The Lord Comforts Zion(A)

51 “Listen to Me, (B)you who [a]follow after righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
(C)Look to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
(D)For I called him alone,
And (E)blessed him and increased him.”

For the Lord will (F)comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert (G)like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

“Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
(H)For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
(I)As a light of the peoples.
(J)My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
(K)And My arms will judge the peoples;
(L)The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And (M)on My arm they will trust.
(N)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For (O)the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
(P)The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be (Q)forever,
And My righteousness will not be [b]abolished.

“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people (R)in whose heart is My law:
(S)Do not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
For (T)the moth will eat them up like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool;
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation from generation to generation.”

(U)Awake, awake, (V)put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake (W)as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
(X)Are You not the arm that cut (Y)Rahab apart,
And wounded the (Z)serpent?

10 Are You not the One who (AA)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So (AB)the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, even I, am He (AC)who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
(AD)Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made (AE)like grass?
13 And (AF)you forget the Lord your Maker,
(AG)Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
(AH)And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
(AI)That he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15 But I am the Lord your God,
Who (AJ)divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16 And (AK)I have put My words in your mouth;
(AL)I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
(AM)That I may [c]plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 51:1 pursue
  2. Isaiah 51:6 broken
  3. Isaiah 51:16 establish

The Dry Bones Live

37 The (A)hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out (B)in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, (C)You know.”

Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will (D)cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. (E)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the [a]breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (F)“Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, (G)and [b]breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the (H)whole house of Israel. They indeed say, (I)‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, (J)O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and (K)bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I (L)will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:9 Breath of life
  2. Ezekiel 37:10 Breath of life

The Road to Emmaus(A)

13 (B)Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was [a]seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that (C)Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But (D)their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you [b]walk and are sad?”

18 Then the one (E)whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, (F)who was a Prophet (G)mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 (H)and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping (I)that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and (J)certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And (K)certain 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.”

25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 (L)Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His (M)glory?” 27 And beginning at (N)Moses and (O)all the Prophets, He [c]expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and (P)He [d]indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But (Q)they constrained Him, saying, (R)“Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

30 Now it came to pass, as (S)He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and (T)has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was [e]known to them in the breaking of bread.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 24:13 Lit. 60 stadia
  2. Luke 24:17 NU walk? And they stood still, looking sad.
  3. Luke 24:27 explained
  4. Luke 24:28 acted as if
  5. Luke 24:35 recognized

The Road to Emmaus(A)

13 (B)Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was [a]seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that (C)Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But (D)their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you [b]walk and are sad?”

18 Then the one (E)whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, (F)who was a Prophet (G)mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 (H)and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping (I)that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and (J)certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And (K)certain 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.”

25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 (L)Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His (M)glory?” 27 And beginning at (N)Moses and (O)all the Prophets, He [c]expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and (P)He [d]indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But (Q)they constrained Him, saying, (R)“Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

30 Now it came to pass, as (S)He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and (T)has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was [e]known to them in the breaking of bread.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Luke 24:13 Lit. 60 stadia
  2. Luke 24:17 NU walk? And they stood still, looking sad.
  3. Luke 24:27 explained
  4. Luke 24:28 acted as if
  5. Luke 24:35 recognized

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