Isaiah 25:1-9

¹ Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth. ² For you have made a city into a heap, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city. It will never be built. ³ Therefore a strong people will glorify you. A city of awesome nations will fear you. ⁴ For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall. ⁵ As the heat in a dry place will you bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the dreaded ones will be brought low. ⁶ In this mountain, Yahweh of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines. ⁷ He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. ⁸ He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it. ⁹ It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”

Genesis 9:8-17

⁸ God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ “As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth. ¹¹ I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Proverbs 12:8-22

⁸ A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he who has a warped mind shall be despised. ⁹ Better is he who is little know, and has a servant, than he who honors himself, and lacks bread. ¹⁰ A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. ¹¹ He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding. ¹² The wicked desires the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes. ¹³ An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble. ¹⁴ A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man’s hands shall be rewarded to him. ¹⁵ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel. ¹⁶ A fool shows his annoyance the same day, but one who overlooks an insult is prudent. ¹⁷ He who is truthful testifies honestly, but a false witness lies. ¹⁸ There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals. ¹⁹ Truth’s lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only momentary. ²⁰ Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but joy comes to the promoters of peace. ²¹ No mischief shall happen to the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. ²² Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh, but those who do the truth are his delight.