Isaiah 26-27

New International Version

A Song of Praise

26 In that day^(A) this song will be sung^(B) in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;^(C)
    God makes salvation
    its walls^(D) and ramparts.^(E)
²Open the gates^(F)
    that the righteous^(G) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³You will keep in perfect peace^(H)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust^(I) in you.
⁴Trust^(J) in the Lord forever,^(K)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock^(L) eternal.
⁵He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground^(M)
    and casts it down to the dust.^(N)
⁶Feet trample^(O) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,^(P)
    the footsteps of the poor.^(Q)

⁷The path of the righteous is level;^(R)
    you, the Upright One,^(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(T)
⁸Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^[a]^(U)
    we wait^(V) for you;
your name^(W) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
⁹My soul yearns for you in the night;^(X)
    in the morning my spirit longs^(Y) for you.
When your judgments^(Z) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.^(AA)
¹⁰But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(AB)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(AC)
    and do not regard^(AD) the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹Lord, your hand is lifted high,^(AE)
    but they do not see^(AF) it.
Let them see your zeal^(AG) for your people and be put to shame;^(AH)
    let the fire^(AI) reserved for your enemies consume them.

¹²Lord, you establish peace^(AJ) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done^(AK) for us.
¹³Lord our God, other lords^(AL) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name^(AM) alone do we honor.^(AN)
¹⁴They are now dead,^(AO) they live no more;
    their spirits^(AP) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(AQ)
    you wiped out all memory of them.^(AR)
¹⁵You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^(AS)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders^(AT) of the land.

¹⁶Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(AU)
    when you disciplined^(AV) them,
    they could barely whisper^(AW) a prayer.^[b]
¹⁷As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(AX)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth^(AY) to wind.
We have not brought salvation^(AZ) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.^(BA)

¹⁹But your dead^(BB) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust^(BC)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew^(BD) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.^(BE)

²⁰Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors^(BF) behind you;
hide^(BG) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath^(BH) has passed by.^(BI)
²¹See, the Lord is coming^(BJ) out of his dwelling^(BK)
    to punish^(BL) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood^(BM) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Deliverance of Israel

27 In that day,^(BN)

the Lord will punish with his sword^(BO)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan^(BP) the gliding serpent,^(BQ)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster^(BR) of the sea.

²In that day^(BS)—

“Sing^(BT) about a fruitful vineyard:^(BU)
³    I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water^(BV) it continually.
I guard^(BW) it day and night
    so that no one may harm^(BX) it.
⁴    I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire.^(BY)
⁵Or else let them come to me for refuge;^(BZ)
    let them make peace^(CA) with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶In days to come Jacob will take root,^(CB)
Israel will bud and blossom^(CC)
and fill all the world with fruit.^(CD)

⁷Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck^(CE) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
⁸By warfare^[c] and exile^(CF) you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind^(CG) blows.
⁹By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned^(CH) for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^(CI)
When he makes all the altar stones^(CJ)
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles^[d]^(CK) or incense altars^(CL)
    will be left standing.
¹⁰The fortified city stands desolate,^(CM)
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken^(CN) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,^(CO)
    there they lie down;^(CP)
    they strip its branches bare.
¹¹When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^(CQ)
    and women come and make fires^(CR) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;^(CS)
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator^(CT) shows them no favor.^(CU)

¹²In that day the Lord will thresh^(CV) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,^(CW) and you, Israel, will be gathered^(CX) up one by one. ¹³And in that day^(CY) a great trumpet^(CZ) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled^(DA) in Egypt^(DB) will come and worship^(DC) the Lord on the holy mountain^(DD) in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

Mark 6:30-56

New International Version

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(A)^(B)

³⁰The apostles^(C) gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.^(D) ³¹Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat,^(E) he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

³²So they went away by themselves in a boat^(F) to a solitary place. ³³But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.^(G) So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”^(H)

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”^(I)

³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.^(J) Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(K)^(L)

⁴⁵Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat^(M) and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,^(N) while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.^(O)

⁴⁷Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.^(P) They cried out, ⁵⁰because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”^(Q) ⁵¹Then he climbed into the boat^(R) with them, and the wind died down.^(S) They were completely amazed, ⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.^(T)

⁵³When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.^(U) ⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak,^(V) and all who touched it were healed.