The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, (A)O coastlands,
    and give attention, you peoples (B)from afar.
(C)The Lord called me from the womb,
    from the body of my mother he named my name.
(D)He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
    (E)in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
    in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, (F)in whom I will be glorified.”[a]
(G)But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
    and my recompense with my God.”

(H)And now the Lord says,
    he (I)who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
    and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for (J)I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
    and my God has become my strength—
he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
    to raise up the tribes of Jacob
    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
(K)I will make you (L)as a light for the nations,
    that (M)my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Thus says the Lord,
    (N)the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
(O)to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
    the servant of rulers:
(P)“Kings shall see and arise;
    princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:3 Or I will display my beauty

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40 I (A)waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and (B)heard my cry.
He drew me up from (C)the pit of destruction,
    out of (D)the miry bog,
and (E)set my feet upon a rock,
    (F)making my steps secure.
He put (G)a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will (H)see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

Blessed is the man who (I)makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who (J)go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your (K)wondrous deeds and your (L)thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are (M)more than can be told.

(N)In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open (O)ear.[a]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written (P)of me:
(Q)I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is (R)within my heart.”

I have told the glad news of deliverance[b]
    in (S)the great congregation;
behold, I have not (T)restrained my lips,
    (U)as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your (V)steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 40:6 Hebrew ears you have dug for me
  2. Psalm 40:9 Hebrew righteousness; also verse 10

Paul Surrenders His Rights

(A)Am I not free? (B)Am I not an apostle? (C)Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? (D)Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are (E)the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my defense to those who would examine me. (F)Do we not have the right to eat and drink? (G)Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife,[a] as do the other apostles and (H)the brothers of the Lord and (I)Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? (J)Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? (K)Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, (L)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 9:5 Greek a sister as wife

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, (A)the Lamb of God, who (B)takes away the sin (C)of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, (D)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but (E)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John (F)bore witness: (G)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and (H)it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but (I)he who sent me to baptize (J)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, (K)this is he who baptizes (L)with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[a] of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, (M)the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, (N)“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, (O)“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[b] 40 (P)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[c] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found (Q)the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of (R)John. You shall be called (S)Cephas” (which means (T)Peter[d]).

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:34 Some manuscripts the Chosen One
  2. John 1:39 That is, about 4 p.m.
  3. John 1:40 Greek him
  4. John 1:42 Cephas and Peter are from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek, respectively

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