Aug 6 - Isaiah 24-28
Isaiah
1Behold, the Lord will lay waste to the earth, and he will strip it, and he will afflict its surface, and he will scatter its inhabitants2And this shall be: as with the people, so with the priest; and as with the servant, so with his master; as with the handmaid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor3The earth will be utterly devastated and utterly plundered. For the Lord has spoken this word4The earth mourned, and slipped away, and languished. The world slipped away; the loftiness of the people of the earth was weakened5And the earth was corrupted by its inhabitants. For they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have dissipated the everlasting covenant6Because of this, a curse will devour the earth, and its inhabitants will sin. And for this reason, its caretakers will become crazed, and few men will be left behind7The vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned8The gladness of the drums has ceased. The sound of rejoicing has quieted. The sweetness of stringed instruments has been silenced9They will not drink wine with a song. The drink will be bitter to those who drink it10The city of vanity has been worn away. Every house has been closed up; no one enters11There will be a clamor for wine in the streets. All rejoicing has been abandoned. The gladness of the earth has been carried away12Solitude is what remains in the city, and calamity will overwhelm its gates13For so shall it be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people: it is as if the few remaining olives are being shaken from the olive tree, and it is like a few clusters of grapes, when the grape harvest has already ended14These few shall lift up their voice and give praise. When the Lord will have been glorified, they will make a joyful noise from the sea15Because of this, glorify the Lord in doctrine: the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea16From the ends of the earth, we have heard the praises of the glory of the Just One. And I said: "My secret is for myself! My secret is for myself! Woe to me! Those who would betray us have betrayed us, and they have betrayed us with the betrayal of transgression.17Dread, and the pit, and the snare are over you, O inhabitant of the earth18And this shall be: whoever will flee from the voice of dread will fall into the pit. And whoever will extricate himself from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the floodgates from above have been opened, and the foundations of the earth will be shaken19The earth will be utterly broken! The earth will be utterly crushed! The earth will be utterly shaken20The earth will stagger greatly, like a drunken man, and will be carried away, like the tent of a single night. And its iniquity will be heavy upon it, and it will fall and not rise up again21And this shall be: in that day, the Lord will visit upon the armies of the sky above, and upon the kings of the earth who are on the ground22And they will be gathered together like the gathering of one bundle into a pit. And they will be enclosed in that place, as in a prison. And after many days, they will be visited23And the moon will be ashamed, and the sun will be confounded, when the Lord of hosts will reign on mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and when he will have been glorified in the sight of his elders
1O Lord, you are my God! I will exalt you, and I will confess your name. For you have accomplished miracles. Your plan, from antiquity, is faithful. Amen2For you have appointed a city as a tomb, a strong city for ruination, a house of foreigners: so that it may not be a city, and so that it may not be rebuilt forever3Concerning this, a strong people will praise you; a city with a robust people will fear you4For you have been the strength of the poor, the strength of the indigent in his tribulation, a refuge from the whirlwind, a shadow from the heat. For the spirit of the mighty is like a whirlwind striking against a wall5You will bring low the uprising of foreigners, just as heat brings thirst. And like heat under a torrential cloud, you will cause the offshoot of the strong to wither away6And the Lord of hosts will cause all the peoples on this mountain to feast on fatness, to feast on wine, a fatness full of marrow, a purified wine7And he will cast down violently, on this mountain, the face of the chains, with which all peoples had been bound, and the net, with which all nations had been covered8He will violently cast down death forever. And the Lord God will take away the tears from every face, and he will take away the disgrace of his people from the entire earth. For the Lord has spoken it9And they will say in that day: "Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord! We have endured for him. We will exult and rejoice in his salvation.10For the hand of the Lord will rest upon this mountain. And Moab will be trampled under him, just as stubble is worn away by a wagon11And he will extend his hands under him, like a swimmer extending his hands to swim. And he will bring down his glory with a clap of his hands12And the fortifications of your sublime walls will fall, and be brought low, and be torn down to the ground, even to the dust
1In that day, this canticle will be sung in the land of Judah. Within it will be set the city of our strength: Zion, a savior, a wall with a bulwark2Open the gates, and let the just people who guard the truth enter3The old error has gone away. You will serve peace: peace, for we have hoped in you4You have trusted in the Lord for all eternity, in the Lord God almighty forever5For he will bend down those living in the heights. He will bring low the lofty city. He will lower it, even to the ground. He will tear it down, even to the dust6The foot will tread it down: the feet of the poor, the steps of the indigent7The path of the just is upright; the difficult path of the just is right to walk in8And in the path of your judgments, O Lord, we have endured for you. Your name and your remembrance are the desire of the soul9My soul has desired you in the night. But I will also watch for you with my spirit, in my inmost heart, from the morning. When you accomplish your judgments upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn justice10Let us take pity on the impious one, but he will not learn justice. In the land of the holy ones, he has done iniquity, and so he will not see the glory of the Lord11Lord, let your hand be exalted, and let them not see it. May the envious people see and be confounded. And may fire devour your enemies12Lord, you will give us peace. For all our works have been wrought for us by you13O Lord our God, other lords have possessed us apart from you, but in you alone let us remember your name14Let not the dead live; let not the giants rise up again. For this reason, you have visited and destroyed them, and you have perished all remembrance of them15You have been lenient to the people, O Lord, lenient to the people. But have you been glorified? You have removed all the limits of the earth16Lord, they have sought you in anguish. Your doctrine was with them, amid the tribulation of murmuring17Like a woman who has conceived and is approaching the time for delivery, who, in anguish, cries out in her pains, so have we become before your face, O Lord18We have conceived, and it is as if we were in labor, but we have given birth to wind. We have not brought forth salvation on the earth. For this reason, the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen19Your dead shall live. My slain will rise again. Be awakened, and give praise, you who live in the dust! For your dew is the dew of the light, and you shall be dragged down to the land of the giants, to ruination20Go, my people! Enter your chambers. Close your doors behind you. Conceal yourselves for a very brief time, until the indignation has passed over you21For behold, the Lord will go forth from his place, so that he may visit the iniquity of each inhabitant of the earth against him. And the earth will reveal its blood, and it will no longer cover its slain
