Isaiah 40:12-31

New American Standard Bible

¹²Who has ^(A)measured the ^[a]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a ^[b]span,
And ^[c]calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
¹³^(B)Who has ^[d]directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His ^(C)counselor has informed Him?
¹⁴^(D)With whom did He consult and who ^(E)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
¹⁵Behold, the ^(F)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of ^(G)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the ^[e]islands like fine dust.
¹⁶Even Lebanon is not enough to ^[f]burn,
Nor its ^(H)animals enough for a burnt offering.
¹⁷^(I)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and ^[g]meaningless.

¹⁸^(J)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
¹⁹As for the ^[h]^(K)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith ^(L)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
²⁰He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a ^(M)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To ^[i]prepare ^[j]an idol that ^(N)will not totter.

²¹^(O)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood ^(P)from the foundations of the earth?
²²It is He who ^[k]sits above the ^[l]^(Q)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(R)grasshoppers,
Who ^(S)stretches out the heavens like a ^(T)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(U)tent to live in.
²³It is He who reduces ^(V)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(W)makes the judges of the earth ^[m]meaningless.
²⁴^[n]Scarcely have they been planted,
^[o]Scarcely have they been sown,
^[p]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the ^(X)storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵“^(Y)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶^(Z)Raise your eyes on high
And see ^(AA)who has created these stars,
The ^(AB)One who brings out their ^[q]multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(AC)greatness of His might and the ^[r]strength of His power,
^(AD)Not one of them is missing.

²⁷^(AE)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
“My way is ^(AF)hidden from the Lord,
And the ^(AG)justice due me ^[s]escapes the notice of ^(AH)my God”?
²⁸^(AI)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The ^(AJ)Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is ^(AK)unsearchable.
²⁹He gives strength to the ^(AL)weary,
And to the one who lacks might He ^(AM)increases power.
³⁰Though ^(AN)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous ^(AO)young men stumble badly,
³¹Yet those who ^[t]wait for the Lord
Will ^(AP)gain new strength;
They will ^[u]^(AQ)mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 40:12 DSS reads waters of the sea
Isaiah 40:12 Or half cubit (9 in. or 22.8 cm)
Isaiah 40:12 Lit contained; or comprehended
Isaiah 40:13 Or measured, marked off
Isaiah 40:15 Or coastlands
Isaiah 40:16 I.e., for fire on an altar
Isaiah 40:17 Or void
Isaiah 40:19 Or carved image
Isaiah 40:20 Or set up
Isaiah 40:20 Or a carved image
Isaiah 40:22 Or is enthroned
Isaiah 40:22 Or vault
Isaiah 40:23 Or void
Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
Isaiah 40:26 Lit host
Isaiah 40:26 As in DSS and ancient versions; MT strong
Isaiah 40:27 Lit passes by my God
Isaiah 40:31 Or hope in
Isaiah 40:31 Or sprout wings

Mark 6:30-56

New American Standard Bible

³⁰^(A)The ^(B)apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. ³¹And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and ^(C)they did not even have time to eat.) ³²^(D)And they went away in ^(E)the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Five Thousand Men Fed

³³The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When Jesus went ^[a]ashore, He ^(F)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because ^(G)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. ³⁵And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “^[b]This place is secluded and it is already late; ³⁶send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves ^[c]something to eat.” ³⁷But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” ^(H)And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred ^[d]^(I)denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸But He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ^(J)blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²And they all ate and were satisfied; ⁴³and they picked up twelve full ^(K)baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. ⁴⁴There were ^(L)five thousand ^[e]men who ate the loaves.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵^(M)And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into ^(N)the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to ^(O)Bethsaida, while He Himself *dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶And after ^(P)saying goodbye to them, He left ^(Q)for the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸Seeing them ^[f]straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the ^[g]^(R)fourth watch of the night, He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. ⁴⁹But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; ⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were ^[h]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “^(S)Take courage; it is I, ^(T)do not be afraid.” ⁵¹Then He got into ^(U)the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, ⁵²for ^(V)they ^[i]had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but ^[j]their hearts ^(W)were hardened.

Healing at Gennesaret

⁵³^(X)When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. ⁵⁴And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ⁵⁵and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, ^[k]to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just ^(Y)touch ^(Z)the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being ^[l]healed.

