Isaiah 4-6
Christian Standard Bible
4 On that day seven women
will seize one man,(A) saying,
“We will eat our own bread
and provide our own clothing.
Just let us bear your name.
Take away our disgrace.”(B)
Zion’s Future Glory
2 On that day the Branch[a] of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious,(C) and the fruit of the land(D) will be the pride and glory(E) of Israel’s survivors.(F) 3 Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem(G) will be called holy(H)—all in Jerusalem written in the book of life[b](I)— 4 when the Lord has washed away the filth(J) of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt(K) from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment(L) and a spirit of burning.(M) 5 Then the Lord will create(N) a cloud of smoke by day(O) and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory,[c] 6 and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.(P)
Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one’s vineyard:(Q)
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.(R)
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected(S) it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.(T)
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between me
and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard
than I did?(U)
Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,
did it yield worthless grapes?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge,(V)
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,(W)
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland.(X)
It will not be pruned or weeded;
thorns and briers will grow up.(Y)
I will also give orders to the clouds
that rain should not fall on it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies
is the house of Israel,(Z)
and the men[d] of Judah,
the plant he delighted in.
He expected justice
but saw injustice;
he expected righteousness
but heard cries of despair.
Judah’s Sins Denounced
8 Woe to those who add house to house(AA)
and join field to field
until there is no more room
and you alone are left in the land.
9 I heard the Lord of Armies say:
Indeed, many houses(AB) will become desolate,
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
10 For a ten-acre[e] vineyard will yield
only six gallons of wine,[f]
and ten bushels[g] of seed will yield
only one bushel of grain.[h]
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of beer,(AC)
who linger into the evening,
inflamed by wine.
12 At their feasts they have lyre, harp,
tambourine, flute, and wine.
They do not perceive the Lord’s actions,(AD)
and they do not see the work of his hands.(AE)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile
because they lack knowledge;(AF)
her[i] dignitaries are starving,
and her masses are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat
and opens wide its enormous jaws,(AG)
and down go Zion’s dignitaries, her masses,
her crowds, and those who celebrate in her!
15 Humanity is brought low, each person is humbled,
and haughty eyes are humbled.(AH)
16 But the Lord of Armies is exalted by his justice,(AI)
and the holy God(AJ) demonstrates his holiness through his righteousness.(AK)
17 Lambs will graze
as if in[j] their own pastures,(AL)
and resident aliens[k] will eat
among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who drag iniquity
with cords of deceit(AM)
and pull sin along with cart ropes,
19 to those who say,
“Let him hurry up and do his work quickly
so that we can see it!
Let the plan(AN) of the Holy One of Israel(AO) take place
so that we can know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,(AP)
who substitute darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who consider themselves wise
and judge themselves clever.[l](AQ)
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
who are champions at pouring beer,(AR)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe(AS)
and deprive the innocent of justice.
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected(AT)
the instruction of the Lord of Armies,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.(AU)
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned(AV) against his people.
He raised his hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,(AW)
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.(AX)
26 He raises a signal flag for the distant nations(AY)
and whistles(AZ) for them from the ends of the earth.
Look—how quickly and swiftly they come!
27 None of them grows weary or stumbles;(BA)
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses’ hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion’s;(BB)
they roar like young lions;(BC)
they growl and seize their prey
and carry it off,
and no one can rescue it.
30 On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.[m]
Isaiah’s Call and Mission
6 In the year that King Uzziah(BD) died, I saw the Lord(BE) seated on a high and lofty(BF) throne,(BG) and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim[n] were standing above him; they each had six wings:(BH) with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.(BI) 3 And one called to another:
4 The foundations of the doorways shook(BL) at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said:
Woe is me(BM) for I am ruined[o]
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,(BN)
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Armies.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar(BO) with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth(BP) with it and said:
Now that this has touched your lips,
your iniquity is removed
and your sin is atoned for.(BQ)
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking:
Who will I send?
Who will go for us?
I said:
Here I am. Send me.
9 And he replied:
Go! Say to these people:
Keep listening, but do not understand;(BR)
keep looking, but do not perceive.
10 Make the minds[p] of these people dull;
deafen their ears and blind their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back, and be healed.(BS)
11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” (BT) And he replied:
Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants,(BU)
houses are without people,
the land is ruined and desolate,
12 and the Lord drives the people far away,
leaving great emptiness in the land.
13 Though a tenth will remain in the land,
it will be burned again.
Like the terebinth or the oak
that leaves a stump when felled,
the holy seed(BV) is the stump.(BW)
Footnotes
- 4:2 Or plant
- 4:3 Lit Jerusalem recorded for life
- 4:5 Or For glory will be a canopy over all
- 5:7 Lit man
- 5:10 Lit ten-yoke
- 5:10 Lit one bath
- 5:10 Lit one homer
- 5:10 Lit yield an ephah
- 5:13 Lit its
- 5:17 Syr reads graze in
- 5:17 LXX reads sheep
- 5:21 Lit and clever before their face
- 5:30 Lit its clouds
- 6:2 = heavenly beings
- 6:5 Or I must be silent
- 6:10 Lit heart
Matthew 23
Christian Standard Bible
Religious Hypocrites Denounced
23 Then(A) Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:(B) 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses.(C) 3 Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach.(D) 4 They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry[a] and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.(E) 5 They do everything[b] to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries(F) and lengthen their tassels.[c](G) 6 They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,(H) 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher,[d] and you are all brothers and sisters.(I) 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven.(J) 10 You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant.(K) 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.(L)
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.[e](M)
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert,(N) and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides,(O) who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath(P) by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’[f] 17 Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ 19 Blind people![g] For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?(Q) 20 Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells(R) in it. 22 And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne(S) and by him who sits on it.(T)
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of[h] mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,(U) mercy, and faithfulness.[i] These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides!(V) You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed[j] and self-indulgence.(W) 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[k] so that the outside of it[l] may also become clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,(X) which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!(Y)
33 “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?[m](Z) 34 This is why I am sending you prophets,(AA) sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues(AB) and pursue from town to town. 35 So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you,[n] from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,(AC) son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.(AD) 36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.(AE)
Jesus’s Lamenting over Jerusalem
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,(AF) who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks[o] under her wings, but you were not willing!(AG) 38 See, your house is left to you desolate.(AH) 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’!”[p](AI)
Footnotes
- 23:4 Other mss omit that are hard to carry
- 23:5 Lit do all their works
- 23:5 Other mss add on their robes
- 23:8 Other mss add the Christ
- 23:13 Some mss include v. 14: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.
- 23:16 Lit is obligated, also in v. 18
- 23:19 Other mss read Fools and blind
- 23:23 Or You tithe
- 23:23 Or faith
- 23:25 Or full of violence
- 23:26 Other mss add and dish
- 23:26 Other mss read of them
- 23:33 Lit escape from the judgment of gehenna
- 23:35 Lit will come on you
- 23:37 Or as a mother bird gathers her young
- 23:39 Ps 118:26
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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