Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

7 In the days of ^(A)Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, ^(B)Rezin the king of Syria and ^(C)Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. ² When the house of David was told, ^(D)“Syria is in league with^{[a] (E)}Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz^[b] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

³ And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and ^(F)Shear-jashub^[c] your son, at the end of ^(G)the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. ⁴ And say to him, ^(H)‘Be careful, ^(I)be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two ^(J)smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and ^(K)the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Because Syria, with Ephraim and ^(L)the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, ⁶ “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it^[d] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” ⁷ thus says the Lord God:

The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask ^(Q)a sign of the Lord your^[f] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³ And he^[g] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you ^(R)weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the ^(S)Lord himself will give you a sign. ^(T)Behold, the ^(U)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^(V)Immanuel.^{[h] 15} He shall eat ^(W)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ^16 (X)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ^(Y)deserted. ^17 (Z)The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that ^(AA)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

² Look: I, Paul, say to you that ^(A)if you accept circumcision, ^(B)Christ will be of no advantage to you. ³ I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that ^(C)he is obligated to keep the whole law. ⁴ You are ^(D)severed from Christ, ^(E)you who would be justified^[a] by the law; ^(F)you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly ^(G)wait for the hope of righteousness. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus ^(H)neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but ^(I)only faith working through love.

^7 (J)You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying ^(K)the truth? ⁸ This persuasion is not from ^(L)him who calls you. ^9 (M)A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ^10 (N)I have confidence in the Lord that you will ^(O)take no other view, and ^(P)the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. ¹¹ But if I, brothers,^[b] still preach^[c] circumcision, ^(Q)why am I still being persecuted? In that case ^(R)the offense of the cross has been removed. ¹² I wish ^(S)those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. ^(T)Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love ^(U)serve one another. ¹⁴ For ^(V)the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ^(W)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you ^(X)bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

¹⁶ But I say, ^(Y)walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^(Z)the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For ^(AA)the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^(AB)to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are ^(AC)led by the Spirit, ^(AD)you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now ^(AE)the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^(AF)divisions, ²¹ envy,^[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^(AG)those who do^[e] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But ^(AH)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(AI)love, joy, peace, patience, ^(AJ)kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 (AK)gentleness, ^(AL)self-control; ^(AM)against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^(AN)have crucified the flesh with its ^(AO)passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, ^(AP)let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ^26 (AQ)Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet ^(A)and write on it in common characters,^[a] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’^{[b] 2} And ^(B)I will get reliable witnesses, ^(C)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

³ And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ^(D)“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; ^4 (E)for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the ^(F)wealth of ^(G)Damascus and the spoil of ^(H)Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵ The Lord spoke to me again: ⁶ “Because this people has refused the waters of ^(I)Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over ^(J)Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ⁷ therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^(K)the waters of ^(L)the River,^[c] mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^(M)will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, ⁸ and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^(N)reaching even to the neck, and its ^(O)outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^(P)O Immanuel.”

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

¹¹ For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and ^(T)warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ¹² “Do not call ^(U)conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and ^(V)do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³ But the Lord of hosts, ^(W)him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he will become a ^(X)sanctuary and ^(Y)a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many ^(Z)shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

¹⁶ Bind up ^(AA)the testimony; ^(AB)seal the teaching^[g] among my disciples. ¹⁷ I will ^(AC)wait for the Lord, who is ^(AD)hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. ^18 (AE)Behold, I and ^(AF)the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and ^(A)was baptizing. ²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized ²⁴ (for ^(B)John had not yet been put in prison).

²⁵ Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over ^(C)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, ^(D)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, ^(E)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and ^(F)all are going to him.” ²⁷ John answered, ^(G)“A person cannot receive even one thing ^(H)unless it is given him ^(I)from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(J)‘I am not the Christ, but ^(K)I have been sent before him.’ ^29 (L)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. ^(M)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, ^(N)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. ^30 (O)He must increase, but I must decrease.”^[a]

^31 (P)He who comes from above ^(Q)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ^(R)speaks in an earthly way. ^(S)He who comes from heaven ^(T)is above all. ^32 (U)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ^(V)yet no one receives his testimony. ³³ Whoever receives his testimony ^(W)sets his seal to this, ^(X)that God is true. ³⁴ For he whom ^(Y)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit ^(Z)without measure. ^35 (AA)The Father loves the Son and ^(AB)has given all things into his hand. ^36 (AC)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; ^(AD)whoever does not obey the Son shall not ^(AE)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.