Isaiah 60-61
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 60
The Dawning of Divine Glory for Zion
1 [a]Arise! Shine, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.(A)
2 Though darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds, the peoples,
Upon you the Lord will dawn,
and over you his glory will be seen.
3 Nations shall walk by your light,
kings by the radiance of your dawning.(B)
The Nations Come to Zion
4 Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you—
Your sons from afar,
your daughters in the arms of their nurses.(C)
5 Then you shall see and be radiant,
your heart shall throb and overflow.
For the riches of the sea shall be poured out before you,
the wealth of nations shall come to you.
6 Caravans of camels shall cover you,
dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and heralding the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered for you,
the rams of Nebaioth shall serve your needs;
They will be acceptable offerings on my altar,
and I will glorify my glorious house.
8 Who are these that fly along like a cloud,
like doves to their cotes?
9 The vessels of the coastlands are gathering,
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
To bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them—
For the name of the Lord, your God,
for the Holy One of Israel who has glorified you.
Honor and Service for Zion[b]
10 Foreigners shall rebuild your walls,
their kings shall minister to you;
Though in my wrath I struck you,
yet in my good will I have shown you mercy.(D)
11 Your gates shall stand open constantly;
day and night they shall not be closed
So that they may bring you the wealth of nations,
with their kings in the vanguard.(E)
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you shall perish;
such nations shall be utterly destroyed!(F)
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you—
the juniper, the fir, and the cypress all together—
To bring beauty to my sanctuary,
and glory to the place where I stand.(G)
14 The children of your oppressors shall come,
bowing before you;
All those who despised you,
shall bow low at your feet.
They shall call you “City of the Lord,”
“Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”
15 No longer forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
Now I will make you the pride of the ages,
a joy from generation to generation.
16 You shall suck the milk of nations,
and be nursed at royal breasts;
And you shall know that I, the Lord, am your savior,
your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
instead of iron I will bring silver;
Instead of wood, bronze;
instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint peace your governor,
and justice your ruler.(H)
18 No longer shall violence be heard of in your land,
or plunder and ruin within your borders.
You shall call your walls “Salvation”
and your gates “Praise.”
Eternal Light for Zion
19 [c]No longer shall the sun
be your light by day,
Nor shall the brightness of the moon
give you light by night;
Rather, the Lord will be your light forever,
your God will be your glory.(I)
20 No longer will your sun set,
or your moon wane;
For the Lord will be your light forever,
and the days of your grieving will be over.
21 Your people will all be just;
for all time they will possess the land;
They are the shoot that I planted,
the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.(J)
22 The least one shall become a clan,
the smallest, a mighty nation;
I, the Lord, will swiftly accomplish
these things when the time comes.(K)
Chapter 61
The Anointed Bearer of Glad Tidings
1 [d]The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners,(L)
2 To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;(M)
3 to place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
Restoration and Blessing
They will be called oaks of justice,
the planting of the Lord to show his glory.
4 They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
the former wastes they shall raise up
And restore the desolate cities,
devastations of generation upon generation.(N)
5 Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks,
foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers.
6 [e]You yourselves shall be called “Priests of the Lord,”
“Ministers of our God” you shall be called.
You shall eat the wealth of the nations
and in their riches you will boast.(O)
7 Because their shame was twofold[f]
and disgrace was proclaimed their portion,
They will possess twofold in their own land;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.(P)
God’s Word of Promise
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
an everlasting covenant I will make with them.(Q)
9 Their offspring shall be renowned among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them:
“They are offspring the Lord has blessed.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
10 [g]I will rejoice heartily in the Lord,
my being exults in my God;
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation,
and wrapped me in a robe of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(R)
11 As the earth brings forth its shoots,
and a garden makes its seeds spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice spring up,
and praise before all the nations.
Footnotes
- 60:1–9 The light the prophet proclaims to Zion symbolizes the blessing to come to her: the glory of the Lord, the return of her children, the wealth of nations who themselves will walk by her light. The passage is famous from its use in the Latin liturgy for the feast of Epiphany.
