Today's Readings
Isaiah 5 : 20 - 30
20 | Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! |
21 | Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! |
22 | Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, |
23 | Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man! |
24 | Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. |
25 | Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. |
26 | He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. |
27 | No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; |
28 | Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses' hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. |
29 | Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. |
30 | In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds. |
Jeremiah 9 : 12 - 19
12 | Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through? |
13 | And the LORD said, "Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, |
14 | but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them," |
15 | therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. |
16 | I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them." |
17 | Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come. |
18 | Let them make haste And take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run with tears, And our eyelids gush with water. |
19 | For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: "How we are plundered! We are greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because we have been cast out of our dwellings."' |