(Part 1) And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
The word rendered “poor”, above in Zechariah 11:7, is the Hebrew word ‘aniy, meaning “depressed, in mind or circumstances,” from words meaning meek, humble, and lowly. Several notable and defining uses come in 2 Samuel 22:28, Job 34:28, 36:6 & 15, Isaiah 54:11 & 66:2, Jeremiah 22:16, and Zechariah 9:9. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:5 thru 8
2 Samuel 22
26 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful, and with the upright man you will show yourself upright.
27 With the pure you will show yourself pure; and with the froward you will show yourself unsavory.
28 And the afflicted [‘aniy – humble and meek] people you will save: but your eyes are upon the haughty, that you mayest bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.
30 For by you I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.
31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?
33 God is my strength and power: and he makes my way perfect.
34 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet: and sets me upon my high places.
35 He teaches my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
36 You have also given me the shield of your salvation: and your gentleness has made me great.
37 You have enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.
38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.
39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.
40 For you have girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me have you subdued under me.
41 You have also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
44 You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people, you have kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me.
45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
46 Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places.
47 The LORD lives; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.
48 It is God that avenges me, and that bringeth down the people under me.
49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: you also have lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: you have delivered me from the violent man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks unto you, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto your name.
51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and shows mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
Zechariah 11 begins with telling of the end of the king line, their betraying of the LORD, and the price paid to restore it (which enthrones the king of the kingdom now come).
Zechariah 11
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon [purity in high places – with the kings], that the fire may devour your cedars [the upright].
2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty [kings] are spoiled: howl, O you oaks of Bashan [fruitfulness]; for the forest of the vintage [batsowr’ – only used here, meaning inaccessibility] is come down.
3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds [the kings, who, as David, are the chief shepherds]; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan [their ways have carried all into death] is spoiled.
4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter [who are all dead];
5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds [those they’ve appointed over them as their kings] pity them not.
6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty [no’am – seeking the word, advice, of the LORD – see its other five uses below], and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dies, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
10 And I took my staff, even Beauty [no’am], and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
12 And I said unto them, If you think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was priced at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto you yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that stands still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
17 Woe to the idol shepherd [who doesn’t defend the flock] that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm [work] shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened [his understanding shall be turned into ignorance].
Psalms 27
4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty [no’am] of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
Psalms 90
8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9 For all our days are passed away in your wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of your anger? even according to your fear, so is your wrath.
12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent you concerning your servants.
14 O satisfy us early with your mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days wherein you have afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16 Let your work appear unto your servants, and your glory unto their children.
17 And let the beauty [no’am] of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish you the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish you it.
Proverbs 3
11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
12 For whom the LORD loveth he corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.
13 Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding.
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness [no’am], and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retains her.
19 The LORD by wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding has he established the heavens.
Proverbs 15
20 A wise son makes a glad father: but a foolish man despises his mother.
21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.
23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant [no’am] words.
27 He that is greedy of gain troubles his own house; but he that hates gifts shall live.
28 The heart of the righteous studies to answer: but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
30 The light [understanding] of the eyes rejoices the heart: and a good report makes the bones fat.
Proverbs 16
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that has it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.
24 Pleasant [no’am] words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
25 There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
26 He that labors labors for himself; for his mouth craves it of him.
27 An ungodly man digs up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
28 A froward man [who twists and perverts truth] sows strife: and a whisperer separates chief friends [Judah and Israel].
This no’am, beauty in which God delights, ended with “cutting asunder” the good shepherds. The word it (no’am, meaning “agreeableness [agreement with God], i.e. delight, suitableness, splendor or grace”) is from is the eight times used Hebrew word na’em, also meaning “to be agreeable [with God] (literally or figuratively).”
It (na’em) first appears in Genesis 49:15, as Jacob is telling his children what shall befall them in these last days. It comes in speaking of Issachar, His name meaning “he will bring a reward,” with whom returns beauty and band, the two burdens he carries, as God’s servants under tribute. Below is the passage as we have often discussed it, with the addition [[ ]] highlighting deeper context and the appearance of the word na’em.
