Isaiah 40
English Standard Version
Comfort for God's People
40 (A)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 (B)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that (C)her warfare[a] is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
3 (D)A voice cries:[b]
(E)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
(F)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 (G)Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 (H)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
(I)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,[c] “What shall I cry?”
(J)All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[d] is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 (K)The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, (L)herald of good news;[e]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[f]
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 (M)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
(N)behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 (O)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
(P)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
(Q)he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12 (R)Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 (S)Who has measured[g] the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
(T)Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted (U)as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up (V)the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are (W)its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (X)All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 (Y)To whom then will you liken God,
(Z)or what likeness compare with him?
19 (AA)An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 (AB)He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood[h] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
21 (AC)Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are (AD)like grasshoppers;
(AE)who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 (AF)who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
(AG)and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 (AH)To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
(AI)He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
(AJ)“My way is hidden from the Lord,
(AK)and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is (AL)the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
(AM)his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but (AN)they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings (AO)like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hardship
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying
- Isaiah 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says
- Isaiah 40:6 Or all its constancy
- Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
- Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem
- Isaiah 40:13 Or has directed
- Isaiah 40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood
Psalm 20
English Standard Version
Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord (A)answer you in the day of trouble!
May (B)the name of the God of Jacob (C)protect you!
2 May he send you help from (D)the sanctuary
and give you support from (E)Zion!
3 May he (F)remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he (G)grant you your heart's desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over (H)your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our (I)banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with (J)the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in (K)chariots and some in (L)horses,
(M)but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save (N)the king!
May he answer us when we call.
1 Thessalonians 4-5
English Standard Version
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally, then, brothers,[a] we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you (A)received from us (B)how you ought to walk and (C)to please God, just as you are doing, that you (D)do so more and more. 2 For (E)you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, (F)your sanctification:[b] (G)that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own (H)body[c] in holiness and (I)honor, 5 not in (J)the passion of lust (K)like the Gentiles (L)who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and (M)wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is (N)an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For (O)God has not called us for (P)impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore (Q)whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, (R)who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning (S)brotherly love (T)you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been (U)taught by God (V)to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what (W)you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to (X)do this more and more, 11 and to aspire (Y)to live quietly, and (Z)to mind your own affairs, and (AA)to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may (AB)walk properly before (AC)outsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, (AD)that you may not grieve as others do (AE)who have no hope. 14 For (AF)since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him (AG)those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you (AH)by a word from the Lord,[d] that (AI)we who are alive, who are left until (AJ)the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For (AK)the Lord himself will descend (AL)from heaven (AM)with a cry of command, with the voice of (AN)an archangel, and (AO)with the sound of the trumpet of God. And (AP)the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be (AQ)caught up together with them (AR)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so (AS)we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Day of the Lord
5 Now concerning (AT)the times and the seasons, brothers,[e] (AU)you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that (AV)the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then (AW)sudden destruction will come upon them (AX)as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you (AY)are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all (AZ)children[f] of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then (BA)let us not sleep, as others do, but let us (BB)keep awake and (BC)be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, (BD)are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, (BE)having put on the breastplate of (BF)faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for (BG)wrath, but (BH)to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 (BI)who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Final Instructions and Benediction
12 We ask you, brothers, (BJ)to respect those who labor among you and (BK)are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. (BL)Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish (BM)the idle,[g] (BN)encourage the fainthearted, (BO)help the weak, (BP)be patient with them all. 15 See that (BQ)no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always (BR)seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 (BS)Rejoice always, 17 (BT)pray without ceasing, 18 (BU)give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 (BV)Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise (BW)prophecies, 21 but (BX)test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may (BY)the God of peace himself (BZ)sanctify you completely, and may your (CA)whole (CB)spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at (CC)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 (CD)He who calls you is faithful; (CE)he will surely do it.
25 (CF)Brothers, pray for us.
26 (CG)Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have (CH)this letter read to all the brothers.
28 (CI)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13
- 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Or your holiness
- 1 Thessalonians 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Or by the word of the Lord
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 4, 12, 14, 25, 26, 27
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 Or sons; twice in this verse
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Or disorderly, or undisciplined
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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