Isaiah 1-2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 The vision(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah(B) son of Amoz saw during the reigns[a][b] of Uzziah,(C) Jotham,(D) Ahaz,(E) and Hezekiah,(F) kings of Judah.(G)
Judah on Trial
2 Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth,(H)
for the Lord has spoken:
“I have raised children[c] and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against Me.(I)
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but Israel does not know;
My people do not understand.”(J)
4 Oh sinful nation,
people weighed down with iniquity,(K)
brood of evildoers,(L)
depraved children![d]
They have abandoned(M) the Lord;
they have despised(N) the Holy One of Israel;(O)
they have turned their backs on Him.
5 Why do you want more beatings?
Why do you keep on rebelling?
The whole head is hurt,
and the whole heart is sick.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,(P)
no spot is uninjured(Q)—
wounds, welts, and festering sores
not cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.
7 Your land is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;(R)
foreigners devour your fields
before your very eyes—
a desolation demolished by foreigners.
8 Daughter Zion(S) is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
9 If the Lord of Hosts(T)
had not left us a few survivors,(U)
we would be like Sodom,
we would resemble Gomorrah.(V)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,(W)
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(X)
11 “What are all your sacrifices to Me?”
asks the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.(Y)
12 When you come to appear before Me,
who requires this from you—
this trampling of My courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings.(Z)
Your incense is detestable to Me.
New Moons and Sabbaths,(AA)
and the calling of solemn assemblies(AB)—
I cannot stand iniquity(AC) with a festival.
14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am tired of putting up with them.
15 When you lift up your hands in prayer,(AD)
I will refuse to look at you;
even if you offer countless prayers,
I will not listen.(AE)
Your hands are covered with blood.(AF)
Purification of Jerusalem
16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.(AG)
Remove your evil deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil.(AH)
17 Learn to do what is good.
Seek justice.(AI)
Correct the oppressor.[e]
Defend the rights of the fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.
18 “Come, let us discuss this,”(AJ)
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;(AK)
though they are as red as crimson,
they will be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land.(AL)
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”(AM)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(AN)
21 The faithful city—
what an adulteress[f] she has become!
She was once full of justice.
Righteousness once dwelt in her—
but now, murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,[g]
your beer[h] is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.(AO)
They all love graft
and chase after bribes.(AP)
They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,
and the widow’s case never comes before them.(AQ)
24 Therefore the Lord God of Hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will gain satisfaction from My foes;
I will take revenge against My enemies.(AR)
25 I will turn My hand against you(AS)
and will burn away your dross[i] completely;[j]
I will remove all your impurities.(AT)
26 I will restore your judges(AU) to what they once were,[k]
and your advisers to their former state.[l]
Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,(AV)
a Faithful City.”
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice,
her repentant ones by righteousness.(AW)
28 But both rebels and sinners will be destroyed,
and those who abandon the Lord will perish.
29 Indeed, they[m] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you desired,(AX)
and you will be embarrassed because of the gardens
you have chosen.(AY)
30 For you will become like an oak
whose leaves are withered,
and like a garden without water.(AZ)
31 The strong one will become tinder,
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,(BA)
with no one to quench the flames.(BB)
The City of Peace
2 The vision that Isaiah(BC) son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In(BD) the last days(BE)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(BF) will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,(BG)
3 and many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.(BH)
He will teach us about His ways
so that we may walk in His paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will turn their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.(BI)
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will never again train for war.(BJ)
The Day of the Lord
5 House of Jacob,
come and let us walk in the Lord’s light.(BK)
6 For You have abandoned(BL) Your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of divination from the East
and of fortune-tellers(BM) like the Philistines.(BN)
They are in league[n] with foreigners.
7 Their[o][p] land is full of silver and gold,
and there is no limit to their treasures;
their land is full of horses,
and there is no limit to their chariots.(BO)
8 Their land is full of idols;(BP)
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.(BQ)
9 So humanity is brought low,
and man is humbled.
Do not forgive them!(BR)
10 Go into the rocks(BS)
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord(BT)
and from His majestic splendor.(BU)
11 Human pride[q] will be humbled,(BV)
and the loftiness of men will be brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts is coming
against all that is proud and lofty,(BW)
against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,(BX)
lofty and lifted up,
against all the oaks of Bashan,(BY)
14 against all the high mountains,(BZ)
against all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower,(CA)
against every fortified wall,
16 against every ship of Tarshish,(CB)
and against every splendid sea vessel.
17 So human pride will be brought low,
and the loftiness of men will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(CC)
18 The idols will vanish completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks(CD)
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from His majestic splendor,
when He rises to terrify the earth.(CE)
20 On that day people will throw
their silver and gold idols,(CF)
which they made to worship,
to the moles and the bats.
21 They will go into the caves of the rocks
and the crevices in the cliffs,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from His majestic splendor,(CG)
when He rises to terrify the earth.
22 Put no more trust in man,
who has only the breath in his nostrils.(CH)
What is he really worth?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:1 Lit saw in the days
- Isaiah 1:1 ca 792–686 b.c.
- Isaiah 1:2 Or sons
- Isaiah 1:4 Or sons
- Isaiah 1:17 Or Aid the oppressed
- Isaiah 1:21 Or prostitute
- Isaiah 1:22 Or burnished lead
- Isaiah 1:22 Or wine
- Isaiah 1:25 Or burnished lead
- Isaiah 1:25 Lit dross as with lye
- Isaiah 1:26 Lit judges as at the first
- Isaiah 1:26 Lit advisers as at the beginning
- Isaiah 1:29 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, Tg read you
- Isaiah 2:6 Or They teem, or They partner; Hb obscure
- Isaiah 2:7 Lit Its
- Isaiah 2:7 = the house of Jacob
- Isaiah 2:11 Lit Mankind’s proud eyes
Psalm 146
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in man, who cannot save.(C)
4 When his breath[a] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[b](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
9 The Lord protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!
Footnotes
- Psalm 146:4 Or spirit
- Psalm 146:8 Lit bowed down
Revelation 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Letter to Sardis
3 “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:
“The One who has the seven spirits of God(A) and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation[a] for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen[b] what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come[c] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.[d] 4 But you have a few people[e] in Sardis who have not defiled[f] their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. 5 In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life(B) but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Letter to Philadelphia
7 “Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens(C) says: 8 I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close. 9 Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.(D) 10 Because you have kept My command to endure,[g] I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have,(E) so that no one takes your crown. 12 The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My new name.(F)
13 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Letter to Laodicea
14 “Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea:
“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator[h](G) of God’s creation says: 15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit[i] you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed[j] and repent. 20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. 21 The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 3:1 Lit have a name
- Revelation 3:2 Other mss read guard
- Revelation 3:3 Other mss add upon you
- Revelation 3:3 Or upon you
- Revelation 3:4 Lit few names
- Revelation 3:4 Or soiled
- Revelation 3:10 Lit My word of endurance
- Revelation 3:14 Or Ruler, or Source, or Beginning
- Revelation 3:16 Or spit
- Revelation 3:19 Or be zealous
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
