Isaiah 26

New American Standard Bible

Song of Trust in God’s Protection

26 ^(A)On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a ^(B)strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for ^[a]^(C)security.
²Open the ^(D)gates, that the ^(E)righteous nation may enter,
The one that ^[b]remains faithful.
³The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect ^(F)peace,
Because he trusts in You.
⁴^(G)Trust in the Lord forever,
For in ^[c]God the Lord, we have an everlasting ^(H)Rock.
⁵For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the ^(I)unassailable city;
^(J)He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
⁶^(K)The foot will trample it,
The feet of the ^(L)poor, the steps of the helpless.”

⁷The ^(M)way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, ^(N)make the path of the righteous level.
⁸Indeed, while following the way of ^(O)Your judgments, Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
^(P)Your name, and ^(Q)remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
⁹^(R)At night ^[d]my soul longs for You,
Indeed, ^[e]my spirit within me ^(S)seeks You diligently;
For when the earth ^[f]experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world ^(T)learn righteousness.
¹⁰Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not ^(U)learn righteousness;
He ^(V)deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.

¹¹Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they ^(W)do not see it.
^[g]They see ^(X)Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, ^[h]^(Y)fire will devour Your enemies.
¹²Lord, You will establish ^(Z)peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
¹³Lord, our God, ^(AA)other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we ^[i]^(AB)confess Your name.
¹⁴^(AC)The dead will not live, the ^[j]departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have ^(AD)punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
¹⁵^(AE)You have increased the nation, Lord,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have ^(AF)extended all the borders of the land.
¹⁶Lord, they sought You ^(AG)in distress;
They ^[k]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
¹⁷^(AH)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
¹⁸We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We ^(AI)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were ^(AJ)inhabitants of the world ^[l]born.
¹⁹Your ^(AK)dead will live;
^[m]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, ^(AL)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the ^[n]dawn,
And the earth will ^[o]give birth to the ^[p]departed spirits.

²⁰Come, my people, ^(AM)enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little ^[q]^(AN)while
Until ^(AO)indignation ^[r]runs its course.
²¹For behold, the Lord is about to ^(AP)come out from His place
To ^(AQ)punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will ^(AR)reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.

Footnotes

Isaiah 26:1 Or salvation
Isaiah 26:2 Lit keeps faithfulness
Isaiah 26:4 Heb Yah, usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 26:9 Lit with my soul I long
Isaiah 26:9 Lit with my spirit...I seek
Isaiah 26:9 Lit has
Isaiah 26:11 Or Let them see...and be
Isaiah 26:11 Or let the fire for Your adversaries devour them
Isaiah 26:13 Or make Your name known
Isaiah 26:14 Or shades
Isaiah 26:16 Lit sound forth a whisper
Isaiah 26:18 Lit fallen
Isaiah 26:19 As in some ancient versions; MT My
Isaiah 26:19 Lit lights
Isaiah 26:19 Lit cause to fall
Isaiah 26:19 Or shades
Isaiah 26:20 Lit moment
Isaiah 26:20 Lit passes over

1 John 4

New American Standard Bible

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world. ⁴You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. ⁵^(N)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶^(O)We are from God. ^(P)The one who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷^(T)Beloved, let’s ^(U)love one another; for love is from God, and ^(V)everyone who loves has been ^(W)born of God and ^(X)knows God. ⁸The one who does not love does not know God, because ^(Y)God is love. ⁹By this the love of God was revealed ^[a]^(Z)in us, that ^(AA)God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. ¹⁰In this is love, ^(AB)not that we loved God, but that ^(AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(AD)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins. ¹¹^(AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(AF)we also ought to love one another. ¹²^(AG)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His ^(AH)love is perfected in us. ¹³^(AI)By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. ¹⁴We have seen and ^(AJ)testify that the Father has ^(AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

¹⁵^(AL)Whoever confesses that ^(AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(AN)remains in him, and he in God. ¹⁶^(AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[c]^(AP)for us. ^(AQ)God is love, and the one who ^(AR)remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷By this, ^(AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(AT)confidence in ^(AU)the day of judgment; because ^(AV)as He is, we also are in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but ^(AW)perfect love drives out fear, because fear ^[d]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(AX)perfected in love. ¹⁹^(AY)We love, because He first loved us. ²⁰^(AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he ^(BA)hates his brother or sister, he is a ^(BB)liar; for ^(BC)the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, ^(BD)cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And ^(BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(BF)must also love his brother and sister.

Footnotes

1 John 4:9 Or among us; or in our case
1 John 4:10 I.e., means of reconciliation with God by atoning for sins; or sin-offering
1 John 4:16 Lit in
1 John 4:18 Lit has