Genesis 49
1And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
2"Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.
3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
4Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father's bed; Then you defiled it-- He went up to my couch.
5"Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.
6Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.
8"Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you.
9Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
13"Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.
14"Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;
15He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.
16"Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
18I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!
19"Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.
20"Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.
21"Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
22"Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.
23The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.
24But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil."
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.
Isaiah 40
9O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
10Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.
11He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?
13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?
15Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25"To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God"?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Zephaniah 3
14Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
15The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.
16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.
17The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
18"I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden.
19Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame.
20At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you; For I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I return your captives before your eyes," Says the LORD.
Zechariah 9
9"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be "from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.'
11"As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.
13For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man."
14Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south.
15The LORD of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.