Luke 21:29–38; Hebrews 3; Proverbs 20:16–30; Isaiah 11–13

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Luke 21:29–38

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

29 And he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see bfor yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 cTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 dHeaven and earth will pass away, but emy words will not pass away.

Watch Yourselves

34 But watch yourselves flest gyour hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and hcares of this life, and ithat day come upon you suddenly jlike a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But kstay awake at all times, lpraying that you may mhave strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and nto stand before the Son of Man.

37 And oevery day he was teaching in the temple, but pat night he went out and lodged on qthe mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning oall the people came to him in the temple to hear him.


Hebrews 3

Jesus Greater Than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers,1 you who share in ra heavenly calling, consider Jesus, sthe apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, tjust as Moses also was faithful in all God’s2 house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Mosesas much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but uthe builder of all things is God.) vNow Moses was faithful in all God’s house was a servant, xto testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as ya son. And zwe are his house, if indeed we ahold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.3

A Rest for the People of God

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

bToday, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

on the day of testing in the wilderness,

where your fathers put me to the test

and saw my works for cforty years.

10  Therefore I was provoked with that generation,

and said, They always go astray in their heart;

they have not known my ways.

11  dAs I swore in my wrath,

They shall not enter my rest.

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from ethe living God. 13 But fexhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by gthe deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, hif indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

bToday, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

16 For iwho were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not jall those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, kwhose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that lthey would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that mthey were unable to enter because of unbelief.


Proverbs 20:16–30

16  xTake a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and yhold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.1

17  zBread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,

but afterward his mouth will be full of agravel.

18  bPlans are established by counsel;

by cwise guidance dwage war.

19  Whoever egoes about slandering reveals secrets;

therefore do not associate with fa simple babbler.2

20  gIf one curses his father or his mother,

hhis lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

21  iAn inheritance gained hastily in the beginning

will not be blessed in the end.

22  Do not say, jI will repay evil;

kwait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

23  lUnequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,

and mfalse scales are not good.

24  A man’s nsteps are from the Lord;

how then can man understand his way?

25  It is a snare to say rashly, It is holy,

and to reflect only oafter making vows.

26  A wise king pwinnows the wicked

and drives qthe wheel over them.

27  rThe spirit3 of man is the lamp of the Lord,

ssearching all this innermost parts.

28  uSteadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,

and by steadfast love his vthrone is upheld.

29  The glory of young men is their strength,

but wthe splendor of old men is their gray hair.

30  xBlows that wound cleanse away evil;

strokes make clean tthe innermost parts.


Isaiah 11–13

The Righteous Reign of the Branch

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of lJesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

And mthe Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

nHe shall not judge by owhat his eyes see,

or decide disputes by owhat his ears hear,

but pwith righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall qstrike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and rwith the breath of his lips she shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and tfaithfulness the belt of his loins.

uThe wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

uThey shall not hurt or destroy

in all vmy holy mountain;

wfor the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day xthe root of yJesse, who shall stand as za signal for the peoplesof him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

11 aIn that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, bfrom Assyria, bfrom Egypt, from cPathros, from dCush,1 from eElam, from fShinar, from gHamath, and from hthe coastlands of the sea.

12  He will raise za signal for the nations

and will assemble ithe banished of Israel,

and gather the dispersed of Judah

from the four corners of the earth.

13  jThe jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,

and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;

Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,

and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

14  kBut they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,

and together they shall plunder lthe people of the east.

They shall put out their hand magainst nEdom and oMoab,

and pthe Ammonites shall obey them.

15  And the Lord will utterly destroy2

qthe tongue of the Sea of Egypt,

and will wave his hand over rthe River3

with his scorching breath,4

and strike it into seven channels,

and he will lead people across in sandals.

16  And there will be sa highway from Assyria

for the remnant that remains of his people,

tas there was for Israel

when they came up from the land of Egypt.

The Lord Is My Strength and My Song

You5 will say uin that day:

I will give thanks to you, O Lord,

for though you were angry with me,

vyour anger turned away,

that you might comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for wthe Lord God6 is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.

xWith joy you7 will draw water from the wells of salvation. yAnd you will say in that day:

zGive thanks to the Lord,

call upon his name,

amake known his deeds among the peoples,

proclaim bthat his name is exalted.

cSing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

let this be made known8 in all the earth.

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

for great din your9 midst is ethe Holy One of Israel.

The Judgment of Babylon

The oracle concerning fBabylon which gIsaiah the son of Amoz saw.

On a bare hill hraise a signal;

cry aloud to them;

wave the hand for ithem to enter

the gates of the nobles.

I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,

and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,

my proudly exulting ones.10

The sound jof a tumult is on the mountains

as of a great multitude!

The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,

of nations gathering together!

kThe Lord of hosts is mustering

a host for battle.

lThey come from a distant land,

from the end of the heavens,

the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,

to destroy the whole land.11

mWail, for nthe day of the Lord is near;

as destruction from the Almighty12 it will come!

Therefore all hands will be feeble,

and every human heart owill melt.

They will be dismayed:

ppangs and agony will seize them;

qthey will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at one another;

their faces will be aflame.

Behold, nthe day of the Lord comes,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,

to make the land a desolation

and rto destroy its sinners from it.

10  sFor the stars of the heavens and their constellations

will not give their light;

tthe sun will be dark at its rising,

and the moon will not shed its light.

11  I will punish uthe world for its evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity;

I will vput an end to the pomp of the arrogant,

wand lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.

12  I will make xpeople more rare than fine gold,

and mankind than the ygold of Ophir.

13  Therefore zI will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will be shaken out of its place,

at the wrath of the Lord of hosts

in the day of his fierce anger.

14  And like a hunted gazelle,

or like sheep with none to gather them,

aeach will turn to his own people,

and each will flee to his own land.

15  Whoever is found will be thrust through,

and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.

16  bTheir infants will be dashed in pieces

before their eyes;

their houses will be plundered

and their wives ravished.

17  Behold, cI am stirring up the Medes against them,

who have no regard for silver

and do not delight in gold.

18  dTheir bows will slaughter13 the young men;

they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;

their eyes will not pity children.

19  And Babylon, ethe glory of kingdoms,

the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,

will be flike Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.

20  gIt will never be inhabited

or lived in for all generations;

no hArab will pitch his tent there;

no ishepherds will make their flocks lie down there.

21  But jwild animals will lie down there,

and their houses will be full of howling creatures;

there kostriches14 will dwell,

and there wild goats will dance.

22  Hyenas15 will cry in its towers,

and ljackals in mthe pleasant palaces;

its time is close at hand

and its days will not be prolonged.