Isaiah 64-66

New King James Version

A Prayer for Help

64 Oh, that You would ^[a]rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your ^(A)presence—
²As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
³When ^(B)You did awesome things for which we did not look,
You came down,
The mountains shook at Your presence.
⁴For since the beginning of the world
^(C)Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
⁵You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
^(D)In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.

⁶But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all ^(E)our righteousnesses are like ^[b]filthy rags;
We all ^(F)fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.
⁷And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have ^[c]consumed us because of our iniquities.

⁸But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our ^(G)potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
⁹Do not be furious, O Lord,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Indeed, please look—we all are Your people!
¹⁰Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
¹¹Our holy and beautiful ^[d]temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all ^(H)our pleasant things ^[e]are laid waste.
¹²^(I)Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord?
^(J)Will You ^[f]hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?

The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65 “I was ^(K)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that ^(L)was not called by My name.
²^(M)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a ^(N)rebellious people,
Who ^(O)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
³A people ^(P)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
^(Q)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
⁴^(R)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
^(S)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of ^[g]abominable things is in their vessels;
⁵^(T)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These ^[h]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.

⁶“Behold, ^(U)it is written before Me:
^(V)I will not keep silence, ^(W)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
⁷Your iniquities and ^(X)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
^(Y)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
^(Z)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸Thus says the Lord:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For ^(AA)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them ^(AB)all.
⁹I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My ^(AC)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
¹⁰^(AD)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And ^(AE)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have ^(AF)sought Me.

¹¹“But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget ^(AG)My holy mountain,
Who prepare ^(AH)a table for ^[i]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for ^[j]Meni.
¹²Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
^(AI)Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, My servants shall eat,
But you shall be hungry;
Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice,
But you shall be ashamed;
¹⁴Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And ^(AJ)wail for ^[k]grief of spirit.
¹⁵You shall leave your name ^(AK)as a curse to ^(AL)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And ^(AM)call His servants by another name;
¹⁶^(AN)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And ^(AO)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.

The Glorious New Creation

¹⁷“For behold, I create ^(AP)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or ^[l]come to mind.
¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
¹⁹^(AQ)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The ^(AR)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.

²⁰“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
^(AS)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹^(AT)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and ^(AU)another eat;
For ^(AV)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And ^(AW)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³They shall not labor in vain,
^(AX)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For ^(AY)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.

²⁴“It shall come to pass
That ^(AZ)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will ^(BA)hear.
²⁵The ^(BB)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
^(BC)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.

True Worship and False

66 Thus says the Lord:

^(BD)“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
²For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
^(BE)“But on this one will I look:
^(BF)On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.

³“He^(BG) who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he ^(BH)breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
⁴So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
^(BI)Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

The Lord Vindicates Zion

⁵Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who ^(BJ)hated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
^(BK)‘Let the Lord be glorified,
That ^(BL)we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”

⁶The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies!

⁷“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
⁸Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
⁹Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
¹⁰“Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
¹¹That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”

¹²For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, ^(BM)I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall ^(BN)feed;
On her sides shall you be ^(BO)carried,
And be dandled on her knees.
¹³As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will ^(BP)comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

The Reign and Indignation of God

¹⁴When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And ^(BQ)your bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
¹⁵^(BR)For behold, the Lord will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶For by fire and by ^(BS)His sword
The Lord will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the Lord shall be ^(BT)many.

¹⁷“Those^(BU) who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
^[m]After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall ^[n]be consumed together,” says the Lord.

¹⁸“For I know their works and their ^(BV)thoughts. It shall be that I will ^(BW)gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹^(BX)I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and ^[o]Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. ^(BY)And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. ²⁰Then they shall ^(BZ)bring all your brethren ^(CA)for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. ²¹And I will also take some of them for ^(CB)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For as ^(CC)the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
²³And ^(CD)it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
^(CE)All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

²⁴“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their ^(CF)worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 64:1 tear open
Isaiah 64:6 Lit. a filthy garment
Isaiah 64:7 Lit. caused us to melt
Isaiah 64:11 Lit. house
Isaiah 64:11 have become a ruin
Isaiah 64:12 keep silent
Isaiah 65:4 Unclean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7
Isaiah 65:5 Cause My wrath to smoke
Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pagan deity
Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Number or Destiny; a pagan deity
Isaiah 65:14 Or a broken spirit
Isaiah 65:17 Lit. come upon the heart
Isaiah 66:17 Lit. After one
Isaiah 66:17 come to an end
Isaiah 66:19 So with MT, Tg.; LXX Put (cf. Jer. 46:9)

Acts 25

New King James Version

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25 Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from ^(A)Caesarea to Jerusalem. ²^(B)Then the ^[a]high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, ³asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—^(C)while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. ⁴But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. ⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see ^(D)if there is any fault in him.”

⁶And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. ⁷When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about ^(E)and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, ⁸while he answered for himself, ^(F)“Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

⁹But Festus, ^(G)wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, ^(H)“Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

¹⁰So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. ¹¹^(I)For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. ^(J)I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

Paul Before Agrippa

¹³And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. ¹⁴When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: ^(K)“There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵^(L)about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. ¹⁶^(M)To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man ^[b]to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’ ¹⁷Therefore when they had come together, ^(N)without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. ¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I ^[c]supposed, ¹⁹^(O)but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. ²⁰And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. ²¹But when Paul ^(P)appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Then ^(Q)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

²³So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great ^[d]pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command ^(R)Paul was brought in. ²⁴And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom ^(S)the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was ^(T)not fit to live any longer. ²⁵But when I found that ^(U)he had committed nothing deserving of death, ^(V)and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. ²⁶I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write. ²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”