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Footnotes

Mark 6:34 Lit out
Mark 6:35 Lit The
Mark 6:36 Lit what they may eat
Mark 6:37 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
Mark 6:44 I.e., 5,000 men plus women and children, cf. Matt 14:21
Mark 6:48 Lit tormented in rowing
Mark 6:48 I.e., 3-6 a.m.
Mark 6:50 Or troubled
Mark 6:52 Lit had not understood on the basis of
Mark 6:52 Lit heart was hardened; or their mind was closed, made dull; or insensible
Mark 6:55 Lit where they were hearing that He
Mark 6:56 Lit saved

Isaiah 41

New American Standard Bible

Israel Encouraged

41 “^(A)Listen to Me ^(B)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples ^(C)gain new strength;
^(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
^(E)Let’s come together for judgment.
²^(F)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He ^(G)calls in righteousness to His ^[a]feet?
He ^(H)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like ^(I)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven ^(J)chaff with his bow.
³He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been ^[b]traversing with his feet.
⁴^(K)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘^(L)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. ^(M)I am He.’”

⁵The ^(N)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The ^(O)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
⁶Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
⁷So the ^(P)craftsman encourages the ^(Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
^(R)So that it will not totter.
⁸“But you, Israel, ^(S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of ^(T)Abraham My ^(U)friend,
⁹You whom I have ^[c]^(V)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its ^(W)remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are ^(X)My servant,
I have ^(Y)chosen you and have not rejected you.
¹⁰Do not ^(Z)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, ^(AA)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous ^(AB)right hand.’
¹¹Behold, ^(AC)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
^(AD)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
¹²^(AE)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
¹³For I am the Lord your God ^(AF)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘^(AG)Do not fear, I will help you.’
¹⁴Do not fear, you ^(AH)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and ^(AI)your ^[d]Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
^(AJ)You will thresh the ^(AK)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
¹⁶You will ^(AL)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will ^(AM)rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷“The poor and needy are seeking ^(AN)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, ^(AO)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I ^(AP)will not abandon them.
¹⁸I will open ^(AQ)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make ^(AR)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
¹⁹I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the ^(AS)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the ^(AT)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
²⁰So that ^(AU)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the ^(AV)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹“^[e]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The ^(AW)King of Jacob says.
²²^(AX)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the ^(AY)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
²³^(AZ)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, ^(BA)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
²⁴Behold, ^(BB)you are less than nothing,
And ^(BC)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an ^(BD)abomination.

²⁵“I have put ^(BE)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon ^[f]^(BF)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
²⁶Who has ^(BG)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was ^(BH)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
²⁷“^(BI)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a ^(BJ)messenger of good news.’
²⁸But ^(BK)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no ^(BL)counselor ^[g]among them
Who, if I ask, can ^(BM)give an answer.
²⁹Behold, all of them are ^[h]false;
Their ^(BN)works are ^(BO)nothing,
Their cast metal images are ^(BP)wind and emptiness.

Footnotes

Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
Isaiah 41:3 Lit going
Isaiah 41:9 Lit seized
Isaiah 41:14 Or Redeemer, the Holy One
Isaiah 41:21 Lit Bring near
Isaiah 41:25 I.e., the building material
Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing

Revelation 17

New American Standard Bible

The Doom of Babylon

17 ^(A)Then one of the ^(B)seven angels who had the ^(C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you ^(D)the judgment of the ^(E)great prostitute who ^(F)sits on many waters, ²with whom ^(G)the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and ^(H)those who live on the earth ^(I)became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” ³And ^(J)he carried me away ^[a]^(K)in the Spirit ^(L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(M)scarlet beast, full of ^(N)blasphemous names, having ^(O)seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman ^(P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^[b]adorned with gold, precious ^[c]stones, and pearls, holding in her hand ^(Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, ⁵and on her forehead a name was written, ^[d]a ^(R)mystery: “^(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF ^(T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶And I saw the woman drunk with ^(U)the blood of the ^[e]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^[f]greatly. ⁷And the angel said to me, “Why ^[g]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(W)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸“^(X)The beast that you saw ^(Y)was, and is not, and is about to ^(Z)come up out of the ^(AA)abyss and ^[h]^(AB)go to destruction. And ^(AC)those who live on the earth, ^(AD)whose names have not been written in the book of life ^(AE)from the foundation of the world, will ^(AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will ^[i]come. ⁹^(AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(AH)seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, ¹⁰and they are seven ^(AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹The beast which ^(AJ)was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(AK)goes to destruction. ¹²The ^(AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(AM)for one hour. ¹³These have ^(AN)one ^[j]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴These will wage ^(AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(AP)overcome them because He is ^(AQ)Lord of lords and ^(AR)King of kings; and ^(AS)those who are with Him are the ^(AT)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵And he *said to me, “The ^(AU)waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are ^(AV)peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages. ¹⁶And the ^(AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her ^(AX)desolate and ^(AY)naked, and will ^(AZ)eat her flesh and will ^(BA)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷For ^(BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[k]purpose ^[l]by ^(BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(BD)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸The woman whom you saw is ^(BE)the great city, which ^[m]reigns over the kings of the earth.”