the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
March 9 - Different Topics
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Isaiah 51-55
Chapter 51
Salvation for Zion
1 Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the
Lord
:
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain.
When I called him, he was only one;
I blessed him and made him many.(a)
3 For the
Lord
will comfort Zion;(b)
He will comfort all her waste places,
and He will make her wilderness like Eden,(c)
and her desert like the garden of the
Lord
.(d)
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.
4 Pay attention to Me, My people,
and listen to Me, My nation;
for instruction will come from Me,
and My justice for a light to the nations.(e)
I will bring it about quickly.
5 My righteousness is near,(f)
My salvation appears,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.(g)
The coastlands[a] will put their hope in Me,
and they will look to My strength.[b]
6 Look up to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and its inhabitants will die like gnats.[c](h)
But My salvation will last forever,(i)
and My righteousness will never be shattered.
7 Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is My instruction:(j)
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
8 For the moth will devour them like a garment,(k)
and the worm will eat them like wool.(l)
But My righteousness will last forever,
and My salvation for all generations.
9 Wake up, wake up!
Put on the strength of the
Lord
's power.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of long ago.
Wasn't it You who hacked Rahab to pieces,(m)
who pierced the sea monster?(n)
10 Wasn't it You who dried up the sea,(o)
the waters of the great deep,
who made the sea-bed into a road
for the redeemed to pass over?(p)
11 And the redeemed of the
Lord
will return(q)
and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy.
Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
12 I—I am the One who comforts you.
Who are you that you should fear man who dies,(r)
or a son of man who is given up like grass?(s)
13 But you have forgotten the
Lord
, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.(t)
You are in constant dread all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who has set himself to destroy.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?(u)
14 The prisoner[d] is soon to be set free;
he will not die and go to the Pit,
and his food will not be lacking.
15 For I am Yahweh your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar(v)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts.
16 I have put My words in your mouth,(w)
and covered you in the shadow of My hand,(x)
in order to plant[e] the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, "You are My people."
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself up!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk the cup of His fury(y)
from the hand of the
Lord
;
you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs—
the cup that causes people to stagger.
18 There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has raised;
there is no one to take hold of her hand
among all the offspring she has brought up.
19 These two things have happened to you:(z)
devastation and destruction,
famine and sword.
Who will grieve for you?
How can I[f] comfort you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net.
They are full of the
Lord
's fury,
the rebuke of your God.
21 So listen to this, afflicted
and drunken one—but not with wine.(aa)
22 This is what your Lord says—
Yahweh, even your God,
who defends His people(ab)—
"Look, I have removed
the cup of staggering from your hand;
that goblet, the cup of My fury.
You will never drink it again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you:(ac)
Lie down, so we can walk over you.
You made your back like the ground,
and like a street for those who walk on it.
Chapter 52
1 "Wake up, wake up;
put on your strength, Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,(a)
Jerusalem, the Holy City!(b)
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
will no longer enter you.(c)
2 Stand up, shake the dust off yourself!
Take your seat, Jerusalem.
Remove the bonds[a] from your neck,
captive Daughter Zion."
3 For this is what the
Lord
says:
"You were sold for nothing,
and you will be redeemed without silver."(d)
4 For this is what the Lord
God
says:
"At first My people went down to Egypt to live there,(e)
then Assyria oppressed them without cause.[b]
5 So now what have I here"—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
"that My people are taken away for nothing?
Its rulers wail"—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
"and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.(f)
6 Therefore My people will know My name;(g)
therefore they will know on that day
that I am He who says:
Here I am."
7 How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the herald,
who proclaims peace,
who brings news of good things,(h)
who proclaims salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"(i)
8 The voices of your watchmen(j)—
they lift up their voices,
shouting for joy together;
for every eye will see
when the
Lord
returns to Zion.
9 Be joyful, rejoice together,
you ruins of Jerusalem!(k)
For the
Lord
has comforted His people;(l)
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The
Lord
has displayed His holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;(m)
all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.(n)
11 Leave, leave, go out from there!(o)
Do not touch anything unclean;
go out from her, purify yourselves,(p)
you who carry the vessels of the
Lord
.
