Isaiah 28:9-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?(A)
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”[a](B)
11 Truly, with stammering lip
and with another tongue
he will speak to this people,(C)
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary,
and this is repose,”
yet they would not hear.(D)
13 Therefore the word of the Lord will be to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,”[b]
in order that they may go and fall backward
and be broken and snared and taken.(E)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.(F)
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;(G)
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
“See, I am laying[c] in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
‘One who trusts will not panic.’(H)
17 And I will make justice the line
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.(I)
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.(J)
19 As often as it passes through, it will take you,
for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night,
and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.”(K)
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,
and the covering is too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim;
he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon
to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
and to work his work—alien is his work!(L)
22 Now therefore do not scoff,
or your bonds will be made stronger,
for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land.(M)
23 Listen and hear my voice;
Pay attention and hear my speech.
24 Do those who plow for sowing plow continually?
Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
25 When they have leveled its surface,
do they not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and plant wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place[d]
and spelt as the border?
26 For they are well instructed;
their God teaches them.
27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick
and cumin with a rod.(N)
28 Grain is crushed for bread,
but one does not thresh it forever;
one drives the cart wheel and horses over it
but does not pulverize it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.(O)
Revelation 21:9-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Vision of the New Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”(A) 10 And in the spirit[a] he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.(B) 11 It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.(C) 12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names that are the names[b] of the twelve tribes of the Israelites:(D) 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.(E)
15 The angel[c] who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.(F) 16 The city has four equal sides, its length the same as its width, and he measured the city with his rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.
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Luke 1:26-38
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,(A) 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.(B) 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[a](C) 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.(D) 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.(E) 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”(F) 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[b] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God.(G) 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”(H) 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
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