Bible in 90 Days
The Servant’s Suffering and Exaltation
13 See, My Servant[a](A) will act wisely;[b]
He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.(B)
14 Just as many were appalled at You[c]—
His appearance was so disfigured
that He did not look like a man,
and His form did not resemble a human being—
15 so He will sprinkle[d][e] many nations.[f](C)
Kings will shut their mouths because of Him,
For they will see what had not been told them,
and they will understand what they had not heard.(D)
53 Who has believed what we have heard?[g]
And who has the arm of the Lord(E) been revealed to?(F)
2 He grew up before Him like a young plant(G)
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.(H)
3 He was despised and rejected by men,(I)
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.(J)
He was like someone people turned away from;[h]
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.
4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;(K)
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God,(L) and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,(M)
crushed because of our iniquities;(N)
punishment(O) for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.(P)
6 We all went astray like sheep;(Q)
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for[i] the iniquity(R) of us all.(S)
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.(T)
8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?[j]
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
9 They[k] made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,(U)
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.(V)
10 Yet the Lord was pleased(W) to crush Him severely.[l](X)
When[m] You make Him a restitution offering,(Y)
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.(Z)
11 He will see it[n] out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous(AA) Servant(AB) will justify many,(AC)
and He will carry their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give Him[o] the many as a portion,
and He will receive[p] the mighty as spoil,
because He submitted Himself to death,(AD)
and was counted among the rebels;(AE)
yet He bore the sin of many(AF)
and interceded for the rebels.(AG)
Future Glory for Israel
54 “Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!(AH)
For the children of the forsaken one will be more
than the children of the married woman,”(AI)
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let your tent curtains be stretched out;(AJ)
do not hold back;
lengthen your ropes,
and drive your pegs deep.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,(AK)
and your descendants will dispossess nations
and inhabit the desolate cities.
4 “Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;(AL)
don’t be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will no longer remember
the disgrace of your widowhood.(AM)
5 Indeed, your husband is your Maker(AN)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts—
and the Holy One of Israel(AO) is your Redeemer;(AP)
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,(AQ)
a wife of one’s youth(AR) when she is rejected,”
says your God.
7 “I deserted you for a brief moment,(AS)
but I will take you back with great compassion.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid My face(AT) from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,”(AU)
says the Lord your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the days[q] of Noah to Me:
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never flood the earth again,(AV)
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.(AW)
10 Though the mountains move
and the hills shake,
My love will not be removed from you
and My covenant of peace(AX) will not be shaken,”
says your compassionate Lord.
11 “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I will set your stones in black mortar,[r]
and lay your foundations in sapphires.[s](AY)
12 I will make your fortifications[t] out of rubies,
your gates out of sparkling stones,
and all your walls out of precious stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,(AZ)
their prosperity will be great,
14 and you will be established
on a foundation of righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
you will certainly not be afraid;
you will be far from terror,
it will certainly not come near you.
15 If anyone attacks you,
it is not from Me;
whoever attacks you
will fall before you.
16 Look, I have created the craftsman
who blows on the charcoal fire
and produces a weapon suitable for its task;
and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc.
17 No weapon formed against you will succeed,
and you will refute any accusation[u]
raised against you in court.
This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,(BA)
and their righteousness is from Me.”(BB)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Come to the Lord
55 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,(BC)
come to the waters;
and you without money,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
2 Why do you spend money on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.[v]
3 Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,(BD)
the promises assured to David.(BE)
4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,(BF)
a leader and commander for the peoples,(BG)
5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,(BH)
and nations who do not know you will run to you.(BI)
For the Lord your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,(BJ)
has glorified you.”(BK)
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call to Him while He is near.(BL)
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;(BM)
let him return to the Lord,
so He may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for He will freely forgive.(BN)
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,(BO)
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,(BP)
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do.”(BQ)
12 You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.(BR)
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;(BS)
it will make a name for Yahweh(BT)
as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
A House of Prayer for All
56 This is what the Lord says:
Preserve justice and do what is right,(BU)
for My salvation is coming soon,
and My righteousness will be revealed.(BV)
2 Happy is the man who does this,
anyone who maintains this,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.(BW)
3 No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord
should say,
“The Lord will exclude me from His people”;(BX)
and the eunuch should not say,
“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”(BY)
4 For the Lord says this:
“For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
and choose what pleases Me,
and hold firmly to My covenant,
5 I will give them, in My house and within My walls,
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters.
