AME Zion Universal Reading September 18th 2022

Sunday School Zoom Link

First Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 26

1And it will be, when you come into the land which the Lord, your God, gives you for an inheritance, and you possess it and settle in it,2that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you will bring from your land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you. And you shall put [them] into a basket and go to the place which the Lord, your God, will choose to have His Name dwell there.3And you shall come to the kohen who will be [serving] in those days, and say to him, "I declare this day to the Lord, your God, that I have come to the land which the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us."4And the kohen will take the basket from your hand, laying it before the altar of the Lord, your God.5And you shall call out and say before the Lord, your God, "An Aramean [sought to] destroy my forefather, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people, and there, he became a great, mighty, and numerous nation.6And the Egyptians treated us cruelly and afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us.7So we cried out to the Lord, God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.8And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great awe, and with signs and wonders.9And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.10And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have given to me." Then, you shall lay it before the Lord, your God, and prostrate yourself before the Lord, your God.11Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your God, has granted you and your household you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.

Genesis 32:22–32 (NLT): Jacob Wrestles with God

22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.

24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 “What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.

“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)

Second Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 26

12When you have finished tithing all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give [them] to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that they can eat to satiety in your cities.13Then you shall say before the Lord, your God, "I have removed the holy [portion] from the house, and I have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, according to all Your commandment that You commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten [them].14I did not eat any of it [second tithe] while in my mourning, nor did I consume any of it while unclean; neither did I use any of it for the dead. I obeyed the Lord, my God; I did according to all that You commanded me.15Look down from Your holy dwelling, from the heavens, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given to us, as You swore to our forefathers a land flowing with milk and honey.

Monday

Hebrews 12:7–13 (NLT):

7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

Third Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 26

16This day, the Lord, your God, is commanding you to fulfill these statutes and ordinances, and you will observe and fulfill them with all your heart and with all your soul.17You have selected the Lord this day, to be your God, and to walk in His ways, and to observe His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and to obey Him.18And the Lord has selected you this day to be His treasured people, as He spoke to you, and so that you shall observe all His commandments,19and to make you supreme, above all the nations that He made, [so that you will have] praise, a [distinguished] name and glory; and so that you will be a holy people to the Lord, your God, as He spoke.

Tuesday

Genesis 27:18–29 (NLT): 18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.

“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”

19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”

20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.

25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”

27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!

28 “From the dew of heaven

and the richness of the earth,

may God always give you abundant harvests of grain

and bountiful new wine.

29 May many nations become your servants,

and may they bow down to you.

May you be the master over your brothers,

and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

All who curse you will be cursed,

and all who bless you will be blessed.”

Fourth Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 27

1And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Observe all of the commandment that I command you this day.2And it will be, on the day that you cross the Jordan to the land the Lord, your God, is giving you, that you shall set up for yourself huge stones, and plaster them with lime.3When you cross, you shall write upon them all the words of this Torah, in order that you may come to the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, God of your forefathers, has spoken to you.4And it will be, when you cross the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, [regarding] which I command you this day on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with lime.5And there, you shall build an altar to the Lord, your God, an altar of stones. You shall not wield any iron upon them.6You shall build the altar of the Lord, your God, out of whole stones. And on it, you shall offer up burnt offerings to the Lord, your God.7And you shall slaughter peace offerings, and you shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord, your God.8You shall write upon the stones all the words of this Torah, very clearly.9Moses and the Levitic priests spoke to all Israel, saying, "Pay attention and listen, O Israel! This day, you have become a people to the Lord, your God.10You shall therefore obey the Lord, your God, and fulfill His commandments and His statutes, which I command you this day.

Wednesday

Genesis 27:30–41 (NLT):

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.”

32 But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”

Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”

33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”

34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.

35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”

36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”

37 Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?”

38 Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept.

39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,

“You will live away from the richness of the earth,

and away from the dew of the heaven above.

40 You will live by your sword,

and you will serve your brother.

But when you decide to break free,

you will shake his yoke from your neck.”

