He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you! Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you – yes, I help you – yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!

He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead.

Honesty has disappeared; the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed. The Lord watches and is displeased, for there is no justice.

Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you. You purchase favors from them, you love their bed, and gaze longingly on their genitals.

For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the Lord is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed.

He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.

They attacked Aiath, moved through Migron, depositing their supplies at Micmash.

My heart palpitates, I shake in fear; the twilight I desired has brought me terror.

Arrange the table, lay out the carpet, eat and drink! Get up, you officers, smear oil on the shields!

Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive.

You will see a king in his splendor; you will see a wide land.

Proud men will be humiliated, arrogant men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

The many nations massing together are as good as dead, those who make a commotion as loud as the roaring of the sea’s waves. The people making such an uproar are as good as dead, those who make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves.

At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.

I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line; hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

Your treaty with death will be dissolved; your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, you will be overrun by it.

For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “You have rejected this message; you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, and rely on that kind of behavior.

In a year’s time you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?