09/26/14 (2342) ISAIAH 5:8-25 (NAB) Doom of the Unjust Woe to you who join house to house, who connect field with field, Till no room remains, and you are left to dwell alone in the midst of the land! In my hearing the LORD of hosts has sworn: Many houses shall be in ruins, large ones and fine, with no one to live in them. Ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one liquid measure, And a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah. Lambs shall graze there at pasture, and kids shall eat in the ruins, of the rich. Woe to those who demand strong drink as soon as they rise in the morning, And linger into the night while wine inflames them! With harp and lyre, timbrel and flute, they feast on wine; But what the LORD does, they regard not, the work of his hands they see not. Therefore my people go into exile, because they do not understand; Their nobles die of hunger, and their masses are parched with thirst. Therefore the nether world enlarges its throat and opens its maw without limit; Down go their nobility and their masses, their throngs and their revelry. Men shall be abased, each one brought low, and the eyes of the haughty lowered, But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted by his judgement, and God the Holy shall be shown holy by his justice. Woe to those who tug at guilt with cords of perversity, and at sin as if with cart ropes! To those who say, Let him make haste and speed his work, that we may see it; On with the plan of the Holy One of Israel! let it come to pass, that we may know it! Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own sight, and prudent in their own esteem! Woe to the champions at drinking wine, the valiant at mixing strong drink! To those who acquit the guilty for bribes, and deprive the just man of his rights! Therefore, as the tongue of fire licks up stubble, as dry grass shrivels in the flame, Even so their root shall become rotten and their blossom scatter like dust; For they have spurned the law of the LORD of hosts, and scorned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the LORD blazes against his people, he raises his hand to strike them;
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 04:33:29 +0000