Isaiah 3-6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s Leaders Judged
3 Observe this: The Lord God of Hosts
is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah
every kind of security:
the entire supply of bread and water,
2 the hero and warrior,(A)
the judge and prophet,
the fortune-teller and elder,
3 the commander of 50 and the dignitary,
the counselor, cunning magician,[a] and necromancer.[b]
4 “I will make youths their leaders,(B)
and the unstable[c] will govern them.”
5 The people will oppress one another,(C)
man against man, neighbor against neighbor;
the youth will act arrogantly toward the elder,
and the worthless toward the honorable.
6 A man will even seize his brother
in his father’s house, saying:
“You have a cloak—you be our leader!
This heap of rubble will be under your control.”
7 On that day he will cry out, saying:
“I’m not a healer.
I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.
Don’t make me the leader of the people!”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the Lord,(D)
defying His glorious presence.(E)
9 The look on their faces testifies against them,
and like Sodom,(F) they flaunt their sin.
They do not conceal it.
Woe to them,
for they have brought evil on themselves.(G)
10 Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
for they will eat the fruit of their labor.
11 Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them,
for what they have done will be done to them.
12 Youths oppress My people,(H)
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders mislead you;
they confuse the direction of your paths.(I)
13 The Lord rises to argue the case
and stands to judge the people.(J)
14 The Lord brings this charge
against the elders and leaders of His people:(K)
“You have devastated the vineyard.
The plunder from the poor is in your houses.(L)
15 Why do you crush My people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
Jerusalem’s Women Judged
16 The Lord also says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,(M)
walking with heads held high
and seductive eyes,
going along with prancing steps,
jingling their ankle bracelets,
17 the Lord will put scabs on the heads
of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.
18 On that day(N) the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents,(O) 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets,(P) 21 signet rings, nose rings,(Q) 22 festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, 23 garments, linen clothes, turbans, and veils.
24 Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of beautifully styled hair,(R) baldness;(S)
instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;(T)
instead of beauty, branding.[d]
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle.
26 Then her gates(U) will lament and mourn;
deserted, she will sit on the ground.(V)
4 On that day seven women
will seize one man,(W) saying,
“We will eat our own bread
and provide our own clothing.
Just let us be called by your name.
Take away our disgrace.”(X)
Zion’s Future Glory
2 On that day the Branch of[e] the Lord will be beautiful and glorious,(Y) and the fruit of the land(Z) will be the pride and glory(AA) of Israel’s survivors.(AB) 3 Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem(AC) will be called holy(AD)—all in Jerusalem who are destined to live(AE)— 4 when the Lord has washed away the filth(AF) of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt(AG) from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment(AH) and a spirit of burning.(AI) 5 Then the Lord will create(AJ) a cloud of smoke by day(AK) and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory,[f] 6 and there will be a booth for shade from heat by day, and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.(AL)
Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(AM)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.(AN)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(AO) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(AP)
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between Me
and My vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for My vineyard
than I did?(AQ)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,(AR)
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,(AS)
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.(AT)
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.(AU)
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the house of Israel,(AV)
and the men[g] of Judah,
the plant He delighted in.
He looked for justice
but saw injustice,
for righteousness,
but heard cries of wretchedness.
Judah’s Sins Denounced
8 Woe to those who add house to house(AW)
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
9 I heard the Lord of Hosts say:
Indeed, many houses(AX) will become desolate,
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
10 For a ten-acre[h] vineyard will yield
only six gallons,[i]
and 10 bushels[j] of seed will yield
only one bushel.[k]
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of beer,(AY)
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
12 At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord’s actions,(AZ)
and they do not see the work of His hands.(BA)
13 Therefore My people will go into exile
because they lack knowledge;(BB)
her[l] dignitaries are starving,
and her[m] masses are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens wide its enormous jaws,(BC)
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who carouse in her!
15 Humanity is brought low, man is humbled,
and haughty eyes are humbled.(BD)
16 But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice,(BE)
and the holy God(BF) is distinguished by righteousness.(BG)
17 Lambs will graze
as if in[n] their own pastures,(BH)
and strangers[o] will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who drag wickedness
with cords of deceit(BI)
and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19 to those who say:
“Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly
so that we can see it!