- 60:10–18 The glorious promises for the future continue: the wealth of the nations (vv. 5, 10), tribute from kings, glorification of the Temple, peace and justice (cf. Ps 85:11).
- 60:19–20 The theme of light is taken up again, but in an apocalyptic vein: the Lord’s radiant presence replaces physical light.
- 61:1–2 The prophet proclaims that he has been anointed by the Lord to bring good news (cf. 40:9) to the afflicted and to comfort Zion. The background to the “year of favor” is the jubilee year of release from debts (Lv 25:10–11; Is 49:8).
- 61:6 The bestowal of a new name suggests a new identity and mission. The whole people will be priests (cf. Ex 19:6), even ministering to nations who will serve God’s people.
- 61:7 Twofold: Israel was punished double for infidelity (40:2); the blessings of its restoration will also be double.
- 61:10–11 The new life of the restored Zion is expressed in nuptial (cf. also 62:5) and agricultural (cf. v. 3; 60:21) imagery.
Ben Sira 7:1-17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
Conduct Toward God and Neighbor[a]
1 Do no evil, and evil will not overtake you;[b]
2 avoid wickedness, and it will turn away from you.
3 Do not sow in the furrows of injustice,
lest you harvest it sevenfold.(A)
4 Do not seek from God authority
or from the king a place of honor.
5 Do not parade your righteousness before the Lord,
and before the king do not flaunt your wisdom.(B)
6 Do not seek to become a judge
if you do not have the strength to root out crime,
Lest you show fear in the presence of the prominent
and mar your integrity.
7 Do not be guilty of any evil before the city court
or disgrace yourself before the assembly.
8 Do not plot to repeat a sin;
even for one, you will not go unpunished.
9 Do not say, “He will appreciate my many gifts;
the Most High God will accept my offerings.”(C)
10 Do not be impatient in prayer
or neglect almsgiving.
11 Do not ridicule the embittered;
Remember: there is One who exalts and humbles.[c]
12 Do not plot mischief against your relative
or against your friend and companion.
13 Refuse to tell lie after lie,
for it never results in good.
14 Do not babble in the assembly of the elders
or repeat the words of your prayer.[d](D)
15 Do not hate hard work;
work was assigned by God.(E)
16 Do not esteem yourself more than your compatriots;
remember, his wrath will not delay.
17 More and more, humble your pride;
what awaits mortals is worms.[e](F)
Footnotes
- 7:1–17 In the conduct of social relations wisdom forbids evil and injustice (vv. 1–3), pride (vv. 5, 15–17), ambition and partiality (vv. 4, 6), public disorder (v. 7), presumption and impatience toward God (vv. 9–10), ridicule (v. 11), mischief and deceit toward one’s neighbor (vv. 8, 12–13). See the several wisdom poems in Prv 1–9.
- 7:1 There is a play on “evil” which means both moral wrong and material calamity.
- 7:11 One who exalts and humbles: God; cf. 1 Sm 2:7; Ps 75:8; Lk 1:52.
- 7:14 Repeat…prayer: brevity of speech is a wisdom ideal; toward superiors and God it is a sign of respect; cf. Eccl 5:1; Mt 6:7.
- 7:17 Worms: i.e., corruption; the Septuagint adds “fire.”
