Isaiah 1

New International Version

1 The vision^(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem^(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw^(C) during the reigns of Uzziah,^(D) Jotham,^(E) Ahaz^(F) and Hezekiah,^(G) kings of Judah.

A Rebellious Nation

²Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!^(H)
    For the Lord has spoken:^(I)
“I reared children^(J) and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled^(K) against me.
³The ox knows^(L) its master,
    the donkey its owner’s manger,^(M)
but Israel does not know,^(N)
    my people do not understand.^(O)”

⁴Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,^(P)
a brood of evildoers,^(Q)
    children given to corruption!^(R)
They have forsaken^(S) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One^(T) of Israel
    and turned their backs^(U) on him.

⁵Why should you be beaten^(V) anymore?
    Why do you persist^(W) in rebellion?^(X)
Your whole head is injured,
    your whole heart^(Y) afflicted.^(Z)
⁶From the sole of your foot to the top of your head^(AA)
    there is no soundness^(AB)—
only wounds and welts^(AC)
    and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged^(AD)
    or soothed with olive oil.^(AE)

⁷Your country is desolate,^(AF)
    your cities burned with fire;^(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners^(AH)
    right before you,
    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.^(AI)
⁸Daughter Zion^(AJ) is left^(AK)
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut^(AL) in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege.
⁹Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,^(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.^(AN)

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord,^(AO)
    you rulers of Sodom;^(AP)
listen to the instruction^(AQ) of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!^(AR)
¹¹“The multitude of your sacrifices—
    what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;^(AS)
I have no pleasure^(AT)
    in the blood of bulls^(AU) and lambs and goats.^(AV)
¹²When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,^(AW)
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³Stop bringing meaningless offerings!^(AX)
    Your incense^(AY) is detestable^(AZ) to me.
New Moons,^(BA) Sabbaths and convocations^(BB)—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴Your New Moon^(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals^(BD)
    I hate with all my being.^(BE)
They have become a burden to me;^(BF)
    I am weary^(BG) of bearing them.
¹⁵When you spread out your hands^(BH) in prayer,
    I hide^(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.^(BJ)

Your hands^(BK) are full of blood!^(BL)

¹⁶Wash^(BM) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;^(BN)
    stop doing wrong.^(BO)
¹⁷Learn to do right;^(BP) seek justice.^(BQ)
    Defend the oppressed.^[a]^(BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;^(BS)
    plead the case of the widow.^(BT)

¹⁸“Come now, let us settle the matter,”^(BU)
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;^(BV)
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.^(BW)
¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,^(BX)
    you will eat the good things of the land;^(BY)
²⁰but if you resist and rebel,^(BZ)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”^(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(CB)

²¹See how the faithful city
    has become a prostitute!^(CC)
She once was full of justice;
    righteousness^(CD) used to dwell in her—
    but now murderers!^(CE)
²²Your silver has become dross,^(CF)
    your choice wine is diluted with water.
²³Your rulers are rebels,^(CG)
    partners with thieves;^(CH)
they all love bribes^(CI)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.^(CJ)

²⁴Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    the Mighty One^(CK) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
    and avenge^(CL) myself on my enemies.^(CM)
²⁵I will turn my hand against you;^[b]^(CN)
    I will thoroughly purge^(CO) away your dross^(CP)
    and remove all your impurities.^(CQ)
²⁶I will restore your leaders as in days of old,^(CR)
    your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called^(CS)
    the City of Righteousness,^(CT)
    the Faithful City.^(CU)”

²⁷Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent^(CV) ones with righteousness.^(CW)
²⁸But rebels and sinners^(CX) will both be broken,
and those who forsake^(CY) the Lord will perish.^(CZ)

²⁹“You will be ashamed^(DA) because of the sacred oaks^(DB)
    in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens^(DC)
    that you have chosen.
³⁰You will be like an oak with fading leaves,^(DD)
    like a garden without water.
³¹The mighty man will become tinder
    and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
    with no one to quench the fire.^(DE)”

Footnotes

Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem

1 Corinthians 4

New International Version

The Nature of True Apostleship

4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants^(A) of Christ and as those entrusted^(B) with the mysteries^(C) God has revealed. ²Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience^(D) is clear, but that does not make me innocent.^(E) It is the Lord who judges me.^(F) ⁵Therefore judge nothing^(G) before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.^(H) He will bring to light^(I) what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.^(J)

⁶Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.”^(K) Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.^(L) ⁷For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?^(M) And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!^(N) You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! ⁹For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die^(O) in the arena. We have been made a spectacle^(P) to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ,^(Q) but you are so wise in Christ!^(R) We are weak, but you are strong!^(S) You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.^(T) ¹²We work hard with our own hands.^(U) When we are cursed, we bless;^(V) when we are persecuted,^(W) we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage^(X) of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

¹⁴I am writing this not to shame you^(Y) but to warn you as my dear children.^(Z) ¹⁵Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father^(AA) through the gospel.^(AB) ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.^(AC) ¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you^(AD) Timothy,^(AE) my son^(AF) whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.^(AG)

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant,^(AH) as if I were not coming to you.^(AI) ¹⁹But I will come to you very soon,^(AJ) if the Lord is willing,^(AK) and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of^(AL) talk but of power.^(AM) ²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline,^(AN) or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

Psalm 135

New International Version

Psalm 135^(A)

¹Praise the Lord.^[a]

Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants^(B) of the Lord,
²you who minister in the house^(C) of the Lord,
in the courts^(D) of the house of our God.

³Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;^(E)
sing praise to his name,^(F) for that is pleasant.^(G)
⁴For the Lord has chosen Jacob^(H) to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.^(I)

⁵I know that the Lord is great,^(J)
    that our Lord is greater than all gods.^(K)
⁶The Lord does whatever pleases him,^(L)
    in the heavens and on the earth,^(M)
    in the seas and all their depths.
⁷He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
    he sends lightning with the rain^(N)
    and brings out the wind^(O) from his storehouses.^(P)

⁸He struck down the firstborn^(Q) of Egypt,
    the firstborn of people and animals.
⁹He sent his signs^(R) and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
    against Pharaoh and all his servants.^(S)
¹⁰He struck down many^(T) nations
    and killed mighty kings—
¹¹Sihon^(U) king of the Amorites,^(V)
    Og king of Bashan,^(W)
    and all the kings of Canaan^(X)—
¹²and he gave their land as an inheritance,^(Y)
    an inheritance to his people Israel.

¹³Your name, Lord, endures forever,^(Z)
your renown,^(AA) Lord, through all generations.
¹⁴For the Lord will vindicate his people^(AB)
and have compassion on his servants.^(AC)

¹⁵The idols of the nations^(AD) are silver and gold,
    made by human hands.^(AE)
¹⁶They have mouths, but cannot speak,^(AF)
    eyes, but cannot see.
¹⁷They have ears, but cannot hear,
    nor is there breath^(AG) in their mouths.
¹⁸Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

¹⁹All you Israelites, praise the Lord;^(AH)
    house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
²⁰house of Levi, praise the Lord;
    you who fear him, praise the Lord.
²¹Praise be to the Lord from Zion,^(AI)
    to him who dwells in Jerusalem.^(AJ)