Wednesday in Advent

1Verse 1. Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2Verse 2. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. 3Verse 3. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, 4Verse 4. but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. 5Verse 5. Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist. 6Verse 6. The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them. 7Verse 7. The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8Verse 8. The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. 9Verse 9. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.

8Verse 8. And you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion — the former dominion will be restored to you; sovereignty will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem.” 9Verse 9. Why do you now cry aloud? Is there no king among you? Has your counselor perished so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor? 10Verse 10. Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies! 11Verse 11. But now many nations have assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.” 12Verse 12. But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. 13Verse 13. Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

31Verse 31. “To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like? 32Verse 32. They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33Verse 33. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34Verse 34. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35Verse 35. But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”