Isaiah 58-59
Christian Standard Bible
True Fasting
58 “Cry out loudly, don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
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.”(A)
3 “Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?(B)
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!” [a]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(C)
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?(D)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(E)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(G)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(H)
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?[b](I)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(J)
Your righteousness will go before you,(K)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(L)
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(M)
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(N)
10 and if you offer yourself[c] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(O)
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(P)
and like a spring whose water never runs dry.(Q)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(R)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;(S)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath,(T)
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,(U)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;[d][e]
14 then you will delight in the Lord,(V)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(W)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(X)
Sin and Redemption
59 Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save,(Y)
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 But your iniquities(Z) are separating you
from your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you(AA)
so that he does not listen.(AB)
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.(AC)
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,(AD)
and they rush to shed innocent blood.(AE)
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;(AF)
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8 They have not known the path of peace,(AG)
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.(AH)
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.(AI)
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.(AJ)
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions have multiplied before you,(AK)
and our sins testify against us.(AL)
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:(AM)
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;(AN)
so his own arm brought salvation,
and his own righteousness supported him.
17 He put on righteousness as body armor,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;(AO)
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and he wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.(AP)
18 So he will repay according to their deeds:(AQ)
fury to his enemies,
retribution to his foes,
and he will repay the coasts and islands.
19 They will fear the name of the Lord in the west
and his glory in the east;[f](AR)
for he will come like a rushing stream(AS)
driven by the wind of the Lord.
20 “The Redeemer(AT) will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”(AU)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,”(AV) says the Lord: “My Spirit who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth,(AW) will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and forever,” says the Lord.
2 Corinthians 8:16-9:15
Christian Standard Bible
Administration of the Collection
16 Thanks be to God, who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he welcomed our appeal and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice. 18 We have sent with him the brother(A) who is praised among all the churches for his gospel ministry.[a] 19 And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gracious gift that we are administering for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We are taking this precaution so that no one will criticize us about this large sum that we are administering. 21 Indeed, we are giving careful thought(B) to do what is right,(C) not only before the Lord but also before people. 22 We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner(D) and coworker(E) for you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers(F) of the churches, the glory of Christ.(G) 24 Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting(H) about you.
Motivations for Giving
9 Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you. 2 For I know your eagerness, and I boast about you to the Macedonians,(I) “Achaia(J) has been ready since last year,” and your zeal(K) has stirred up most of them.(L) 3 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you in this matter would not prove empty, and so that you would be ready just as I said. 4 Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be put to shame in that situation.[b] 5 Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift(M) you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.(N)
6 The point is this:[c] The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves(O) a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able(P) to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 9 As it is written:
10 Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.(S) 11 You will be enriched(T) in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. 12 For the ministry of this service(U) is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity(V) in sharing with them and with everyone. 14 And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Psalm 107:29-35
Christian Standard Bible
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.(A)
30 They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for.(B)
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(C)
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.(D)
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs into thirsty ground,(E)
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(F)
35 He turns a desert into a pool,
dry land into springs.(G)
Proverbs 23:24-25
Christian Standard Bible
24 The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,
and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him.(A)
25 Let your father and mother have joy,(B)
and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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