Isaiah 63:1-65:16

New International Version

God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption

63 Who is this coming from Edom,^(A)
from Bozrah,^(B) with his garments stained crimson?^(C)
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?^(D)

“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”^(E)

²Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?^(F)

³“I have trodden the winepress^(G) alone;
    from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled^(H) them in my anger
    and trod them down in my wrath;^(I)
their blood spattered my garments,^(J)
    and I stained all my clothing.
⁴It was for me the day of vengeance;^(K)
    the year for me to redeem had come.
⁵I looked, but there was no one^(L) to help,
    I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm^(M) achieved salvation for me,
    and my own wrath sustained me.^(N)
⁶I trampled^(O) the nations in my anger;
    in my wrath I made them drunk^(P)
    and poured their blood^(Q) on the ground.”

Praise and Prayer

⁷I will tell of the kindnesses^(R) of the Lord,
    the deeds for which he is to be praised,
    according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things^(S)
    he has done for Israel,
    according to his compassion^(T) and many kindnesses.
⁸He said, “Surely they are my people,^(U)
    children who will be true to me”;
    and so he became their Savior.^(V)
⁹In all their distress he too was distressed,
    and the angel^(W) of his presence^(X) saved them.^[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed^(Y) them;
    he lifted them up and carried^(Z) them
    all the days of old.^(AA)
¹⁰Yet they rebelled^(AB)
    and grieved his Holy Spirit.^(AC)
So he turned and became their enemy^(AD)
    and he himself fought^(AE) against them.

¹¹Then his people recalled^[b] the days of old,
    the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,^(AF)
    with the shepherd of his flock?^(AG)
Where is he who set
    his Holy Spirit^(AH) among them,
¹²who sent his glorious arm^(AI) of power
    to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters^(AJ) before them,
    to gain for himself everlasting renown,^(AK)
¹³who led^(AL) them through the depths?^(AM)
Like a horse in open country,
    they did not stumble;^(AN)
¹⁴like cattle that go down to the plain,
    they were given rest^(AO) by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
    to make for yourself a glorious name.

¹⁵Look down from heaven^(AP) and see,
    from your lofty throne,^(AQ) holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal^(AR) and your might?
    Your tenderness and compassion^(AS) are withheld^(AT) from us.
¹⁶But you are our Father,^(AU)
    though Abraham does not know us
    or Israel acknowledge^(AV) us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
    our Redeemer^(AW) from of old is your name.
¹⁷Why, Lord, do you make us wander^(AX) from your ways
    and harden our hearts^(AY) so we do not revere^(AZ) you?
Return^(BA) for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes that are your inheritance.^(BB)
¹⁸For a little while^(BC) your people possessed your holy place,
    but now our enemies have trampled^(BD) down your sanctuary.^(BE)
¹⁹We are yours from of old;
    but you have not ruled over them,
    they have not been called^[c] by your name.^(BF)

64 ^[d]Oh, that you would rend the heavens^(BG) and come down,^(BH)
    that the mountains^(BI) would tremble before you!
²As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name^(BJ) known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake^(BK) before you!
³For when you did awesome^(BL) things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled^(BM) before you.
⁴Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,^(BN)
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.^(BO)
⁵You come to the help of those who gladly do right,^(BP)
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.^(BQ)
    How then can we be saved?
⁶All of us have become like one who is unclean,^(BR)
    and all our righteous^(BS) acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,^(BT)
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.^(BU)
⁷No one^(BV) calls on your name^(BW)
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden^(BX) your face from us
    and have given us over^(BY) to^[e] our sins.

⁸Yet you, Lord, are our Father.^(BZ)
    We are the clay, you are the potter;^(CA)
    we are all the work of your hand.^(CB)
⁹Do not be angry^(CC) beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins^(CD) forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.^(CE)
¹⁰Your sacred cities^(CF) have become a wasteland;
    even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.^(CG)
¹¹Our holy and glorious temple,^(CH) where our ancestors praised you,
    has been burned with fire,
    and all that we treasured^(CI) lies in ruins.
¹²After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?^(CJ)
    Will you keep silent^(CK) and punish us beyond measure?

