Isaiah 56-59
New King James Version
Salvation for the Gentiles
56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(A)For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
(B)Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Do not let (C)the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the Lord
Speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the (D)eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in (E)My house
And within My walls a place (F)and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [a]them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
6 “Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7 Even them I will (G)bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My (H)house of prayer.
(I)Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be (J)accepted on My altar;
For (K)My house shall be called a house of prayer (L)for all nations.”
8 The Lord God, (M)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
(N)“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 (O)All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are (P)blind,
They are all ignorant;
(Q)They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
[b]Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are (R)greedy[c] dogs
Which (S)never[d] have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating (T)drink;
(U)Tomorrow will be (V)as today,
And much more abundant.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
(W)Merciful men are taken away,
(X)While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [e]evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in (Y)their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3 “But come here,
(Z)You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods (AA)under every green tree,
(AB)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth (AC)stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in (AD)these?
7 “On(AE) a lofty and high mountain
You have set (AF)your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And [f]made a covenant with them;
(AG)You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [g]nudity.
9 (AH)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your (AI)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
(AJ)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And (AK)of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because (AL)I have [h]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Backslider
14 And one shall say,
(AM)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, (AN)whose name is Holy:
(AO)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
(AP)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
(AQ)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 (AR)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls (AS)which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of (AT)his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
(AU)I hid and was angry,
(AV)And he went on [i]backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and (AW)will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to (AX)his mourners.
19 “I create (AY)the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace (AZ)to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20 (BA)But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “There(BB) is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Fasting that Pleases God
58 “Cry aloud, [j]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(BC)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 ‘Why(BD) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (BE)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [k]exploit all your laborers.
4 (BF)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is (BG)it a fast that I have chosen,
(BH)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (BI)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (BJ)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(BK)To undo the [l]heavy burdens,
(BL)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not (BM)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [m]cast out;
(BN)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (BO)your own flesh?
8 (BP)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
(BQ)The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The [n]pointing of the finger, and (BR)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [o]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
(BS)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of [p]Streets to Dwell In.
13 “If (BT)you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 (BU)Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to (BV)ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
(BW)The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Separated from God
59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not (BX)shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will (BY)not hear.
3 For (BZ)your hands are defiled with [q]blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in (CA)empty words and speak lies;
(CB)They conceive [r]evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 (CC)Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 (CD)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed (CE)innocent blood;
(CF)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and (CG)destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of (CH)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
(CI)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Sin Confessed
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
(CJ)We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 (CK)We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears,
And (CL)moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (CM)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering (CN)from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a (CO)prey.
The Redeemer of Zion
Then the Lord saw it, and [s]it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16 (CP)He saw that there was no man,
And (CQ)wondered that there was no intercessor;
(CR)Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 (CS)For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 (CT)According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 (CU)So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in (CV)like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
20 “The(CW) Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
21 “As(CX) for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 56:5 Lit. him
- Isaiah 56:10 Or Dreaming
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. strong of soul
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. do not know satisfaction
- Isaiah 57:1 Lit. the face of evil
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. cut
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. hand, a euphemism
- Isaiah 57:11 remained silent
- Isaiah 57:17 Or turning back
- Isaiah 58:1 do not hold back
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
- Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
- Isaiah 58:7 wandering
- Isaiah 58:9 Lit. sending out of
- Isaiah 58:10 Or gloom
- Isaiah 58:12 Lit. Paths
- Isaiah 59:3 bloodshed
- Isaiah 59:4 trouble
- Isaiah 59:15 Lit. it was evil in His eyes
Psalm 70
New King James Version
Prayer for Relief from Adversaries(A)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. (B)To bring to remembrance.
70 Make haste, (C)O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!
2 (D)Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be [a]turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
3 (E)Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, [b]“Aha, aha!”
4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 (F)But I am poor and needy;
(G)Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.
Footnotes
- Psalm 70:2 So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. appalled (cf. 40:15)
- Psalm 70:3 An expression of scorn
Acts 23
New King James Version
The Jerusalem Jews Plot to Kill Paul
23 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, (A)I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him (B)to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and (C)do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
4 And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
5 Then Paul said, (D)“I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, (E)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, (F)I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; (G)concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 (H)For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, (I)“We find no evil in this man; [a]but (J)if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, (K)let us not fight against God.”
10 Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
The Plot Against Paul
11 But (L)the following night the Lord stood by him and said, [b]“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in (M)Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at (N)Rome.”
12 And when it was day, (O)some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had (P)killed Paul. 13 Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy. 14 They came to the chief priests and (Q)elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you [c]tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”
19 Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”
20 And he said, (R)“The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. 21 But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”
22 So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”
Sent to Felix
23 And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to (S)Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24 and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 He wrote a letter in the following manner:
26 Claudius Lysias,
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 (T)This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. 28 (U)And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. 29 I found out that he was accused (V)concerning questions of their law, (W)but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. 30 And (X)when it was told me that [d]the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and (Y)also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him.
Farewell.
31 Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks. 33 When they came to (Z)Caesarea and had delivered the (AA)letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from (AB)Cilicia, 35 he said, (AC)“I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in (AD)Herod’s [e]Praetorium.
Footnotes
- Acts 23:9 NU what if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? omitting the last clause
- Acts 23:11 Take courage
- Acts 23:15 NU omits tomorrow
- Acts 23:30 NU there would be a plot against the man
- Acts 23:35 Headquarters
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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