Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from Isaiah chapters
7 through 10, as well as chapter 17. Chapter
7 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the
son of Jotham, The son of Uzziah, king of Judah,
the resin king of Syria, and Pekah the son of
Ramaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem
to make war against it, but could not prevail
against it. And it was told to the house of David,
saying, Syria's forces are deployed in Ephraim.
So his heart and the heart of his people were
moved, as the trees of the woods are moved with
the wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out
now to meet Ahaz, you and Shir Jashub, your son,
at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool
on the highway to the fuller's field. And say
to him, Take heed and be quiet. Do not fear or
be faint -hearted for these two stubs of smoking
firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and
Syria and the son of Remaliah. Because Syria,
Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted
evil against you, saying, Let us go up against
Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in
its wall for ourselves and set a king over them,
the son of Tabor. Thus says the Lord God, It
shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass. For
the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of
Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty -five years Ephraim
will be broken, so that it will not be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head
of Samaria is Ramalia's son. If you will not
believe, surely you shall not be established.
Moreover, the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God.
Ask it either in a depth or in a height above.
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test
the Lord. Then he said, Hear now, O house of
David, is it a small thing for you to weary men,
but you will weary my God also? Therefore the
Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel. Curds and honey he shall
eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and
choose the good. For before the child shall not
refuse the evil and choose the good, the land
that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.
The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon
you and your people and your father's house,
days that have not come since the day that Ephraim
departed from Judah. And it shall come to pass
in that day that the Lord will whistle for the
fly that is in the farthest part of the rivers
of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land
of Assyria. They will come, and all of them will
rest in the desolate valleys and in the clefts
of the rocks, and on all thorns, and in all pastures.
In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired
razor with those from beyond the river with the
king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the
legs, and will also remove the beard. It shall
be in that day that a man will keep alive a young
cow and two sheep, so it shall be from the abundance
of milk they give that he will eat curds. For
curds and honey everyone will eat who is left
in the land. It shall happen in that day that
wherever there could be a thousand vines worth
a thousand shekels of silver, it will be for
briars and thorns. With arrows and bows men will
come here, because all the land will become briars
and thorns. And to any hill which could be dug
with the hoe, you will not go there for fear
of briars and thorns, but it will become a range
for oxen and a place for sheep to roam. Chapter
8 Moreover the Lord said to me, Take a large
scroll, and write on it with a man's pen, concerning
Meher, Shalal, Hash, Baz. And I will take for
myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the
priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberkiah. Then
I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and
bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, Call his
name Meir Shalal Hashbaz. For before the child
shall have knowledge to cry, My father and my
mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil
of Samaria, will be taken away before the king
of Assyria. The Lord also spoke to me again,
saying, Inasmuch as these people refused the
waters of Shiloah that flow softly, and rejoice
in Rezin and in Ramalia's son, now therefore,
behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters
of the river, strong and mighty. the king of
Assyria and all his glory. He will go up over
all his channels and go over all his banks. He
will pass through Judah. He will overflow and
pass over. He will reach up to the neck and the
stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth
of your land, O Emmanuel. Be shattered, O you
peoples, and be broken in pieces. Give ear, O
you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but
be broken in pieces. Gird yourselves, but be
broken in pieces. Take counsel together, but
it will come to nothing. Speak the word, but
it will not stand, for God is with us. For the
Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and
instructed me that I should not walk in the way
of this people, saying, Do not say a conspiracy
concerning all that this people call a conspiracy.
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
The Lord of hosts, him you shall hallow. Let
him be your fear. and let him be your dread.
He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel,
as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and many among them shall stumble. They shall
fall and be broken, be snared and taken. Bind
up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples,
and I will wait on the Lord, who hides his face
from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
Here am I and the children whom the Lord has
given me. We are for signs and wonders in Israel,
from the Lord of hosts who dwells in Mount Zion.
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 chapter nine nevertheless the gloom
will not be upon her who is distressed as when
at first he lightly esteemed the land of zaballoon
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, an 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 tale. 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 briars 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 burnt
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. Chapter 10 Woe to those
who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune,
which they have prescribed, to rob the needy
of justice and to take what is right from the
poor of my people, that widows may be their prey
and that they may rob the fatherless. What will
you do in the day of punishment and in the desolation
which will come from afar? To whom will you flee
for help, and where will you leave your glory?
