for in these I delight: kindness, justice, righteousness

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from YHWH: "Stand at the gate of YHWH's house and there proclaim this message:
" 'Hear the word of YHWH, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship YHWH. This is what YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of YHWH, the temple of YHWH, the temple of YHWH!" If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.

"Say to them, 'This is what YHWH says:
" 'When men fall down, do they not get up?
When a man turns away, does he not return?

Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;
they refuse to return.

I have listened attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
No one repents of his wickedness,
saying, "What have I done?"
Each pursues his own course
like a horse charging into battle.

Even the stork in the sky
knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know
the requirements of YHWH.

This is what YHWH says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am YHWH, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares YHWH.



Jeremiah 7:1-7, 8:4-7, 9:23,24 NIV


[Yahweh, may these words describe me: kind, just and righteous. May I learn to understand and know you.]

rain in season

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.

They do not say to themselves,
'Let us fear YHWH our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
your sins have deprived you of good.

"A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land:

The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?

To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of YHWH is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.



Jeremiah 5:23-25, 30-31,6:10 NIV


[Yahweh, let us wake up and listen and enjoy the blessings of rain in season. Restore Godly leaders.]

Refuge in times of trouble

An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

YHWH is a jealous and avenging God;
YHWH takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
YHWH takes vengeance on his foes
and maintains his wrath against his enemies.

YHWH is slow to anger and great in power;
YHWH will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.

He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.

The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.

Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.

YHWH is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh ;
he will pursue his foes into darkness.

From you, O Nineveh , has one come forth
who plots evil against Yahweh
and counsels wickedness.


Nahum 1:1-8,11 NIV


[Yahweh, thank you for your perfect justice. I can trust you to take care of every burden.]

new heavens and a new earth

Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.

I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

This is what YHWH says:
Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?"
declares YHWH.
"This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at my word.


Isaiah 65:17-19, 66:1,2 NIV

[Yahweh, how beautiful is your creation.]

Open Eyes That Are Blind

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."

This is what God YHWH says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:

I, YHWH, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,

to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

I am YHWH; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.

See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.

I, even I, am YHWH,
and apart from me there is no savior.

Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?

Isaiah 42:1-9,16, 43:11,13 NIV

[Yahweh, Savior, we ever thank you for your Chosen One and your Holy Spirit]

Do you not know?

Comfort, comfort my people,
       says your God.

A voice of one calling:
       "In the desert prepare
       the way for YHWH;
       make straight in the wilderness
       a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up,
       every mountain and hill made low;
       the rough ground shall become level,
       the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of YHWH will be revealed,
       and all mankind together will see it.
       For the mouth of YHWH has spoken."

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
       or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
       Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
       or weighed the mountains on the scales
       and the hills in a balance?

Who has understood the mind of YHWH,
or instructed him as his counselor?

Whom did YHWH consult to enlighten him,
       and who taught him the right way?
       Who was it that taught him knowledge
       or showed him the path of understanding?

Do you not know?
       Have you not heard?
       Has it not been told you from the beginning?
       Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
       and its people are like grasshoppers.
       He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
       and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

He brings princes to naught
       and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing
No sooner are they planted,
       no sooner are they sown,
       no sooner do they take root in the ground,
       than he blows on them and they wither,
       and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

"To whom will you compare me?
       Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
       Who created all these?
       He who brings out the starry host one by one,
       and calls them each by name.
       Because of his great power and mighty strength,
       not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
       and complain, O Israel,
       "My way is hidden from YHWH;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?

Do you not know?
       Have you not heard?
      
YHWH is the everlasting God,
       the Creator of the ends of the earth.
       He will not grow tired or weary,
       and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in YHWH
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:1,3-5,12-14,21-31 NIV

[Creator from the beginning, let me glimpse your understanding and soar and run and not be faint.]

They would not listen

The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against YHWH their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. YHWH warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets."

But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in YHWH their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although YHWH had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things YHWH had forbidden them to do.

They forsook all the commands of YHWH their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of YHWH, provoking him to anger.

So YHWH was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of YHWH their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. Therefore YHWH rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.

The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until YHWH removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.  

2 Kings 17:5,6,7a,13-20,22-24

[Yahweh, I pray that we learn the skill of turning away from evil and the gift of treasuring your commands.]

