Isaiah 50:1-5

YAHWEH asks, “Have I abandoned you? Can you show me your mother’s divorce papers that prove I sent her away? Do you think I sold you into slavery to pay off a debt? No, you sold yourselves into slavery because of your sins, and because of your rebellion I sent your mother away! When I came to you, why was no one there? When I called, why did no one answer? Am I powerless to rescue you or too weak to deliver you? With only a threat I can evaporate the sea and dry up the rivers as a desert, leaving the fish to rot and die of thirst. I dress the sky with darkness and shroud it with sackcloth.” The Lord YAHWEH has equipped me with the anointed, skillful tongue of a teacher — to know how to speak a timely word to the weary. Morning by morning, he awakens my heart. He opens my ears to hear his voice, to be trained to teach. The Lord YAHWEH has opened my ear, and I did not resist; I did not rebel.