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
Psalm 9
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.
1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.(A)
2 I will rejoice and boast about you;(B)
I will sing about your name, Most High.(C)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before you.(D)
4 For you have upheld my just cause;(E)
you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
you have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
he has established his throne for judgment.(L)
8 And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord.(O)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim his deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.(S)
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(U)
14 so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has made himself known;
he has executed justice,(X)
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.(Y)Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked will return to Sheol(Z)—
all the nations that forget God.(AA)
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the oppressed[a] will not perish forever.(AB)
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail;
let the nations be judged in your presence.(AC)
20 Put terror in them, Lord;(AD)
let the nations know they are only humans.(AE)Selah
Footnotes
- 9:18 Alt Hb tradition reads humble
Matthew 22
Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven(A) is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.(B) 3 He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet,(C) but they didn’t want to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’(D)
5 “But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king[a] was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.
8 “Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.(E) 9 Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’(F) 10 So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests.[b] 11 When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding.(G) 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend,(H) how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot,[c] and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”(I)
God and Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap him by what he said.[d](J) 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians.(K) “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach truthfully the way of God. You don’t care what anyone thinks nor do you show partiality.[e](L) 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar(M) or not?”
18 Perceiving their malicious intent, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” They brought him a denarius.[f] 20 “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them.
21 “Caesar’s,” they said to him.
Then he said to them, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”(N) 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
The Sadducees and the Resurrection
23 That same day some Sadducees,(O) who say there is no resurrection, came up to him and questioned him:(P) 24 “Teacher, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.[g](Q) 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first got married and died. Having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second also, and the third, and so on to all seven. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had married her.”[h]
29 Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like[i] angels in heaven.(R) 31 Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God: 32 I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?[j](S) He[k] is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Primary Commands
34 When(T) the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him:(U) 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.[l](V) 38 This is the greatest and most important[m] command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.[n](W) 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend[o] on these two commands.”(X)
The Question about the Messiah
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them,(Y) 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “David’s.”
43 He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit,[p] calls him ‘Lord’:(Z)
44 The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet’?[q][r] (AA)
45 “If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how, then, can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to answer him at all,[s] and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.(AB)
Footnotes
- 22:7 Other mss read But when the (that) king heard about it he
- 22:10 Lit those reclining (to eat)
- 22:13 Other mss add take him away
- 22:15 Lit trap him in a word
- 22:16 Lit don’t look on the face of men
- 22:19 A denarius = one day’s wage
- 22:24 Dt 25:5
- 22:28 Lit all had her
- 22:30 Other mss add God’s
- 22:32 Ex 3:6,15–16
- 22:32 Other mss read God
- 22:37 Dt 6:5
- 22:38 Lit and first
- 22:39 Lv 19:18
- 22:40 Or hang
- 22:43 Lit David in Spirit
- 22:44 Other mss read until I make your enemies your footstool’
- 22:44 Ps 110:1
- 22:46 Lit answer him a word
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