1In that day, the Lord will visit, with his harsh and great and strong sword, against Leviathan, the barred serpent, and against Leviathan, the twisted serpent, and he will slay the whale that is in the sea2In that day, the vineyard of pure wine will sing to them3I am the Lord, who watches over it. I will suddenly give drink to it. I will watch over it, night and day, lest perhaps someone visit against it4Indignation is not mine. Who will be a thorn and a brier to me in battle? I will advance against them. I set them on fire together5Or will he, instead, take hold of my strength? Will he make peace with me? Will she make peace with me6As they advance with violence against Jacob, Israel will flourish and spring forth, and they will fill the face of the world with offspring7Has he struck him with the scourge that he himself used to strike others? Or has he killed in the manner that he himself used to kill his victims8You will judge this by comparing one measure to another, when he has been cast out. He has decided this, by his stern spirit, for the day of heat9Therefore, concerning this, the iniquity of the house of Jacob will be forgiven. And this is the reward of all: that their sin be taken away, when he will have made all the stones of the altar to be like crushed cinders. For the sacred groves and the shrines shall not stand10For the fortified city will be desolate. The shining city will be abandoned and will be left behind like a desert. In that place, the calf will pasture, and in that place, he will lie down, and he will feed from its summits11Its harvest will be crushed by dryness. Women will arrive and teach it, for it is not a wise people. Because of this, he who made it will not take pity on it, and he who formed it will not spare it12And this shall be: in that day, the Lord will strike, from the channel of the river, even to the torrent of Egypt. And you shall be gathered together, one by one, O sons of Israel13And this shall be: in that day, a noise will be made with a great trumpet. And those who had been lost will approach from the land of the Assyrians, with those who had been outcasts in the land of Egypt. And they will adore the Lord, on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem
1Woe to the crown of arrogance, to the inebriated of Ephraim, and to the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, to those who were at the top of the very fat valley, staggering from wine2Behold, the Lord is powerful and steadfast, like a storm of hail, like a crushing whirlwind, like the force of many waters, inundating, sent forth over a spacious land3The arrogant crown of the inebriated of Ephraim will be trampled under foot4And the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, who is at the summit of the fat valley, will be like a premature fruit before the ripeness of autumn, which, when the onlooker beholds it, as soon he takes it in his hand, he will devour it5In that day, the Lord of hosts will be the crown of glory and the wreath of exultation for the remnant of his people6And he will be the spirit of judgment for those who sit in judgment, and the strength of those who return from war to the gates7Yet truly, these also have been ignorant due to wine, and they have gone astray due to inebriation. The priest and the prophet have been ignorant because of inebriation. They have been absorbed by wine. They have staggered in drunkenness. They have not known the One who sees. They have been ignorant of judgment8For all the tables have been filled with vomit and filth, so much so that there was no place left9To whom will he teach knowledge? And to whom will he grant an understanding of what is heard? To those who have been weaned from the milk, who have been pulled away from the breasts10So then: command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there11For with the speech of lips and with a different language, he will speak to this people12He said to them: "This is my rest. Refresh the weary," and, "This is my refreshment." And yet they were unwilling to listen13And so, the word of the Lord to them will be: "Command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there," so that they may go forward and fall backward, and so that they may be broken and ensnared and captured14Because of this, listen to the word of the Lord, you mocking men, who lord it over my people who are at Jerusalem15For you have said: "We struck a deal with death, and we formed a pact with Hell. When the inundating scourge passes through, it will not overwhelm us. For we have placed our hope in lies, and we are protected by what is false.16For this reason, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will set a stone within the foundations of Zion, a tested stone, a cornerstone, a precious stone, which has been established in the foundation: whoever trusts in him need not hurry17And I will establish judgment in weights, and justice in measures. And a hailstorm will overturn hope in what is false; and waters will inundate its protection18And your deal with death will be abolished, and your pact with Hell will not stand. When the inundating scourge passes through, you will be trampled down by it19Whenever it passes through, it will take you away. For, at first light of morning, it will pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone will make you understand what you hear20For the bed has been narrowed, so much so that one alone would fall out, and the short blanket is not able to cover two21For the Lord will stand, just as at the mountain of divisions. He will be angry, just as in the valley which is in Gibeon, so that he may accomplish his work, his strange work, so that he may complete his work, his work which is foreign even to him22And now, do not be willing to mock, lest your chains be tightened. For I have heard, from the Lord, the God of hosts, about the consummation and the abridgement concerning the entire earth23Pay close attention, and listen to my voice! Attend and hear my eloquence24Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil25Will he not, when he has made the surface level, sow coriander, and scatter cumin, and plant wheat in rows, and barley, and millet, and vetch in their places26For he will be instructed in judgment; his God will teach him27For coriander cannot be threshed with a saw, and a cartwheel cannot revolve over cumin. Instead, coriander is shaken out with a stick, and cumin with a staff28But grain for bread must be crushed. Truly, the thresher cannot thresh it unceasingly, and the cartwheel can neither disrupt it, nor break it with its surface29And this has gone forth from the Lord, the God of hosts, so that he may accomplish his miraculous plan and magnify justice