Day 273 of 365

¹Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can't save; neither his ear heavy, that it can't hear:

²but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

³For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.

⁴None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

⁵They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

⁶Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

⁷Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths.

⁸The way of peace they do not know; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whoever goes therein does not know peace.

⁹Therefore is justice far from us, neither does righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

¹⁰We grope for the wall like the blind; yes, we grope as those who have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among those who are lusty we are as dead men.

¹¹We roar all like bears, and moan bitterly like doves: we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.

¹²For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

¹³transgressing and denying the Lord, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

¹⁴Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness can't enter.

¹⁵Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

¹⁶He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it upheld him.

¹⁷He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.

¹⁸According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense.

¹⁹So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the breath of the Lord drives.

²⁰"A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob," says the Lord.

²¹"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord. "My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed's seed," says the Lord, "from henceforth and forever."

¹"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen on you.

²For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you.

³Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴"Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.

⁵Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

⁶The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.

⁷All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar; and I will glorify the house of my glory.

⁸"Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

⁹Surely the islands shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.

¹⁰"Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you.

¹¹Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.

¹²For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

¹³"The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

¹⁴The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending to you; and all those who despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵"Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

¹⁶You shall also drink the milk of the nations, and shall nurse from royal breasts; and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

¹⁷For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron. I will also make your officers peace, and righteousness your ruler.

¹⁸Violence shall no more be heard in your land, desolation nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.

¹⁹The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you: but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.

²⁰Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.

²¹Your people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

²²The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time."

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;

²to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

³to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

⁴They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

⁵Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

⁶But you shall be named the priests of the Lord; men will call you the ministers of our God: you will eat the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their glory.

⁷Instead of your shame you shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be to them.

⁸"For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹Their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord has blessed."

¹⁰I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹For as the earth brings forth its bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

¹To you I do lift up my eyes, you who sit in the heavens.

²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to the Lord, our God, until he has mercy on us.

³Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.

⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.

¹These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

³As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;

⁵Take away the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;

⁷for it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.

⁸Do not be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?

⁹Debate your case with your neighbor, and do not betray the confidence of another;

¹⁰lest one who hears it put you to shame, and your bad reputation never depart.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

¹²As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.

¹³As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴As clouds and wind without rain, so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.

¹⁵By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.

¹⁶Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you eat too much, and vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.

¹⁸A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth, or a lame foot.

²⁰As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:

²²for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

²³The north wind brings forth rain: so a backbiting tongue brings an angry face.

²⁴It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.

²⁵Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶Like a muddied spring, and a polluted well, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey; nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.

²⁸Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.