Into the Fire

   "Listen to this, O house of Jacob,

   you who are called by the name of Israel

   and come from the line of Judah,

 you who take oaths in the name of the Lord

   and invoke the God of Israel - 

   but not in truth or righteousness –

 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city

   and rely on the God of Israel –

   the Lord Almighty is his name:

  I foretold the former things long ago,

   my mouth announced them and I made them known;

   then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. 

 For I knew how stubborn you were;

   the sinews of your neck were iron,

   your forehead was bronze.

  Therefore I told you these things long ago;

   before they happened I announced them to you

  so that you could not say,

   'My idols did them;

   my wooden image and metal god ordained them.'

  You have heard these things; look at them all.

   Will you not admit them? 

 . . . "

Isaiah 38:1-6 (NIV)