July 14, 2026

1Ephraimite War - Crisis in Judah. In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. 2When word came to the house of David that Aram had allied itself with Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind. 3Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field, 4and say to him: Take care you remain calm and do not fear; do not let your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands, the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans and of the son of Remaliah— 5because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you. They say, 6“Let us go up against Judah, tear it apart, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.” 7Thus says the Lord GOD: It shall not stand, it shall not be! 8The head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; 9The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. Within sixty-five years, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm!

2I - Great is the LORD and highly praised in the city of our God: His holy mountain, 3fairest of heights, the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, the heights of Zaphon, the city of the great king. 4II - God is in its citadel, renowned as a stronghold. 5See! The kings assembled, together they advanced. 6When they looked they were astounded; terrified, they were put to flight! 7Trembling seized them there, anguish, like a woman’s labor, 8As when the east wind wrecks the ships of Tarshish!

8Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert.

20Reproaches to Unrepentant Towns. Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. 21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23And as for you, Capernaum: ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”