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Israel Exhorted
51 “(A)Listen to me, you who (B)pursue righteousness,
Who seek the Lord:
Look to the (C)rock from which you were hewn
And to the [a]quarry from which you were dug.
2 “Look to (D)Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he (E)was but one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
3 Indeed, (F)the Lord will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her (G)waste places.
And her (H)wilderness He will make like (I)Eden,
And her desert like the (J)garden of the Lord;
(K)Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.
4 “(L)Pay attention to Me, O My people,
And give ear to Me, O My [b]nation;
For a (M)law will go forth from Me,
And I will [c]set My (N)justice for a (O)light of the peoples.
5 “My (P)righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My (Q)arms will judge the peoples;
The (R)coastlands will wait for Me,
And for My (S)arm they will wait expectantly.
6 “(T)Lift up your eyes to the sky,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the (U)sky will vanish like smoke,
And the (V)earth will wear out like a garment
And its inhabitants will die [d]in like manner;
But My (W)salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not [e]wane.
7 “(X)Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
A people in whose (Y)heart is My law;
Do not fear the (Z)reproach of man,
Nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 “For the (AA)moth will eat them like a garment,
And the (AB)grub will eat them like wool.
But My (AC)righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation to all generations.”
9 (AD)Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;
Awake as in the (AE)days of old, the generations of long ago.
(AF)Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,
Who pierced the (AG)dragon?
10 Was it not You who (AH)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the (AI)redeemed to cross over?
11 So the (AJ)ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
And (AK)everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And (AL)sorrow and sighing will flee away.
12 “I, even I, am He who (AM)comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of (AN)man who dies
And of the son of man who is made (AO)like grass,
13 That you have (AP)forgotten the Lord your Maker,
Who (AQ)stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you (AR)fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
But where is the fury of the (AS)oppressor?
14 The [f](AT)exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, (AU)nor will his bread be lacking. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who (AV)stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the Lord of hosts is His name). 16 I have (AW)put My words in your mouth and have (AX)covered you with the shadow of My hand, to [g](AY)establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
17 (AZ)Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,
You who have (BA)drunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger;
The [h]chalice of reeling you have [i]drained to the dregs.
18 There is (BB)none to guide her among all the sons she has borne,
Nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.
19 These two things have befallen you;
Who will mourn for you?
The (BC)devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
How shall I comfort you?
20 Your sons have fainted,
They (BD)lie helpless at the head of every street,
Like an (BE)antelope in a net,
Full of the wrath of the Lord,
The (BF)rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore, please hear this, you (BG)afflicted,
Who are (BH)drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God
Who (BI)contends for His people,
“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the (BJ)cup of reeling,
The [j]chalice of My anger;
You will never drink it again.
23 “I will (BK)put it into the hand of your tormentors,
Who have said to [k]you, ‘(BL)Lie down that we may walk over you.’
You have even made your back like the ground
And like the street for those who walk over it.”
Cheer for Prostrate Zion
52 (BM)Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;
Clothe yourself in your (BN)beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the (BO)holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the (BP)unclean
Will no longer come into you.
2 Shake yourself (BQ)from the dust, (BR)rise up,
O captive Jerusalem;
(BS)Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord, “You were (BT)sold for nothing and you will be (BU)redeemed (BV)without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord [l]God, “My people (BW)went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My (BX)name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 Therefore My people shall (BY)know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”
7 How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings (BZ)good news,
Who announces [m]peace
And brings good news of [n]happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your (CA)God [o]reigns!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their (CB)voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see [p]with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
9 (CC)Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You (CD)waste places of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has (CE)redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared His holy (CF)arm
In the sight of all the nations,
[q]That (CG)all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
11 (CH)Depart, depart, go out from there,
(CI)Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, (CJ)purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 But you will not go out in (CK)haste,
Nor will you go [r]as fugitives;
For the (CL)Lord will go before you,
And (CM)the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The Exalted Servant
13 Behold, My (CN)servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and [s]greatly (CO)exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His (CP)appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will (CQ)sprinkle many nations,
Kings will (CR)shut their mouths on account of Him;
For (CS)what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.
