The Lord's Day of Vengeance

63 Who is this who comes from (A)Edom,
    in crimsoned garments from (B)Bozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
    (C)marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
    mighty to save.”

Why is your (D)apparel red,
    and your garments like his (E)who treads in the winepress?

(F)“I have trodden the winepress alone,
    (G)and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
    and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood[a] spattered on my garments,
    and stained all my apparel.
(H)For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
    and my year of redemption[b] had come.
I looked, but (I)there was no one to help;
    I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
    and my wrath upheld me.
I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
    (J)I made them drunk in my wrath,
    and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 63:3 Or their juice; also verse 6
  2. Isaiah 63:4 Or the year of my redeemed

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of (A)Jesus Christ[a] took place in this way. (B)When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child (C)from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling (D)to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, (E)an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and (F)you shall call his name Jesus, (G)for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 (H)All this took place (I)to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 (J)“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name (K)Immanuel”

(which means, God (L)with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And (M)he called his name Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Some manuscripts of the Christ
  2. Matthew 1:18 That is, legally pledged to be married

The Lord's Mercy Remembered

I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
    the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
    (A)and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, “Surely they are my people,
    children who will not deal falsely.”
    And he became their Savior.
(B)In all their affliction he was afflicted,[a]
    and the angel of his presence saved them;
(C)in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
    (D)he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

10 (E)But they rebelled
    (F)and grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
    and himself fought against them.
11 Then he remembered (G)the days of old,
    of Moses and his people.[b]
(H)Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
    with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
    his Holy Spirit,
12 who caused his glorious arm
    to go at the right hand of Moses,
(I)who divided the waters before them
    (J)to make for himself an everlasting name,
13     who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
    they did not stumble.
14 Like livestock that go down into the valley,
    (K)the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So you led your people,
    (L)to make for yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy

15 (M)Look down from heaven and see,
    (N)from your holy and beautiful[c] habitation.
Where are (O)your zeal and your might?
    The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
    are held back from me.
16 For (P)you are our Father,
    though Abraham does not know us,
    and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our Father,
    (Q)our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17 O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways
    and (R)harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
(S)Return for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes of your heritage.
18 (T)Your holy people held possession for a little while;[d]
    (U)our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 (V)We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
    like those who are not called by your name.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 63:9 Or he did not afflict
  2. Isaiah 63:11 Or Then his people remembered the days of old, of Moses
  3. Isaiah 63:15 Or holy and glorious
  4. Isaiah 63:18 Or They have dispossessed your holy people for a little while

Greeting

Paul, (A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the (B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

(C)Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

(D)We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly[a] (E)mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before (F)our God and Father (G)your work of faith and labor of (H)love and (I)steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, (J)brothers[b] loved by God, (K)that he has chosen you, because (L)our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and (M)in the Holy Spirit and with full (N)conviction. You know (O)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And (P)you became imitators of us (Q)and of the Lord, for (R)you received the word in much affliction, (S)with the (T)joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord (U)sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth (V)everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of (W)reception we had among you, and how (X)you turned to God (Y)from idols to serve the living and (Z)true God, 10 and (AA)to wait for his Son (AB)from heaven, (AC)whom he raised from the dead, Jesus (AD)who delivers us from (AE)the wrath to come.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:2 Or without ceasing
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

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