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Rebellion of God’s People
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning (A)Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the [a]reigns of (B)Uzziah, (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 (F)Listen, O heavens, and hear, O (G)earth;
For the Lord speaks,
“(H)Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have (I)revolted against Me.
3 “An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel (J)does not know,
My people (K)do not understand.”
4 Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
[b](L)Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who (M)act corruptly!
They have (N)abandoned the Lord,
They have (O)despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away [c]from Him.
5 Where will you be stricken again,
As you (P)continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is (Q)sick
And the whole heart is faint.
6 (R)From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is (S)nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
(T)Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.
7 Your (U)land is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
9 (V)Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left us a few (W)survivors,
We would be like (X)Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.
God Has Had Enough
10 Hear (Y)the word of the Lord,
You rulers of (Z)Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
11 “(AA)What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I [d]have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
12 “When you come (AB)to appear before Me,
Who requires [e]of you this trampling of My courts?
13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
(AC)Incense is an abomination to Me.
(AD)New moon and sabbath, the (AE)calling of assemblies—
I cannot (AF)endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your (AG)appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am (AH)weary of bearing them.
15 “So when you (AI)spread out your hands in prayer,
(AJ)I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you (AK)multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
(AL)Your hands are [f]covered with blood.
16 “(AM)Wash yourselves, (AN)make yourselves clean;
(AO)Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
(AP)Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
(AQ)Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
[g](AR)Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.
“Let Us Reason”
18 “Come now, and (AS)let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“(AT)Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
19 “(AU)If you consent and obey,
You will (AV)eat the best of the land;
20 “But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be (AW)devoured by the sword.”
Truly, (AX)the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed
21 How the faithful city has become a (AY)harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your (AZ)rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone (BA)loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They (BB)do not [h]defend the [i]orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord [j]God of hosts,
The (BC)Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And (BD)avenge Myself on My foes.
25 “I will also turn My hand against you,
And will (BE)smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
26 “Then I will restore your (BF)judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the (BG)city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”
27 Zion will be (BH)redeemed with justice
And her [k]repentant ones with righteousness.
28 But [l]transgressors and sinners will be (BI)crushed together,
And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
29 Surely [m]you will be ashamed of the [n](BJ)oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the (BK)gardens which you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an [o]oak whose (BL)leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both (BM)burn together
And there will be (BN)none to quench them.
God’s Universal Reign
2 The word which (BO)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that
(BP)In the last days
The (BQ)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [p]as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And (BR)all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us [q]concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the [r]law will go forth (BS)from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will [s]render decisions for many peoples;
And (BT)they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
(BU)Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, (BV)house of Jacob, and let us walk in the (BW)light of the Lord.
6 For You have (BX)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers (BY)like the Philistines,
And they (BZ)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with (CA)horses
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land has also been (CB)filled with idols;
They worship the (CC)work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
9 So (CD)the common man has been humbled
And the man of importance has been abased,
But (CE)do not forgive them.
10 (CF)Enter the rock and hide in the dust
(CG)From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The [t](CH)proud look of man will be abased
And the (CI)loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
A Day of Reckoning Coming
12 For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against (CJ)everyone who is proud and lofty
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be abased.
13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the (CK)oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the (CL)lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 Against every (CM)high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16 Against all the (CN)ships of Tarshish
And against all the beautiful craft.
17 The pride of man will be humbled
And the loftiness of men will be abased;
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the (CO)idols will completely vanish.
19 Men will (CP)go into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the [u]ground
Before the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises (CQ)to make the earth tremble.
20 In that day men will (CR)cast away to the moles and the (CS)bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21 In order to (CT)go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs
Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
22 [v](CU)Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For [w](CV)why should he be esteemed?
Paul Describes Himself
10 Now (A)I, Paul, myself (B)urge you by the (C)meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who (D)am [a]meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! 2 I ask that (E)when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against (F)some, who regard us as if we walked (G)according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war (H)according to the flesh, 4 for the (I)weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but [b]divinely powerful (J)for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every (K)lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the (L)obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever (M)your obedience is complete.
7 [c](N)You are looking at [d]things as they are outwardly. (O)If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, (P)so also are we. 8 For even if (Q)I boast somewhat [e]further about our (R)authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame, 9 [f]for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his [g]personal presence is (S)unimpressive and (T)his speech contemptible.” 11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.
12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with [h]some of those who (U)commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 13 But we will not boast (V)beyond our measure, but [i](W)within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for (X)we were the first to come even as far as you in the (Y)gospel of Christ; 15 not boasting (Z)beyond our measure, that is, in (AA)other men’s labors, but with the hope that as (AB)your faith grows, we will be, [j]within our sphere, (AC)enlarged even more by you, 16 so as to (AD)preach the gospel even to (AE)the regions beyond you, and not to boast [k](AF)in what has been accomplished in the sphere of another. 17 But (AG)he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. 18 For it is not he who (AH)commends himself that is approved, but he (AI)whom the Lord commends.
Futility of Boastful Wickedness.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you (A)boast in evil, O mighty man?
The (B)lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises (C)destruction,
Like a (D)sharp razor, (E)O worker of deceit.
3 You (F)love evil more than good,
(G)Falsehood more than speaking what is right. [c]Selah.
4 You love all words that devour,
O (H)deceitful tongue.
5 [d]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and (I)tear you away from your tent,
And (J)uproot you from the (K)land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous will (L)see and fear,
And will (M)laugh at him, saying,
7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But (N)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And (O)was strong in [e]his evil desire.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.