September 29: Isaiah 5–7; Psalm 83; Acts 6

Isaiah 5–7 (Listen)

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

5Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.


3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?


5And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;^{Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5“>1}
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.


7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed;^{The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike“>2}
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!^{The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike“>3}

Woe to the Wicked

8Woe to those who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is no more room,
and you are made to dwell alone
in the midst of the land.
9The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
“Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10For ten acres^{Hebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day“>4} of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”^{A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; an ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters“>5}


11Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12They have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,
or see the work of his hands.


13Therefore my people go into exile
for lack of knowledge;^{Or without their knowledge“>6}
their honored men go hungry,^{Or die of hunger“>7}
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
and opened its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem^{Hebrew her nobility“>8} and her multitude will go down,
her revelers and he who exults in her.
15Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty^{Hebrew high“>9} are brought low.
16But the LORD of hosts is exalted^{Hebrew high“>10} in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
17Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture,
and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.


18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19who say: “Let him be quick,
let him speed his work
that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
and let it come, that we may know it!”
20Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!


24Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will be as rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
and the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were as refuse
in the midst of the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.


26He will raise a signal for nations far away,
and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27None is weary, none stumbles,
none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
not a sandal strap broken;
28their arrows are sharp,
all their bows bent,
their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,
and their wheels like the whirlwind.
29Their roaring is like a lion,
like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize their prey;
they carry it off, and none can rescue.
30They will growl over it on that day,
like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
behold, darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord

6In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train^{Or hem“>11} of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”^{Or may his glory fill the whole earth“>12}

4And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing,^{Or Hear indeed“>13} but do not understand;
keep on seeing,^{Or see indeed“>14} but do not perceive.’
10Make the heart of this people dull,^{Hebrew fat“>15}
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
12and the LORD removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned^{Or purged“>16} again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed^{Or offspring“>17} is its stump.

Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

7In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with^{Hebrew Syria has rested upon“>18} Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz^{Hebrew his heart“>19} and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

3And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub^{Shear-jashub means A remnant shall return“>20} your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it^{Hebrew let us split it open“>21} for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7thus says the Lord GOD:

“‘It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you^{The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 9, 13, 14“>22} are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.’”

The Sign of Immanuel

10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: 11“Ask a sign of the LORD your^{The Hebrew for you and your is singular in verses 11, 16, 17“>23} God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” 13And he^{That is, Isaiah“>24} said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.^{Immanuel means God is with us“>25} 15He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

18In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.^{Or watering holes, or brambles“>26}

20In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River^{That is, the Euphrates“>27}—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

21In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, 22and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey.

23In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels^{A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams“>28} of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. 25And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

(ESV)

Psalm 83 (Listen)

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

83O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah


9Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”


13O my God, make them like whirling dust,^{Or like a tumbleweed“>1}
like chaff before the wind.
14As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
16Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
18that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.

(ESV)

Acts 6 (Listen)

Seven Chosen to Serve

6Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists^{That is, Greek-speaking Jews“>1} arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3Therefore, brothers,^{Or brothers and sisters“>2} pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

7And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen Is Seized

8And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

(ESV)