Isaiah 31-33
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord, the Only Help
31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help(A)
and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots
and in the large number of horsemen.(B)
They do not look(C) to the Holy One of Israel,
and they do not seek the Lord.
2 But he also is wise and brings disaster.(D)
He does not go back on what he says;(E)
he will rise up against the house of the wicked
and against the allies of evildoers.
3 Egyptians are men, not God;
their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the Lord raises his hand to strike,
the helper will stumble
and the one who is helped will fall;
both will perish together.
4 For this is what the Lord said to me:
As a lion or young lion growls over its prey(F)
when a band of shepherds is called out against it,
and it is not terrified by their shouting
or subdued by their noise,
so the Lord of Armies will come down
to fight on Mount Zion
and on its hill.(G)
5 Like hovering birds,
so the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem;(H)
by protecting it, he will rescue it;
by passing over it, he will deliver it.
6 Return to the one the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.(I) 7 For on that day, every one of you will reject the worthless idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.(J)
8 Then Assyria will fall,
but not by human sword;
a sword will devour him,
but not one made by man.(K)
He will flee from the sword;
his young men will be put to forced labor.(L)
9 His rock[a] will pass away because of fear,(M)
and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.(N)
This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.(O)
The Righteous Kingdom Announced
32 Indeed, a king will reign righteously,
and rulers will rule justly.(P)
2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind,
a refuge from the rain,(Q)
like flowing streams(R) in a dry land
and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.(S)
4 The reckless mind will gain knowledge,
and the stammering tongue(T) will speak clearly and fluently.
5 A fool will no longer be called a noble,(U)
nor a scoundrel said to be important.
6 For a fool speaks foolishness
and his mind plots iniquity.
He lives in a godless way
and speaks falsely about the Lord.
He leaves the hungry empty
and deprives the thirsty of drink.(V)
7 The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive;
he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies,
even when the poor person says what is right.
8 But a noble person plans noble things;
he stands up for noble causes.
9 Stand up, you complacent women;(W)
listen to me.
Pay attention to what I say,
you overconfident daughters.
10 In a little more than a year
you overconfident ones will shudder,
for the grapes will fail
and the harvest will not come.
11 Shudder, you complacent ones;
tremble, you overconfident ones!
Strip yourselves bare(X)
and put sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts in mourning(Y)
for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,(Z)
13 for the ground of my people
growing thorns and briers,(AA)
indeed, for every joyous house in the jubilant city.
14 For the palace will be deserted,
the busy city abandoned.
The hill and the watchtower will become
barren places forever,
the joy of wild donkeys,
and a pasture for flocks,
15 until the Spirit[b] from on high is poured out on us.(AB)
Then the desert will become an orchard,
and the orchard will seem like a forest.(AC)
16 Then justice will inhabit the wilderness,
and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.
17 The result of righteousness will be peace;(AD)
the effect of righteousness
will be quiet confidence forever.
18 Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place,
in safe and secure dwellings.
19 But hail will level the forest,[c](AE)
and the city will sink into the depths.(AF)
20 You will be happy as you sow seed
beside abundant water,(AG)
and as you let oxen and donkeys range freely.(AH)
The Lord Rises Up
33 Woe, you destroyer never destroyed,
you traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.(AI)
2 Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for you.(AJ)
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.(AK)
3 The peoples flee at the thunderous noise;(AL)
the nations scatter when you rise in your majesty.
4 Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;
people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 There will be times of security for you—
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.(AM)
7 Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.(AN)
8 The highways are deserted;
travel has ceased.
An agreement has been broken,(AO)
cities[d] despised,
and human life disregarded.
9 The land mourns and withers;(AP)
Lebanon is ashamed and wilted.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will rise up,”(AQ) says the Lord.
“Now I will lift myself up.
Now I will be exalted.
11 You will conceive chaff;(AR)
you will give birth to stubble.
Your breath is fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes,
like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.
13 You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near,(AS) know my strength.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the ungodly:
“Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire?(AT)
Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?”(AU)
15 The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,(AV)
who refuses profit from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes against evil schemes(AW)—
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his refuge will be the rocky fortresses,
his food provided, his water assured.
17 Your eyes will see the King in his beauty;(AX)
you will see a vast land.(AY)
18 Your mind will meditate on the past terror:
“Where is the accountant?[e]
Where is the tribute collector?[f]
Where is the one who spied out our defenses?” [g]
19 You will no longer see the barbarians,
a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend—
who stammer in a language that is not understood.(AZ)
20 Look at Zion, the city of our festival times.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture,(BA) a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up
nor will any of its cords be loosened.(BB)
21 For the majestic one, our Lord, will be there,(BC)
a place of rivers and broad streams
where ships that are rowed will not go,
and majestic vessels will not pass.(BD)
22 For the Lord is our Judge,
the Lord is our Lawgiver,(BE)
the Lord is our King.
He will save us.(BF)
23 Your ropes are slack;
they cannot hold the base of the mast
or spread out the flag.
Then abundant spoil will be divided,
the lame will plunder it,
24 and none there will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven(BG) their iniquity.(BH)
1 Corinthians 12
Christian Standard Bible
Diversity of Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts:[a] brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute(A) idols.(B) 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are different gifts,(C) but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person. 7 A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person(D) for the common good: 8 to one(E) is given a message of wisdom(F) through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing(G) by the one Spirit, 10 to another, the performing of miracles,(H) to another, prophecy,(I) to another, distinguishing between spirits,(J) to another, different kinds of tongues,[b] to another, interpretation of tongues. 11 One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.
Unity Yet Diversity in the Body
12 For just as the body is one(K) and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ.(L) 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.(M) 14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted.(N) 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. 23 And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable,(O) we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, 24 which our respectable parts do not need.
Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, 25 so that there would be no division(P) in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ,(Q) and individual members of it. 28 And God has appointed these in the church:(R) first apostles, second prophets, third teachers,(S) next miracles,(T) then gifts of healing,(U) helping, leading, various kinds of tongues.[d] 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?(V) 31 But desire(W) the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.
Psalm 105:23-29
Christian Standard Bible
23 Then Israel went to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.[a](A)
24 The Lord[b] made his people very fruitful;
he made them more numerous than their foes,(B)
25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceptively with his servants.(C)
26 He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.(D)
27 They performed his miraculous signs among them
and wonders in the land of Ham.(E)
28 He sent darkness, and it became dark—
for did they not defy his commands?(F)
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.(G)
Proverbs 22:17-19
Christian Standard Bible
Words of the Wise
17 Listen closely,[a] pay attention to the words of the wise,(A)
and apply your mind to my knowledge.
18 For it is pleasing if you keep them within you
and if they are[b] constantly on your lips.
19 I have instructed you today—even you—
so that your confidence may be in the Lord.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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