The Suffering Servant
53 (CT)Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a (CU)tender [t]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has (CV)no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [u]be attracted to Him.
3 He was (CW)despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [v]sorrows and (CX)acquainted with [w]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was (CY)despised, and we did not (CZ)esteem Him.
4 Surely our [x]griefs He Himself (DA)bore,
And our [y]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[z]Smitten of (DB)God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [aa]pierced through for (DC)our transgressions,
He was crushed for (DD)our iniquities;
The (DE)chastening for our [ab]well-being fell upon Him,
And by (DF)His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To [ac]fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not (DG)open His mouth;
(DH)Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the [ad]living
(DI)For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a (DJ)rich man in His death,
(DK)Because He had (DL)done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To (DM)crush Him, [ae](DN)putting Him to grief;
If [af]He would render Himself as a guilt (DO)offering,
He will see (DP)His [ag]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the [ah]good (DQ)pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the [ai]anguish of His soul,
He will (DR)see [aj]it and be satisfied;
By His (DS)knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will (DT)bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a (DU)portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out [ak](DV)Himself to death,
And was (DW)numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself (DX)bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
Be Imitators of God
5 (A)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and (B)walk in love, just as Christ also (C)loved [a]you and (D)gave Himself up for us, an (E)offering and a sacrifice to God [b]as a (F)fragrant aroma.
3 But (G)immorality [c]or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among [d]saints; 4 and there must be no (H)filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which (I)are not fitting, but rather (J)giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that (K)no [e]immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom (L)of Christ and God.
6 (M)Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things (N)the wrath of God comes upon (O)the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be (P)partakers with them; 8 for (Q)you were formerly (R)darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as (S)children of Light 9 (for (T)the fruit of the Light consists in all (U)goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 [f](V)trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 (W)Do not participate in the unfruitful (X)deeds of (Y)darkness, but instead even [g](Z)expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible (AA)when they are [h]exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason [i]it says,
15 Therefore [j]be careful how you (AE)walk, not (AF)as unwise men but as wise, 16 [k](AG)making the most of your time, because (AH)the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but (AI)understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And (AJ)do not get drunk with wine, [l]for that is (AK)dissipation, but be (AL)filled with the Spirit, 19 (AM)speaking to [m]one another in (AN)psalms and (AO)hymns and spiritual (AP)songs, (AQ)singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 (AR)always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to [n](AS)God, even the Father; 21 [o](AT)and be subject to one another in the [p](AU)fear of Christ.
Marriage Like Christ and the Church
22 (AV)Wives, (AW)be subject to your own husbands, (AX)as to the Lord. 23 For (AY)the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the (AZ)head of the church, He Himself (BA)being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 (BB)Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and (BC)gave Himself up for her, 26 (BD)so that He might sanctify her, having (BE)cleansed her by the (BF)washing of water with (BG)the word, 27 that He might (BH)present to Himself the church [q]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be (BI)holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to (BJ)love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are (BK)members of His (BL)body. 31 (BM)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to (BN)love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she [r](BO)respects her husband.
20 Reproach has (B)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (C)I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (D)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [b](E)gall [c]for my food
And for my thirst they (F)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (G)their table before them become a snare;
And [d](H)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (I)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (J)loins shake continually.
24 (K)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [e](L)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (M)persecuted him whom (N)You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (O)You have [f]wounded.
27 Add (P)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (Q)may they not come into (R)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (S)blotted out of the (T)book of life
And may they not be [g](U)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (V)afflicted and in pain;
[h]May Your salvation, O God, (W)set me securely on high.
30 I will (X)praise the name of God with song
And (Y)magnify Him with (Z)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (AA)please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (AB)humble [i]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (AC)let your heart [j]revive.
33 For (AD)the Lord hears the needy
And (AE)does not despise His who are prisoners.
34 Let (AF)heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and (AG)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (AH)save Zion and (AI)build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and (AJ)possess it.
36 The [k](AK)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (AL)will dwell in it.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.