Isaiah 49-50

New International Version

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen^(A) to me, you islands;^(B)
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born^(C) the Lord called^(D) me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.^(E)
²He made my mouth^(F) like a sharpened sword,^(G)
    in the shadow of his hand^(H) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow^(I)
    and concealed me in his quiver.
³He said to me, “You are my servant,^(J)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.^(K)”
⁴But I said, “I have labored in vain;^(L)
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,^(M)
    and my reward^(N) is with my God.”^(O)

⁵And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb^(P) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel^(Q) to himself,
for I am^[a] honored^(R) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength^(S)—
⁶he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant^(T)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.^(U)
I will also make you a light^(V) for the Gentiles,^(W)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”^(X)

⁷This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel^(Y)—
to him who was despised^(Z) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings^(AA) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,^(AB)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,^(AC)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen^(AD) you.”

Restoration of Israel

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor^(AE) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;^(AF)
I will keep^(AG) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,^(AH)
to restore the land^(AI)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,^(AJ)
⁹to say to the captives,^(AK) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,^(AL) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.^(AM)
¹⁰They will neither hunger nor thirst,^(AN)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.^(AO)
He who has compassion^(AP) on them will guide^(AQ) them
    and lead them beside springs^(AR) of water.
¹¹I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways^(AS) will be raised up.^(AT)
¹²See, they will come from afar^(AU)—
    some from the north, some from the west,^(AV)
    some from the region of Aswan.^[b]”

¹³Shout for joy,^(AW) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;^(AX)
    burst into song, you mountains!^(AY)
For the Lord comforts^(AZ) his people
    and will have compassion^(BA) on his afflicted ones.^(BB)

¹⁴But Zion^(BC) said, “The Lord has forsaken^(BD) me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child^(BE) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!^(BF)
¹⁶See, I have engraved^(BG) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls^(BH) are ever before me.
¹⁷Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste^(BI) depart from you.
¹⁸Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather^(BJ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,^(BK)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear^(BL) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

¹⁹“Though you were ruined and made desolate^(BM)
    and your land laid waste,^(BN)
now you will be too small for your people,^(BO)
    and those who devoured^(BP) you will be far away.
²⁰The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’^(BQ)
²¹Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?^(BR)
I was bereaved^(BS) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.^(BT)
    Who brought these^(BU) up?
I was left^(BV) all alone,^(BW)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

²²This is what the Sovereign Lord^(BX) says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner^(BY) to the peoples;
they will bring^(BZ) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.^(CA)
²³Kings^(CB) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.^(CC)
They will bow down^(CD) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust^(CE) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;^(CF)
    those who hope^(CG) in me will not be disappointed.^(CH)”

²⁴Can plunder be taken from warriors,^(CI)
or captives be rescued from the fierce^[c]?

²⁵But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives^(CJ) will be taken from warriors,^(CK)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;^(CL)
I will contend with those who contend with you,^(CM)
    and your children I will save.^(CN)
²⁶I will make your oppressors^(CO) eat^(CP) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,^(CQ) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know^(CR)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,^(CS)
    your Redeemer,^(CT) the Mighty One of Jacob.^(CU)”

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce^(CV)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell^(CW) you?
Because of your sins^(CX) you were sold;^(CY)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
²When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?^(CZ)
Was my arm too short^(DA) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength^(DB) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke^(DC) I dry up the sea,^(DD)
    I turn rivers into a desert;^(DE)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
³I clothe the heavens with darkness^(DF)
    and make sackcloth^(DG) its covering.”

⁴The Sovereign Lord^(DH) has given me a well-instructed tongue,^(DI)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.^(DJ)
He wakens me morning by morning,^(DK)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.^(DL)
⁵The Sovereign Lord^(DM) has opened my ears;^(DN)
    I have not been rebellious,^(DO)
    I have not turned away.
⁶I offered my back to those who beat^(DP) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;^(DQ)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.^(DR)
⁷Because the Sovereign Lord^(DS) helps^(DT) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,^(DU)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.^(DV)
⁸He who vindicates^(DW) me is near.^(DX)
    Who then will bring charges against me?^(DY)
    Let us face each other!^(DZ)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
⁹It is the Sovereign Lord^(EA) who helps^(EB) me.
    Who will condemn^(EC) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths^(ED) will eat them up.

¹⁰Who among you fears^(EE) the Lord
    and obeys^(EF) the word of his servant?^(EG)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,^(EH)
trust^(EI) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
¹¹But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,^(EJ)
go, walk in the light of your fires^(EK)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:^(EL)
    You will lie down in torment.^(EM)

Footnotes

Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous

Hebrews 6

New International Version

6 Therefore let us move beyond^(A) the elementary teachings^(B) about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,^[a]^(C) and of faith in God, ²instruction about cleansing rites,^[b]^(D) the laying on of hands,^(E) the resurrection of the dead,^(F) and eternal judgment. ³And God permitting,^(G) we will do so.

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,^(H) who have tasted the heavenly gift,^(I) who have shared in the Holy Spirit,^(J) ⁵who have tasted the goodness^(K) of the word of God^(L) and the powers of the coming age ⁶and who have fallen^[c] away, to be brought back to repentance.^(M) To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God^(N) all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. ⁷Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.^(O) In the end it will be burned.

⁹Even though we speak like this, dear friends,^(P) we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. ¹⁰God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.^(Q) ¹¹We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope^(R) for may be fully realized. ¹²We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate^(S) those who through faith and patience^(T) inherit what has been promised.^(U)

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,^(V) ¹⁴saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”^[d]^(W) ¹⁵And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.^(X)

¹⁶People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.^(Y) ¹⁷Because God wanted to make the unchanging^(Z) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,^(AA) he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,^(AB) we who have fled to take hold of the hope^(AC) set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,^(AD) ²⁰where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.^(AE) He has become a high priest^(AF) forever, in the order of Melchizedek.^(AG)