Isaiah 42
5Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it:
6"I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
7To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
9Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them."
10Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
14"I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.
15I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools.
16I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.
Proverbs 4
20My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
21Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
23Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
24Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
25Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
26Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
27Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
Job 29
2"Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me;
3When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness;
4Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;
5When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me;
6When my steps were bathed with cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!
7"When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square,
8The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood;
9The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth;
10The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me;
12Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper.
13The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame.
16I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.
17I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth.
18"Then I said, "I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand.
19My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch.
20My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.'
1 Samuel 3
1Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
2And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,
3and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,
4that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!"
5So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.
6Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."
7(Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)
8And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.
9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, "Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears."' So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."
11Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.
14And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."
15So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
16Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" He answered, "Here I am."
17And he said, "What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you."
18Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
19So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
20And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.