Without me they shall bow down among the prisoners,
and they shall fall among the slain. For all
this his anger is not turned away, but his hand
is stretched out still. Woe to Assyria, the rod
of my anger, and the staff in whose hand is my
indignation. I will send him against an ungodly
nation, and against the people of my wrath. I
will give him charge, to seize the spoil, to
take the prey. and to tread them down like the
mire of the streets, yet he does not mean so,
nor does his heart think so, but it is in his
heart to destroy and cut off not a few nations.
For he says, Are not my princes altogether kings?
Is not Conno like Carchemish? Is not Hamad like
Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? As my hand
has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved
images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
as i have done to samaria and her idols shall
i not do also to jerusalem and her idols therefore
it shall come to pass when the lord has performed
all his work on mount zion and on jerusalem that
he will say i will punish the fruit of the arrogant
heart of the king of assyria and the glory of
his haughty looks for he says by the strength
of my hand i have done it and by my wisdom for
I am prudent. Also I have removed the boundaries
of the people, and have robbed their treasures.
So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant
man. My hand has found, like a nest, the riches
of the people. And as one gathers eggs that are
left, I have gathered all the earth. And there
was no one who moved his wing, nor opened his
mouth with even a peep. Shall the axe boast itself
against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw
exalt itself against him who saws with it? As
if a rod could wield itself against those who
lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as
if it were not wood. Therefore the Lord, the
Lord of hosts, will send leanness among his fat
ones, and under his glory he will kindle a burning,
like the burning of a fire. So the light of Israel
will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame.
It will burn and devour his thorns and his briars
in one day. And it will consume the glory of
his forest and of his fruitful field, both soul
and body. And they will be as when a sick man
wastes away. Then the rest of the trees of his
forest will be so few in number that a child
may ride them. And it shall come to pass in that
day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have
escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again
depend on him who defeated them, but will depend
on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
The remnant will return. the remnant of Jacob,
to the mighty God. For though your people, O
Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant
of them will return. The destruction decreed
shall overflow with righteousness, for the Lord
God of hosts will make a determined end in the
midst of all the land. Therefore, thus says the
Lord God of hosts, O my people who dwell in Zion,
do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike
you with a rod and lift up his staff against
you in the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little
while, and the indignation will cease, as will
my anger in their destruction. And the Lord of
hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the
slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. As his
rod was on the sea, so will he lift it up in
the manner of Egypt. It shall come to pass in
that day that his burden will be taken away from
your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. and
the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing
oil. He has come to Ayat. He has passed Migron.
At Mikmash he has attended to his equipment.
They have gone along the ridge. They have taken
up lodging at Geba. Rama is afraid. Gebia of
Saul has fled. Lift up your voice, O daughter
of Galim. Cause it to be heard as far as Laish.
O poor Anatoth! Badmina has fled. The inhabitants
of Gebeim seek refuge, as yet he will remain
at Nob that day. He will shake his fist at the
mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will lop
off the bow with terror. Those of high stature
will be hewn down, and the haughty will be humbled.
He will cut down the thickets of the forest with
iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Chapter 17 The Burden Against Damascus Behold,
Damascus will cease from being a city, and it
will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Arawar
are forsaken. They will be for flocks which lie
down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress
also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from
Damascus and the remnant of Syria. They will
be as the glory of the children of Israel, says
the Lord of hosts. In that day it shall come
to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane, and
the fatness of his flesh grow lean. It shall
be as when the harvester gathers the grain and
reaps the heads with his arm. It shall be as
he who gathers heads of grain in the valley of
Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes will be left in
it, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or
three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
four or five in its most fruitful branches, says
the Lord God of Israel. In that day a man will
look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect
for the Holy One of Israel. He will not look
to the altars, the work of his hands. He will
not respect what his fingers have made, nor the
wooden images, nor the incense altars. In that
day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough,
and an uppermost branch, which they left because
of the children of Israel, and there will be
desolation. Because you have forgotten the God
of your salvation, and have not been mindful
of the rock of your stronghold, therefore you
will plant pleasant plants, and set out foreign
seedlings. In the day you will make your plant
to grow, and in the morning you will make your
seed to flourish. But the harvest will be a heap
of ruins, in the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
Woe to the multitude of many people who make
a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the
rushing of nations, that make a rushing like
the rushing of mighty waters. The nations will
rush like the rushing of many waters, but God
will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
and be chased like the chaff of the mountains
before the wind, like a rolling thing before
the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble,
and before the morning he is no more. This is
the portion of those who plunder us and the lot
of those who rob us. I hope you enjoyed today's
reading as much as I did and I look forward to
seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our
journey. God bless you and have a great day.