Isaiah 20 - 21 - Legacy Standard Bible

Isaiah 20 - 21

A Prophecy About Egypt and Ethiopia

In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2 at that time Yahweh spoke by the hand of Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. 3 And Yahweh said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Ethiopia their hope and Egypt their boast. 6 So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’”

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As whirlwinds in the Negev sweep on,

It comes from the wilderness, from a fearsome land.

A harsh vision has been declared to me;

The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.

Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media;

I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused.

For this reason my loins are full of anguish;

Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.

I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.

My heart reels; horror terrorizes me;

The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.

They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;

“Rise up, commanders, oil the shields,”

6 For thus the Lord says to me,

“Go, station the lookout, let him declare what he sees.

Indeed, he shall see riders, horsemen in pairs,

Riders of donkeys, riders of camels,

So let him pay close attention, very close attention.”

8 Then the lookout called,

“O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,

And I am stationed every night at my guard post.

Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”

And one answered and said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;

And all the graven images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”

O my trampled people and my afflicted of the threshing floor!

What I have heard from Yahweh of hosts,

The God of Israel, I have declared to you.

Oracles Concerning Dumah and Arabia

11 The oracle concerning Dumah.

One keeps calling to me from Seir,

“Watchman, how far gone is the night?

Watchman, how far gone is the night?”

The watchman says,

“Morning comes but also night.

If you would inquire, inquire;

Come back again.”

13 The oracle about Arabia.

In the thickets of Arabia you must spend the night,

O caravans of Dedanites.

Bring water to meet the thirsty,

O inhabitants of the land of Tema,

Meet with bread the one who has fled.

For they have fled from the swords,

From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow

And from the heaviness of battle.

16 For thus the Lord said to me, “In a year, as a hired man would count it, all the glory of Kedar will end; 17 and the remainder of the number of bowmen, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Luke 12

Fear Only God

At this time, after so many thousands of the crowd had gathered together that they were trampling on one another, He began saying to His disciples first, “Be on your guard for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4 “But I say to you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

8 “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God, 9 but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Parable of the Rich Fool

13 And someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you prepared?’ 21 So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his life span? 26 Therefore, if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Do not fear, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 “Sell your possessions and give it as charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be Ready for His Coming

35 “Gird up your loins, and keep your lamps lit. 36 And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find awake when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” 41 Now Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many beatings, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a beating, will receive but a few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Not Peace, but Division

49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! 51 Do you think that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to examine the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not examine this present time? 57 “And why do you not even judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last lepton.”

Psalm 46 - 47

God Is Our Refuge and Strength

For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change

And though the mountains shake into the heart of the sea;

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains quake at its lofty pride. Selah.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her, she will not be shaken;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations roar, the kingdoms shake;

He gives His voice, the earth melts.

Yahweh of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

Come, behold the works of Yahweh,

Who has appointed desolations in the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts up the spear;

He burns the chariots with fire.

“Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Yahweh of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

God Is King of All the Earth

For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.

O clap your hands, all peoples;

Make a loud shout to God with the sound of a shout of joy.

For Yahweh Most High is fearsome,

A great King over all the earth.

He subdues peoples under us

And nations under our feet.

He chooses our inheritance for us,

The pride of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

God has ascended with a loud shout,

Yahweh, with the sound of a trumpet.

Sing praises to God, sing praises;

Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth;

Sing praises with a skillful psalm.

God reigns over the nations,

God sits on His holy throne.

The nobles of the peoples have assembled themselves with the people of the God of Abraham,

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

He is highly exalted.