12 For you will not leave in a hurry,(q)
and you will not have to take flight;
because the
Lord
is going before you,(r)
and the God of Israel is your rear guard.(s)
The Servant's Suffering and Exaltation
13 See, My Servant[c](t) will act wisely;[d]
He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.(u)
14 Just as many were appalled at You[e]—
His appearance was so disfigured
that He did not look like a man,
and His form did not resemble a human being—
15 so He will sprinkle[f][g] many nations.[h](v)
Kings will shut their mouths because of Him,
For they will see what had not been told them,
and they will understand what they had not heard.(w)
Chapter 53
1 Who has believed what we have heard?[a]
And who has the arm of the
Lord
(a) been revealed to?(b)
2 He grew up before Him like a young plant(c)
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn't have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.(d)
3 He was despised and rejected by men,(e)
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.(f)
He was like someone people turned away from;[b]
He was despised, and we didn't value Him.
4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;(g)
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God,(h) and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,(i)
crushed because of our iniquities;(j)
punishment(k) for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.(l)
6 We all went astray like sheep;(m)
we all have turned to our own way;
and the
Lord
has punished Him
for[c] the iniquity(n) of us all.(o)
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.(p)
8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?[d]
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people's rebellion.
9 They[e] made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,(q)
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.(r)
10 Yet the
Lord
was pleased(s) to crush Him severely.[f](t)
When[g] You make Him a restitution offering,(u)
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the
Lord
's pleasure will be accomplished.(v)
11 He will see it[h] out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous(w) Servant(x) will justify many,(y)
and He will carry their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give Him[i] the many as a portion,
and He will receive[j] the mighty as spoil,
because He submitted Himself to death,(z)
and was counted among the rebels;(aa)
yet He bore the sin of many(ab)
and interceded for the rebels.(ac)
Chapter 54
Future Glory for Israel
1 "Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!(a)
For the children of the forsaken one will be more
than the children of the married woman,"(b)
says the
Lord
.
2 "Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let your tent curtains be stretched out;(c)
do not hold back;
lengthen your ropes,
and drive your pegs deep.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,(d)
and your descendants will dispossess nations
and inhabit the desolate cities.
4 "Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;(e)
don't be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will no longer remember
the disgrace of your widowhood.(f)
5 Indeed, your husband is your Maker(g)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts—
and the Holy One of Israel(h) is your Redeemer;(i)
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 For the
Lord
has called you,
like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,(j)
a wife of one's youth(k) when she is rejected,"
says your God.
7 "I deserted you for a brief moment,(l)
but I will take you back with great compassion.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid My face(m) from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,"(n)
says the
Lord
your Redeemer.
9 "For this is like the days[a] of Noah to Me:
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never flood the earth again,(o)
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.(p)
10 Though the mountains move
and the hills shake,
My love will not be removed from you
and My covenant of peace(q) will not be shaken,"
says your compassionate
Lord
.
11 "Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I will set your stones in black mortar,[b]
and lay your foundations in sapphires.[c](r)
12 I will make your fortifications[d] out of rubies,
your gates out of sparkling stones,
and all your walls out of precious stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by the
Lord
,(s)
their prosperity will be great,
14 and you will be established
on a foundation of righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
you will certainly not be afraid;
you will be far from terror,
it will certainly not come near you.
15 If anyone attacks you,
it is not from Me;
whoever attacks you
will fall before you.
16 Look, I have created the craftsman
who blows on the charcoal fire
and produces a weapon suitable for its task;
and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc.
17 No weapon formed against you will succeed,
and you will refute any accusation[e]
raised against you in court.
This is the heritage of the
Lord
's servants,(t)
and their righteousness is from Me."(u)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
Chapter 55
Come to the Lord
1 "Come, everyone who is thirsty,(a)
come to the waters;
and you without money,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
2 Why do you spend money on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.[a]
3 Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,(b)
the promises assured to David.(c)
4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,(d)
a leader and commander for the peoples,(e)
5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,(f)
and nations who do not know you will run to you.(g)
For the
Lord
your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,(h)
has glorified you."(i)
6 Seek the
Lord
while He may be found;
call to Him while He is near.(j)
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;(k)
let him return to the
Lord
,
so He may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for He will freely forgive.(l)
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways."
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
9 "For as heaven is higher than earth,(m)
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,(n)
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do."(o)
12 You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.(p)
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;(q)
it will make a name for Yahweh(r)
as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
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