Isaiah 40:25-31

English Standard Version

²⁵^(A)To whom then will you compare me,
    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
²⁶Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
^(B)He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
    and because he is strong in power,
    not one is missing.

²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
^(C)“My way is hidden from the Lord,
    ^(D)and my right is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is ^(E)the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    ^(F)his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹but ^(G)they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings ^(H)like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

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1 Peter 2:11-20

English Standard Version

¹¹Beloved, I urge you ^(A)as sojourners and exiles ^(B)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(C)which wage war against your soul. ¹²^(D)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(E)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(F)the day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

¹³^(G)Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,^[a] whether it be to the emperor^[b] as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors as sent by him ^(H)to punish those who do evil and ^(I)to praise those who do good. ¹⁵For this is the will of God, ^(J)that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶^(K)Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but ^(L)living as servants^[c] of God. ¹⁷^(M)Honor everyone. ^(N)Love the brotherhood. ^(O)Fear God. Honor the emperor.

¹⁸^(P)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. ¹⁹For this is a gracious thing, when, ^(Q)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But ^(R)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

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Footnotes

1 Peter 2:13 Or every institution ordained for people
1 Peter 2:13 Or king; also verse 17
1 Peter 2:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface

John 16:16-22

English Standard Version

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

¹⁶^(A)“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and ^(B)again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷So ^(C)some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ^(D)‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ^(E)‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? ^(F)We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹^(G)Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(H)you will weep and lament, but ^(I)the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but ^(J)your sorrow will turn into joy. ²¹^(K)When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²²^(L)So also you have sorrow now, but ^(M)I will see you again, and ^(N)your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.