Isaiah 40:1-11

English Standard Version

Comfort for God's People

40 ^(A)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
²^(B)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and cry to her
that ^(C)her warfare^[a] is ended,
    that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
    double for all her sins.

³^(D)A voice cries:^[b]
^(E)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    ^(F)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴^(G)Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
⁵^(H)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    ^(I)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Word of God Stands Forever

⁶A voice says, “Cry!”
    And I said,^[c] “What shall I cry?”
^(J)All flesh is grass,
    and all its beauty^[d] is like the flower of the field.
⁷The grass withers, the flower fades
    when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
    surely the people are grass.
⁸^(K)The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

The Greatness of God

⁹Go on up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, ^(L)herald of good news;^[e]
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;^[f]
    lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
    “Behold your God!”
¹⁰^(M)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
^(N)behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
¹¹^(O)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    ^(P)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
^(Q)he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 40:2 Or hardship
Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying
Isaiah 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says
Isaiah 40:6 Or all its constancy
Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

English Standard Version

The Ministry of Apostles

4 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ^(A)stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴^(B)For I am not aware of anything against myself, ^(C)but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore ^(D)do not pronounce judgment before the time, ^(E)before the Lord comes, ^(F)who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^(G)Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

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Matthew 11:2-11

English Standard Version

²^(A)Now when John heard ^(B)in prison about the deeds of ^(C)the Christ, he sent word by ^(D)his disciples ³and said to him, “Are you ^(E)the one who is to come, or shall we ^(F)look for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵^(G)the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers^[a] are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^(H)the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶And blessed is the one who ^(I)is not offended by me.”

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(J)into the wilderness to see? ^(K)A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸What then did you go out to see? A man^[b] dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. ⁹What then did you go out to see? ^(L)A prophet?^[c] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is he of whom it is written,

^(M)“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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