Isaiah 52-54

English Standard Version

The Lord's Coming Salvation

52 ^(A)Awake, awake,
    put on your strength, O Zion;
^(B)put on your beautiful garments,
    O Jerusalem, ^(C)the holy city;
^(D)for there shall no more come into you
    the uncircumcised and the unclean.
²^(E)Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
    be seated, O Jerusalem;
^(F)loose the bonds from your neck,
    O captive daughter of Zion.

³For thus says the Lord: ^(G)“You were sold for nothing, and ^(H)you shall be redeemed without money.” ⁴For thus says the Lord God: ^(I)“My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.^[a] ⁵Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and ^(J)continually all the day my name is despised. ⁶Therefore my people shall know my name. ^(K)Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

⁷^(L)How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, ^(M)who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
⁸The voice of ^(N)your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
    together they sing for joy;
^(O)for eye to eye they see
    the return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹^(P)Break forth together into singing,
    ^(Q)you waste places of Jerusalem,
for ^(R)the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰^(S)The Lord has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
^(T)and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.

¹¹^(U)Depart, depart, go out from there;
    touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
    ^(V)you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹²For you shall not ^(W)go out in haste,
    and you shall not go in flight,
^(X)for the Lord will go before you,
    ^(Y)and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

¹³Behold, ^(Z)my servant shall act wisely;^[b]
    he shall be high and lifted up,
    and shall be exalted.
¹⁴As many were astonished at you—
    ^(AA)his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
¹⁵so ^(AB)shall he sprinkle^[c] many nations.
    ^(AC)Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
^(AD)for that which has not been told them they see,
    and that which they have not heard they understand.
53 ^(AE)Who has believed what he has heard from us?^[d]
    And to whom has ^(AF)the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    ^(AG)and like a root out of dry ground;
^(AH)he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
³^(AI)He was despised and rejected^[e] by men,
    a man of sorrows^[f] and acquainted with^[g] grief;^[h]
and as one from whom men hide their faces^[i]
    he was despised, and ^(AJ)we esteemed him not.

⁴^(AK)Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    ^(AL)smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵^(AM)But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    ^(AN)and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶^(AO)All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
^(AP)and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    ^(AQ)yet he opened not his mouth;
^(AR)like a ^(AS)lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
⁸By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, ^(AT)who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
⁹And they made his grave with the wicked
    ^(AU)and with a rich man in his death,
although ^(AV)he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet ^(AW)it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;^[j]
^(AX)when his soul makes^[k] an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
^(AY)the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
¹¹Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see^[l] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall ^(AZ)the righteous one, my servant,
    ^(BA)make many to be accounted righteous,
    ^(BB)and he shall bear their iniquities.
¹²^(BC)Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,^[m]
    ^(BD)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,^[n]
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
^(BE)yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 ^(BF)“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
    break forth into singing and cry aloud,
    you who have not been in labor!
For the children of ^(BG)the desolate one ^(BH)will be more
    than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
²^(BI)“Enlarge the place of your tent,
    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
    and strengthen your stakes.
³^(BJ)For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
    and your offspring will possess the nations
    and will people the desolate cities.

⁴“Fear not, ^(BK)for you will not be ashamed;
    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
⁵^(BL)For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
^(BM)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    ^(BN)the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶^(BO)For the Lord has called you
    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.
⁷^(BP)For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸^(BQ)In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
^(BR)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹“This is like ^(BS)the days of Noah^[o] to me:
    as I swore that the waters of Noah
    should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
    and will not rebuke you.
¹⁰For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and ^(BT)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

