Isaiah 17-19

New American Standard Bible

Prophecy about Damascus

17 The ^(A)pronouncement concerning ^(B)Damascus:

“Behold, Damascus is about to be ^(C)removed from being a city
And will become a ^(D)fallen ruin.
²The cities ^[a]of ^(E)Aroer are abandoned;
They will be for ^(F)herds ^[b]to lie down in,
And there will be ^(G)no one to frighten them.
³The ^[c]^(H)fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And ^[d]sovereignty from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram;
They will be like the ^(I)glory of the sons of Israel,”
Declares the Lord of armies.

⁴Now on that day the ^(J)glory of Jacob will ^[e]fade,
And ^(K)the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
⁵It will be ^(L)like the ^[f]reaper gathering the standing grain,
As his arm harvests the ears,
Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain
In the ^(M)Valley of Rephaim.
⁶Yet ^(N)gleanings will be left in it like the ^[g]shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives on the topmost branch,
Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree,
Declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
⁷On that day man will ^(O)look to his Maker
And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.
⁸And he will not look to the ^(P)altars, the work of his hands,
Nor will he look to that which his ^(Q)fingers have made,
Even the ^[h]^(R)Asherim and incense altars.
⁹On that day ^[i]their strong cities will be like ^[j]abandoned places in the forest,
Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel;
And ^[k]the land will be a desolation.
¹⁰For ^(S)you have forgotten the ^(T)God of your salvation
And have not remembered the ^(U)rock of your refuge.
Therefore you plant delightful plants
And set them with vine shoots of a strange god.
¹¹On the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in,
And in the ^(V)morning you bring your seed to blossom;
But the harvest will ^(W)flee
On a day of illness and incurable pain.

¹²Oh, the uproar of many peoples
^(X)Who roar like the roaring of the seas,
And the rumbling of nations
Who rush on like the ^(Y)rumbling of mighty waters!
¹³The ^(Z)nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,
But He will ^(AA)rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
And be chased ^(AB)like chaff on the mountains before the wind,
Or like whirling dust before a gale.
¹⁴At evening time, behold, there is terror!
Before morning ^(AC)they are gone.
This will be the ^[l]fate of those who plunder us
And the lot of those who pillage us.

Message to Ethiopia

18 Woe, land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of ^[m]^(AD)Cush,
²Which sends messengers by the sea,
Even in ^(AE)papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation ^[n]^(AF)tall and smooth,
To a people ^(AG)feared ^[o]far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide.
³^(AH)All you who inhabit the world, and live on earth,
As soon as a flag is raised on the mountains, ^(AI)you will see it,
And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.

⁴For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will quietly look ^[p]from My ^(AJ)dwelling place
Like dazzling heat in the ^[q]^(AK)sunshine,
Like a cloud of ^(AL)dew in the heat of harvest.”
⁵For ^(AM)before the harvest, as soon as the bud ^[r]blossoms
And the flower becomes a ripening grape,
He will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
And remove and tear away the spreading branches.
⁶They will be left together for mountain birds ^(AN)of prey,
And for the animals of the earth;
And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,
And all the animals of the earth will spend harvest time on them.
⁷At that time a gift of tribute will be brought to the Lord of armies
^[s]From a ^(AO)people ^[t]tall and smooth,
From a people feared ^[u]far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the ^(AP)place of the name of the Lord of armies, to Mount Zion.

Message to Egypt

19 The ^(AQ)pronouncement concerning ^(AR)Egypt:

Behold, the Lord is ^(AS)riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;
The ^(AT)idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,
And the ^(AU)heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
²“So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians;
And they will fight, ^(AV)each against his brother and each against his neighbor,
City against city and kingdom against kingdom.
³Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them;
And I will confuse their strategy,
So that ^(AW)they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead,
And to ^[v]mediums and spiritists.
⁴Furthermore, I will hand the Egyptians over to a ^(AX)cruel master,
And a ^[w]mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord ^[x]God of armies.

