Isaiah 40:25-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
25 To whom, then, will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.(A)
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.(B)
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?(C)
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.(D)
29 He gives power to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.(E)
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted,
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.(F)
Ephesians 1:15-23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul’s Prayer
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[a] toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers,(A) 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,(B) 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God[b] put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,[c](C) 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.(D) 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,(E) 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.(F)
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Mark 1:14-28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news[a] of[b] God(A) 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;[c] repent, and believe in the good news.”[d](B)
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.(C) 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
The Man with an Unclean Spirit
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.(D) 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.(E) 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”(F) 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!”(G) 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He[e] commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”(H) 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
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