¹¹^(BU)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, ^(BV)I will set your stones in antimony,
    ^(BW)and lay your foundations with sapphires.^[p]
¹²I will make your pinnacles of agate,^[q]
    your gates of carbuncles,^[r]
    and all your wall of precious stones.
¹³^(BX)All your children ^(BY)shall be taught by the Lord,
    ^(BZ)and great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴In righteousness you shall be established;
    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
¹⁵^(CA)If anyone stirs up strife,
    it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
    shall fall because of you.
¹⁶Behold, I have created the smith
    who blows the fire of coals
    and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
¹⁷    no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
    ^(CB)and their vindication^[s] from me, declares the Lord.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
Isaiah 52:13 Or shall prosper
Isaiah 52:15 Or startle
Isaiah 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard?
Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
Isaiah 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4
Isaiah 53:3 Or and knowing
Isaiah 53:3 Or sickness; also verse 4
Isaiah 53:3 Or as one who hides his face from us
Isaiah 53:10 Or he has made him sick
Isaiah 53:10 Or when you make his soul
Isaiah 53:11 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll he shall see light
Isaiah 53:12 Or with the great
Isaiah 53:12 Or with the numerous
Isaiah 54:9 Some manuscripts For this is as the waters of Noah
Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
Isaiah 54:12 Or jasper, or ruby
Isaiah 54:12 Or crystal
Isaiah 54:17 Or righteousness

Psalm 115

English Standard Version

To Your Name Give Glory

115 ^(A)Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
^(B)for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

²Why should the nations say,
^(C)“Where is their God?”
³^(D)Our God is in the heavens;
^(E)he does all that he pleases.

⁴^(F)Their idols are silver and gold,
    ^(G)the work of human hands.
⁵They have mouths, ^(H)but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
⁶They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
⁷They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
⁸^(I)Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.

⁹O ^(J)Israel,^[a] ^(K)trust in the Lord!
    He is their ^(L)help and their shield.
¹⁰O ^(M)house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and ^(N)their shield.
¹¹You ^(O)who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.

¹²The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
    he will bless ^(P)the house of Israel;
    he will bless ^(Q)the house of Aaron;
¹³he will ^(R)bless those who fear the Lord,
    ^(S)both the small and the great.

¹⁴May the Lord ^(T)give you increase,
you and your children!
¹⁵May ^(U)you be blessed by the Lord,
^(V)who made heaven and earth!

¹⁶The heavens are the Lord's heavens,
    but the earth he has given to the children of man.
¹⁷^(W)The dead do not praise the Lord,
    nor do any who go down into ^(X)silence.
¹⁸But ^(Y)we will bless the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.
^(Z)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel

2 Timothy 2

English Standard Version

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(A)my child, ^(B)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ²and ^(C)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(D)entrust to faithful men,^[a] ^(E)who will be able to teach others also. ³^(F)Share in suffering as ^(G)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier ^(H)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵^(I)An athlete is not ^(J)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is ^(K)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, ^(L)risen from the dead, the ^(M)offspring of David, ^(N)as preached in my gospel, ⁹^(O)for which I am suffering, ^(P)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(Q)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰Therefore ^(R)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(S)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(T)eternal glory. ¹¹The saying is ^(U)trustworthy, for:

^(V)If we have died with him, we will also ^(W)live with him;
¹²^(X)if we endure, we will also reign with him;
^(Y)if we deny him, he also will deny us;
¹³^(Z)if we are faithless, ^(AA)he remains faithful—

for ^(AB)he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

¹⁴Remind them of these things, and ^(AC)charge them before God^[b] ^(AD)not to quarrel about words, ^(AE)which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[c] a worker ^(AF)who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶But ^(AG)avoid ^(AH)irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^(AI)Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have swerved from the truth, ^(AJ)saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^(AK)“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^(AL)who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰Now in ^(AM)a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^(AN)some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹Therefore, ^(AO)if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,^[d] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^(AP)ready for every good work.

²²So ^(AQ)flee ^(AR)youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^(AS)those who call on the Lord ^(AT)from a pure heart. ²³Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^(AU)controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴And ^(AV)the Lord's servant^[e] must not be quarrelsome but ^(AW)kind to everyone, ^(AX)able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵correcting his opponents ^(AY)with gentleness. God ^(AZ)may perhaps grant them repentance ^(BA)leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from ^(BB)the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Footnotes

2 Timothy 2:2 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women, depending on the context
2 Timothy 2:14 Some manuscripts the Lord
2 Timothy 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested
2 Timothy 2:21 Greek from these things
2 Timothy 2:24 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface