Isaiah 9:8-10:4

New American Standard Bible

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

⁸The Lord sends a ^[a]message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
⁹And all the people know it,
That is, ^(A)Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in ^(B)arrogance of heart:
¹⁰“The bricks have fallen down,
But we will ^(C)rebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
¹¹Therefore the Lord raises superior adversaries against them from ^(D)Rezin
And provokes their enemies,
¹²The Arameans from the east and the ^(E)Philistines from the west;
And they ^(F)devour Israel with ^[b]gaping jaws.
^(G)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.

¹³Yet the people ^(H)do not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they ^(I)seek the Lord of armies.
¹⁴So the Lord cuts off ^(J)head and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush ^(K)in a single day.
¹⁵The head is ^(L)the elder and esteemed man,
And the prophet who teaches ^(M)falsehood is the tail.
¹⁶^(N)For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are ^[c]confused.
¹⁷Therefore the Lord does ^(O)not rejoice over their young men,
^(P)Nor does He have compassion on their ^[d]orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is ^(Q)godless and an ^(R)evildoer,
And every ^(S)mouth is speaking foolishness.
^(T)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.

¹⁸^(U)For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It also sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹By the ^(V)wrath of the Lord of armies the ^(W)land is burned,
And the ^(X)people are like fuel for the fire;
No ^(Y)one spares his brother.
²⁰^[e]They devour what is on the right hand but are still ^(Z)hungry,
And ^[f]they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the ^(AA)flesh of his own arm.
²¹Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
^(AB)And together they are against Judah.
^(AC)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

10 Woe to those who ^(AD)enact unjust statutes
And to those who constantly record ^[g]harmful decisions,
²So as ^(AE)to ^[h]deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor among My people of their rights,
So ^(AF)that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the ^[i]orphans.
³Now ^(AG)what will you do in the ^(AH)day of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come ^(AI)from afar?
^(AJ)To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth?
⁴Nothing remains but to crouch ^[j]among the ^(AK)captives
Or fall ^[k]among those ^(AL)killed.
^(AM)In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

Footnotes

Isaiah 9:8 Lit word
Isaiah 9:12 Lit the whole mouth
Isaiah 9:16 Or swallowed up
Isaiah 9:17 Or fatherless
Isaiah 9:20 Lit And he slices
Isaiah 9:20 Lit he eats
Isaiah 10:1 Lit harm
Isaiah 10:2 Lit turn the needy aside from
Isaiah 10:2 Or fatherless
Isaiah 10:4 Lit under
Isaiah 10:4 Lit under

James 3

New American Standard Bible

The Tongue Is a Fire

3 ^(A)Do not become teachers in large numbers, ^(B)my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a ^[a]stricter judgment. ²For we all ^(C)stumble in many ways. ^(D)If anyone does not stumble in ^[b]what he says, he is a ^(E)perfect man, able to ^[c]^(F)rein in the whole body as well. ³Now ^(G)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their whole body as well. ⁴Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. ⁵So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^(H)boasts of great things.

^(I)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶And ^(J)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among ^[d]our body’s parts as that which ^(K)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our ^[e]life, and is set on fire by ^[f]^(L)hell. ⁷For every ^[g]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human ^[h]race. ⁸But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of ^(M)deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless ^(N)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, ^(O)who have been made in the likeness of God; ¹⁰from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. ¹¹Does a spring send out from the same opening both ^[i]fresh and bitter water? ¹²^(P)Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, bear olives, or a vine bear figs? Nor can salt water produce ^[j]fresh.

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who among you is wise and understanding? ^(Q)Let him show by his ^(R)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter ^(S)jealousy and ^[k]selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against ^(T)the truth. ¹⁵This wisdom is not that which comes down ^(U)from above, but is ^(V)earthly, ^[l]^(W)natural, ^(X)demonic. ¹⁶For where ^(Y)jealousy and ^[m]selfish ambition exist, ^[n]there is disorder and every evil thing. ¹⁷But the wisdom ^(Z)from above is first ^(AA)pure, then ^(AB)peace-loving, ^(AC)gentle, ^[o]reasonable, ^(AD)full of mercy and good fruits, ^[p]^(AE)impartial, free of ^(AF)hypocrisy. ¹⁸And the ^(AG)fruit of righteousness is sown in peace ^[q]by those who make peace.