Isaiah 3–4
1 For now the Lord,
the Lord of Hosts,
takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
the stock and the store,
the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
2 the mighty man and the man of war,
the judge and the prophet,
and the prudent and the ancient,
3 the captain of fifty and the honorable man,
the counselor and the skillful artisan, and the eloquent orator.
4 I will give youths to be their princes,
and unweaned children shall rule over them.
5 The people shall be oppressed,
every one by another, and every one by his neighbor;
the youth shall behave himself proudly against the elder,
and the inferior against the honorable.
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother
in the house of his father saying,
“You have clothing; be our ruler,
and let this ruin be under your power,”
7 in that day he shall swear saying,
“I will not be a healer.
For in my house is neither bread nor clothing;
do not make me a ruler of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem is ruined,
and Judah is fallen,
because their tongue and their deeds are against the Lord,
to provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The expression of their countenance witnesses against them,
and they declare their sin as Sodom;
they hide it not.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
10 Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O My people, those who lead you cause you to err,
and destroy the way of your paths.
13 The Lord stands up to plead
and stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the elders and the princes of His people:
For you have eaten up the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean that you beat My people to pieces
and grind the faces of the poor?
says the Lord God of Hosts.
16 Moreover the Lord says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks
and wanton eyes,
walking and mincing as they go,
and making a tinkling with their feet,
17 therefore, the Lord will strike with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the ankle ornaments, and the headbands, and the crescent ornaments, 19 the chains, and the bracelets, and the veils, 20 the bonnets, the leg ornaments, the sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 the finger rings, nose rings, 22 festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, purses, 23 hand mirrors, and undergarments, hoods, and veils.
24 Instead of sweet perfume there shall be a stench;
and instead of a belt, a rope;
and instead of well-set hair, baldness;
and instead of fine clothes, a girding of sackcloth;
and branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
and your mighty in the war.
26 Her gates shall lament and mourn,
and she, being desolate, shall sit on the ground.
Chapter 4
1 And in that day seven women
shall take hold of one man, saying,
“We will eat our own bread,
and wear our own apparel,
only let us be called by your name,
to take away our reproach.”
2 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for those of Israel who have escaped. 3 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. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and has purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst by the spirit of justice and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory shall be a covering. 6 There shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and from rain.
Galatians 6
1 Brothers, if a man is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, watching yourselves, lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if someone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own burden. 6 Let him who is taught in the word share all good things with him who teaches.
7 Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
11 You see what large letters I have written to you with my own hand.
12 It is those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For they themselves who are circumcised do not keep the law. But they desire to have you circumcised, so that they may boast in your flesh. 14 God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy be on all who walk according to this rule and upon the Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
18 Brothers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.