I will give each of them an everlasting name
that will never be cut off.(BZ)
6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord
minister to Him, love the name of Yahweh
and become His servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold firmly to My covenant—
7 I will bring them to My holy mountain(CA)
and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on My altar,(CB)
for My house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations.”(CC)
8 This is the declaration of the Lord God,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will gather to them still others
besides those already gathered.”(CD)
Unrighteous Leaders Condemned
9 All you animals of the field and forest,
come and eat!
10 Israel’s[w] watchmen are blind, all of them,
they know nothing;
all of them are mute dogs,
they cannot bark;
they dream, lie down,
and love to sleep.
11 These dogs have fierce appetites;
they never have enough.
And they are shepherds
who have no discernment;
all of them turn to their own way,
every last one for his own gain.(CE)
12 “Come, let me get some wine,
let’s guzzle some beer;
and tomorrow will be like today,
only far better!”(CF)
57 The righteous one perishes,
and no one takes it to heart;
faithful men are swept away,
with no one realizing
that the righteous one is swept away
from the presence[x] of evil.
2 He will enter into peace—
they will rest on their beds[y]—
everyone who lives uprightly.
Pagan Religion Denounced
3 But come here,
you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute![z]
4 Who is it you are mocking?
Who is it you are opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue at?
Isn’t it you, you rebellious children,(CG)
you race of liars,
5 who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,(CH)
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?(CI)
6 Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi;
indeed, they are your lot.
You have even poured out a drink offering to them;
you have offered a grain offering;
should I be satisfied with these?
7 You have placed your bed
on a high and lofty mountain;(CJ)
you also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 You have set up your memorial
behind the door and doorpost.
For away from Me, you stripped,
went up, and made your bed wide,(CK)
and you have made a bargain[aa] for yourself with them.
You have loved their bed;
you have gazed on their genitals.[ab][ac]
9 You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your couriers far away(CL)
and sent them down even to Sheol.
10 You became weary on your many journeys,
but you did not say, “I give up!”(CM)
You found a renewal of your strength;[ad]
therefore you did not grow weak.
11 Who was it you dreaded and feared,
so that you lied and didn’t remember Me
or take it to heart?
Have I not kept silent for such a long time[ae](CN)
and you do not fear Me?
12 I will expose your righteousness,
and your works—they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in Me
will inherit the land(CO)
and possess My holy mountain.(CP)
Healing and Peace
14 He said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
remove every obstacle from My people’s way.”(CQ)
15 For the High and Exalted One
who lives forever, whose name is Holy(CR) says this:
“I live in a high and holy place,
and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,(CS)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and revive the heart of the oppressed.(CT)
16 For I will not accuse you forever,
and I will not always be angry;(CU)
for then the spirit would grow weak before Me,
even the breath of man, which I have made.
17 Because of his sinful greed I was angry,(CV)
so I struck him; I was angry and hid;[af]
but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort
to him and his mourners,(CW)
19 creating words of praise.”[ag](CX)
The Lord says,
“Peace, peace to the one who is far or near,(CY)
and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,(CZ)
for it cannot be still,
and its waters churn up mire and muck.
21 There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.(DA)
True Fasting
58 “Cry out loudly,[ah] don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Tell My people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek Me day after day
and delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”(DB)
3 “Why have we fasted, but You have not seen?(DC)
We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!”[ai]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(DD)
4 You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?(DE)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(DF)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(DG)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(DH)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(DI)
and not to ignore[aj] your own flesh and blood?(DJ)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(DK)
Your righteousness will go before you,(DL)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(DM)
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(DN)
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,[ak]
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(DO)
10 and if you offer yourself[al] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(DP)
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden(DQ)
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.(DR)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(DS)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;[am](DT)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating[an] the Sabbath,(DU)
from doing whatever you want on My holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,(DV)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much;[ao]
14 then you will delight yourself in the Lord,(DW)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(DX)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(DY)
Sin and Redemption
59 Indeed, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,(DZ)
and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(EA) have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have made Him hide His face from you(EB)
so that He does not listen.(EC)
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4 No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.(ED)
5 They hatch viper’s eggs
and weave spider’s webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7 Their feet run after evil,(EE)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(EF)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(EG)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(EH)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(EI)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10 We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.(EJ)
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11 We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.(EK)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before You,(EL)
and our sins testify against us.(EM)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(EN)
13 transgression and deception against the Lord,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
16 He saw that there was no man—
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;(EO)
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on His head;(EP)
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and He wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.(EQ)
18 So He will repay according to their deeds:(ER)
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and He will repay the coastlands.
