A Perpetual Covenant of Peace

54 “Sing, O (A)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
“Enlarge(B) the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will (C)inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.

“Do(D) not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
(E)For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called (F)the God of the whole earth.
For the Lord (G)has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
“For(H) a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies (I)I will gather you.
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
(J)But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

“For this is like the waters of (K)Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with (L)you, nor rebuke you.
10 For (M)the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
(N)But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with (O)colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be (P)taught by the Lord,
And (Q)great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

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The Coming Messiah

“But you, (A)Bethlehem (B)Ephrathah,
Though you are little (C)among the (D)thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be (E)Ruler in Israel,
(F)Whose goings forth are from of old,
From [a]everlasting.”

Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that (G)she who is in labor has given birth;
Then (H)the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
And He shall stand and (I)feed[b] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He (J)shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
And this One (K)shall be peace.

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
They shall [c]waste with the sword the land of Assyria,
And the land of (L)Nimrod at its entrances;
Thus He shall (M)deliver us from the Assyrian,
When he comes into our land
And when he treads within our borders.

Then (N)the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
(O)Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That [d]tarry for no man
Nor [e]wait for the sons of men.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 5:2 Lit. the days of eternity
  2. Micah 5:4 shepherd
  3. Micah 5:6 devastate
  4. Micah 5:7 wait
  5. Micah 5:7 delay

Repent or Perish

13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had [a]mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

He also spoke this parable: (A)“A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it [b]use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. [c]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can (B)cut it down.’ ”

A Spirit of Infirmity

10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way [d]raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your (C)infirmity.” 13 (D)And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had (E)healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, (F)“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and (G)not on the Sabbath day.”

15 The Lord then answered him and said, [e]“Hypocrite! (H)Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 So ought not this woman, (I)being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” 17 And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were (J)done by Him.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 13:1 mixed
  2. Luke 13:7 waste
  3. Luke 13:9 NU And if it bears fruit after that, well. But if not, you can
  4. Luke 13:11 straighten up
  5. Luke 13:15 NU, M Hypocrites

Jesus the True Shepherd

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by (A)name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a (B)stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came [a]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. (C)I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

11 (D)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a [b]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and (E)leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and (F)I know My sheep, and (G)am known by My own. 15 (H)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; (I)and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And (J)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; (K)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

17 “Therefore My Father (L)loves Me, (M)because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I (N)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. (O)This command I have received from My Father.”

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Footnotes

  1. John 10:8 M omits before Me
  2. John 10:12 hired man

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