Isaiah 41:1-20
English Standard Version
Fear Not, for I Am with You
41 (A)Listen to me in silence, (B)O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2 (C)Who stirred up one from the east
whom victory meets at every (D)step?[a]
(E)He gives up nations before him,
so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
(F)like driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
by paths his feet have not trod.
4 (G)Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
(H)I, the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am he.
5 (I)The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 (J)The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they strengthen it with nails (K)so that it cannot be moved.
8 But you, Israel, (L)my servant,
Jacob, (M)whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, (N)my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called (O)from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are (P)my servant,
(Q)I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with (R)my righteous right hand.
11 (S)Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 (T)You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
(U)those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”
14 Fear not, you (V)worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your (W)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 (X)Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh (Y)the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
16 (Z)you shall winnow them, and (AA)the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
(AB)And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17 (AC)When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 (AD)I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
(AE)I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 (AF)I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert (AG)the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that (AH)the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow?
Psalm 21
English Standard Version
The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
21 O Lord, in your (A)strength the king rejoices,
and in your (B)salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have (C)given him his heart's desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you (D)meet him with rich blessings;
you set (E)a crown of (F)fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you (G)gave it to him,
(H)length of days forever and ever.
5 His (I)glory is great through your salvation;
(J)splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;[a]
you make him glad with the (K)joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be (L)moved.
8 Your hand will (M)find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as (N)a blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his (O)wrath,
and (P)fire will consume them.
10 You (Q)will destroy their (R)descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
though they (S)devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them (T)to flight;
you will (U)aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
Footnotes
- Psalm 21:6 Or make him a source of blessing forever
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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