Isaiah 4-6

New American Standard Bible

A Remnant Prepared

4 For seven women will take hold of ^(A)one man on that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; ^(B)take away our disgrace!”

²On that day the ^(C)Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the ^(D)fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of the ^(E)survivors of Israel. ³And it will come about that the one who is ^(F)left in Zion and remains behind in Jerusalem will be called ^(G)holy—everyone who is ^(H)recorded for life in Jerusalem. ⁴When the Lord has washed away the filth of the ^(I)daughters of Zion and ^[a]purged the ^(J)bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the ^(K)spirit of judgment and the ^(L)spirit of ^[b]burning, ⁵then the Lord will create over the entire area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies ^(M)a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the ^(N)glory will be a canopy. ⁶And there will be a ^(O)shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and ^[c]protection from the storm and the rain.

Parable of the Vineyard

5 Let me sing now for my beloved
A song of my beloved about His vineyard.
My beloved had a ^(P)vineyard on ^[d]a fertile hill.
²He dug it all around, cleared it of stones,
And planted it with ^[e]the ^(Q)choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it,
And also carved out a ^[f]wine vat in it;
Then He ^(R)expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only ^[g]worthless ones.

³“And now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
^(S)Judge between Me and My vineyard.
⁴^(T)What more was there to do for My vineyard ^[h]that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce ^[i]worthless ones?
⁵So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will ^(U)remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will ^(V)break down its wall and it will become ^(W)trampled ground.
⁶I will ^(X)lay it waste;
It will not be pruned nor hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to ^(Y)rain on it.”

⁷For the ^(Z)vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel,
And the people of Judah are His delightful plant.
So He waited for justice, but behold, there was ^(AA)bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Woes for the Wicked

⁸Woe to those who ^(AB)attach house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
And you alone are a landowner in the midst of the land!
⁹In my ears the Lord of armies has sworn, “^(AC)Many houses shall certainly become ^(AD)desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
¹⁰For ^(AE)ten acres of vineyard will yield only one ^[j]bath of wine,
And a ^[k]^(AF)homer of seed will yield only an ^[l]ephah of grain.”
¹¹Woe to those who rise early in the morning so that they may pursue ^(AG)intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the evening so that wine may inflame them!
¹²Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and ^(AH)harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they ^(AI)do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

¹³Therefore My people go into exile for their ^(AJ)lack of knowledge;
And their ^[m]^(AK)nobles are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
¹⁴Therefore ^(AL)Sheol has enlarged its ^[n]throat and opened its mouth beyond measure;
And ^[o]Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her noise of revelry, and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
¹⁵So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low,
^(AM)The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.
¹⁶But the ^(AN)Lord of armies will be ^(AO)exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself ^(AP)holy in righteousness.
¹⁷^(AQ)Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the ruins of the ^[p]wealthy.

¹⁸Woe to those who drag ^(AR)wrongdoing with the cords of ^[q]deceit,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
¹⁹^(AS)Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it;
And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach
And come to pass, so that we may know it!”
²⁰Woe to those who ^(AT)call evil good, and good evil;
Who ^[r]^(AU)substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who ^[s]substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
²¹Woe to those who are ^(AV)wise in their own eyes
And ^[t]clever in their own sight!
²²^(AW)Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine,
And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink,
²³^(AX)Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe,
And ^(AY)take away the ^[u]rights of the ones who are in the right!

²⁴Therefore, ^(AZ)as a tongue of fire consumes stubble,
And dry grass collapses in the flame,
So their ^(BA)root will become ^(BB)like rot, and their blossom ^[v]blow away like dust;
For they have ^(BC)rejected the Law of the Lord of armies,
And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.
²⁵For this reason the ^(BD)anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them.
And the ^(BE)mountains quaked, and their ^(BF)corpses ^[w]lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
^(BG)Despite all this, His anger ^[x]is not spent,
But His ^(BH)hand is still stretched out.

²⁶He will also lift up a ^(BI)flag to the distant ^[y]nation,
And ^(BJ)whistle for it ^(BK)from the ends of the earth;
And behold, it will ^(BL)come with speed swiftly.
²⁷^(BM)No one in it is tired or stumbles,
No one slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the ^(BN)undergarment at his waist loosened,
Nor his sandal strap broken.
²⁸^[z]^(BO)Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses ^[aa]seem like flint, and its chariot ^(BP)wheels like a storm wind.
²⁹Its ^(BQ)roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;
It growls as it ^(BR)seizes the prey
And carries it off with ^(BS)no one to save it.
³⁰And it will ^(BT)roar against it on that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one ^(BU)looks across to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light is darkened by its clouds.

Isaiah’s Vision

6 In the year of ^(BV)King Uzziah’s death ^(BW)I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. ²Seraphim were standing above Him, ^(BX)each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. ³And one called out to another and said,

“^(BY)Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies.
The ^[ab]^(BZ)whole earth is full of His glory.”

⁴And the ^[ac]foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the ^[ad]^(CA)temple was filling with smoke. ⁵Then I said,

“^(CB)Woe to me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of ^(CC)unclean lips,
And I live among a ^(CD)people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the ^(CE)King, the Lord of armies.”

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the ^(CF)altar with tongs. ⁷He ^(CG)touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and ^(CH)your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.”

