Isaiah 51:1-16

English Standard Version

The Lord's Comfort for Zion

51 ^(A)“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
    and to the quarry from which you were dug.
²Look to Abraham your father
    and to Sarah who bore you;
for ^(B)he was but one when I called him,
    that I might bless him and multiply him.
³For the Lord ^(C)comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like ^(D)Eden,
    her desert like ^(E)the garden of the Lord;
^(F)joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.

⁴^(G)“Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation;
^(H)for a law^[a] will go out from me,
    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
⁵^(I)My righteousness draws near,
    my salvation has gone out,
    and my arms will judge the peoples;
^(J)the coastlands hope for me,
    and for my arm they wait.
⁶^(K)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
^(L)for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;^[b]
^(M)but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

⁷^(N)“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people ^(O)in whose heart is my law;
^(P)fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
⁸^(Q)For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
    and the worm will eat them like wool,
^(R)but my righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.”

⁹^(S)Awake, awake, ^(T)put on strength,
    O ^(U)arm of the Lord;
awake, ^(V)as in days of old,
    the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut ^(W)Rahab in pieces,
    who pierced ^(X)the dragon?
¹⁰^(Y)Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
    for the redeemed to pass over?
¹¹^(Z)And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

¹²“I, I am he ^(AA)who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of ^(AB)man who dies,
    of the son of man who is made ^(AC)like grass,
¹³and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
    ^(AD)who stretched out the heavens
    and ^(AE)laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
    because of the wrath of ^(AF)the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
    And where is the wrath of ^(AG)the oppressor?
¹⁴^(AH)He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
    he shall not die and go down ^(AI)to the pit,
    neither shall his bread be lacking.
¹⁵I am the Lord your God,
    ^(AJ)who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    the Lord of hosts is his name.
¹⁶^(AK)And I have put my words in your mouth
    ^(AL)and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
^(AM)establishing^[c] the heavens
    and ^(AN)laying the foundations of the earth,
    and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Isaiah 51:4 Or for teaching; also verse 7
Isaiah 51:6 Or will die like gnats
Isaiah 51:16 Or planting

Ezekiel 37:1-14

English Standard Version

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 ^(A)The hand of the Lord was upon me, and ^(B)he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;^[a] it was full of bones. ²And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³And he said to me, ^(C)“Son of man, ^(D)can these bones live?” And ^(E)I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴Then he said to me, ^(F)“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ^(G)O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause ^(H)breath^[b] to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶^(I)And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and ^(J)cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, ^(K)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷So I prophesied ^(L)as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, ^(M)a rattling,^[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But ^(N)there was no breath in them. ⁹Then he said to me, ^(O)“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, ^(P)son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from ^(Q)the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰So I prophesied ^(R)as he commanded me, and ^(S)the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹Then he said to me, ^(T)“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and ^(U)our hope is lost; ^(V)we are indeed cut off.’ ¹²Therefore ^(W)prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(X)I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And ^(Y)I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³And ^(Z)you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴And ^(AA)I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; ^(AB)I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Ezekiel 37:1 Or plain; also verse 2
Ezekiel 37:5 Or spirit; also verses 6, 9, 10
Ezekiel 37:7 Or an earthquake (compare 3:12, 13)

Luke 24:13-35

English Standard Version

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³That very day ^(A)two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶^(B)But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was ^(C)a prophet ^(D)mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and ^(E)how our chief priests and ^(F)rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹But we had hoped that he was ^(G)the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now ^(H)the third day since these things happened. ²²Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. ^(I)They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³and ^(J)when they did not find his body, they came back saying that ^(K)they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴^(L)Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶^(M)Was it not necessary that ^(N)the Christ should suffer these things and enter into ^(O)his glory?” ²⁷And ^(P)beginning with ^(Q)Moses and ^(R)all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸So they drew near to the village to which they were going. ^(S)He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and ^(T)the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at table with them, he took the bread and ^(U)blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹^(V)And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And ^(W)he vanished from their sight. ³²They said to each other, ^(X)“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he ^(Y)opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they ^(Z)found the eleven and ^(AA)those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and ^(AB)has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and ^(AC)how he was known to them in ^(AD)the breaking of the bread.