Old/New Testament
Chapter 53
1 Who would believe what we have heard?[a]
To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?(A)
2 He grew up like a sapling before him,(B)
like a shoot from the parched earth;
He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye,
no beauty to draw us to him.
3 He was spurned and avoided by men,
a man of suffering, knowing pain,
Like one from whom you turn your face,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.(C)
4 Yet it was our pain that he bore,
our sufferings he endured.
We thought of him as stricken,
struck down by God[b] and afflicted,(D)
5 But he was pierced for our sins,
crushed for our iniquity.
He bore the punishment that makes us whole,
by his wounds we were healed.(E)
6 We had all gone astray like sheep,
all following our own way;
But the Lord laid upon him[c]
the guilt of us all.(F)
7 Though harshly treated, he submitted
and did not open his mouth;
Like a lamb led to slaughter
or a sheep silent before shearers,
he did not open his mouth.(G)
8 Seized and condemned, he was taken away.
Who would have thought any more of his destiny?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
struck for the sins of his people.
9 He was given a grave among the wicked,
a burial place with evildoers,
Though he had done no wrong,
nor was deceit found in his mouth.(H)
10 But it was the Lord’s will to crush him with pain.
By making his life as a reparation offering,[d]
he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days,
and the Lord’s will shall be accomplished through him.
11 Because of his anguish he shall see the light;
because of his knowledge he shall be content;
My servant, the just one, shall justify the many,
their iniquity he shall bear.
12 Therefore I will give him his portion among the many,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
Because he surrendered himself to death,
was counted among the transgressors,
Bore the sins of many,
and interceded for the transgressors.(I)
Chapter 54
The New Zion
1 Raise a glad cry, you barren one[e] who never bore a child,
break forth in jubilant song, you who have never been in labor,
For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife
than the children of her who has a husband,
says the Lord.(J)
2 Enlarge the space for your tent,
spread out your tent cloths unsparingly;
lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs.(K)
3 For you shall spread abroad to the right and left;
your descendants shall dispossess the nations
and shall people the deserted cities.[f]
4 [g]Do not fear, you shall not be put to shame;
do not be discouraged, you shall not be disgraced.
For the shame of your youth you shall forget,
the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.
5 For your husband is your Maker;
the Lord of hosts is his name,
Your redeemer,[h] the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
6 The Lord calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
A wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.(L)
7 For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
8 In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
But with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the Lord, your redeemer.
9 This is for me like the days of Noah:
As I swore then that the waters of Noah
should never again flood the earth,
So I have sworn now not to be angry with you,
or to rebuke you.(M)
10 Though the mountains fall away
and the hills be shaken,
My love shall never fall away from you
nor my covenant of peace[i] be shaken,
says the Lord, who has mercy on you.(N)
11 O afflicted one,[j] storm-battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
your foundations in sapphires;(O)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord;
great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In justice shall you be established,
far from oppression, you shall not fear,
from destruction, it cannot come near.
15 If there be an attack, it is not my doing;
whoever attacks shall fall before you.
16 See, I have created the smith
who blows on the burning coals
and forges weapons as his work;
It is I also who have created
the destroyer to work havoc.
17 Every weapon fashioned against you shall fail;
every tongue that brings you to trial
you shall prove false.
This is the lot of the servants of the Lord,
their vindication from me—oracle of the Lord.
Chapter 55
An Invitation to Grace
1 All you who are thirsty,[k]
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, buy grain and eat;
Come, buy grain without money,
wine and milk without cost!(P)
2 Why spend your money for what is not bread;
your wages for what does not satisfy?
Only listen to me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
3 Pay attention and come to me;
listen, that you may have life.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
the steadfast loyalty promised to David.(Q)
4 As I made him a witness to peoples,
a leader and commander of peoples,
5 So shall you summon a nation you knew not,
and a nation[l] that knew you not shall run to you,
Because of the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.(R)
6 [m]Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their way,
and sinners their thoughts;
Let them turn to the Lord to find mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 [n]Yet just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
11 So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me empty,
but shall do what pleases me,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
12 Yes, in joy you shall go forth,
in peace you shall be brought home;
Mountains and hills shall break out in song before you,
all trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 In place of the thornbush, the cypress shall grow,
instead of nettles,[o] the myrtle.
This shall be to the Lord’s renown,
as an everlasting sign that shall not fail.
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting.[a] 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:(A) 2 grace to you and peace from God [our] Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving. 3 [b]We ought to thank God always for you, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith flourishes ever more, and the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.(B) 4 Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions you endure.
5 This is evidence of the just judgment of God, so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering.(C) 6 For it is surely just on God’s part to repay with afflictions those who are afflicting you, 7 and to grant rest along with us to you who are undergoing afflictions, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 in blazing fire, inflicting punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(D) 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,(E) 10 when he comes to be glorified among his holy ones[c] and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed.(F)
Prayer. 11 To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith,(G) 12 [d]that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him,(H) in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.