A Prayer for Help

64 Oh, that You would [a]rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your (A)presence—
As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
When (B)You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
For since the beginning of the world
(C)Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
(D)In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.

But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all (E)our righteousnesses are like [b]filthy rags;
We all (F)fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have [c]consumed us because of our iniquities.

But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our (G)potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
Do not be furious, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
10 Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful [d]temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all (H)our pleasant things [e]are laid waste.
12 (I)Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?
(J)Will You [f]hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 tear open
  2. Isaiah 64:6 Lit. a filthy garment
  3. Isaiah 64:7 Lit. caused us to melt
  4. Isaiah 64:11 Lit. house
  5. Isaiah 64:11 have become a ruin
  6. Isaiah 64:12 keep silent

Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (A)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (B)my soul desires.
The (C)faithful[a] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
(D)Every man hunts his brother with a net.

That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a (E)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
The best of them is (F)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.

(G)Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your (H)bosom.
For (I)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (J)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

Israel’s Confession and Comfort

(K)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(L)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
(M)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (N)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 7:2 Or loyal

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant(A)

Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He (B)entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But (C)say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under (D)authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well [a]who had been sick.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:10 NU omits who had been sick

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, (A)“I am the light of the world. He who (B)follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus Defends His Self-Witness

13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, (C)“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not [a]true.”

14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but (D)you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 (E)You judge according to the flesh; (F)I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for (G)I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 (H)It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and (I)the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”

Jesus answered, (J)“You know neither Me nor My Father. (K)If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

20 These words Jesus spoke in (L)the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and (M)no one laid hands on Him, for (N)His hour had not yet come.

Jesus Predicts His Departure

21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and (O)you will seek Me, and (P)will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”

22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”

23 And He said to them, (Q)“You are from beneath; I am from above. (R)You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 (S)Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; (T)for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”

And Jesus said to them, “Just what I (U)have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but (V)He who sent Me is true; and (W)I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”

27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you (X)lift[b] up the Son of Man, (Y)then you will know that I am He, and (Z)that I do nothing of Myself; but (AA)as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And (AB)He who sent Me is with Me. (AC)The Father has not left Me alone, (AD)for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, (AE)many believed in Him.

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Footnotes

  1. John 8:13 valid as testimony
  2. John 8:28 Crucify

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