Peace, Quietness, and Confidence forever

In that day—
"Sing about a fruitful vineyard:

I, YHWH, watch over it;
I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
so that no one may harm it.

I am not angry..."

The fortress will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.

Justice will dwell in the desert
and righteousness live in the fertile field.
The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
in secure homes,
in undisturbed places of rest.

Though hail flattens the forest
and the city is leveled completely,
how blessed you will be,
sowing your seed by every stream,
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

YHWH is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.

He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of YHWH is the key to this treasure.

You who are far away, hear what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!

The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
"Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

He who walks righteously
and speaks what is right,
who rejects gain from extortion
and keeps his hand from accepting bribes,
who stops his ears against plots of murder
and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil-

this is the man who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
His bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail him.

Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.

There YHWH will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship will sail them.

For YHWH is our judge,
YHWH is our lawgiver,
YHWH is our king;
it is he who will save us.

No one living in Zion will say, "I am ill";
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.

Isaiah 27:2-4a, 32:14-20, 33:5,6,13-16,20-22,24 NIV

[Yahweh, we praise the fruit and the effect of righteousness.]

Tested precious cornerstone in Zion

YHWH says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men.

Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

So this is what Sovereign YHWH says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;

In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind will see.

Once more the humble will rejoice in YHWH;
the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel."


Isaiah 29:13,14 28:16,17a, 29:18,19 NIV

[Yahweh, I rejoice and learn to trust your justice and righteousness]

A highway will be there

O YHWH, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago.

You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

On this mountain YHWH Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.

he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign YHWH will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
YHWH has spoken.

In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is YHWH, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

Yes, YHWH, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.

My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.

And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.

No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,

and the ransomed of YHWH will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.


Isaiah 25:1,4-6,8,9 26:8,9 35:8-10 NIV

[Yahweh, I rejoice and am glad in your salvation.]

first month, first year

In the first month of the first year of his reign, [Hezekiah] opened the doors of the temple of YHWH and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said: "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of YHWH, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary...Now I intend to make a covenant with YHWH, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us."

So they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped. Then Hezekiah said, "You have now dedicated yourselves to YHWH. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of YHWH." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.

So the service of the temple of YHWH was reestablished. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.

Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of YHWH in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to YHWH, the God of Israel.

The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and ridiculed them. Nevertheless, some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of YHWH.

There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

The king contributed from his own possessions ... He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of YHWH. As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. The men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to YHWH their God, and they piled them in heaps. They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised YHWH and blessed his people Israel.

Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, "Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of YHWH, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because YHWH has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over."

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before YHWH his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.


2 Chronicles 29:3-5,10,30b,31,35b,36 30:1,10-12,26,27 31:3-10,20,21 NIV

[Yahweh, when we can lead, let us act in our first month, first year of our reign.]

Zion

YHWH will have compassion on Jacob;
once again he will choose Israel
and will settle them in their own land.
Aliens will join them
and unite with the house of Jacob.

YHWH has established Zion,
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.

Isaiah 14:1,32b NIV

[Yahweh, thank you for your endless love for your people.]

father < son: Ahaz & Hezekiah

Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of YHWH. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made cast idols for worshiping the Baals. He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations YHWH had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

YHWH had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to YHWH.

In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to YHWH. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, "Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me." But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.

Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and took them away. He shut the doors of YHWH's temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked YHWH, the God of his fathers, to anger.

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)

Hezekiah trusted in YHWH, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to YHWH and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands YHWH had given Moses. And YHWH was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

2 Chronicles 28:1-4,19, 22-25; 2 Kings 18:1-7a NIV

[Yahweh, give me and my children and my descendants hearts like Hezekiah's: fully trusting You and helping to build Your body the church and help others.]

Speeds Righteousness

Come near, you nations, and listen;
pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!
YHWH is angry with all nations;
his wrath is upon all their armies.

YHWH Almighty has sworn,
"Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
I will crush the Assyrian in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders."

This is the plan determined for the whole world;
this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
For YHWH Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.

In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house of David—
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.


Isaiah 34:1,2a, 14:24-27, 16:4b,5 NIV

[Yahweh, I give thanks for your love for all peoples, your judgement, give us insight to accept your kindness.]