Isaiah 56-59
Holman Christian Standard Bible
A House of Prayer for All
56 This is what the Lord says:
Preserve justice and do what is right,(A)
for My salvation is coming soon,
and My righteousness will be revealed.(B)
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.(C)
3 No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord
should say,
“The Lord will exclude me from His people”;(D)
and the eunuch should not say,
“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”(E)
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.(F)
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(G)
and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on My altar,(H)
for My house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations.”(I)
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.”(J)
Unrighteous Leaders Condemned
9 All you animals of the field and forest,
come and eat!
10 Israel’s[a] 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.(K)
12 “Come, let me get some wine,
let’s guzzle some beer;
and tomorrow will be like today,
only far better!”(L)
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[b] of evil.
2 He will enter into peace—
they will rest on their beds[c]—
everyone who lives uprightly.
Pagan Religion Denounced
3 But come here,
you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute![d]
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,(M)
you race of liars,
5 who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,(N)
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?(O)
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;(P)
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,(Q)
and you have made a bargain[e] for yourself with them.
You have loved their bed;
you have gazed on their genitals.[f][g]
9 You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your couriers far away(R)
and sent them down even to Sheol.
10 You became weary on your many journeys,
but you did not say, “I give up!”(S)
You found a renewal of your strength;[h]
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[i](T)
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(U)
and possess My holy mountain.(V)
Healing and Peace
14 He said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
remove every obstacle from My people’s way.”(W)
15 For the High and Exalted One
who lives forever, whose name is Holy(X) says this:
“I live in a high and holy place,
and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,(Y)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and revive the heart of the oppressed.(Z)
16 For I will not accuse you forever,
and I will not always be angry;(AA)
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,(AB)
so I struck him; I was angry and hid;[j]
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,(AC)
19 creating words of praise.”[k](AD)
The Lord says,
“Peace, peace to the one who is far or near,(AE)
and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,(AF)
for it cannot be still,
and its waters churn up mire and muck.
21 There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.(AG)
True Fasting
58 “Cry out loudly,[l] 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.”(AH)
3 “Why have we fasted, but You have not seen?(AI)
We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!”[m]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(AJ)
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?(AK)
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,(AL)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(AM)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(AN)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(AO)
and not to ignore[n] your own flesh and blood?(AP)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(AQ)
Your righteousness will go before you,(AR)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(AS)
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(AT)
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,[o]
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(AU)
10 and if you offer yourself[p] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(AV)
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(AW)
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.(AX)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(AY)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;[q](AZ)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating[r] the Sabbath,(BA)
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,(BB)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much;[s]
14 then you will delight yourself in the Lord,(BC)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(BD)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(BE)
Sin and Redemption
59 Indeed, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,(BF)
and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(BG) have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have made Him hide His face from you(BH)
so that He does not listen.(BI)
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.(BJ)
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,(BK)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(BL)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(BM)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(BN)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(BO)
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.(BP)
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.(BQ)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before You,(BR)
and our sins testify against us.(BS)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(BT)
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;(BU)
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;(BV)
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and He wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.(BW)
18 So He will repay according to their deeds:(BX)
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;(BY)
for He will come like a rushing stream(BZ)
driven by the wind of the Lord.
20 “The Redeemer(CA) will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”(CB)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,”(CC) says the Lord: “My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth,(CD) 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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 56:10 Or His, or Its
- Isaiah 57:1 Or away because
- Isaiah 57:2 Either their deathbeds or their graves
- Isaiah 57:3 Lit and she acted as a prostitute
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit you cut
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit hand
- Isaiah 57:8 In Hb, the word hand is probably a euphemism for “genitals.”
- Isaiah 57:10 Lit found life of your hand
- Isaiah 57:11 LXX reads And I, when I see you, I pass by
- Isaiah 57:17 Lit him; hiding and I am angry
- Isaiah 57:19 Lit creating fruit of the lips
- Isaiah 58:1 Lit with throat
- Isaiah 58:3 These are Israel’s words to God.
- Isaiah 58:7 Lit not hide yourself from
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit yoke from your midst
- Isaiah 58:10 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read offer your bread
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit foundations generation and generation
- Isaiah 58:13 Lit keep your foot from
- Isaiah 58:13 Lit or speak a word
Revelation 19
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Celebration in Heaven
19 After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude in heaven, saying:
Hallelujah!(A)
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,
2 because His judgments are true[a] and righteous,(B)
because He has judged the notorious prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality;
and He has avenged the blood of His slaves
that was on her hands.(C)
3 A second time they said:
Hallelujah!
Her smoke ascends forever and ever!(D)
4 Then the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,(E) who is seated on the throne, saying:
Amen! Hallelujah!(F)
5 A voice came from the throne, saying:
Praise our God,
all His slaves, who fear Him,
both small and great!(G)
Marriage of the Lamb Announced
6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters,(H) and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying:
Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty,
has begun to reign!
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory,(I)
because the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has prepared herself.
8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.(J)
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.(K)
9 Then he[b] said to me,(L) “Write: Those invited to the marriage feast(M) of the Lamb are fortunate!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.” 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the testimony about[c] Jesus.(N) Worship God, because the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”[d]
The Rider on a White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened,(O) and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True,(P) and He judges and makes war in righteousness.(Q) 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns[e] were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself.(R) 13 He wore a robe stained with blood,[f](S) and His name is the Word of God.(T) 14 The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp[g] sword(U) came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it.(V) He will shepherd[h] them with an iron scepter.(W) He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,(X) the Almighty. 16 And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.(Y)
The Beast and His Armies Defeated
17 Then I saw an angel standing on[i] the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”(Z)
19 Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies(AA) gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army. 20 But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image with these signs.(AB) Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.(AC) 21 The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Footnotes
- Revelation 19:2 Valid; Jn 8:16; 19:35
- Revelation 19:9 Probably an angel; Rv 17:1; 22:8-9
- Revelation 19:10 Or to
- Revelation 19:10 Or the Spirit
- Revelation 19:12 Or diadems
- Revelation 19:13 Or a robe dipped in
- Revelation 19:15 Other mss add double-edged
- Revelation 19:15 Or rule
- Revelation 19:17 Or in
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