Genesis 49
8 Judah [the leaders God choses], you are he whom your brethren shall praise: your hand shall be in the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet [speaking of the Davidic king line], until Shiloh come [meaning peace and tranquility – the one {Joseph’s seed – the one separated} from who it will again flow – see Ezekiel 21:27 and the overturning]; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine [this speaking of the lowly {Zechariah 9:9}, God’s elect remnant, outside the established sects, bound until Shiloh comes, when they are loosed]; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun [the lowly raised up at the LORD’s coming] shall dwell at the haven of the sea [safe from the masses]; and he shall be for a haven of ships [and saving any who come to the LORD through them]; and his border shall be unto Zidon [they will be the end of those who’ve hunted souls].
14 Issachar [through him will come the reward – the fruitful bough] is a strong ass [the LORD’s people, now become His goodly horse in the battle – Zechariah 10:3] couching down between two burdens [[Beauty and Bands]]:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant [[na’em – the agreement with the Father, in which He delights]]; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16 Dan [the judge – speaking of strength returned and the righteous judgment of the world begins] shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way [as a serpent raised as a standard on a pole {nec}], an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels [this is the heel bruised in the judgment, meaning the serpents among the people, are rendered without effect], so that his rider shall fall backward [so the body of Christ will return to the place from which she fell – see, in Isaiah 28:13, what causes them to fall backward].
18 (I have waited for your salvation, O LORD.)
19 Gad [the LORD’s army, overcome until their return to Him], a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher [happy] his bread shall be fat [happiness returns when the word of God prospers], and he shall yield royal dainties [ma’adan – speaking of the royal line again raised up – referring us to its use in Proverbs 29:17, telling us this is when rest returns, when we, by correction, give the Father “delight”].
21 Naphtali [by this wrestling – unknowingly with the LORD] is a hind let loose: he gives goodly words [our tongue {the word of God} is loosed and we teach it as received directly from Him].
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well [a tree of life by these waters of God]; whose branches run over the wall [the wall of lies men have created and teach]:
23 The archers [ba’al – the gods of this world whose teaching has blinded all form seeing the Father, in the son, the seed of the women who brings forth the man child – see Revelation 12:17] have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25 Even by the God of your father, who shall help you; and by the Almighty, who shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under [the deep meaning that lies below the surface], blessings of the breasts, and of the womb [seed, the son]:
26 The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors [all those who have come before us, and were only blessed with part of what is perfected in our return to the LORD] unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
The word (na’em) later appears several times in the Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon, before its final appearance in Ezekiel 32:19. In Ezekiel, it’s used by the LORD in asking the oppressors who now hold us captive in hell, who are speaking against the LORD, “whom do you pass in beauty [na’em].”There we’re told of their end, in hell in the flesh, from where they will never be saved, because they refuse to agree with the message of salvation God sends with His messenger who He raised from the dead in hell. (That is the love of the Father, to send His son into hell, to rescue any and all who hear him.)
Friends, before going on we must give thanks to the Father; HalleluYah, HalleluYah, HalleluYah! He has led us into understanding by the revelation of Himself among us. He has come to rescue us from human evil (beasts: misleaders, the dead without His Spirit) now destroying humanity.
Ezekiel 32
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt [the great house, family, of the oppressors], and say unto him, You are like a young lion of the nations, and you are as a whale in the seas [your ever open mouths, swallowing the people of the world and carrying them into the belly of hell]: and you came forth with your rivers [that carried your words to the sea], and troubled the waters with your feet [by your ways you clouded the waters, so your evil intention in it wasn’t seen], and fouled their rivers [you corrupted all discourse with your lies].
3 Thus says the LORD God; I will therefore spread out my net over you with a company of many people; and they shall bring you up in my net [the snare upon all the earth, from which you will not escape].
4 Then will I leave you upon the land [in plain sight where all can see your evil ways], I will cast you forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon you, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with you.
5 And I will lay your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height.
6 I will also water with your blood the land wherein you swim, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of you.
7 And when I shall put you out, I will cover the heaven [the place where understanding is], and make the stars thereof dark [the people at large have become ignorant]; I will cover the sun with a cloud [the church will not understand because the elements of understanding have been removed from the earth], and the moon shall not give her light [neither shall there be any understanding in the civil governments].
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and set darkness [ignorance] upon your land, says the LORD God [as it is this day].
9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known [as it is this day].
10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for you, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.
11 For thus says the LORD God; The sword of the king of Babylon [the sword of confusion now turned to mass delusion] shall come upon you.