Jacob Flees to Paddan-Aram

41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”

Fifth Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 27

11And Moses commanded the people on that day, saying,12When you cross the Jordan, the following shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.13And the following shall stand upon Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naftali.14The Levites shall speak up, saying to every individual of Israel, in a loud voice:15"Cursed be the man who makes any graven or molten image an abomination to the Lord, the handiwork of a craftsman and sets it up in secret! And all the people shall respond, saying, 'Amen!'16Cursed be he who degrades his father and mother. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'17Cursed be he who moves back his neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'18Cursed be he who misguides a blind person on the way. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'19Cursed be he who perverts the judgment of the stranger, the orphan, or the widow. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'20Cursed be he who lies with his father's wife, thus uncovering the corner of his father's garment. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'21Cursed be he who lies with any animal. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'22Cursed be he who lies with his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'23Cursed be he who lies with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'24Cursed be he who strikes his fellow in secret. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'25Cursed be he who takes a bribe to put an innocent person to death. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'26Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah, to fulfill them. And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'

Deuteronomy Chapter 28

1And it will be if you obey the Lord, your God, to observe to fulfill all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord, your God, will place you supreme above all the nations of the earth.2And all these blessings will come upon you and cleave to you, if you obey the Lord, your God.3You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field.4Blessed will be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your soil, the fruit of your livestock, the offspring of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep.5Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl.6You shall be blessed when you come, and you shall be blessed when you depart.

Thursday

Romans 11:25–32 (NLT): God’s Mercy Is for Everyone

25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,

and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.

27 And this is my covenant with them,

that I will take away their sins.”

28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. 31 Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

