Isaiah 55-56
New King James Version
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 “Ho! (A)Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
(B)Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you [a]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and (C)come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
(D)And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The (E)sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as (F)a witness to the people,
(G)A leader and commander for the people.
5 (H)Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
(I)And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
(J)For He has glorified you.”
6 (K)Seek the Lord while He may be (L)found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (M)Let the [b]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man (N)his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
(O)And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For(P) My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For(Q) as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For (R)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (S)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [c]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (T)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(U) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (V)break forth into singing before you,
And (W)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (X)Instead of (Y)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (Z)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for the Gentiles
56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(AA)For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
(AB)Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Do not let (AC)the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the Lord
Speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the (AD)eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in (AE)My house
And within My walls a place (AF)and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [d]them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
6 “Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7 Even them I will (AG)bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My (AH)house of prayer.
(AI)Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be (AJ)accepted on My altar;
For (AK)My house shall be called a house of prayer (AL)for all nations.”
8 The Lord God, (AM)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
(AN)“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 (AO)All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are (AP)blind,
They are all ignorant;
(AQ)They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
[e]Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are (AR)greedy[f] dogs
Which (AS)never[g] have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating (AT)drink;
(AU)Tomorrow will be (AV)as today,
And much more abundant.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit. weigh out silver
- Isaiah 55:7 Lit. man of iniquity
- Isaiah 55:11 empty, without fruit
- Isaiah 56:5 Lit. him
- Isaiah 56:10 Or Dreaming
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. strong of soul
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. do not know satisfaction
Psalm 113:5-9
New King James Version
5 (A)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
6 (B)Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
7 (C)He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the (D)needy out of the ash heap,
8 That He may (E)seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
9 (F)He grants the [a]barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 113:9 childless
Proverbs 26:20-21
New King James Version
20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no [a]talebearer, strife ceases.
21 (A)As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:20 gossip or slanderer, lit. whisperer
Ephesians 4
New King James Version
Walk in Unity
4 I, therefore, the prisoner [a]of the Lord, [b]beseech you to (A)walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit (B)in the bond of peace. 4 (C)There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 (D)one Lord, (E)one faith, (F)one baptism; 6 (G)one God and Father of all, who is above all, and (H)through all, and in [c]you all.
Spiritual Gifts
7 But (I)to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
(J)“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”
9 (K)(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also [d]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One (L)who ascended far above all the heavens, (M)that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, (N)for the [e]edifying of (O)the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith (P)and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to (Q)a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be (R)children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of (S)deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the (T)head—Christ— 16 (U)from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should (V)no longer walk as [f]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the (W)blindness of their heart; 19 (X)who, being past feeling, (Y)have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you (Z)put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and (AA)be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you (AB)put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Spirit
25 Therefore, putting away lying, (AC)“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for (AD)we are members of one another. 26 (AE)“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 (AF)nor give [g]place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather (AG)let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something (AH)to give him who has need. 29 (AI)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but (AJ)what is good for necessary [h]edification, (AK)that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And (AL)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (AM)Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [i]clamor, and (AN)evil speaking be put away from you, (AO)with all malice. 32 And (AP)be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (AQ)forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 4:1 Lit. in
- Ephesians 4:1 exhort, encourage
- Ephesians 4:6 NU omits you; M us
- Ephesians 4:9 NU omits first
- Ephesians 4:12 building up
- Ephesians 4:17 NU omits the rest of
- Ephesians 4:27 an opportunity
- Ephesians 4:29 building up
- Ephesians 4:31 loud quarreling
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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