Isaiah 1-3
Christian Standard Bible
1 The vision(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah(B) son of Amoz saw during the reigns[a] of Kings Uzziah,(C) Jotham,(D) Ahaz,(E) and Hezekiah(F) of Judah.(G)
Judah on Trial
2 Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth,(H)
for the Lord has spoken:
“I have raised children[b] and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.(I)
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but Israel does not know;
my people do not understand.”(J)
4 Oh sinful nation,
people weighed down with iniquity,(K)
brood of evildoers,(L)
depraved children!
They have abandoned(M) the Lord;
they have despised(N) the Holy One of Israel;(O)
they have turned their backs on him.
5 Why do you want more beatings?
Why do you keep on rebelling?
The whole head is hurt,
and the whole heart is sick.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,(P)
no spot is uninjured(Q)—
wounds, welts, and festering sores
not cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.
7 Your land is desolate,
your cities burned down;(R)
foreigners devour your fields
right in front of you—
a desolation, like a place demolished by foreigners.
8 Daughter Zion(S) is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
9 If the Lord of Armies(T)
had not left us a few survivors,(U)
we would be like Sodom,
we would resemble Gomorrah.(V)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,(W)
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(X)
11 “What are all your sacrifices to me?”
asks the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.(Y)
12 When you come to appear before me,
who requires this from you—
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings.(Z)
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons and Sabbaths,(AA)
and the calling of solemn assemblies(AB)—
I cannot stand iniquity(AC) with a festival.
14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.
They have become a burden to me;
I am tired of putting up with them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,(AD)
I will refuse to look at you;
even if you offer countless prayers,
I will not listen.(AE)
Your hands are covered with blood.(AF)
Purification of Jerusalem
16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.(AG)
Remove your evil deeds from my sight.
Stop doing evil.(AH)
17 Learn to do what is good.
Pursue justice.(AI)
Correct the oppressor.[c]
Defend the rights of the fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.
18 “Come, let’s settle this,”(AJ)
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;(AK)
though they are crimson red,
they will be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land.(AL)
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”(AM)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(AN)
21 The faithful town—
what an adulteress[d] she has become!
She was once full of justice.
Righteousness once dwelt in her,
but now, murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross to be discarded,
your beer[e] is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.(AO)
They all love graft
and chase after bribes.(AP)
They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,
and the widow’s case never comes before them.(AQ)
24 Therefore the Lord God of Armies,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will get even with my foes;
I will take revenge against my enemies.(AR)
25 I will turn my hand against you(AS)
and will burn away your dross completely;[f]
I will remove all your impurities.(AT)
26 I will restore your judges(AU) to what they were at first,
and your advisers to what they were at the start.
Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,(AV)
a Faithful Town.”
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice,
those who repent, by righteousness.(AW)
28 At the same time both rebels and sinners will be broken,
and those who abandon the Lord will perish.
29 Indeed, they[g] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you desired,(AX)
and you will be embarrassed because of the garden shrines
you have chosen.(AY)
30 For you will become like an oak
whose leaves are withered,
and like a garden without water.(AZ)
31 The strong one will become tinder,
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,(BA)
with no one to extinguish the flames.(BB)
The City of Peace
2 The vision that Isaiah(BC) son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In(BD) the last days(BE)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(BF) will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,(BG)
3 and many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.(BH)
He will teach us about his ways
so that we may walk in his paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.(BI)
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.(BJ)
The Day of the Lord
5 House of Jacob,
come and let’s walk in the Lord’s light.(BK)
6 For you have abandoned(BL) your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of divination from the East
and of fortune-tellers(BM) like the Philistines.(BN)
They are in league[h] with foreigners.
7 Their[i][j] land is full of silver and gold,
and there is no limit to their treasures;
their land is full of horses,
and there is no limit to their chariots.(BO)
8 Their land is full of worthless idols;(BP)
they worship the work of their hands,
what their fingers have made.(BQ)
9 So humanity is brought low,
and each person is humbled.
