Isaiah 9:8-10:11

New King James Version

The Punishment of Samaria

⁸The Lord sent a word against ^(A)Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
⁹All the people will know—
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria—
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
¹⁰“The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
¹¹Therefore the Lord shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
¹²The 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 ^[a]stretched out still.

¹³For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush ^(B)in one day.
¹⁵The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
¹⁶For ^(C)the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
¹⁷Therefore the Lord ^(D)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 ^[b]folly.

^(E)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸For wickedness ^(F)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.
¹⁹Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
^(G)The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
^(H)No man shall spare his brother.
²⁰And he shall ^[c]snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
^(I)And not be satisfied;
^(J)Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
²¹Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be ^(K)against Judah.

^(L)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

Assyria Shall Be Broken

10 “Woe to those who ^(M)decree unrighteous decrees,
Who write misfortune,
Which they have prescribed
²To 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.
³^(N)What will you do in ^(O)the day of punishment,
And in the desolation which will come from ^(P)afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your glory?
⁴Without Me they shall bow down among the ^(Q)prisoners,
And they shall fall ^[d]among the slain.”

^(R)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

Arrogant Assyria Also Judged

⁵“Woe to Assyria, ^(S)the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
⁶I will send him against ^(T)an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will ^(U)give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
⁷^(V)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.
⁸^(W)For he says,
‘Are not my princes altogether kings?
⁹Is not ^(X)Calno ^(Y)like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria ^(Z)like Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ”

Footnotes

Isaiah 9:12 In judgment
Isaiah 9:17 foolishness
Isaiah 9:20 slice off or tear
Isaiah 10:4 Lit. under

1 Peter 5

New King James Version

Shepherd the Flock

5 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a ^(A)witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the ^(B)glory that will be revealed: ²^(C)Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, ^(D)not by compulsion but ^[a]willingly, ^(E)not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³nor as ^(F)being ^[b]lords over ^(G)those entrusted to you, but ^(H)being examples to the flock; ⁴and when ^(I)the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive ^(J)the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Submit to God, Resist the Devil

⁵Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, ^(K)all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

^(L)“God resists the proud,
But ^(M)gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

⁸Be ^[c]sober, be ^[d]vigilant; ^[e]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰But ^[f]may the God of all grace, ^(N)who called ^[g]us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, ^[h]perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹^(O)To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Farewell and Peace

¹²By ^(P)Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying ^(Q)that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

¹³She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does ^(R)Mark my son. ¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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