Let the plan(BJ) of the Holy One of Israel(BK) take place
so that we can know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,(BL)
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion
and clever in their own sight.[p](BM)
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are fearless at mixing beer,(BN)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe(BO)
and deprive the innocent of justice.
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected(BP)
the instruction of the Lord of Hosts,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.(BQ)
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger burns(BR) against His people.
He raised His hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,(BS)
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, His anger is not removed,
and His hand is still raised to strike.(BT)
26 He raises a signal flag for the distant nations(BU)
and whistles(BV) for them from the ends of the earth.
Look—how quickly and swiftly they come!
27 None of them grows weary or stumbles;(BW)
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion’s;(BX)
they roar like young lions;(BY)
they growl and seize their prey
and carry it off,
and no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.[q]
Isaiah’s Call and Mission
6 In the year that King Uzziah(BZ) died, I saw the Lord(CA) seated on a high and lofty(CB) throne,(CC) and His robe[r] filled the temple. 2 Seraphim[s] were standing above Him; each one had six wings:(CD) with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.(CE) 3 And one called to another:
4 The foundations of the doorways shook(CH) at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said:
Woe is me(CI) for I am ruined[t]
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,(CJ)
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Hosts.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar(CK) with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth(CL) with it and said:
Now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed
and your sin is atoned for.(CM)
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
Who should I send?
Who will go for Us?
I said:
Here I am. Send me.
9 And He replied:
Go! Say to these people:
Keep listening, but do not understand;(CN)
keep looking, but do not perceive.
10 Dull the minds[u] of these people;
deafen their ears and blind their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back, and be healed.(CO)
11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord?”(CP) And He replied:
Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants,(CQ)
houses are without people,
the land is ruined and desolate,
12 and the Lord drives the people far away,
leaving great emptiness in the land.
13 Though a tenth will remain in the land,
it will be burned again.
Like the terebinth or the oak
that leaves a stump when felled,
the holy seed(CR) is the stump.(CS)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:3 Or skilled craftsman
- Isaiah 3:3 Or medium
- Isaiah 3:4 Or mischief-makers
- Isaiah 3:24 DSS read shame
- Isaiah 4:2 Or plant
- Isaiah 4:5 Or For glory will be a canopy over all
- Isaiah 5:7 Lit man
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit ten-yoke
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit one bath
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit one homer
- Isaiah 5:10 Lit [one] ephah
- Isaiah 5:13 Lit its
- Isaiah 5:13 Lit its
- Isaiah 5:17 Syr reads graze in
- Isaiah 5:17 LXX reads sheep
- Isaiah 5:21 Lit clever before their face
- Isaiah 5:30 Lit its clouds
- Isaiah 6:1 Lit seam
- Isaiah 6:2 = heavenly beings
- Isaiah 6:5 Or I must be silent
- Isaiah 6:10 Lit heart
Revelation 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Throne Room of Heaven
4 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit,[a](A) and a throne was set there in heaven.(B) One was seated on the throne, 3 and the One seated[b] looked like jasper[c] and carnelian[d] stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. 4 Around that throne were 24 thrones, and on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes, with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.(C) 6 Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures(D) covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle[e] and around the throne. 7 The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings;(E) they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop,[f] saying:
Holy, holy, holy,[g]
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:
11 Our Lord and God,[h]
You are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because You have created all things,
and because of Your will
they exist and were created.
Footnotes
- Revelation 4:2 Or in spirit; lit I became in the Spirit
- Revelation 4:3 Other mss omit and the One seated
- Revelation 4:3 A precious stone
- Revelation 4:3 A translucent red gem
- Revelation 4:6 Lit In the middle of the throne
- Revelation 4:8 Or they never rest
- Revelation 4:8 Other mss read holy 9 times
- Revelation 4:11 Other mss add the Holy One; other mss read Lord
Psalm 93
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 93
God’s Eternal Reign
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty;
The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.(A)
2 Your throne has been established
from the beginning;[a]
You are from eternity.(B)
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their pounding waves.(C)
4 Greater than the roar of many waters—
the mighty breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is majestic.(D)
5 Lord, Your testimonies are completely reliable;(E)
holiness is the beauty of[b] Your house
for all the days to come.(F)
Footnotes
- Psalm 93:2 Lit from then
- Psalm 93:5 Or holiness characterizes
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