Do not forgive them!(BR)
10 Go into the rocks(BS)
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord(BT)
and from his majestic splendor.(BU)
11 The pride of mankind[k] will be humbled,(BV)
and human loftiness will be brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For a day belonging to the Lord of Armies is coming
against all that is proud and lofty,(BW)
against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,(BX)
lofty and lifted up,
against all the oaks of Bashan,(BY)
14 against all the high mountains,(BZ)
against all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower,(CA)
against every fortified wall,
16 against every ship of Tarshish,(CB)
and against every splendid sea vessel.
17 The pride of mankind will be brought low,
and human loftiness will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(CC)
18 The worthless idols will vanish completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks(CD)
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from his majestic splendor,
when he rises to terrify the earth.(CE)
20 On that day people will throw
their worthless idols of silver and gold,(CF)
which they made to worship,
to the moles and the bats.
21 They will go into the caves of the rocks
and the crevices in the cliffs,
away from the terror of the Lord
and from his majestic splendor,(CG)
when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 Put no more trust in a mere human,
who has only the breath in his nostrils.(CH)
What is he really worth?
Judah’s Leaders Judged
3 Note this: The Lord God of Armies
is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah
every kind of security:
the entire supply of bread and water,
2 heroes and warriors,(CI)
judges and prophets,
fortune-tellers and elders,
3 commanders of fifty and dignitaries,
counselors, cunning magicians,[l] and necromancers.[m]
4 “I will make youths their leaders,(CJ)
and unstable rulers[n] will govern them.”
5 The people will oppress one another,(CK)
man against man, neighbor against neighbor;
the young will act arrogantly toward the old,
and the worthless toward the honorable.
6 A man will even seize his brother
in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak—you be our leader!
This heap of rubble will be under your control.”
7 On that day he will cry out, saying,
“I’m not a healer.
I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.
Don’t make me the leader of the people!”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the Lord,(CL)
defying his glorious presence.(CM)
9 The look on their faces testifies against them,
and like Sodom,(CN) they flaunt their sin;
they do not conceal it.
Woe to them,
for they have brought disaster on themselves.(CO)
10 Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
for they will eat the fruit of their labor.
11 Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them,
for what they have done will be done to them.
12 Youths oppress my people,(CP)
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders mislead you;
they confuse the direction of your paths.(CQ)
13 The Lord rises to argue the case
and stands to judge the people.(CR)
14 The Lord brings this charge
against the elders and leaders of his people:(CS)
“You have devastated the vineyard.
The plunder from the poor is in your houses.(CT)
15 Why do you crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.
Jerusalem’s Women Judged
16 The Lord also says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,(CU)
walking with heads held high
and seductive eyes,
prancing along,
jingling their ankle bracelets,
17 the Lord will put scabs on the heads
of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.
18 On that day(CV) the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents,(CW) 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets,(CX) 21 signet rings, nose rings,(CY) 22 festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, 23 garments, linen clothes, turbans, and shawls.
24 Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of beautifully styled hair,(CZ) baldness;(DA)
instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;(DB)
instead of beauty, branding.[o]
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle.
26 Then her gates(DC) will lament and mourn;
deserted, she will sit on the ground.(DD)
Footnotes
- 1:1 ca 792–686 BC
- 1:2 Or sons, also in v. 4
- 1:17 Or Aid the oppressed
- 1:21 Or prostitute
- 1:22 Or wine
- 1:25 Lit dross as with lye
- 1:29 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, Tg read you
- 2:6 Or They teem, or They partner; Hb obscure
- 2:7 Lit Its
- 2:7 = the house of Jacob
- 2:11 Lit Mankind’s proud eyes
- 3:3 Or skilled craftsmen
- 3:3 Or mediums
- 3:4 Or mischief-makers
- 3:24 DSS read shame
Romans 15
Christian Standard Bible
Pleasing Others, Not Ourselves
15 Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength,(A) and not to please ourselves. 2 Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.(B) 3 For even Christ did not please himself.(C) On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.[a](D) 4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction,(E) so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. 5 Now may the God who gives[b] endurance and encouragement(F) grant you to live in harmony with one another,(G) according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ(H) with one mind and one voice.
