider. 4Ah sinful nation, A people loaded with iniquity, A seed of evil-doers, Children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They are estranged and backward. 5Why should you be beaten more, That you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faint. 6From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: Wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven't been closed, neither bandaged, neither soothed with oil. 7Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence, And it is desolate, As overthrown by strangers. 8The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a hut in a field of melons, Like a besieged city. 9Unless Yahweh of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, We would have been as Sodom; We would have been like Gomorrah. 10Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11"What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?," says Yahweh. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed animals. I don't delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs, Or of male goats. 12When you come to appear before me, Who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can't bear with evil assemblies. 14My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts; They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. 15When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; Cease to do evil. 17Learn to do well. Seek justice, Relieve the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, Plead for the widow." 18"Come now, and let us reason together," says Yahweh: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it." 21How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, But now murderers. 22Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don't judge the fatherless, Neither does the cause of the widow come to them. 24Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, says: "Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries, And avenge myself of my enemies; 25And I will turn my hand on you, Thoroughly purge away your dross, And will take away all your tin. 26I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called 'The city of righteousness, A faithful town.' 27Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her converts with righteousness. 28But the destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, And those who forsake Yahweh shall be consumed. 29For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen. 30For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water. 31The strong will be like tinder, And his work like a spark. They will both burn together, And no one will quench them."

Isaiah 2

1This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be raised above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3Many peoples shall go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of Yahweh, To the house of the God of Jacob; And he will teach us of his ways, And we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. 4He will judge between the nations, And will decide concerning many peoples; And 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 any more. 5House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh. 6For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled from the east, With those who practice divination like the Philistines, And they clasp hands with the children of foreigners. 7Their land is full of silver and gold, Neither is there any end of their treasures. Their land also is full of horses, Neither is there any end of their chariots. 8Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. 9Man is brought low, And mankind is humbled; Therefore don't forgive them. 10Enter into the rock, And hide in the dust, From before the terror of Yahweh, And from the glory of his majesty. 11The lofty looks of man will be brought low, The haughtiness of men will be bowed down, And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day. 12For there will be a day of Yahweh of Hosts for all that is proud and haughty, And for all that is lifted up; And it shall be brought low: 13For all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, For all the oaks of Bashan, 14For all the high mountains, For all the hills that are lifted up, 15For every lofty tower, For every fortified wall, 16For all the ships of Tarshish, And for all pleasant imagery. 17The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; And Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 18The idols shall utterly pass away. 19Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, And into the holes of the earth, From before the terror of Yahweh, And from the glory of his majesty, When he arises to shake the earth mightily. 20In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, And their idols of gold, Which have been made for themselves to worship, To the moles and to the bats; 21To go into the caverns of the rocks, And into the clefts of the ragged rocks, From before the terror of Yahweh, And from the glory of his majesty, When he arises to shake the earth mightily. 22Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?

Isaiah 3

1For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, The whole supply of bread, And the whole supply of water; 2The mighty man, The man of war, The judge, The prophet, The diviner, The elder, 3The captain of fifty, The honorable man, The counselor, The skilled craftsman, And the clever enchanter. 4I will give boys to be their princes, And children shall rule over them. 5The people will be oppressed, Everyone by another, And everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, And the base against the honorable. 6Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, "You have clothing, you be our ruler, And let this ruin be under your hand." 7In that day he will cry out, saying, I will not be a healer; For in my house is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me ruler of the people. 8For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; Because their tongue and their doings are against Yahweh, To provoke the eyes of his glory. 9The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don't hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought disaster upon themselves. 10Tell the righteous "Good!" For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. 11Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; For the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him. 12As for my people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths. 13Yahweh stands up to contend, And stands to judge the peoples. 14Yahweh will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, And their leaders: "It is you who have eaten up the vineyard. The spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15What do you mean that you crush my people, And grind the face of the poor?" says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts. 16Moreover Yahweh said, "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, Walking to trip as they go, Jingling ornaments on their feet; 17Therefore the Lord brings sores on the crown of the head of the women of Zion, And Yahweh will make their scalps bald." 18In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces, 19the earrings, the bracelets, the veils, 20the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the charms, 21the signet rings, the nose rings, 22the fine robes, the capes, the cloaks, the purses, 23the hand-mirrors, the fine linen garments, the tiaras, and the shawls. 24It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well set hair, baldness; Instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. 25Your men shall fall by the sword, And your mighty in the war. 26Her gates shall lament and mourn; And she shall be desolate and sit on the ground.

Isaiah 4

1Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothing: only let us be called by your name. Take away our reproach." 2In that day, Yahweh's branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the beauty and glory of the survivors of Israel. 3It will happen, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem; 4when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning. 5Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6There will be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a shelter from storm and from rain.