Isaiah 8; Psalms 64:7-10; Proverbs 14:8

 

And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

 

They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

 

Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed

 

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

And afterward more heavily oppressed her,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

In Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation

And increased its joy;

They rejoice before You

According to the joy of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For You have broken the yoke of his burden

And the staff of his shoulder,

The rod of his oppressor,

As in the day of Midian.

For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle,

And garments rolled in blood,

Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Lord sent a word against Jacob,

And it has fallen on Israel.

All the people will know-

Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria-

Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:

"The bricks have fallen down,

But we will rebuild with hewn stones;

The sycamores are cut down,

But we will replace them with cedars."

Therefore the LORD shall set up

The adversaries of Rezin against him,

And spur his enemies on,

The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;

And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.

For all this His anger is not turned away,

But His hand is stretched out still.

For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,

Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.

Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel,

Palm branch and bulrush in one day.

The elder and honorable, he is the head;

The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

For the leaders of this people cause them to err,

And those who are led by them are destroyed.

Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men,

Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;

For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,

And every mouth speaks folly.

For all this His anger is not turned away,

But His hand is stretched out still.

For wickedness burns as the fire;

It shall devour the briers and thorns,

And kindle in the thickets of the forest;

They shall mount up like rising smoke.

Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts

The land is burned up,

And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;

No man shall spare his brother.

And he shall snatch on the right hand

And be hungry;

He shall devour on the left hand

And not be satisfied;

Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.

Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;

Together they shall be against Judah.

For all this His anger is not turned away,

But His hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 8:19-22, Isaiah 9:1-21

 

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;

Suddenly they shall be wounded.

All men shall fear,

And shall declare the work of God;

For they shall wisely consider His doing.

The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him.

And all the upright in heart shall glory.

Psalm 64:7, 9-10

 

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,

But the folly of fools is deceit.