Glorifying God Together
7 Therefore welcome one another,(I) just as[c] Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. 8 For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised[d] on behalf of God’s truth,(J) to confirm the promises to the fathers,(K) 9 and so that Gentiles(L) may glorify God for his mercy.(M) As it is written,
10 Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people 11 And again,
12 And again, Isaiah says,
The root of Jesse(Q) will appear,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
the Gentiles will hope in him.[h](R)
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe(S) so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.(T)
From Jerusalem to Illyricum
14 My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness,(U) filled with all knowledge,(V) and able to instruct one another. 15 Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points[i] because of the grace given me by God(W) 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles,(X) serving as a priest of the gospel of God.(Y) God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering,(Z) sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus(AA) regarding what pertains to God.(AB) 18 For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me(AC) by word and deed for the obedience of the Gentiles, 19 by the power of miraculous signs and wonders,(AD) and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem(AE) all the way around to Illyricum.[j](AF) 20 My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named,(AG) so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation,(AH) 21 but, as it is written,
Paul’s Travel Plans
22 That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you.(AJ) 23 But now I no longer have any work to do in these regions,[l] and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you(AK) 24 whenever I travel to Spain.[m] For I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there,(AL) once I have first enjoyed your company(AM) for a while. 25 Right now I am traveling to Jerusalem(AN) to serve the saints,(AO) 26 because Macedonia(AP) and Achaia(AQ) were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 Yes, they were pleased, and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits,(AR) then they are obligated to minister to them in material needs. 28 So when I have finished this and safely delivered the funds[n] to them,[o](AS) I will visit you on the way to Spain. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing[p] of Christ.
30 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit,(AT) to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf.(AU) 31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea,(AV) that my ministry to[q] Jerusalem(AW) may be acceptable to the saints,(AX) 32 and that, by God’s will,(AY) I may come to you with joy(AZ) and be refreshed together with you.
33 May the God of peace be with all of you.(BA) Amen.
Footnotes
- 15:3 Ps 69:9
- 15:5 Lit God of
- 15:7 Or because
- 15:8 The Jews
- 15:9 2Sm 22:50; Ps 18:49
- 15:10 Dt 32:43
- 15:11 Ps 117:1
- 15:12 Is 11:10
- 15:15 Other mss add brothers
- 15:19 A Roman province northwest of Greece on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea
- 15:21 Is 52:15
- 15:23 Lit now, having no longer a place in these parts
- 15:24 Other mss add I will come to you.
- 15:28 Lit delivered this fruit
- 15:28 Or and placed my seal of approval on this fruit for them
- 15:29 Other mss add of the gospel
- 15:31 Lit that my service for
Psalm 102:1-9
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 102
Affliction in light of Eternity
A prayer of a suffering person who is weak and pours out his lament before the Lord.(A)
1 Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry for help come before you.(B)
2 Do not hide your face from me in my day of trouble.
Listen closely to me;
answer me quickly when I call.(C)
3 For my days vanish like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.(D)
4 My heart is suffering, withered like grass;(E)
I even forget to eat my food.(F)
5 Because of the sound of my groaning,
my flesh sticks to my bones.(G)
6 I am like an eagle owl,
like a little owl among the ruins.(H)
7 I stay awake;(I)
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 My enemies taunt me all day long;
they ridicule and use my name as a curse.(J)
9 I eat ashes like bread
and mingle my drinks with tears(K)
Proverbs 21:11-13
Christian Standard Bible
11 When a mocker is punished,
the inexperienced become wiser;
when one teaches a wise man,
he acquires knowledge.(A)
12 The Righteous One[a] considers the house of the wicked;
he brings the wicked to ruin.
13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
will himself also call out and not be answered.(B)
Footnotes
- 21:12 Or righteous one
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