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The Servant, a Light to the Nations

42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.(A)
He will not cry out or lift up his voice
    or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.(B)
He will not grow faint or be crushed
    until he has established justice in the earth,
    and the coastlands wait for his teaching.(C)

Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
    and spirit to those who walk in it:(D)
I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,[a]
    a light to the nations,(E)
    to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.(F)
I am the Lord; that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to idols.(G)
See, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
    I tell you of them.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. 42.6 Meaning of Heb uncertain

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant,(A) whom I uphold,
    my chosen one(B) in whom I delight;(C)
I will put my Spirit(D) on him,
    and he will bring justice(E) to the nations.(F)
He will not shout or cry out,(G)
    or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed(H) he will not break,(I)
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.(J)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;(K)
    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice(L) on earth.
    In his teaching(M) the islands(N) will put their hope.”(O)

This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,(P) who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth(Q) with all that springs from it,(R)
    who gives breath(S) to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called(T) you in righteousness;(U)
    I will take hold of your hand.(V)
I will keep(W) you and will make you
    to be a covenant(X) for the people
    and a light(Y) for the Gentiles,(Z)
to open eyes that are blind,(AA)
    to free(AB) captives from prison(AC)
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.(AD)

“I am the Lord;(AE) that is my name!(AF)
    I will not yield my glory to another(AG)
    or my praise to idols.(AH)
See, the former things(AI) have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce(AJ) them to you.”

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Jesus the True Vine

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes[a] to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed[b] by the word that I have spoken to you.(A) Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.(B) I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(C) My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become[c] my disciples.(D) As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.(E) 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(F)

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.(G) 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(H) 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.(I) 15 I do not call you servants[d] any longer, because the servant[e] does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 15.2 The same Greek root refers to pruning and cleansing
  2. 15.3 The same Greek root refers to pruning and cleansing
  3. 15.8 Or be
  4. 15.15 Gk slaves
  5. 15.15 Gk slave

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am(A) the true vine,(B) and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,(C) while every branch that does bear fruit(D) he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.(E) Remain in me, as I also remain in you.(F) No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;(G) apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.(H) If you remain in me(I) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(J) This is to my Father’s glory,(K) that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(L)

“As the Father has loved me,(M) so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands,(N) you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(O) 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.(P) 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(Q) 14 You are my friends(R) if you do what I command.(S) 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.(T) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you(U) so that you might go and bear fruit(V)—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.(W)

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.

For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
“Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
For we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been,
for the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts;(A)
when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.(B)
Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.(C)
For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
and there is no return from our death,
because it is sealed up and no one turns back.(D)

“Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.(E)
Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass us by.
Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
Let no meadow be free from our revelry;
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.(F)
10 Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
or regard the gray hairs of the aged.
11 But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.

12 “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law
and accuses us of sins against our training.(G)
13 He professes to have knowledge of God
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
the very sight of him is a burden to us,
15 because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.(H)
16 We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy
and boasts that God is his father.(I)
17 Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life,
18 for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.(J)
19 Let us test him with insult and torture,
so that we may find out how reasonable he is
and make trial of his forbearance.(K)
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”

Error of the Wicked

21 Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,(L)
22 and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls,(M)
23 for God created us for incorruption
and made us in the image of his own eternity,[a](N)
24 but through an adversary’s[b] envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 2.23 Other ancient authorities read nature
  2. 2.24 Or a devil’s
'Wisdom 2 ' not found for the version: New International Version.

17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

The World’s Hatred

18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.(A) 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.(B) 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.(C) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.(D) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.(E) 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.(F) 25 It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’(G)

26 “When the Advocate[a] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.(H) 27 You also are to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. 15.26 Or Helper or Comforter

17 This is my command: Love each other.(A)

The World Hates the Disciples

18 “If the world hates you,(B) keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you(C) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.(D) 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a](E) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.(F) If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name,(G) for they do not know the one who sent me.(H) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(I) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(J) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(K) they would not be guilty of sin.(L) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(M) ‘They hated me without reason.’[b](N)

The Work of the Holy Spirit

26 “When the Advocate(O) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father(P)—the Spirit of truth(Q) who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.(R) 27 And you also must testify,(S) for you have been with me from the beginning.(T)

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:20 John 13:16
  2. John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4