The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,(A)
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(B)
    you who were never in labor;(C)
because more are the children(D) of the desolate(E) woman
    than of her who has a husband,(F)
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,(G)
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.(H)
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants(I) will dispossess nations(J)
    and settle in their desolate(K) cities.

“Do not be afraid;(L) you will not be put to shame.(M)
    Do not fear disgrace;(N) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(O)
    and remember no more the reproach(P) of your widowhood.(Q)
For your Maker(R) is your husband(S)
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(T) of Israel is your Redeemer;(U)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(V)
The Lord will call you back(W)
    as if you were a wife deserted(X) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(Y)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(Z) I abandoned(AA) you,
    but with deep compassion(AB) I will bring you back.(AC)
In a surge of anger(AD)
    I hid(AE) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(AF)
    I will have compassion(AG) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(AH)

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(AI)
So now I have sworn(AJ) not to be angry(AK) with you,
    never to rebuke(AL) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(AM)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(AN) for you will not be shaken(AO)
    nor my covenant(AP) of peace(AQ) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(AR) on you.

11 “Afflicted(AS) city, lashed by storms(AT) and not comforted,(AU)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[a](AV)
    your foundations(AW) with lapis lazuli.(AX)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(AY) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(AZ)
    and great will be their peace.(BA)
14 In righteousness(BB) you will be established:(BC)
Tyranny(BD) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(BE)
Terror(BF) will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

“But you, Bethlehem(A) Ephrathah,(B)
    though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler(C) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,(D)
    from ancient times.”(E)

Therefore Israel will be abandoned(F)
    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
    to join the Israelites.

He will stand and shepherd his flock(G)
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness(H)
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace(I)
    when the Assyrians invade(J) our land
    and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds,
    even eight commanders,(K)
who will rule[b] the land of Assyria with the sword,
    the land of Nimrod(L) with drawn sword.[c](M)
He will deliver us from the Assyrians
    when they invade our land
    and march across our borders.(N)

The remnant(O) of Jacob will be
    in the midst of many peoples
like dew(P) from the Lord,
    like showers on the grass,(Q)
which do not wait for anyone
    or depend on man.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 5:2 Or rulers
  2. Micah 5:6 Or crush
  3. Micah 5:6 Or Nimrod in its gates

Repent or Perish

13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate(A) had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?(B) I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam(C) fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent,(D) you too will all perish.”

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.(E) So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!(F) Why should it use up the soil?’

“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,(G) 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.(H) She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her,(I) and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,(J) the synagogue leader(K) said to the people, “There are six days for work.(L) So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?(M) 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham,(N) whom Satan(O) has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated,(P) but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

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The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.(A) The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.(B) The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.(C) He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.(D) When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.(E) But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech,(F) but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.(G)

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am(H) the gate(I) for the sheep. All who have come before me(J) are thieves and robbers,(K) but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,(L) and have it to the full.(M)

11 “I am(N) the good shepherd.(O) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(P) 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.(Q) Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd;(R) I know my sheep(S) and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father(T)—and I lay down my life for the sheep.(U) 16 I have other sheep(V) that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock(W) and one shepherd.(X) 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life(Y)—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.(Z) I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”(AA)

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Footnotes

  1. John 10:9 Or kept safe

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