Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah^(A) died,^(B) I saw the Lord,^(C) high and exalted,^(D) seated on a throne;^(E) and the train of his robe^(F) filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim,^(G) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,^(H) and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.^(M)

⁵ “Woe^(N) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!^(O) For I am a man of unclean lips,^(P) and I live among a people of unclean lips,^(Q) and my eyes have seen^(R) the King,^(S) the Lord Almighty.”^(T)

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal^(U) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;^(V) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.^(W)”

⁸ Then I heard the voice^(X) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?^(Y) And who will go for us?^(Z)”

And I said, “Here am I.^(AA) Send me!”

⁹ He said, “Go^(AB) and tell this people:

¹¹ Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”^(AH)

And he answered:

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit^(A)

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.^{(B) 22} The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.^{(C) 23} Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, ²⁴ “What do you want with us,^(D) Jesus of Nazareth?^(E) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”^(F)

²⁵ “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”^{(G) 26} The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.^(H)

²⁷ The people were all so amazed^(I) that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region^(J) of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many^(K)(L)

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue,^(M) they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.^(N) The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

³² That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.^{(O) 33} The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴ and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.^(P) He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.^(Q)

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place^(R)

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.^{(S) 36} Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”^{(T) 39} So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues^(U) and driving out demons.^(V)

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(W)

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[a] came to him and begged him on his knees,^(X) “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[b] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone.^(Y) But go, show yourself to the priest^(Z) and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing,^(AA) as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.^(AB) Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.^(AC)

¹⁸ Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.^(F) We are signs^(G) and symbols^(H) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.^(I)

The Darkness Turns to Light

¹⁹ When someone tells you to consult^(J) mediums and spiritists,^(K) who whisper and mutter,^(L) should not a people inquire^(M) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰ Consult God’s instruction^(N) and the testimony of warning.^(O) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light^(P) of dawn. ²¹ Distressed and hungry,^(Q) they will roam through the land;^(R) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse^(S) their king and their God. ²² Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,^(T) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.^(U)

9 ^[a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom^(V) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,^(W) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

144,000 Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners^(A) of the earth, holding back the four winds^(B) of the earth to prevent^(C) any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal^(D) of the living God.^(E) He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:^{(F) 3} “Do not harm^(G) the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads^(H) of the servants of our God.” ⁴ Then I heard the number^(I) of those who were sealed: 144,000^(J) from all the tribes of Israel.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,^(K) standing before the throne^(L) and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes^(M) and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders^(P) and the four living creatures.^(Q) They fell down on their faces^(R) before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes^(T)—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes^(U) and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.^{(V) 15} Therefore,