Isaiah’s Commission

⁸Then I heard the ^(CI)voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then ^(CJ)I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ⁹And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on ^(CK)listening, but do not understand;
And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’
¹⁰^(CL)Make the hearts of this people ^[ae]^(CM)insensitive,
Their ears ^[af]dull,
And their eyes ^[ag]blind,
^(CN)So that they will not see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

¹¹Then I said, “Lord, ^(CO)how long?” And He answered,

“Until ^(CP)cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
¹²The Lord has ^(CQ)completely removed people,
And there ^[ah]are many ^(CR)forsaken places in the midst of the land.
¹³Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an ^(CS)oak
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
The ^(CT)holy seed is its stump.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 4:4 Lit rinsed away
Isaiah 4:4 Or destruction
Isaiah 4:6 Lit a hiding place
Isaiah 5:1 Lit horn, a son of fatness
Isaiah 5:2 Lit a bright red grape
Isaiah 5:2 Or wine press
Isaiah 5:2 Or unripe
Isaiah 5:4 Lit and I have not done
Isaiah 5:4 Or unripe
Isaiah 5:10 About 6 gallons or 23 liters
Isaiah 5:10 About 7.7 cubic feet or 0.22 cubit meters or more
Isaiah 5:10 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
Isaiah 5:13 Lit glory is men of famine
Isaiah 5:14 Or appetite
Isaiah 5:14 Lit her
Isaiah 5:17 Lit fat
Isaiah 5:18 Or worthlessness
Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
Isaiah 5:20 Lit set
Isaiah 5:21 Lit discerning
Isaiah 5:23 Lit justice
Isaiah 5:24 Lit ascend
Isaiah 5:25 Lit were
Isaiah 5:25 Lit has not turned away
Isaiah 5:26 Lit nations; prob. Assyria
Isaiah 5:28 Lit Which, its arrows
Isaiah 5:28 Lit are regarded as
Isaiah 6:3 Lit fullness of the whole earth is His glory
Isaiah 6:4 Lit door sockets
Isaiah 6:4 Lit house
Isaiah 6:10 Lit fat
Isaiah 6:10 Lit heavy
Isaiah 6:10 Lit sealed over
Isaiah 6:12 Or forsakenness will be great

Matthew 23

New American Standard Bible

Hypocrisy Exposed

23 ^(A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ²saying: “^(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and ^[a]comply with it all, but do not do ^[b]as they do; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴And ^(C)they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. ⁵And they do all their deeds ^(D)to be noticed by other people; for they ^(E)broaden their ^[c]phylacteries and lengthen ^(F)the tassels of their garments. ⁶And they ^(G)love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, ⁷and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called ^[d]^(H)Rabbi by the people. ⁸But as for you, ^(I)do not be called ^[e]^(J)Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only ^(K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰And do not be called ^[f]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹^(L)But the greatest of you shall be your servant. ¹²^(M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

¹³“^(N)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(O)because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.^[g]

¹⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[h]^(P)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you ^[i]make him twice as much a son of ^[j]^(Q)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶“Woe to you, ^(R)blind guides, who say, ‘^(S)Whoever swears by the ^[k]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[l]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷You fools and blind men! ^(T)Which is ^[m]more important, the gold or the ^[n]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the ^[o]offering that is on it is obligated.’ ¹⁹You blind men, ^(U)which is ^[p]more important, the ^[q]offering or the altar that sanctifies the ^[r]offering? ²⁰Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by ^[s]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹And the one who swears by the ^[t]temple, swears both by ^[u]the temple and by Him who ^(V)dwells in it. ²²And the one who swears by ^[v]heaven, ^(W)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³“^(X)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[w]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴You ^(Y)blind guides, who ^[x]strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(Z)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[y]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶You blind Pharisee, first ^(AA)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the ^[z]outside of it may also become clean.

²⁷“^(AB)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“^(AC)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(AD)are ^[aa]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³²^[ab]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³You snakes, ^(AE)you ^[ac]offspring of vipers, how ^[ad]will you escape the ^[ae]sentence of ^[af]^(AF)hell?

³⁴“^(AG)Therefore, behold, ^(AH)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(AI)flog in your synagogues, and ^(AJ)persecute from city to city, ³⁵so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(AK)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(AL)son of Berechiah, whom ^(AM)you murdered between the ^[ag]temple and the altar. ³⁶Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(AN)this generation.

Grieving over Jerusalem

³⁷“^(AO)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(AP)kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(AQ)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸Behold, ^(AR)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(AS)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Footnotes

Matthew 23:3 Lit keep all
Matthew 23:3 Lit according to their deeds
Matthew 23:5 I.e., small pouches containing Scripture texts, worn on the left forearm and forehead for religious purposes
Matthew 23:7 In Heb “My Teacher” or “My Master”
Matthew 23:8 In Heb “My Teacher” or “My Master”
Matthew 23:10 Or teachers
Matthew 23:13 Late mss add (traditionally v 14): Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses even while for appearances’ sake you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation (as v 14); cf. Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47
Matthew 23:15 Or convert
Matthew 23:15 I.e., doom him to hell
Matthew 23:15 Gr Gehenna
Matthew 23:16 Or sanctuary
Matthew 23:16 Or sanctuary
Matthew 23:17 Lit greater
Matthew 23:17 Or sanctuary
Matthew 23:18 Or gift
Matthew 23:19 Lit greater
Matthew 23:19 Or gift
Matthew 23:19 Or gift
Matthew 23:20 Lit it
Matthew 23:21 Or sanctuary
Matthew 23:21 Lit it
Matthew 23:22 I.e., an indirect reference to God
Matthew 23:23 Similar to caraway seeds
Matthew 23:24 Or filter out
Matthew 23:25 Or as a result of
Matthew 23:26 If the inside was ritually unclean, the entire vessel was unclean whether the outside was cleaned or not (cf. Num 19:15)
Matthew 23:31 Or descendants
Matthew 23:32 I.e., finish what they started
Matthew 23:33 Or brood
Matthew 23:33 Lit are you to escape
Matthew 23:33 Or judgment
Matthew 23:33 Gr Gehenna
Matthew 23:35 Or sanctuary