Isaiah 35
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Return of the Redeemed to Zion
35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus(A) 2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and shouting.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.]][a](B)
3 Strengthen the weak hands
and make firm the feeble knees.(C)
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”(D)
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;(E)
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert;(F)
7 the burning sand shall become a pool
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp;[b]
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.(G)
8 A highway shall be there,[c]
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,[d]
but it shall be for God’s people;[e]
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.(H)
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.(I)
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.(J)
Footnotes
- 34.17–35.2 Q ms lacks 34.17–35.2
- 35.7 Cn: Heb in the haunt of jackals is her resting place
- 35.8 Q ms Gk Syr: MT A highway and a way shall be there
- 35.8 Or pass it by
- 35.8 Cn: Heb for them
Isaiah 30:8-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Rebellious People
8 Go now, write it before them on a tablet,
and inscribe it on a scroll,
so that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.(A)
9 For they are a rebellious people,
faithless children,
children who will not hear
the instruction of the Lord;(B)
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things;
prophesy illusions;(C)
11 leave the way; turn aside from the path;
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”(D)
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word
and put your trust in oppression and deceit
and rely on them,(E)
13 therefore this iniquity shall become for you
like a break in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant;(F)
14 its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a sherd is found
for taking fire from the hearth
or dipping water out of the cistern.(G)
15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
But you refused(H) 16 and said,
‘No! We will flee upon horses’—
therefore you shall flee!
and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds’—
therefore your pursuers shall be swift!(I)
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee
until you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.(J)
God’s Promise to Zion
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.(K)
19 O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.(L) 20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any longer, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.(M) 21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”(N)
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Matthew 25:31-46
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.(A) 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,(B) 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,(C) 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,(D) 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’(E) 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’(F) 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,(G) 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’(H) 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”(I)
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Revelation 14:13-15:4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,”[a] says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”(A)
Reaping the Earth’s Harvest
14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand!(B) 15 Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”(C) 16 So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he, too, had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”(D) 19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for a distance of about one thousand six hundred stadia.(E)
The Angels with the Seven Last Plagues
15 Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and amazing: seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.(F)
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.(G) 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.