12 By the swords [the word of God from my mouth] of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them [the waters] any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then will I make their waters deep [as now, when the deep is uncovered and understanding has returned], and cause their rivers to run like oil [of this anointing], says the LORD God.
15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.
16 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, says the LORD God.
17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt [of the oppressors], and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19 Whom do you pass in beauty [na’em – who are those who are in agreement with your evil misleading]? go down, and be you laid with the uncircumcised [in the grave, in hell, in the flesh].
20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword [the word of God from my mouth]: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell [Sheol – this habitation of the dead] with them that help [‘azar – “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helps {‘azar} shall fall, and he that is helped {‘azar} shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.”] him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised [in the flesh in hell], slain by the sword.
22 Asshur [the communists] is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
24 There is Elam [eternity] and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
26 There is Meshech [those the LORD has drawn out into open sight], Tubal [who he has brought to this time and place], and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised [the dead in the flesh, on the earth, in hell], slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yea, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with them that are slain with the sword.
29 There is Edom [the enemies mixed among us], her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
30 There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians [those who hunt souls], which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, says the LORD God.
32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the LORD God.
Proverbs 2
6 For the LORD gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
7 He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keeps the paths of judgment, and preserves the way of his saints.
9 Then shall you understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10 When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you:
12 To deliver you from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaks froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness [the twisting and perverting of truth] of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flatters with her words;
17 Which forsake the guide of her youth, and forget the covenant of her God.
When Zechariah 11:10 speaks of the LORD breaking His covenant with His people, it is referring to what is spoken above, of the strange woman (the fallen church), who has forsaken the guide of her youth. These strangers (the estranged woman) are those who left the LORD’s advice and made a covenant with death, and are in agreement with hell, who refuse to hear His voice.
The “Bands” then spoken of, in Zechariah 11, from the Hebrew word chebel, tell of this beauty, understanding that comes from ONE Voice, God’s voice with which we agree, that binds (bands) God’s people together, in ONE BODY, under one king who the LORD chooses.
Zechariah 2
1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line [chebel – the assessment that will rebind what is broken] in his hand.
2 Then said I, Whither go you? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north [the place of darkness – ignorance], saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
7 Deliver yourself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon [of confusion and ignorance].
8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory has he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye.
9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and you shall know that the LORD of hosts [the commander of the army of heaven] has sent me [as a soldier in His name].
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD.
Deuteronomy 32
1 Give ear, O you heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe you greatness unto our God.
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 Do you thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he your father that has bought you? has he not made you, and established you?
7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For the LORD’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot [chebel – is His ONE BODY he will rebind] of his inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Job 34
21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he sees all his goings.
22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.
25 Therefore he knows their works, and he overturns them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
26 He strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:
28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted [‘aniy – the lowly].
29 When he gives quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hides his face [presence], who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
31 Surely it is meet [appropriate] to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
32 That which I see not teach you me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
Job 36
5 Behold, God is mighty, and despises not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.
6 He preserves not the life of the wicked: but gives right to the poor [‘aniy – humble].
7 He withdraws not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he does establish them forever, and they are exalted.
8 And if they be bound in fetters, and be held in cords [chebel] of affliction [‘oniy];
9 Then he shows them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.
10 He opens also their ear to discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity.
11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
13 But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he binds them.
14 They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
15 He delivers the poor [‘aniy] in his affliction [‘oniy], and opens their ears in oppression.
Isaiah 54
11 O you afflicted [‘aniy], tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with fair colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones.
13 And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness shall you be established: you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near you.
15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against you shall fall for your sake.
16 Behold, I have created the smith that blows the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn [as you have been told in Matthew 12:42 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.]. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 66
1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
2 For all those things has mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor [‘aniy] and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Jeremiah 22
13 Woe unto him that builds his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that uses his neighbor’s service without wages, and gives him not for his work;
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cuts him out windows; and it is cieled [cover] with cedar [with the appearance of the upright], and painted [mashach – their {false} anointing – crowning] with vermilion [shashar – is to draw attention {away from God} to the ways of the enemy].
15 Shall you reign, because you close [cover] yourself in cedar? did not your father eat and drink [of the living waters that flow God’s ways of peace and security], and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor [‘aniy] and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know [da’ath] me? saith the LORD.
17 But your eyes and your heart are not but for your covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah LORD! or, Ah his glory!
Part 2
(Part 2) And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.