19 They will fear the name of Yahweh in the west
and His glory in the east;(ES)
for He will come like a rushing stream(ET)
driven by the wind of the Lord.
20 “The Redeemer(EU) will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”(EV)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,”(EW) says the Lord: “My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth,(EX) will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children, or from the mouth of your children’s children, from now on and forever,” says the Lord.
The Lord’s Glory in Zion
60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,(EY)
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.[ap](EZ)
2 For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your radiance.(FA)
4 Raise your eyes and look around:
they all gather and come to you;
your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters will be carried on the hip.(FB)
5 Then you will see and be radiant,(FC)
and your heart will tremble and rejoice,[aq]
because the riches of the sea will become yours
and the wealth of the nations will come to you.(FD)
6 Caravans of camels will cover your land[ar]—
young camels of Midian and Ephah—
all of them will come from Sheba.(FE)
They will carry gold and frankincense(FF)
and proclaim the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you(FG)
and go up on My altar as an acceptable sacrifice.(FH)
I will glorify My beautiful house.(FI)
8 Who are these who fly like a cloud,
like doves to their shelters?(FJ)
9 Yes, the islands will wait for Me(FK)
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,(FL)
to bring your children from far away,(FM)
their silver and gold with them,
for the honor of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,(FN)
who has glorified you.(FO)
10 Foreigners will build up your walls,(FP)
and their kings will serve you.(FQ)
Although I struck you in My wrath,
yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.(FR)
11 Your gates will always be open;
they will never be shut day or night
so that the wealth of the nations
may be brought into you,(FS)
with their kings being led in procession.
12 For the nation and the kingdom
that will not serve you will perish;
those nations will be annihilated.(FT)
13 The glory of Lebanon will come to you(FU)—
its pine, fir, and cypress together(FV)—
to beautify the place of My sanctuary,
and I will glorify My dwelling place.[as]
14 The sons of your oppressors
will come and bow down to you;(FW)
all who reviled you
will fall facedown at your feet.(FX)
They will call you the City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.(FY)
15 Instead of your being deserted and hated,
with no one passing through,(FZ)
I will make you an object of eternal pride,(GA)
a joy from age to age.
16 You will nurse on the milk of nations,
and nurse at the breast of kings;(GB)
you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior(GC)
and Redeemer,(GD) the Mighty One of Jacob.(GE)
17 I will bring gold instead of bronze;
I will bring silver instead of iron,
bronze instead of wood,
and iron instead of stones.
I will appoint peace as your guard
and righteousness as your ruler.
18 Violence will never again be heard of in your land;(GF)
devastation and destruction
will be gone from your borders.
But you will name your walls salvation(GG)
and your gates, praise.
19 The sun will no longer be your light by day,
and the brightness of the moon will not shine on you;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,(GH)
and your God will be your splendor.
20 Your sun will no longer set,
and your moon will not fade;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and the days of your sorrow will be over.(GI)
21 Then all your people will be righteous;(GJ)
they will possess the land forever;(GK)
they are the branch I planted,
the work of My[at] hands,
so that I may be glorified.(GL)
22 The least will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am Yahweh;
I will accomplish it quickly in its time.
Messiah’s Jubilee
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me,(GM)
because the Lord has anointed Me
to bring good news to the poor.(GN)
He has sent Me to heal[au] the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;(GO)
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,(GP)
and the day of our God’s vengeance;(GQ)
to comfort(GR) all who mourn,
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,(GS)
and splendid clothes instead of despair.[av]
And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord
to glorify Him.(GT)
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins;(GU)
they will restore the former devastations;
they will renew the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.(GV)
6 But you will be called the Lord’s priests;(GW)
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.
7 Because your shame was double,(GX)
and they cried out, “Disgrace is their portion,”
therefore, they will possess double in their land,(GY)
and eternal joy will be theirs.
8 For I Yahweh love justice;(GZ)
I hate robbery and injustice;[aw]
I will faithfully reward them
and make an everlasting covenant(HA) with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,
and their posterity among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.
10 I greatly rejoice in the Lord,
I exult in my God;
for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation
and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness,(HB)
as a groom wears a turban
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(HC)
11 For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.(HD)
Zion’s Restoration
62 I will not keep silent because of Zion,
and I will not keep still because of Jerusalem,(HE)
until her righteousness shines like a bright light(HF)
and her salvation, like a flaming torch.