Hebrews 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
V. Examples, Discipline, Disobedience
Chapter 11[a]
Faith of the Ancients. 1 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence[b] of things not seen.(A) 2 Because of it the ancients were well attested. 3 (B)By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God,[c] so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. 4 [d]By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.(C) 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and “he was found no more because God had taken him.” Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God.(D) 6 [e]But without faith it is impossible to please him,(E) for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.(F)
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.(G) 9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;(H) 10 for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.(I) 11 By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.(J) 12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.(K)
13 All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,(L) 14 for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.(M)
17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,(N) 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”(O) 19 [f]He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,(P) and he received Isaac back as a symbol. 20 By faith regarding things still to come Isaac[g] blessed Jacob and Esau.(Q) 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and “bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff.”(R) 22 By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.(S)
23 (T)By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 [h]By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;(U) 25 he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible.(V) 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.(W) 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.(X) 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days.(Y) 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.(Z)
32 What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,(AA) 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions,(AB) 34 put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.(AC) 35 Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection.(AD) 36 Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.(AE) 37 They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.(AF) 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.(AG)
39 Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40 God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.[i]
Footnotes
- 11:1–40 This chapter draws upon the people and events of the Old Testament to paint an inspiring portrait of religious faith, firm and unyielding in the face of any obstacles that confront it. These pages rank among the most eloquent and lofty to be found in the Bible. They expand the theme announced in Hb 6:12, to which the author now returns (Hb 10:39). The material of this chapter is developed chronologically. Hb 11:3–7 draw upon the first nine chapters of Genesis (Gn 1–9); Hb 11:8–22, upon the period of the patriarchs; Hb 11:23–31, upon the time of Moses; Hb 11:32–38, upon the history of the judges, the prophets, and the Maccabean martyrs. The author gives the most extensive description of faith provided in the New Testament, though his interest does not lie in a technical, theological definition. In view of the needs of his audience he describes what authentic faith does, not what it is in itself. Through faith God guarantees the blessings to be hoped for from him, providing evidence in the gift of faith that what he promises will eventually come to pass (Hb 11:1). Because they accepted in faith God’s guarantee of the future, the biblical personages discussed in Hb 11:3–38 were themselves commended by God (Hb 11:2). Christians have even greater reason to remain firm in faith since they, unlike the Old Testament men and women of faith, have perceived the beginning of God’s fulfillment of his messianic promises (Hb 11:39–40).
- 11:1 Faith is the realization…evidence: the author is not attempting a precise definition. There is dispute about the meaning of the Greek words hypostasis and elenchos, here translated realization and evidence, respectively. Hypostasis usually means “substance,” “being” (as translated in Hb 1:3), or “reality” (as translated in Hb 3:14); here it connotes something more subjective, and so realization has been chosen rather than “assurance” (RSV). Elenchos, usually “proof,” is used here in an objective sense and so translated evidence rather than the transferred sense of “(inner) conviction” (RSV).
- 11:3 By faith…God: this verse does not speak of the faith of the Old Testament men and women but is in the first person plural. Hence it seems out of place in the sequence of thought.
- 11:4 The “Praise of the Ancestors” in Sir 44:1–50:21 gives a similar list of heroes. The Cain and Abel narrative in Gn 4:1–16 does not mention Abel’s faith. It says, however, that God “looked with favor on Abel and his offering” (Gn 4:4); in view of Hb 11:6 the author probably understood God’s favor to have been activated by Abel’s faith. Though dead, he still speaks: possibly because his blood “cries out to me from the soil” (Gn 4:10), but more probably a way of saying that the repeated story of Abel provides ongoing witness to faith.
- 11:6 One must believe not only that God exists but that he is concerned about human conduct; the Old Testament defines folly as the denial of this truth; cf. Ps 52:2.
- 11:19 As a symbol: Isaac’s “return from death” is seen as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Others understand the words en parabolē to mean “in figure,” i.e., the word dead is used figuratively of Isaac, since he did not really die. But in the one other place that parabolē occurs in Hebrews, it means symbol (Hb 9:9).
- 11:20–22 Each of these three patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, had faith in the future fulfillment of God’s promise and renewed this faith when near death.
- 11:24–27 The reason given for Moses’ departure from Egypt differs from the account in Ex 2:11–15. The author also gives a christological interpretation of his decision to share the trials of his people.
- 11:40 So that without us they should not be made perfect: the heroes of the Old Testament obtained their recompense only after the saving work of Christ had been accomplished. Thus they already enjoy what Christians who are still struggling do not yet possess in its fullness.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.