Isaiah 53-54

English Standard Version

53 ^(A)Who has believed what he has heard from us?^[a]
    And to whom has ^(B)the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    ^(C)and like a root out of dry ground;
^(D)he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
³^(E)He was despised and rejected^[b] by men,
    a man of sorrows^[c] and acquainted with^[d] grief;^[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces^[f]
    he was despised, and ^(F)we esteemed him not.

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

⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    ^(M)yet he opened not his mouth;
^(N)like a ^(O)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, ^(P)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
    ^(Q)and with a rich man in his death,
although^[g] ^(R)he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰Yet ^(S)it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;^[h]
^(T)when his soul makes^[i] an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
^(U)the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
¹¹Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see^[j] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall ^(V)the righteous one, my servant,
    ^(W)make many to be accounted righteous,
    ^(X)and he shall bear their iniquities.
¹²^(Y)Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,^[k]
    ^(Z)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,^[l]
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
^(AA)yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 ^(AB)“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 ^(AC)the desolate one ^(AD)will be more
    than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
²^(AE)“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^(AF)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, ^(AG)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^(AH)For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
^(AI)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    ^(AJ)the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶^(AK)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^(AL)For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸^(AM)In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
^(AN)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹“This is like ^(AO)the days of Noah^[m] 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 ^(AP)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

¹¹^(AQ)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, ^(AR)I will set your stones in antimony,
    ^(AS)and lay your foundations with sapphires.^[n]
¹²I will make your pinnacles of agate,^[o]
    your gates of carbuncles,^[p]
    and all your wall of precious stones.
¹³^(AT)All your children ^(AU)shall be taught by the Lord,
    ^(AV)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^(AW)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
    ^(AX)and their vindication^[q] from me, declares the Lord.”

Footnotes

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 53:9 Or because
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

Proverbs 22

English Standard Version

22 ^(A)A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
    and favor is better than silver or gold.
²^(B)The rich and the poor meet together;
    the Lord is ^(C)the Maker of them all.
³^(D)The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
⁴The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
    is ^(E)riches and honor and life.^[a]
⁵^(F)Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
    whoever ^(G)guards his soul will keep far from them.
⁶^(H)Train up a child in the way he should go;
    even when he is old he will not depart from it.
⁷^(I)The rich rules over the poor,
    and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
⁸Whoever ^(J)sows injustice will reap calamity,
    and ^(K)the rod of his fury will fail.
⁹^(L)Whoever has a bountiful^[b] eye will be blessed,
    for he ^(M)shares his bread with the poor.
¹⁰^(N)Drive out a scoffer, ^(O)and strife will go out,
    and ^(P)quarreling and abuse will cease.
¹¹He who ^(Q)loves purity of heart,
    and whose ^(R)speech is gracious, ^(S)will have the king as his friend.
¹²The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
    but he ^(T)overthrows the words of the traitor.
¹³^(U)The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
    I shall be killed in the streets!”
¹⁴The mouth of ^(V)forbidden^[c] women is ^(W)a deep pit;
    ^(X)he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.
¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but ^(Y)the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
¹⁶Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,
    or gives to the rich, ^(Z)will only come to poverty.

Words of the Wise

¹⁷^(AA)Incline your ear, and hear ^(AB)the words of the wise,
    ^(AC)and apply your heart to my knowledge,
¹⁸for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
    if all of them are ready on your lips.
¹⁹That your trust may be in the Lord,
    I have made them known to you today, even to you.
²⁰Have I not written for you ^(AD)thirty sayings
    of counsel and knowledge,
²¹to ^(AE)make you know what is right and true,
    that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

²²^(AF)Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,
    or ^(AG)crush the afflicted at ^(AH)the gate,
²³for ^(AI)the Lord will plead their cause
    and rob of life those who rob them.
²⁴Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
    nor go with a wrathful man,
²⁵lest you learn his ways
    and entangle yourself in a snare.
²⁶Be not one of those who ^(AJ)give pledges,
    who put up security for debts.
²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay,
    why should ^(AK)your bed be taken from under you?
²⁸Do not move the ancient ^(AL)landmark
    that your fathers have set.
²⁹Do you see a man skillful in his work?
    He will ^(AM)stand before kings;
    he will not stand before obscure men.

Footnotes

Proverbs 22:4 Or The reward for humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and honor and life
Proverbs 22:9 Hebrew good
Proverbs 22:14 Hebrew strange

1 Timothy 3

English Standard Version

Qualifications for Overseers

3 The saying is ^(A)trustworthy: If anyone aspires to ^(B)the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ²Therefore ^(C)an overseer^[a] must be above reproach, ^(D)the husband of one wife,^[b] ^(E)sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, ^(F)hospitable, ^(G)able to teach, ³not a drunkard, not violent but ^(H)gentle, not quarrelsome, ^(I)not a lover of money. ⁴He must manage his own household well, with all dignity ^(J)keeping his children submissive, ⁵for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for ^(K)God's church? ⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may ^(L)become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷Moreover, he must be well thought of by ^(M)outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ^(N)a snare of the devil.

Qualifications for Deacons

⁸^(O)Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,^[c] ^(P)not addicted to much wine, ^(Q)not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹They must ^(R)hold the mystery of the faith with ^(S)a clear conscience. ¹⁰And ^(T)let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ¹¹^(U)Their wives likewise^[d] must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, ^(V)faithful in all things. ¹²Let deacons each be ^(W)the husband of one wife, ^(X)managing their children and their own households well. ¹³For ^(Y)those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

The Mystery of Godliness

¹⁴I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, ¹⁵if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. ¹⁶Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

^(Z)He^[e] was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated^[f] by the Spirit,^[g]
        ^(AA)seen by angels,
^(AB)proclaimed among the nations,
    ^(AC)believed on in the world,
        ^(AD)taken up in glory.