⁵^(AY)The waters from the sea will dry up,
And the river will be parched and dry.
⁶The ^[y]^(AZ)canals will emit a stench,
The ^[z]^(BA)streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up;
^(BB)The reeds and rushes will rot away.
⁷The bulrushes by the ^(BC)Nile, by the ^[aa]edge of the Nile
And all the sown fields by the Nile
Will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
⁸And the ^(BD)fishermen will grieve,
And all those who cast a ^[ab]line into the Nile will mourn,
And those who spread nets on the waters will dwindle away.
⁹Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax
And the weavers of white ^(BE)cloth will be ^[ac]utterly dejected.
¹⁰And ^[ad]the ^(BF)pillars of Egypt will be crushed;
All the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

¹¹The officials of ^[ae]^(BG)Zoan are mere fools;
The advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become ^[af]stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the ^(BH)wise, a son of ancient kings”?
¹²Well then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them ^[ag]understand what the Lord of armies
Has ^(BI)planned against Egypt.
¹³The officials of ^[ah]Zoan have turned out to be fools,
The officials of ^(BJ)Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the ^(BK)cornerstone of her tribes
Have ^[ai]led Egypt astray.
¹⁴The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of ^(BL)distortion;
^(BM)They have led Egypt astray in all ^[aj]that it does,
As a ^(BN)drunken person ^[ak]staggers in his vomit.
¹⁵There will be no work for Egypt
^(BO)Which its head or tail, its palm branch or bulrush, may do.

¹⁶On that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in great ^(BP)fear because of the ^(BQ)waving of the hand of the Lord of armies, which He is going to wave over them. ¹⁷The land of Judah will become a cause of shame to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in great fear because of the ^(BR)plan of the Lord of armies which He is making against them.

¹⁸On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and ^(BS)swearing allegiance to the Lord of armies; one will be called the City of ^[al]Destruction.

¹⁹On that day there will be an ^(BT)altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^(BU)memorial stone to the Lord beside its border. ²⁰And it will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a ^(BV)Savior and a ^(BW)Champion, and He will save them. ²¹So the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day. They will even worship with ^(BX)sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. ²²And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking but ^(BY)healing; so they will ^(BZ)return to the Lord, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.

²³On that day there will be a ^(CA)road from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will ^(CB)worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴On that day Israel will be the third party to Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵whom the Lord of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is ^(CC)Egypt My people, and Assyria ^(CD)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 17:2 LXX forever and ever
Isaiah 17:2 Lit and they will lie down
Isaiah 17:3 Or fortification
Isaiah 17:3 Or royal power
Isaiah 17:4 Lit become little
Isaiah 17:5 Lit gathering of the harvest, the standing grain
Isaiah 17:6 Lit striking
Isaiah 17:8 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
Isaiah 17:9 Lit his; i.e., mankind’s
Isaiah 17:9 LXX the deserted places of the Amorites and the Hivites which they abandoned
Isaiah 17:9 Lit it
Isaiah 17:14 Lit portion
Isaiah 18:1 Or Ethiopia
Isaiah 18:2 Lit drawn out
Isaiah 18:2 Lit from it and beyond
Isaiah 18:4 Lit in
Isaiah 18:4 Lit light
Isaiah 18:5 Lit is finished
Isaiah 18:7 Some ancient versions and DSS; MT implies Consisting of a people
Isaiah 18:7 Lit drawn out
Isaiah 18:7 Lit from it and beyond
Isaiah 19:3 Or ghosts and spirits
Isaiah 19:4 Or fierce
Isaiah 19:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 19:6 Lit rivers
Isaiah 19:6 Or Nile branches; i.e., the delta
Isaiah 19:7 Or mouth
Isaiah 19:8 Lit hook
Isaiah 19:9 Lit ashamed
Isaiah 19:10 Lit her pillars; or her weavers
Isaiah 19:11 Or Tanis
Isaiah 19:11 Or brutish
Isaiah 19:12 Or know
Isaiah 19:13 Or Tanis
Isaiah 19:13 Or have caused Egypt to stagger
Isaiah 19:14 Lit its work
Isaiah 19:14 Or goes astray
Isaiah 19:18 Some mss and ancient versions the Sun

1 Corinthians 1

New American Standard Bible

Appeal to Unity

1 Paul, ^(A)called as an apostle of Jesus Christ ^[a]by ^(B)the will of God, and our ^(C)brother ^(D)Sosthenes,

²To ^(E)the church of God which is in ^(F)Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^[b]saints ^(G)by calling, with all who in every place ^(H)call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

³^(I)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴^(J)I thank ^[c]my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵that in everything you were ^(K)enriched in Him, in all ^(L)speech and ^(M)all knowledge, ⁶just as ^(N)the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed ^[d]in you, ⁷so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly ^(O)await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸^(P)who will also ^[e]confirm you to the end, blameless on ^(Q)the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹^(R)God is faithful, through whom you were ^(S)called into ^(T)fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰Now ^(U)I urge you, ^(V)brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ^[f]agree and that there be no ^[g]^(W)divisions among you, but that you be ^[h]made complete in ^(X)the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. ¹²Now I mean this, that ^(Y)each one of you is saying, “I am ^[i]with Paul,” ^[j]or “I am ^[k]with ^(Z)Apollos,” ^[l]or “I am ^[m]with ^[n]^(AA)Cephas,” ^[o]or “I am ^[p]with Christ.” ¹³^[q]Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you ^(AB)baptized ^[r]in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I am thankful that I ^(AC)baptized none of you except ^(AD)Crispus and ^(AE)Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one would say you were baptized ^[s]in my name! ¹⁶But I did baptize the ^(AF)household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷^(AG)For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ^(AH)not with ^[t]cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.

