Isaiah 26:1-13
New King James Version
A Song of Salvation
26 In (A)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
(B)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 (C)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which [a]keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect (D)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
(E)For in Yah, the Lord, is [b]everlasting strength.
5 For He brings [c]down those who dwell on high,
(F)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall [d]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness;
(G)O Most Upright,
You [e]weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, (H)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have (I)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 (J)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 (K)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In (L)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, (M)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For [f]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works [g]in us.
13 O Lord our God, (N)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:2 Or remains faithful
- Isaiah 26:4 Or Rock of Ages
- Isaiah 26:5 low
- Isaiah 26:6 trample
- Isaiah 26:7 Or make level
- Isaiah 26:11 Or Your zeal for the people
- Isaiah 26:12 Or for us
Isaiah 32:1-18
New King James Version
A Reign of Righteousness
32 Behold, (A)a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And (B)a [a]cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 (C)The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 Also the heart of the [b]rash will (D)understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5 The foolish person will no longer be called [c]generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work (E)iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with (F)lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8 But a [d]generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
Consequences of Complacency
9 Rise up, you women (G)who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 (H)On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in (I)the joyous city;
14 (J)Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15 Until (K)the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And (L)the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 (M)The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet (N)resting places,
Footnotes
- Isaiah 32:2 shelter
- Isaiah 32:4 hasty
- Isaiah 32:5 noble
- Isaiah 32:8 noble
1 Timothy 1:12-2:8
New King James Version
Glory to God for His Grace(A)
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has (B)enabled me, (C)because He counted me faithful, (D)putting me into the ministry, 13 although (E)I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an [a]insolent man; but I obtained mercy because (F)I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 (G)And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, (H)with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 (I)This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that (J)Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 17 Now to (K)the King eternal, (L)immortal, (M)invisible, to [b]God (N)who alone is wise, (O)be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Fight the Good Fight
18 This [c]charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are (P)Hymenaeus and (Q)Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to (R)blaspheme.
Pray for All Men
2 Therefore I [d]exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 (S)for kings and (T)all who are in [e]authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and [f]reverence. 3 For this is (U)good and acceptable in the sight (V)of God our Savior, 4 (W)who desires all men to be saved (X)and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 (Y)For there is one God and (Z)one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 (AA)who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 (AB)for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth [g]in Christ and not lying—(AC)a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Men and Women in the Church
8 I desire therefore that the men pray (AD)everywhere, (AE)lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 1:13 violently arrogant
- 1 Timothy 1:17 NU the only God,
- 1 Timothy 1:18 command
- 1 Timothy 2:1 encourage
- 1 Timothy 2:2 a prominent place
- 1 Timothy 2:2 dignity
- 1 Timothy 2:7 NU omits in Christ
Matthew 3
New King James Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)
3 In those days (B)John the Baptist came preaching (C)in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for (D)the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
(E)“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(F)‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
4 Now (G)John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was (H)locusts and (I)wild honey. 5 (J)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 (K)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, (L)“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from (M)the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, (N)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. (O)Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 (P)I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. (Q)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit [a]and fire. 12 (R)His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will (S)burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John Baptizes Jesus(T)
13 (U)Then Jesus came (V)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 (W)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and [b]He saw (X)the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 (Y)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, (Z)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:11 M omits and fire
- Matthew 3:16 Or he
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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