Isaiah 1:1-20

New American Standard Bible

Rebellion of God’s People

1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning ^(A)Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the ^[a]reigns of ^(B)Uzziah, ^(C)Jotham, ^(D)Ahaz, and ^(E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

²^(F)Listen, heavens, and hear, ^(G)earth;
For the Lord has spoken:
“^(H)Sons I have raised and brought up,
But they have ^(I)revolted against Me.
³An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel ^(J)does not know,
My people ^(K)do not understand.”

⁴Oh, sinful nation,
People weighed down with guilt,
^[b]^(L)Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who ^(M)act corruptly!
They have ^(N)abandoned the Lord,
They have ^(O)despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away ^[c]from Him.

⁵Where will you be stricken again,
As you ^(P)continue in your rebellion?
The entire head is ^(Q)sick
And the entire heart is faint.
⁶^(R)From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is ^(S)nothing healthy in it,
Only bruises, slashes, and raw wounds;
^(T)Not pressed out nor bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.

⁷Your ^(U)land is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
As for your fields, strangers are devouring them in front of you;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
⁸The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a city under watch.
⁹^(V)If the Lord of armies
Had not left us a few ^(W)survivors,
We would be like ^(X)Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.

God Has Had Enough

¹⁰Hear ^(Y)the word of the Lord,
You rulers of ^(Z)Sodom;
Listen to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah!
¹¹“^(AA)What are your many sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I ^[d]have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fattened cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.
¹²When you come ^(AB)to appear before Me,
Who requires ^[e]of you this trampling of My courtyards?
¹³Do not go on bringing your worthless offerings,
^(AC)Incense is an abomination to Me.
^(AD)New moon and Sabbath, the ^(AE)proclamation of an assembly—
I cannot ^(AF)endure wrongdoing and the festive assembly.
¹⁴^[f]I hate your new moon festivals and your ^(AG)appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am ^(AH)tired of bearing them.
¹⁵So when you ^(AI)spread out your hands in prayer,
^(AJ)I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you ^(AK)offer many prayers,
I will not be listening.
^(AL)Your hands are ^[g]covered with blood.

¹⁶“^(AM)Wash yourselves, ^(AN)make yourselves clean;
^(AO)Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
^(AP)Stop doing evil,
¹⁷Learn to do good;
^(AQ)Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor,
^(AR)Obtain justice for the orphan,
Plead for the widow’s case.

Invitation to Debate

¹⁸“Come now, and ^(AS)let us ^[h]debate your case,”
Says the Lord,
“^(AT)Though your sins are as scarlet,
They shall become as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be like wool.
¹⁹^(AU)If you are willing and obedient,
You will ^(AV)eat the best of the land;
²⁰But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be ^(AW)devoured by the sword.”
For ^(AX)the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 1:1 Lit days
Isaiah 1:4 Lit Seed
Isaiah 1:4 Lit backward
Isaiah 1:11 Or am sated with
Isaiah 1:12 Lit of your hand
Isaiah 1:14 Lit My soul hates
Isaiah 1:15 Lit full of
Isaiah 1:18 Or argue

Matthew 24:1-28

New American Standard Bible

Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)left the temple area and was going on His way ^[a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ²But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³And as He was sitting on ^(D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(E)Your coming, and of the ^[b]end of the age?”

⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one ^[c]misleads you. ⁵For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[d]Christ,’ and they will ^[e]mislead many people. ⁶And you will be hearing of ^(H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷For ^(I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸^(K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹“^(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰And at that time many will ^[f]^(N)fall away, and they will ^[g]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many ^(O)false prophets will rise up and ^[h]mislead many people. ¹²And because lawlessness is increased, ^[i]most people’s love will become cold. ¹³^(P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[j]^(S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵“Therefore when you see the ^(T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(U)the holy place—^[k]^(V)let the ^[l]reader understand— ¹⁶then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁷^[m]Whoever is on ^(W)the ^[n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸And ^[o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹But ^(X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰Moreover, pray that ^[p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be a ^(Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[q]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[r]elect those days will be cut short. ²³^(AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴For false christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[t]^(AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[u]elect. ²⁵Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ²⁷^(AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man ^[v]be. ²⁸^(AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[w]vultures will gather.

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Footnotes

Matthew 24:1 Lit and
Matthew 24:3 Or consummation
Matthew 24:4 Or deceives
Matthew 24:5 I.e., Messiah
Matthew 24:5 Or deceive
Matthew 24:10 I.e., from the faith
Matthew 24:10 Or hand over
Matthew 24:11 Or deceive
Matthew 24:12 Lit the love of the many
Matthew 24:14 Lit inhabited earth
Matthew 24:15 Or the reader is to understand
Matthew 24:15 I.e., the reader of Daniel
Matthew 24:17 Lit The one who
Matthew 24:17 Housetops were flat living areas
Matthew 24:18 Lit the one who
Matthew 24:20 Lit your flight will not be
Matthew 24:22 Lit flesh
Matthew 24:22 Or chosen ones
Matthew 24:23 I.e., Messiah
Matthew 24:24 I.e., confirming miracles
Matthew 24:24 Or chosen ones
Matthew 24:27 I.e., be visible everywhere
Matthew 24:28 Or eagles

Revelation 2:1-17

New American Standard Bible

Message to Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in ^(A)Ephesus write:

The One who holds ^(B)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks ^[a]^(C)among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

²‘^(D)I know your deeds and your labor and ^[b]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have ^(E)put those who call themselves ^(F)apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; ³and you have ^[c]perseverance and have endured ^(G)on account of My name, and have not become weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have ^(H)left your first love. ⁵Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and ^(I)repent, and ^(J)do the ^[d]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your ^(K)lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the ^(L)Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷^(M)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(N)To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from ^(O)the tree of life, which is in the ^(P)Paradise of God.’

Message to Smyrna

⁸“And to the angel of the church in ^(Q)Smyrna write:

^(R)The first and the last, who ^[e]^(S)was dead, and has come to life, says this:

⁹‘I know your ^(T)tribulation and your ^(U)poverty (but you are ^(V)rich), and the ^[f]slander by those who ^(W)say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of ^(X)Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be ^(Y)tested, and you will have tribulation ^(Z)for ten days. ^[g]Be ^(AA)faithful until death, and I will give you ^(AB)the crown of life. ¹¹^(AC)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AD)The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the ^(AE)second death.’

Message to Pergamum

¹²“And to the angel of the church in ^(AF)Pergamum write:

The One who has ^(AG)the sharp two-edged sword says this:

¹³‘I know where you dwell, where ^(AH)Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny ^(AI)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My ^(AJ)witness, My ^(AK)faithful one, who was killed among you, ^(AL)where Satan dwells. ¹⁴But ^(AM)I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the ^(AN)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a ^[h]stumbling block before the sons of Israel, ^(AO)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the ^(AP)Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Therefore ^(AQ)repent; or else ^(AR)I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with ^(AS)the sword of My mouth. ¹⁷^(AT)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(AU)To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden ^(AV)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a ^(AW)new name written on the stone ^(AX)which no one knows except the one who receives it.’