The Wisdom of God

¹⁸For the word of the cross is ^(AI)foolishness to ^(AJ)those who ^[u]are perishing, but to us who ^[v]are being saved it is ^(AK)the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

“^(AL)I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the understanding of those who have understanding, I will confound.”

²⁰^(AM)Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of ^(AN)this age? Has God not ^(AO)made foolish the wisdom of ^(AP)the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God ^(AQ)the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, ^(AR)God ^[w]was pleased through the ^(AS)foolishness of the ^[x]message preached to ^(AT)save those who believe. ²²For indeed ^(AU)Jews ask for ^[y]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³but we preach ^[z]^(AV)Christ crucified, ^(AW)to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles ^(AX)foolishness, ²⁴but to those who are ^(AY)the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AZ)the power of God and ^(BA)the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the ^(BB)foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and ^(BC)the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.

²⁶For ^[aa]consider your ^(BD)calling, brothers and sisters, that there were ^(BE)not many wise according to ^[ab]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷but ^(BF)God has chosen the foolish things of ^(BG)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of ^(BH)the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸and the ^[ac]insignificant things of ^(BI)the world and the despised God has chosen, ^(BJ)the things that are not, so that He may ^(BK)nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that ^(BL)no ^[ad]human may boast before God. ³⁰But it is ^[ae]due to Him that you are in ^(BM)Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(BN)wisdom from God, ^[af]and ^(BO)righteousness and ^(BP)sanctification, and ^(BQ)redemption, ³¹so that, just as it is written: “^(BR)Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 1:1 Lit through
1 Corinthians 1:2 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
1 Corinthians 1:4 Two early mss do not contain my
1 Corinthians 1:6 Or among
1 Corinthians 1:8 Or strengthen
1 Corinthians 1:10 Lit say the same thing
1 Corinthians 1:10 Lit schisms
1 Corinthians 1:10 Or united
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit and
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit and
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:12 Peter’s Aramaic name
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit and
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:13 Or Christ has been divided! or Christ is divided!
1 Corinthians 1:13 Lit into
1 Corinthians 1:15 Lit into
1 Corinthians 1:17 I.e., persuasive rhetoric
1 Corinthians 1:18 Or perish
1 Corinthians 1:18 Or are saved
1 Corinthians 1:21 Or resolved
1 Corinthians 1:21 Lit preaching
1 Corinthians 1:22 Or confirming miracles
1 Corinthians 1:23 I.e., the Messiah
1 Corinthians 1:26 Lit see
1 Corinthians 1:26 I.e., human standards
1 Corinthians 1:28 Or lowly
1 Corinthians 1:29 Lit flesh
1 Corinthians 1:30 Lit from Him
1 Corinthians 1:30 Or both

Psalm 62

New American Standard Bible

God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.

For the music director; ^[a]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 ^(A)My soul waits in silence for God alone;
From Him ^(B)comes my salvation.
²He alone is my ^(C)rock and my salvation,
My ^(D)stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.

³How long will you attack a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a ^(E)leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
⁴They have planned only to thrust him down from his high position;
They ^(F)delight in falsehood;
They ^(G)bless with ^[b]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵My soul, ^(H)wait in silence for God alone,
For my hope is from Him.
⁶He alone is ^(I)my rock and my salvation,
My refuge; I will not be shaken.
⁷My ^(J)salvation and my glory rest on God;
The rock of my strength, my ^(K)refuge is in God.
⁸^(L)Trust in Him at all times, you people;
^(M)Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹People of ^(N)low standing are only ^(O)breath, and people of rank are a ^(P)lie;
In the ^(Q)balances they go up.
Together they are lighter than breath.
¹⁰^(R)Do not trust in oppression,
And do not vainly rely on ^(S)robbery;
If wealth increases, ^(T)do not set your heart on it.

¹¹God has ^(U)spoken ^[c]once;
^[d]Twice I have heard this:
That ^(V)power belongs to God;
¹²And faithfulness ^(W)is Yours, Lord,
For You ^(X)reward a person according to his work.