2 Nations will see your righteousness(HG)
and all kings, your glory.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord’s mouth will announce.(HH)
3 You will be a glorious crown in the Lord’s hand,
and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.(HI)
4 You will no longer be called Deserted,(HJ)
and your land will not be called Desolate;
instead, you will be called My Delight is in Her,[ax]
and your land Married;[ay](HK)
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land will be married.
5 For as a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons will marry you;
and as a groom rejoices[az] over his bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.(HL)
6 Jerusalem,
I have appointed watchmen on your walls;(HM)
they will never be silent, day or night.
There is no rest for you,
who remind the Lord.
7 Do not give Him rest
until He establishes and makes Jerusalem
the praise of the earth.(HN)
8 The Lord has sworn with His right hand
and His strong arm:
I will no longer give your grain
to your enemies for food,(HO)
and foreigners will not drink your new wine
you have labored for.
9 For those who gather grain will eat it
and praise the Lord,
and those who harvest the grapes will drink the wine
in My holy courts.
10 Go out, go out through the gates;
prepare a way for the people!
Build it up, build up the highway;(HP)
clear away the stones!
Raise a banner for the peoples.(HQ)
11 Look, the Lord has proclaimed
to the ends of the earth,
“Say to Daughter Zion:(HR)
Look, your salvation is coming,
His reward is with Him,(HS)
and His gifts accompany Him.”
12 And they will be called[ba] the Holy People,(HT)
the Lord’s Redeemed;
and you will be called Cared For,
A City Not Deserted.
The Lord’s Day of Vengeance
63 Who is this coming from Edom(HU)
in crimson-stained garments from Bozrah—
this One who is splendid in His apparel,
rising up proudly[bb] in His great might?
It is I, proclaiming vindication,[bc]
powerful to save.
2 Why are Your clothes red,
and Your garments like one who treads a winepress?(HV)
3 I trampled the winepress alone,
and no one from the nations was with Me.
I trampled them in My anger
and ground them underfoot in My fury;
their blood spattered My garments,
and all My clothes were stained.
4 For I planned the day of vengeance,[bd](HW)
and the year of My redemption[be] came.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,(HX)
and I was amazed that no one assisted;
so My arm accomplished victory for Me,
and My wrath assisted Me.
6 I crushed nations in My anger;
I made them drunk with My wrath(HY)
and poured out their blood on the ground.(HZ)
Remembrance of Grace
7 I will make known the Lord’s faithful love
and the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,
because of all the Lord has done for us—
even the many good things
He has done for the house of Israel
and has done for them based on His compassion
and the abundance of His faithful love.
8 He said, “They are indeed My people,
children who will not be disloyal,”
and He became their Savior.
9 In all their suffering, He suffered,[bf](IA)
and the Angel of His Presence saved them.
He redeemed them
because of His love and compassion;(IB)
He lifted them up and carried them
all the days of the past.(IC)
10 But they rebelled
and grieved His Holy Spirit.(ID)
So He became their enemy
and fought against them.
11 Then He[bg] remembered the days of the past,
the days of Moses and his people.
Where is He who brought them out of the sea
with the shepherds[bh] of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit among the flock?
12 He sent His glorious arm
to be at Moses’ right hand,
divided the waters before them(IE)
to obtain eternal fame for Himself,
13 and led them through the depths
like a horse in the wilderness,
so that they did not stumble.
14 Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them[bi] rest.
You led Your people this way
to make a glorious name for Yourself.
Israel’s Prayer
15 Look down from heaven and see(IF)
from Your lofty home—holy and beautiful.
Where is Your zeal and Your might?
Your yearning[bj] and Your compassion
are withheld from me.
16 Yet You are our Father,
even though Abraham does not know us
and Israel doesn’t recognize us.
You, Yahweh, are our Father;
from ancient times,
Your name is our Redeemer.(IG)
17 Why, Yahweh, do You make us stray from Your ways?
You harden our hearts so we do not fear[bk] You.(IH)
Return, because of Your servants,
the tribes of Your heritage.
18 Your holy people had a possession[bl]
for a little while,
but our enemies have trampled down
Your sanctuary.(II)
19 We have become like those You never ruled over,
like those not called by Your name.(IJ)
64 [bm]If only You would tear the heavens open
and come down,(IK)
so that mountains would quake at Your presence(IL)—
2 [bn]as fire kindles the brushwood,
and fire causes water to boil—
to make Your name known to Your enemies,
so that nations will tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome works(IM)
that we did not expect,
You came down,(IN)
and the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened,
no eye has seen any God except You,
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.(IO)
5 You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember You in Your ways.
But we have sinned, and You were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[bo]
6 All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[bp] garment;(IP)
all of us wither like a leaf,(IQ)
and our iniquities(IR) carry us away like the wind.
