The Glory of Zion

60 “Arise,(A) shine, for your light(B) has come,
    and the glory(C) of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness(D) covers the earth
    and thick darkness(E) is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
Nations(F) will come to your light,(G)
    and kings(H) to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you:
    All assemble(I) and come to you;
your sons come from afar,(J)
    and your daughters(K) are carried on the hip.(L)
Then you will look and be radiant,(M)
    your heart will throb and swell with joy;(N)
the wealth(O) on the seas will be brought to you,
    to you the riches of the nations will come.
Herds of camels(P) will cover your land,
    young camels of Midian(Q) and Ephah.(R)
And all from Sheba(S) will come,
    bearing gold and incense(T)
    and proclaiming the praise(U) of the Lord.
All Kedar’s(V) flocks will be gathered to you,
    the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings(W) on my altar,(X)
    and I will adorn my glorious temple.(Y)

“Who are these(Z) that fly along like clouds,(AA)
    like doves to their nests?
Surely the islands(AB) look to me;
    in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[a](AC)
bringing(AD) your children from afar,
    with their silver and gold,(AE)
to the honor(AF) of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(AG) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.(AH)

10 “Foreigners(AI) will rebuild your walls,
    and their kings(AJ) will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
    in favor(AK) I will show you compassion.(AL)
11 Your gates(AM) will always stand open,
    they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations(AN)
    their kings(AO) led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve(AP) you will perish;
    it will be utterly ruined.(AQ)

13 “The glory of Lebanon(AR) will come to you,
    the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,(AS)
to adorn my sanctuary;(AT)
    and I will glorify the place for my feet.(AU)
14 The children of your oppressors(AV) will come bowing before you;
    all who despise you will bow down(AW) at your feet
and will call you the City(AX) of the Lord,
    Zion(AY) of the Holy One(AZ) of Israel.

15 “Although you have been forsaken(BA) and hated,
    with no one traveling(BB) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(BC)
    and the joy(BD) of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
    and be nursed(BE) at royal breasts.
Then you will know(BF) that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(BG)
    your Redeemer,(BH) the Mighty One of Jacob.(BI)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,(BJ)
    and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
    and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace(BK) your governor
    and well-being your ruler.(BL)
18 No longer will violence(BM) be heard in your land,
    nor ruin or destruction(BN) within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation(BO)
    and your gates Praise.(BP)
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,(BQ)
    and your God will be your glory.(BR)
20 Your sun(BS) will never set again,
    and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your days of sorrow(BT) will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous(BU)
    and they will possess(BV) the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,(BW)
    the work of my hands,(BX)
    for the display of my splendor.(BY)
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
    the smallest a mighty nation.(BZ)
I am the Lord;
    in its time I will do this swiftly.”(CA)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 60:9 Or the trading ships

The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,(A) during the time of King Herod,(B) Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?(C) We saw his star(D) when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem(E) in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b](F)

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.(G) Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts(H) of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned(I) in a dream(J) not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel(K) of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.(L) “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”(M)

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled(N) what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[c](O)

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:(P)

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel(Q) weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”[d](R)

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel(S) of the Lord appeared in a dream(T) to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”(U)

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,(V) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(W) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(X) So was fulfilled(Y) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men
  2. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4
  3. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  4. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15

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