Isaiah 51:1-16

New International Version

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51 “Listen^(A) to me, you who pursue righteousness^(B)
    and who seek^(C) the Lord:
Look to the rock^(D) from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
²look to Abraham,^(E) your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.^(F)
³The Lord will surely comfort^(G) Zion^(H)
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;^(I)
he will make her deserts like Eden,^(J)
    her wastelands^(K) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness^(L) will be found in her,
    thanksgiving^(M) and the sound of singing.

⁴“Listen to me, my people;^(N)
    hear me,^(O) my nation:
Instruction^(P) will go out from me;
    my justice^(Q) will become a light to the nations.^(R)
⁵My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation^(S) is on the way,^(T)
    and my arm^(U) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands^(V) will look to me
    and wait in hope^(W) for my arm.
⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,^(X)
    the earth will wear out like a garment^(Y)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation^(Z) will last forever,^(AA)
    my righteousness will never fail.^(AB)

⁷“Hear me, you who know what is right,^(AC)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:^(AD)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.^(AE)
⁸For the moth will eat them up like a garment;^(AF)
    the worm^(AG) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,^(AH)
    my salvation through all generations.”

⁹Awake, awake,^(AI) arm^(AJ) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(AK)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.^(AL)
Was it not you who cut Rahab^(AM) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster^(AN) through?
¹⁰Was it not you who dried up the sea,^(AO)
    the waters of the great deep,^(AP)
who made a road in the depths of the sea^(AQ)
    so that the redeemed^(AR) might cross over?
¹¹Those the Lord has rescued^(AS) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;^(AT)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy^(AU) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(AV)

¹²“I, even I, am he who comforts^(AW) you.
    Who are you that you fear^(AX) mere mortals,^(AY)
    human beings who are but grass,^(AZ)
¹³that you forget^(BA) the Lord your Maker,^(BB)
    who stretches out the heavens^(BC)
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror^(BD) every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?^(BE)
¹⁴    The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;^(BF)
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.^(BG)
¹⁵For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea^(BH) so that its waves roar^(BI)—
    the Lord Almighty^(BJ) is his name.
¹⁶I have put my words in your mouth^(BK)
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand^(BL)—
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,^(BM)
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.^(BN)’”

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Ezekiel 37:1-14

New International Version

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me,^(A) and he brought me out by the Spirit^(B) of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;^(C) it was full of bones.^(D) ²He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.^(E)”

⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!^(F) ⁵This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life.^(G) ⁶I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.^(H)’”

⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath;^(I) prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds^(J) and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰So I prophesied as he commanded^(K) me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.^(L)

¹¹Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’^(M) ¹²Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.^(N) ¹³Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,^(O) when I open your graves and bring you up from them.^(P) ¹⁴I will put my Spirit^(Q) in you and you will live, and I will settle^(R) you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.^(S)’”

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Footnotes

Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).

Luke 24:13-35

New International Version

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem.^(A) ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;^(B) ¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.^(C)

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas,^(D) asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,”^(E) they replied. “He was a prophet,^(F) powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers^(G) handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.^(H) And what is more, it is the third day^(I) since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us.^(J) They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”^(K)

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”^(L) ²⁷And beginning with Moses^(M) and all the Prophets,^(N) he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.^(O)

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it^(P) and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,^(Q) and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us^(R) while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures^(S) to us?”

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord^(T) has risen and has appeared to Simon.”^(U) ³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.^(V)