7 No one calls on Your name,
striving to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us(IS)
and made us melt because of[bq][br] our iniquity.
8 Yet Lord, You are our Father;(IT)
we are the clay, and You are our potter;
we all are the work of Your hands.(IU)
9 Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.(IV)
Please look—all of us are Your people!
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.(IW)
11 Our holy and beautiful[bs] temple,
where our fathers praised You,
has been burned with fire,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.(IX)
12 Lord, after all this, will You restrain Yourself?
Will You keep silent and afflict severely?(IY)
The Lord’s Response
65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;[bt]
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said: Here I am, here I am,
to a nation that was not called by[bu] My name.(IZ)
2 I spread out My hands all day long
to a rebellious people(JA)
who walk in the wrong path,
following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually provoke Me
to My face,
sacrificing in gardens,(JB)
burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(JC)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[bv]
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in My nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
6 It is written before Me:
I will not keep silent,(JD) but I will repay;(JE)
I will repay them fully[bw]
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities(JF)
of your[bx] fathers together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached Me on the hills,(JG)
I will reward them fully[by]
for their former deeds.”
8 The Lord says this:
As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[bz] in it,’
so I will act because of My servants
and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob,(JH)
and heirs to My mountains from Judah;
My chosen(JI) ones will possess it,
and My servants will dwell there.(JJ)
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,(JK)
and the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down,(JL)
for My people who have sought Me.(JM)
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget My holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,[ca]
12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in My sight
and chose what I did not delight in.(JN)
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:
My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry;
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty;
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14 My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind
as a curse for My chosen ones,(JO)
and the Lord God will kill you;
but He will give His servants another name.(JP)
16 Whoever is blessed in the land
will be blessed by the God of truth,(JQ)
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from My sight.
A New Creation
17 “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth;(JR)
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in My people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.(JS)
20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,[cb]
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the youth will die at a hundred years,
and the one who misses a hundred years will be cursed.(JT)
21 People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(JU)
22 They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For My people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.(JV)
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor without success(JW)
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.(JX)
24 Even before they call, I will answer;(JY)
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,[cc]
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,(JZ)
but the serpent’s food will be dust!(KA)
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on My entire holy mountain,”(KB)
says the Lord.
Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration
66 This is what the Lord says:
Heaven(KC) is My throne,(KD)
and earth is My footstool.(KE)
What house could you possibly build for Me?
And what place could be My home?(KF)
2 My hand made all these things,
and so they all came into being.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will look favorably on this kind of person:
one who is humble,(KG) submissive[cd] in spirit,(KH)
and trembles at My word.
3 One slaughters an ox, one kills a man;
one sacrifices a lamb, one breaks a dog’s neck;
one offers a grain offering, one offers pig’s blood;
one offers incense, one praises an idol—
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their detestable practices.(KI)
4 So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they didn’t hear;
they did what was evil in My sight
and chose what I didn’t delight in.(KJ)
5 You who tremble at His word,(KK)
hear the word of the Lord:(KL)
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
because of Me have said,(KM)
‘Let the Lord be glorified
so that we can see your joy!’
But they will be put to shame.”(KN)
6 A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple—
the voice of the Lord,
paying back His enemies what they deserve!(KO)
7 Before Zion was in labor, she gave birth;
before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
8 Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her sons.
9 “Will I bring a baby to the point of birth
and not deliver it?”
says the Lord;
“or will I who deliver, close the womb?”
says your God.
10 Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.(KP)
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her—
11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast
and drink deeply and delight yourselves
from her glorious breasts.
12 For this is what the Lord says:
I will make peace flow to her like a river,(KQ)
and the wealth[ce] of nations like a flood;(KR)
you will nurse and be carried on her hip(KS)
and bounced on her lap.
13 As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,(KT)
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You will see, you will rejoice,
and you[cf] will flourish like grass;(KU)
then the Lord’s power will be revealed to His servants,
but He will show His wrath against His enemies.
15 Look, the Lord will come with fire(KV)—
His chariots are like the whirlwind(KW)—
to execute His anger with fury
and His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the Lord will execute judgment
on all flesh(KX) with His fiery sword,
and many will be slain by the Lord.
17 “Those who dedicate and purify themselves to enter the groves(KY) following their leader,[cg] eating meat from pigs, vermin, and rats, will perish together.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 “Knowing[ch] their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages;(KZ) they will come and see My glory.
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