Righteous Reign of the Branch

1Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,

And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

2The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and strength,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

3And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,

And He will not judge by what His eyes see,

Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

4But with righteousness He will judge the poor,

And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;

And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,

And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

5Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,

And faithfulness the belt about His waist.

6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,

And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,

And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;

And a little boy will lead them.

7Also the cow and the bear will graze,

Their young will lie down together,

And the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,

And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.

9They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,

For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

As the waters cover the sea.

10Then in that day

The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,

Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;

And His resting place will be glorious.

The Restored Remnant

11Then it will happen on that day that the Lord

Will again recover the second time with His hand

The remnant of His people, who will remain,

From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,

And from the islands of the sea.

12And He will lift up a standard for the nations

And assemble the banished ones of Israel,

And will gather the dispersed of Judah

From the four corners of the earth.

13Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,

And those who harass Judah will be cut off;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

And Judah will not harass Ephraim.

14They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west;

Together they will plunder the sons of the east;

They will possess Edom and Moab,

And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.

15And the Lord will utterly destroy

The tongue of the Sea of Egypt;

And He will wave His hand over the River

With His scorching wind;

And He will strike it into seven streams

And make men walk over dry-shod.

16And there will be a highway from Assyria

For the remnant of His people who will be left,

Just as there was for Israel

In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.

9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

The New Jerusalem

10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

1) How do these passages frame the tribes’ destiny?

2) How does the Branch unite judgment and peace?

3) What hope do the city’s gates give to scattered Israel?

Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs

1“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not see His days?

2Some remove the landmarks;

They seize and devour flocks.

3They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4They push the needy aside from the road;

The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

5Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness

They go forth seeking food in their activity,

As bread for their children in the desert.

6They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

8They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

9Others snatch the orphan from the breast,

And against the poor they take a pledge.

10They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,

And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

12From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

13“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to know its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

14The murderer arises at dawn;

He kills the poor and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

15The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he disguises his face.

16In the dark they dig into houses,

They shut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

17For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,

For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

18“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is cursed on the earth.

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

19Drought and heat consume the snow waters,

So does Sheol those who have sinned.

20A mother will forget him;

The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.

And wickedness will be broken like a tree.

21He wrongs the barren woman

And does no good for the widow.

22But He drags off the valiant by His power;

He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

23He provides them with security, and they are supported;

And His eyes are on their ways.

24They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”

11My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord

Or loathe His reproof,

12For whom the Lord loves He reproves,

Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

13How blessed is the man who finds wisdom

And the man who gains understanding.

14For her profit is better than the profit of silver

And her gain better than fine gold.

15She is more precious than jewels;

And nothing you desire compares with her.

16Long life is in her right hand;

In her left hand are riches and honor.

17Her ways are pleasant ways

And all her paths are peace.

18She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,

And happy are all who hold her fast.

19The Lord by wisdom founded the earth,

By understanding He established the heavens.

20By His knowledge the deeps were broken up

And the skies drip with dew.

21My son, let them not vanish from your sight;

Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

22So they will be life to your soul

And adornment to your neck.

23Then you will walk in your way securely

And your foot will not stumble.

24When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

25Do not be afraid of sudden fear

Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;

26For the Lord will be your confidence

And will keep your foot from being caught.

27Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

When it is in your power to do it.

28Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When you have it with you.

29Do not devise harm against your neighbor,

While he lives securely beside you.

30Do not contend with a man without cause,

If he has done you no harm.

31Do not envy a man of violence

And do not choose any of his ways.

32For the devious are an abomination to the Lord;

But He is intimate with the upright.

33The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,

But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

34Though He scoffs at the scoffers,

Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.

35The wise will inherit honor,

But fools display dishonor.

Hezekiah Shows His Treasures

1At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts, 6‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away, and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” 8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”