Frogs over the Land
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. 3The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. 4So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.” ’ ” 5Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” 9Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”
10Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” 12Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh. 13The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields. 14So they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Message to Egypt
1The oracle concerning Egypt.
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2“So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confound their strategy,
So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead
And to mediums and spiritists.
4Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master,
And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.
8The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
12The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.
13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
1) How does Isaiah describe יהוה’s judgment on Egypt?
2) How does Revelation echo the plagues on waters?
3) What does this teach about creation as a stage of judgment?
God Is Just
1“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
2For anger slays the foolish man,
And jealousy kills the simple.
3I have seen the foolish taking root,
And I cursed his abode immediately.
4His sons are far from safety,
They are even oppressed in the gate,
And there is no deliverer.
5His harvest the hungry devour
And take it to a place of thorns,
And the schemer is eager for their wealth.
6For affliction does not come from the dust,
Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
7For man is born for trouble,
As sparks fly upward.
8“But as for me, I would seek God,
And I would place my cause before God;
9Who does great and unsearchable things,
Wonders without number.
10He gives rain on the earth
And sends water on the fields,
11So that He sets on high those who are lowly,
And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd,
So that their hands cannot attain success.
13He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,
And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.
14By day they meet with darkness,
And grope at noon as in the night.
15But He saves from the sword of their mouth,
And the poor from the hand of the mighty.
16So the helpless has hope,
And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.
17“Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;
He wounds, and His hands also heal.
19From six troubles He will deliver you,
Even in seven evil will not touch you.
20In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
22You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.
23For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24You will know that your tent is secure,
For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.
25You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
27Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”
On Life and Conduct
1A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2The rich and the poor have a common bond,
The Lord is the maker of them all.
3The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the naive go on, and are punished for it.
4The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.
5Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.
6Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
8He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,
And the rod of his fury will perish.
9He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.
10Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out,
Even strife and dishonor will cease.
11He who loves purity of heart
And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.
12The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man.
13The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
14The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it.
15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
16He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself
Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
17Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;
18For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be ready on your lips.
19So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I have taught you today, even you.
20Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21To make you know the certainty of the words of truth
That you may correctly answer him who sent you?
22Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Or crush the afflicted at the gate;
23For the Lord will plead their case
And take the life of those who rob them.
24Do not associate with a man given to anger;
Or go with a hot-tempered man,
25Or you will learn his ways
And find a snare for yourself.
26Do not be among those who give pledges,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
27If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take your bed from under you?
Cheer for Prostrate Zion
1Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;
Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.
2Shake yourself from the dust, rise up,
O captive Jerusalem;
Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.” 4For thus says the Lord God, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’ ”
7How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace
And brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
9Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10The Lord has bared His holy arm
In the sight of all the nations,
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.