Sixth Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 28

7The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you, to be beaten before you; they will come out against you in one direction, but they will flee from you in seven directions.8The Lord will order the blessing to be with you in your granaries, and in every one of your endeavors, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you.9The Lord will establish you as His holy people as He swore to you, if you observe the commandments of the Lord, your God, and walk in His ways.10Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you.11And the Lord will grant you good surplus in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers, to give you.12The Lord will open up for you His good treasury, the heaven, to give your land its rain in its [right] time, and to bless everything you do. And you will lend many nations, but you will not [need to] borrow.13And the Lord will set you at the head, and not at the tail, and you will be only at the top, and you will not be at the bottom, if you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am commanding you this day, to observe to fulfill [them].14And you shall not turn right or left from all of the words I am commanding you this day, to follow other deities to worship them.15And it will be, if you do not obey the Lord, your God, to observe to fulfill all His commandments and statutes which I am commanding you this day, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.16You shall be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field.17Cursed will be your [food] basket and your kneading bowl.18Cursed will be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your soil, the fruit of your livestock, those born from your cattle and the flock of your sheep.19You shall be cursed when you come, and you shall be cursed when you depart.20The Lord will send the curse of shortages, confusion, and turmoil upon you, in every one of your endeavors which you undertake, until it destroys you and until you quickly vanish, because of your evil deeds in forsaking Me.21The Lord will make pestilence cleave to you, until it has exterminated you from upon the land, to which you are coming, to possess it.22The Lord will strike you with consumption, fever, illnesses with burning fevers, a disease which causes unquenchable thirst, with the sword, with blast, and with yellowing, and they will pursue you until you perish.23And your skies above you will be [like] copper, and the earth below you [like] iron.24The Lord will turn the rain of your land into powder and dust, raining down upon you from the heavens until you are destroyed.25The Lord will cause you to be broken before your enemy: you will come out against them in one direction, but you will flee from them in seven directions. And you will become a terrifying [example] to all the kingdoms on earth.26Your corpse will be food for all birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them [away].27The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with hemorrhoids, with oozing sores, and with dry lesions, from which you will be unable to be cured.28The Lord will strike you with insanity, with blindness, and with bewilderment.29You will grope at midday, as the blind man gropes in the dark, and you will be unsuccessful in your ways. You will be only oppressed and robbed all the days, and no one will save [you].30You will betroth a woman, but another man will lie with her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not redeem it[s fruits].31Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat from it. Your donkey will be snatched right in front of you, and it will not return to you. Your flock will be given over to your enemies, and you will have no savior.32Your sons and daughters will be given over to another people, and your eyes will see [this] and long for them all day long, but you will be powerless.33A people unknown to you will eat up the fruit of your soil and [the result of] all your toil. You will be only wronged and crushed all the days.34You will go insane from the vision before your eyes that you will behold.35The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with a terrible skin eruption from which you will be unable to be cured; [it will eventually cover you] from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.36The Lord will lead you and your king whom you will have established over you, to a nation unknown to you or your fathers; and there, you will serve other deities [made] of wood and stone.37And you will become an [object of] astonishment, an example, and a topic of discussion, among all the peoples to whom the Lord will lead you.38You will take much seed out to the field, yet you will gather in little, for the locusts will finish it.39You will plant vineyards and work [them], but you will neither drink of [their] wine, or gather [the grapes], because the worms will devour them.40You will have olive trees throughout all your boundaries, but you will not anoint with [their] oil, because your olive trees will drop off.41You will bear sons and daughters, but you will not have them, because they will go into captivity.42All your trees and all the fruit of your soil the cicada will make destitute.43The stranger who is among you will arise above you, higher and higher, while you will descend lower and lower.44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be at the head, while you will be at the tail.45All these curses will befall you, pursuing you and overtaking you to destroy you because you did not obey the Lord, your God, to observe His commandments and statutes which He commanded you.46And they will be as a sign and a wonder, upon you and your offspring, forever,47because you did not serve the Lord, your God, with happiness and with gladness of heart, when [you had an] abundance of everything.48Therefore, you will serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, [when you are] in famine, thirst, destitution, and lacking everything, and he will place an iron yoke upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.49The Lord will bring upon you a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand,50a brazen nation, which will not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young.51They will devour the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your soil, to destroy you. They will not leave over anything for you of the grain, wine, oil, offspring of your cattle or flocks of your sheep, until they annihilate you.52And they will besiege you in all your cities, until your high and fortified walls in which you trust come down, throughout all your land. And they will besiege you in all your cities throughout all your land, which the Lord, your God, has given you.53And during the siege and the desperation which your enemies will bring upon you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord, your God, gave you.54The most tender and delicate man among you, will begrudge his own brother and the wife of his embrace and the rest of his children, whom he will leave over,55of giving any one of them of the flesh of his children that he is eating, because not a thing will remain for him in the siege and in the desperation which your enemies will bring upon you, in all your cities.56The most tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set her foot upon the ground, because of delicateness and tenderness, will begrudge the husband of her embrace and her own son and daughter,57and the infants who emerge from between her legs, and her own children whom she will bear, for she will eat them in secret, in destitution, in the siege and the desperation which your enemies will inflict upon you, in your cities.58If you do not observe to fulfill all the words of this Torah, which are written in this scroll, to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord, your God,59Then the Lord [will bring upon] you and your offspring uniquely [horrible] plagues, terrible and unyielding plagues, and evil and unyielding sicknesses.60And He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt which you dreaded, and they will cling to you.61Also, the Lord will bring upon you every disease and plague which is not written in this Torah scroll, to destroy you.62And you will remain few in number, whereas you were once as numerous as the stars of the heavens because you did not obey the Lord, your God.63And it will be, just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do good for you and to increase you, so will the Lord cause to rejoice over you to annihilate you and to destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land which you enter therein, to possess it.64And the Lord will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other deities unknown to you or your forefathers, [deities of] wood and stone.65And among those nations, you will not be calm, nor will your foot find rest. There, the Lord will give you a trembling heart, dashed hopes, and a depressed soul.66And your life will hang in suspense before you. You will be in fear night and day, and you will not believe in your life.67In the morning, you will say, "If only it were evening! " and in the evening, you will say, "If only it were morning!" because of the fear in your heart which you will experience and because of the sights that you will behold.68And the Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships, through the way about which I had said to you, You will never see it again. And there, you will seek to be sold to your enemies for slaves and handmaids, but there will be no buyer.69These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

Friday

Psalm 105:1–11 (NLT):

1 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

Let the whole world know what he has done.

