Isaiah 53–57
53:1Who has believed what he has heard from us?And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?2For he grew up before him like a young plant,and like a root out of dry ground;he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,and no beauty that we should desire him.3He was despised and rejected by men,a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4Surely he has borne our griefsand carried our sorrows;yet we esteemed him stricken,smitten by God, and afflicted.5But he was pierced for our transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and with his wounds we are healed.6All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the LORD has laid on himthe iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,yet he opened not his mouth;like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,so he opened not his mouth.8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;and as for his generation, who consideredthat he was cut off out of the land of the living,stricken for the transgression of my people?9And they made his grave with the wickedand with a rich man in his death,although he had done no violence,and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;he has put him to grief;when his soul makes an offering for guilt,he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,make many to be accounted righteous,and he shall bear their iniquities.12Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,because he poured out his soul to deathand was numbered with the transgressors;yet he bore the sin of many,and makes intercession for the transgressors.
54:1“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;break forth into singing and cry aloud,you who have not been in labor!For the children of the desolate one will be morethan the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.2“Enlarge the place of your tent,and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;do not hold back; lengthen your cordsand strengthen your stakes.3For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,and your offspring will possess the nationsand will people the desolate cities. 4“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;for you will forget the shame of your youth,and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.5For your Maker is your husband,the LORD of hosts is his name;and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,the God of the whole earth he is called.6For the LORD has called youlike a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,like a wife of youth when she is cast off,says your God.7For a brief moment I deserted you,but with great compassion I will gather you.8In overflowing anger for a momentI hid my face from you,but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9“This is like the days of Noah to me:as I swore that the waters of Noahshould no more go over the earth,so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,and will not rebuke you.10For the mountains may departand the hills be removed,but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”says the LORD, who has compassion on you. 11“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,behold, I will set your stones in antimony,and lay your foundations with sapphires.12I will make your pinnacles of agate,your gates of carbuncles,and all your wall of precious stones.13All your children shall be taught by the LORD,and great shall be the peace of your children.14In righteousness you shall be established;you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;and from terror, for it shall not come near you.15If anyone stirs up strife,it is not from me;whoever stirs up strife with youshall fall because of you.16Behold, I have created the smithwho blows the fire of coalsand produces a weapon for its purpose.I have also created the ravager to destroy;17no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.This is the heritage of the servants of the LORDand their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”
55:1“Come, everyone who thirsts,come to the waters;and he who has no money,come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milkwithout money and without price.2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,and your labor for that which does not satisfy?Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,and delight yourselves in rich food.3Incline your ear, and come to me;hear, that your soul may live;and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,my steadfast, sure love for David.4Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,a leader and commander for the peoples.5Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,for he has glorified you. 6“Seek the LORD while he may be found;call upon him while he is near;7let the wicked forsake his way,and the unrighteous man his thoughts;let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.9For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your waysand my thoughts than your thoughts. 10“For as the rain and the snow come down from heavenand do not return there but water the earth,making it bring forth and sprout,giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12“For you shall go out in joyand be led forth in peace;the mountains and the hills before youshall break forth into singing,and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;and it shall make a name for the LORD,an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
56:1Thus says the LORD:“Keep justice, and do righteousness,for soon my salvation will come,and my righteousness be revealed.2Blessed is the man who does this,and the son of man who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;and let not the eunuch say,“Behold, I am a dry tree.”4For thus says the LORD:“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,who choose the things that please meand hold fast my covenant,5I will give in my house and within my wallsa monument and a namebetter than sons and daughters;I will give them an everlasting namethat shall not be cut off. 6“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,and to be his servants,everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,and holds fast my covenant—7these I will bring to my holy mountain,and make them joyful in my house of prayer;their burnt offerings and their sacrificeswill be accepted on my altar;for my house shall be called a house of prayerfor all peoples.”8The Lord GOD,who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,“I will gather yet others to himbesides those already gathered.”
9All you beasts of the field, come to devour—all you beasts in the forest.10His watchmen are blind;they are all without knowledge;they are all silent dogs;they cannot bark,dreaming, lying down,loving to slumber.11The dogs have a mighty appetite;they never have enough.But they are shepherds who have no understanding;they have all turned to their own way,each to his own gain, one and all.12“Come,” they say, “let me get wine;let us fill ourselves with strong drink;and tomorrow will be like this day,great beyond measure.”
57:1The righteous man perishes,and no one lays it to heart;devout men are taken away,while no one understands.For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;2he enters into peace;they rest in their bedswho walk in their uprightness.3But you, draw near,sons of the sorceress,offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.4Whom are you mocking?Against whom do you open your mouth wideand stick out your tongue?Are you not children of transgression,the offspring of deceit,5you who burn with lust among the oaks,under every green tree,who slaughter your children in the valleys,under the clefts of the rocks?6Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;they, they, are your lot;to them you have poured out a drink offering,you have brought a grain offering.Shall I relent for these things?7On a high and lofty mountainyou have set your bed,and there you went up to offer sacrifice.8Behind the door and the doorpostyou have set up your memorial;for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,you have gone up to it,you have made it wide;and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,you have loved their bed,you have looked on nakedness.9You journeyed to the king with oiland multiplied your perfumes;you sent your envoys far off,and sent down even to Sheol.10You were wearied with the length of your way,but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;you found new life for your strength,and so you were not faint. 11Whom did you dread and fear,so that you lied,and did not remember me,did not lay it to heart?Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,and you do not fear me?12I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,but they will not profit you.13When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!The wind will carry them all off,a breath will take them away.But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the landand shall inherit my holy mountain.
14And it shall be said,“Build up, build up, prepare the way,remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”15For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:“I dwell in the high and holy place,and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,to revive the spirit of the lowly,and to revive the heart of the contrite.16For I will not contend forever,nor will I always be angry;for the spirit would grow faint before me,and the breath of life that I made.17Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.18I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,19creating the fruit of the lips.Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,“and I will heal him.20But the wicked are like the tossing sea;for it cannot be quiet,and its waters toss up mire and dirt.21There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Luke 3:21–38
21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
23Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Psalm 84
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
84:1How lovely is your dwelling place,O LORD of hosts!2My soul longs, yes, faintsfor the courts of the LORD;my heart and flesh sing for joyto the living God. 3Even the sparrow finds a home,and the swallow a nest for herself,where she may lay her young,at your altars, O LORD of hosts,my King and my God.4Blessed are those who dwell in your house,ever singing your praise! Selah 5Blessed are those whose strength is in you,in whose heart are the highways to Zion.6As they go through the Valley of Bacathey make it a place of springs;the early rain also covers it with pools.7They go from strength to strength;each one appears before God in Zion. 8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah9Behold our shield, O God;look on the face of your anointed! 10For a day in your courts is betterthan a thousand elsewhere.I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my Godthan dwell in the tents of wickedness.11For the LORD God is a sun and shield;the LORD bestows favor and honor.No good thing does he withholdfrom those who walk uprightly.12O LORD of hosts,blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Proverbs 2:16–19
16So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,from the adulteress with her smooth words,17who forsakes the companion of her youthand forgets the covenant of her God;18for her house sinks down to death,and her paths to the departed;19none who go to her come back,nor do they regain the paths of life.
