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Deliverance Promised
12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel [a]whom I called;
(A)I am He, (B)I am the first, I am also the last.
13 “Surely My hand (C)founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I (D)call to them, they stand together.
14 “(E)Assemble, all of you, and listen!
(F)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him; he will (G)carry out His good pleasure on (H)Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 “I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have (I)called him,
I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
16 “(J)Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the first I have (K)not spoken in secret,
(L)From the time it took place, I was there.
And now (M)the Lord [b]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
17 Thus says the Lord, your (N)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who (O)leads you in the way you should go.
18 “If only you had (P)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your [c](Q)well-being would have been like a river,
And your (R)righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 “Your [d](S)descendants would have been like the sand,
And [e]your offspring like its grains;
(T)Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”
20 (U)Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with the sound of (V)joyful shouting, proclaim this,
(W)Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, “(X)The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
21 They did not (Y)thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He (Z)made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and (AA)the water gushed forth.
22 “(AB)There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth
49 Listen to Me, O (AC)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
(AD)The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the [f]body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My (AE)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the (AF)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a [g]select (AG)arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “(AH)You are My Servant, Israel,
(AI)In Whom I will [h]show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have (AJ)toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My (AK)reward with My God.”
5 And now says (AL)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that (AM)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (AN)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My (AO)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [i]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the (AP)preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a (AQ)light [j]of the nations
So that My salvation may [k]reach to the (AR)end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord, the (AS)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the (AT)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“(AU)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (AV)bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8 Thus says the Lord,
“In a (AW)favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will (AX)keep You and (AY)give You for a covenant of the people,
To [l](AZ)restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;
9 Saying to those who are (BA)bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all (BB)bare heights.
10 “They will (BC)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching (BD)heat or sun strike them down;
For (BE)He who has compassion on them will (BF)lead them
And will guide them to (BG)springs of water.
11 “I will make all (BH)My mountains a road,
And My (BI)highways will be raised up.
12 “Behold, these will come (BJ)from afar;
And lo, these will come from the (BK)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
13 (BL)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the (BM)Lord has comforted His people
And will (BN)have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but (BO)I will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have (BP)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your (BQ)walls are continually before Me.
17 “Your [m]builders hurry;
Your (BR)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 “(BS)Lift up your eyes and look around;
(BT)All of them gather together, (BU)they come to you.
(BV)As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely (BW)put on all of them as [n]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For (BX)your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be (BY)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who (BZ)swallowed you will be far away.
20 “The (CA)children of [o]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 “Then you will (CB)say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am (CC)barren, an (CD)exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was (CE)left alone;
[p](CF)From where did these come?’”
22 Thus says the Lord [q]God,
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My (CG)standard to the peoples;
And they will (CH)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 “(CI)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will (CJ)bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And (CK)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will (CL)know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully (CM)wait for Me will (CN)not be put to shame.
25 Surely, thus says the Lord,
“Even the (CP)captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will (CQ)save your sons.
26 “I will feed your (CR)oppressors with their (CS)own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And (CT)all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your (CU)Savior
And your (CV)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
God Helps His Servant
50 Thus says the Lord,
“Where is the (CW)certificate of divorce
By which I have (CX)sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I (CY)sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your (CZ)iniquities,
And for your (DA)transgressions your mother (DB)was sent away.
2 “Why was there (DC)no man when I came?
When I called, why was there none to answer?
Is My (DD)hand so short that it cannot ransom?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, I (DE)dry up the sea with My rebuke,
I (DF)make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water
And die of thirst.
3 “I (DG)clothe the heavens with blackness
And make sackcloth their covering.”
4 The Lord [s]God has given Me the tongue of (DH)disciples,
That I may know how to (DI)sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me (DJ)morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
5 The Lord God has (DK)opened My ear;
And I was (DL)not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.
6 I (DM)gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
7 For the Lord God (DN)helps Me,
Therefore, I am (DO)not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like (DP)flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
8 He who (DQ)vindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us (DR)stand up to each other;
Who has a case against Me?
Let him draw near to Me.
9 Behold, (DS)the Lord God helps Me;
(DT)Who is he who condemns Me?
Behold, (DU)they will all wear out like a garment;
The moth will eat them.
10 Who is among you that fears the Lord,
That obeys the voice of His (DV)servant,
That (DW)walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him (DX)trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who (DY)kindle a fire,
Who [t]encircle yourselves with firebrands,
Walk in the light of your fire
And among the brands you have set ablaze.
This you will have from My hand:
You will (DZ)lie down in torment.
The Christian’s Walk
17 (A)So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, (B)that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the (C)futility of their mind, 18 being (D)darkened in their understanding, [a](E)excluded from the life of God because of the (F)ignorance that is in them, because of the (G)hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having (H)become callous, (I)have given themselves over to (J)sensuality [b]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not (K)learn [c]Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you (L)have heard Him and have (M)been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you (N)lay aside the (O)old [d]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the (P)lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be (Q)renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and (R)put on the (S)new [e]self, which [f](T)in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25 Therefore, (U)laying aside falsehood, (V)speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are (W)members of one another. 26 (X)Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not (Y)give the devil [g]an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather (Z)he must labor, (AA)performing with his own hands what is good, (AB)so that he will have something to share with [h]one who has need. 29 Let no [i](AC)unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for (AD)edification [j]according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 (AE)Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, [k]by whom you were (AF)sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (AG)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be (AH)put away from you, along with all (AI)malice. 32 (AJ)Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, (AK)just as God in Christ also has forgiven [l]you.
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And (J)my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g](U)song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [k](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.