2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

3 Exult in his holy name;

rejoice, you who worship the Lord.

4 Search for the Lord and for his strength;

continually seek him.

5 Remember the wonders he has performed,

his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

6 you children of his servant Abraham,

you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

7 He is the Lord our God.

His justice is seen throughout the land.

8 He always stands by his covenant—

the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

9 This is the covenant he made with Abraham

and the oath he swore to Isaac.

10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,

and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

11 “I will give you the land of Canaan

as your special possession.”

Seventh Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 29

1And Moses called all of Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the Lord did before your very eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land;2the great trials which your very eyes beheld and those great signs and wonders.3Yet until this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear.4I led you through the desert for forty years [during which time] your garments did not wear out from upon you, nor did your shoes wear out from upon your feet.5You neither ate bread, nor drank new wine or old wine, in order that you would know that I am the Lord, your God.6And then you arrived at this place. And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out towards us in battle, and we smote them.7And we took their land, and we gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.8And you shall observe the words of this covenant and fulfill them, in order that you will succeed in all that you do.

Saturday

Genesis 32:3–12 (NLT): Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau

3 Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. 4 He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, 5 and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’ ”

6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’ ”

Maftir Portion

Deuteronomy Chapter 29

6And then you arrived at this place. And Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out towards us in battle, and we smote them.7And we took their land, and we gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.8And you shall observe the words of this covenant and fulfill them, in order that you will succeed in all that you do.

Haftarah

Isaiah Chapter 60

1Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you.2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a gross darkness the kingdoms, and the Lord shall shine upon you, and His glory shall appear over you.3And nations shall go by your light and kings by the brilliance of your shine.4Lift up your eyes all around and see, they all have gathered, they have come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be raised on [their] side.5Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall be startled and become enlarged, for the abundance of the west shall be turned over to you, the wealth of the nations that will come to you.6A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah, all of them shall come from Sheba; gold and frankincense they shall carry, and the praises of the Lord they shall report.7All the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall serve you; they shall be offered up with acceptance upon My altar, and I will glorify My glorious house.8Who are these that fly like a cloud and like doves to their cotes?9For the isles will hope for Me, and the ships of Tarshish [as] in the beginning, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, in the name of the Lord your God and for the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.10And foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall serve you, for in My wrath I struck you, and in My grace have I had mercy on you.11And they shall open your gates always; day and night they shall not be closed, to bring to you the wealth of the nations and their kings in procession.12For the nation and the kingdom that shall not serve you shall perish, and the nations shall be destroyed.13The glory of the Lebanon shall come to you, box trees, firs, and cypresses together, to glorify the place of My sanctuary, and the place of My feet I will honor.14And the children of your oppressors shall go to you bent over, and those who despised you shall prostrate themselves at the soles of your feet, and they shall call you 'the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.'15Instead of your being forsaken and hated without a passerby, I will make you an everlasting pride, the joy of every generation.16And you shall suck the milk of nations and the breast of kings you shall suck, and you shall know that I am the Lord, your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.17Instead of the copper I will bring gold, and instead of the iron I will bring silver, and instead of the wood, copper, and instead of the stones, iron, and I will make your officers peace and your rulers righteousness.18Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither robbery nor destruction within your borders, and you shall call salvation your walls and your gates praise.19You shall no longer have the sun for light by day, and for brightness, the moon shall not give you light, but the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.20Your sun shall no longer set, neither shall your moon be gathered in, for the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be completed.21And your people, all of them righteous, shall inherit the land forever, a scion of My planting, the work of My hands in which I will glory.22The smallest shall become a thousand and the least a mighty nation; I am the Lord, in its time I will hasten it.