Isaiah 53-55

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 ^(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;^[g]
^(T)when his soul makes^[h] 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^[i] 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,^[j]
    ^(Z)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,^[k]
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^[l] 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.^[m]
¹²I will make your pinnacles of agate,^[n]
    your gates of carbuncles,^[o]
    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^[p] from me, declares the Lord.”

The Compassion of the Lord

55 ^(AY)“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    ^(AZ)come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
²^(BA)Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
    ^(BB)hear, that your soul may live;
^(BC)and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    ^(BD)my steadfast, sure love for ^(BE)David.
⁴^(BF)Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    ^(BG)a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵^(BH)Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
    and ^(BI)a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    ^(BJ)for he has glorified you.

⁶^(BK)“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
⁷let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹^(BL)For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰^(BM)“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    ^(BN)giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but ^(BO)it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹²^(BP)“For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
^(BQ)the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³^(BR)Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

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 53:10 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 128

English Standard Version

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

128 ^(B)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who ^(C)walks in his ways!
²You ^(D)shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³Your wife will be like ^(E)a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like ^(F)olive shoots
    around your table.
⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

⁵^(G)The Lord bless you ^(H)from Zion!
    May you see ^(I)the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
⁶May you see your ^(J)children's children!
    ^(K)Peace be upon Israel!

1 Corinthians 15

English Standard Version

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I would remind you, brothers,^[a] of the gospel ^(A)I preached to you, which you received, ^(B)in which you stand, ²and by which ^(C)you are being saved, if you ^(D)hold fast to the word I preached to you—^(E)unless you believed in vain.

³For ^(F)I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died ^(G)for our sins ^(H)in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised ^(I)on the third day ^(J)in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that ^(K)he appeared to Cephas, then ^(L)to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to ^(M)James, then ^(N)to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^(O)he appeared also to me. ⁹For ^(P)I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^(Q)I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, ^(R)I worked harder than any of them, ^(S)though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, ^(T)how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^(U)then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^(V)he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and ^(W)you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who ^(X)have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in Christ we have hope^[b] in this life only, ^(Y)we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But in fact ^(Z)Christ has been raised from the dead, ^(AA)the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as ^(AB)by a man came death, ^(AC)by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For ^(AD)as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^(AE)at his coming ^(AF)those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he delivers ^(AG)the kingdom to God the Father after destroying ^(AH)every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign ^(AI)until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be ^(AJ)destroyed is death. ²⁷For ^(AK)“God^[c] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸When ^(AL)all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^(AM)God may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰Why are we ^(AN)in danger every hour? ³¹I protest, brothers, by ^(AO)my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^(AP)I die every day! ³²What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^(AQ)I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^(AR)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³^(AS)Do not be deceived: ^(AT)“Bad company ruins good morals.”^[d] ³⁴^(AU)Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^(AV)some have no knowledge of God. ^(AW)I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵But someone will ask, ^(AX)“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶You foolish person! ^(AY)What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²^(AZ)So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³It is sown in dishonor; ^(BA)it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵Thus it is written, ^(BB)“The first man Adam became a living being”;^[e] ^(BC)the last Adam became a ^(BD)life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷^(BE)The first man was from the earth, ^(BF)a man of dust; ^(BG)the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ^(BH)so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹Just ^(BI)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^(BJ)we shall^[f] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

⁵⁰I tell you this, brothers: ^(BK)flesh and blood ^(BL)cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^(BM)We shall not all sleep, ^(BN)but we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^(BO)the trumpet will sound, and ^(BP)the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^(BQ)this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

^(BR)“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵^(BS)“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and ^(BT)the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, ^(BU)who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸^(BV)Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^(BW)the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^(BX)your labor is not in vain.