Isaiah 2:1-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Future House of God
2 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.(A)
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.(B)
3 Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(C)
4 He shall judge between the nations
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.(D)
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!(E)
Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance
6 You have forsaken your people,
the house of Jacob,
for they are full of diviners[a] from the East
and of soothsayers like the Philistines,
and they clasp hands with foreigners.(F)
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.(G)
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.(H)
9 And so people are humbled,
and everyone is brought low—
[[do not forgive them!(I)
10 Enter into the rock,
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord
and from the glory of his majesty.]][b](J)
11 The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low,
and the pride of everyone shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(K)
1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
13 We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.(A) 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews(B) 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets[a] and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone(C) 16 by hindering us from speaking to the gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins, but wrath[b] has overtaken them at last.[c](D)
Paul’s Desire to Visit the Thessalonians Again
17 As for us, brothers and sisters, when for a short time we were made orphans by being separated from you—in person, not in heart—we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face.(E) 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way.(F) 19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?(G) 20 Yes, you are our glory and joy!
Read full chapter
Luke 20:19-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.(A)
The Question about Paying Tribute
20 So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said and then to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one but teach the way of God in accordance with truth.(B) 22 Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”(C) 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said, and being amazed by his answer they became silent.
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.