^g“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6  For ^hthe Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

1  He who is often ^treproved, yet stiffens his neck,

will ^usuddenly be broken beyond healing.

2  ^vWhen the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

3  ^wHe who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

but a ^xcompanion of prostitutes ^ysquanders his wealth.

4  By justice a king builds up the land,

but he who exacts gifts¹ tears it down.

5  A man who flatters his neighbor

spreads a net for his feet.

6  ^zAn evil man is ensnared in his transgression,

but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

7  A righteous man ^aknows the rights of the poor;

a wicked man ^bdoes not understand such knowledge.

8  Scoffers set a city aflame,

but the wise turn away wrath.

9  ^cIf a wise man has an argument with a fool,

the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

10  Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless

and seek the life of the upright.²

11  ^dA fool gives full vent to his spirit,

but a wise man quietly holds it back.

12  If a ruler listens to falsehood,

all his officials will be wicked.

13  ^eThe poor man and the oppressor meet together;

the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

14  If a king faithfully judges the poor,

^fhis throne will be established forever.

1  Thus says the Lord:

“Keep justice, and do righteousness,

for soon my salvation ^kwill come,

and my righteousness be revealed.

2  Blessed is the man who does this,

and the son of man who holds it fast,

who ^lkeeps the Sabbath, not ^mprofaning it,

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

3  Let not the foreigner who has ⁿjoined himself to the Lord say,

^o“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;

and let not the eunuch say,

“Behold, I am a dry tree.”

4  For thus says the Lord:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose the things that please me

and hold fast my covenant,

5  I will give in my house and within my walls

a monument and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that shall not be cut off.

6  “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,

and holds fast my covenant—

7  these I will bring to my holy mountain,

and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be ^paccepted on my altar;

for ^qmy house shall be called a house of prayer

^rfor all peoples.”

8  The Lord God,

who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,

“I will gather yet others to him

besides those already gathered.”

9  All you beasts of the field, ^scome to devour—

all you beasts in the forest.

10  His watchmen are blind;

they are all without knowledge;

they are all silent dogs;

they cannot bark,

dreaming, lying down,

loving to slumber.

11  The dogs have a mighty appetite;

they never have enough.

But they are ^tshepherds who have no understanding;

they have all turned to their own way,

each to his own gain, one and all.

12  “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;

let us fill ourselves with strong drink;

and tomorrow will be like this day,

great beyond measure.”

1  The righteous man perishes,

and no one ^ulays it to heart;

devout men are taken away,

while no one understands.

For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;

2  he enters into peace;

they ^vrest in their beds

who walk in their uprightness.

3  But you, draw near,

sons of the sorceress,

offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.

4  Whom are you mocking?

Against whom do you ^wopen your mouth wide

and stick out your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

the offspring of deceit,

5  you who burn with lust among the ^xoaks,¹

under every green tree,

who ^yslaughter your children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

6  Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;

they, they, are your lot;

to them you have poured out a drink offering,

you have brought a grain offering.

Shall I relent for these things?

7  On a high and lofty mountain

you have set your bed,

and there you went up to offer sacrifice.

8  Behind the door and the doorpost

you have set up your memorial;

for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,

you have gone up to it,

you have made it wide;

and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,

you have loved their bed,

you have looked on nakedness.²

9  You journeyed to the king with oil

and multiplied your perfumes;

you ^zsent your envoys far off,

and sent down even to Sheol.

10  You were wearied with the length of your way,

but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;

you found new life for your strength,

and so you were not faint.³

11  Whom did you dread and fear,

so that you lied,

and did not remember me,

did not lay it to heart?

^aHave I not held my peace, even for a long time,

and you do not fear me?

12  I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,

but they will not profit you.

13  When you cry out, ^blet your collection of idols deliver you!

The wind will carry them all off,

a breath will take them away.

But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land

and shall inherit my holy mountain.

14  And it shall be said,

^c“Build up, build up, prepare the way,

remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”

15  For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a ^dcontrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

16  For ^eI will not contend forever,

nor will I always be angry;

for the spirit would grow faint before me,

and the breath of life that I made.

17  Because of the iniquity of his ^funjust gain I was angry,

I struck him; I ^ghid my face and was angry,

but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

18  I have seen his ways, but I will ^hheal him;

I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,

19  creating the fruit of the lips.

ⁱPeace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,

“and I will heal him.

20  But ^jthe wicked are like the tossing sea;

for it cannot be quiet,

and its waters toss up mire and dirt.

21  ^kThere is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

1  “Cry aloud; do not hold back;

lift up your voice like a trumpet;

^ldeclare to my people their transgression,

to the house of Jacob their sins.

2  ^mYet they seek me daily

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that did righteousness

and did not forsake the judgment of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments;

they delight to draw near to God.

3  ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,⁴

and oppress all your workers.

4  Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day

will not make your voice to be heard on high.

5  Is such the fast that I choose,

a day for a person to humble himself?

Is it to bow down his head like a reed,

and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast,

and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6  “Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

ⁿto let the oppressed⁵ go free,

and to break every yoke?

7  Is it not to ^oshare your bread with the hungry

and ^pbring the homeless poor into your house;

^qwhen you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8  ^rThen shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

^sthe glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the ^tpointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

10  if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

11  And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be ^ulike a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

12  And your ^vancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13  “If you turn back your foot from the ^wSabbath,

from doing your pleasure⁶ on my holy day,

and call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking your own pleasure,⁷ or talking idly;⁸

14  then you shall take delight in the Lord,

and I will ^xmake you ride on the heights of the earth;⁹

I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

^yfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”