Judgment and Salvation

65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.^(CL)
To a nation^(CM) that did not call on my name,^(CN)
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
²All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,^(CO)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations^(CP)—
³a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,^(CQ)
offering sacrifices in gardens^(CR)
    and burning incense^(CS) on altars of brick;
⁴who sit among the graves^(CT)
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,^(CU)
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
⁵who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred^(CV) for you!’
Such people are smoke^(CW) in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

⁶“See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent^(CX) but will pay back^(CY) in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps^(CZ)—
⁷both your sins^(DA) and the sins of your ancestors,”^(DB)
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,^(DC)
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment^(DD) for their former deeds.”

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes^(DE)
    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;^(DF)
    I will not destroy them all.
⁹I will bring forth descendants^(DG) from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess^(DH) my mountains;
my chosen^(DI) people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.^(DJ)
¹⁰Sharon^(DK) will become a pasture for flocks,^(DL)
    and the Valley of Achor^(DM) a resting place for herds,
    for my people who seek^(DN) me.

¹¹“But as for you who forsake^(DO) the Lord
    and forget my holy mountain,^(DP)
who spread a table for Fortune
    and fill bowls of mixed wine^(DQ) for Destiny,
¹²I will destine you for the sword,^(DR)
    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;^(DS)
for I called but you did not answer,^(DT)
    I spoke but you did not listen.^(DU)
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”^(DV)

¹³Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,^(DW)
    but you will go hungry;^(DX)
my servants will drink,^(DY)
    but you will go thirsty;^(DZ)
my servants will rejoice,^(EA)
    but you will be put to shame.^(EB)
¹⁴My servants will sing^(EC)
    out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out^(ED)
    from anguish of heart
    and wail in brokenness of spirit.
¹⁵You will leave your name
    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;^(EE)
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.^(EF)
¹⁶Whoever invokes a blessing^(EG) in the land
    will do so by the one true God;^(EH)
whoever takes an oath in the land
    will swear^(EI) by the one true God.
For the past troubles^(EJ) will be forgotten
    and hidden from my eyes.

Footnotes

Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior ⁹in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
Isaiah 63:19 Or We are like those you have never ruled, / like those never called
Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of

Ephesians 4:17-5:7

New International Version

Instructions for Christian Living

¹⁷So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer^(A) live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.^(B) ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding^(C) and separated from the life of God^(D) because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.^(E) ¹⁹Having lost all sensitivity,^(F) they have given themselves over^(G) to sensuality^(H) so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

²⁰That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off^(I) your old self,^(J) which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;^(K) ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds;^(L) ²⁴and to put on^(M) the new self,^(N) created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.^(O)

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully^(P) to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.^(Q) ²⁶“In your anger do not sin”^[a]:^(R) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.^(S) ²⁸Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,^(T) doing something useful with their own hands,^(U) that they may have something to share with those in need.^(V)

²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,^(W) but only what is helpful for building others up^(X) according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,^(Y) with whom you were sealed^(Z) for the day of redemption.^(AA) ³¹Get rid of^(AB) all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.^(AC) ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another,^(AD) forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.^(AE) 5 ¹Follow God’s example,^(AF) therefore, as dearly loved children^(AG) ²and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us^(AH) and gave himself up for us^(AI) as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.^(AJ)

³But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality,^(AK) or of any kind of impurity, or of greed,^(AL) because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk^(AM) or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.^(AN) ⁵For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater^(AO)—has any inheritance^(AP) in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^[b]^(AQ) ⁶Let no one deceive you^(AR) with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath^(AS) comes on those who are disobedient.^(AT) ⁷Therefore do not be partners with them.

Footnotes

Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:4 (see Septuagint)
Ephesians 5:5 Or kingdom of the Messiah and God

Psalm 112

New International Version

Psalm 112^[a]

¹Praise the Lord.^[b]^(A)

Blessed are those^(B) who fear the Lord,^(C)
who find great delight^(D) in his commands.

²Their children^(E) will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³Wealth and riches^(F) are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures^(G) forever.
⁴Even in darkness light dawns^(H) for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.^(I)
⁵Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,^(J)
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

⁶Surely the righteous will never be shaken;^(K)
    they will be remembered^(L) forever.
⁷They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast,^(M) trusting in the Lord.^(N)
⁸Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;^(O)
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.^(P)
⁹They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,^(Q)
    their righteousness endures^(R) forever;
    their horn^[c] will be lifted^(S) high in honor.

¹⁰The wicked will see^(T) and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth^(U) and waste away;^(V)
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.^(W)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Psalm 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the lines of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 112:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah
Psalm 112:9 Horn here symbolizes dignity.