Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

7 In the days of ^(A)Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, ^(B)Rezin the king of Syria and ^(C)Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. ² When the house of David was told, ^(D)“Syria is in league with^{[a] (E)}Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz^[b] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

³ And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and ^(F)Shear-jashub^[c] your son, at the end of ^(G)the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. ⁴ And say to him, ^(H)‘Be careful, ^(I)be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two ^(J)smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and ^(K)the son of Remaliah. ⁵ Because Syria, with Ephraim and ^(L)the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, ⁶ “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it^[d] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” ⁷ thus says the Lord God:

The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask ^(Q)a sign of the Lord your^[f] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” ¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” ¹³ And he^[g] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you ^(R)weary my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the ^(S)Lord himself will give you a sign. ^(T)Behold, the ^(U)virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ^(V)Immanuel.^{[h] 15} He shall eat ^(W)curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ^16 (X)For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be ^(Y)deserted. ^17 (Z)The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that ^(AA)Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”

¹⁸ In that day the Lord will ^(AB)whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and ^(AC)in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures.^[i]

²⁰ In that day ^(AD)the Lord will ^(AE)shave with a razor that is ^(AF)hired beyond ^(AG)the River^[j]—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

^21 (AH)In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, ²² and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat ^(AI)curds and honey.

²³ In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels^[k] of silver, will become ^(AJ)briers and thorns. ^24 (AK)With bow and arrows a man will come there, for all the land will be briers and thorns. ^25 (AL)And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear ^(AM)of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet ^(AN)and write on it in common characters,^[l] ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’^{[m] 2} And ^(AO)I will get reliable witnesses, ^(AP)Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

³ And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ^(AQ)“Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; ^4 (AR)for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the ^(AS)wealth of ^(AT)Damascus and the spoil of ^(AU)Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵ The Lord spoke to me again: ⁶ “Because this people has refused the waters of ^(AV)Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over ^(AW)Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ⁷ therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^(AX)the waters of ^(AY)the River,^[n] mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^(AZ)will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, ⁸ and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^(BA)reaching even to the neck, and its ^(BB)outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^(BC)O Immanuel.”

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

¹¹ For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and ^(BG)warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ¹² “Do not call ^(BH)conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and ^(BI)do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³ But the Lord of hosts, ^(BJ)him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he will become a ^(BK)sanctuary and ^(BL)a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many ^(BM)shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

¹⁶ Bind up ^(BN)the testimony; ^(BO)seal the teaching^[r] among my disciples. ¹⁷ I will ^(BP)wait for the Lord, who is ^(BQ)hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. ^18 (BR)Behold, I and ^(BS)the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. ¹⁹ And when they say to you, “Inquire of the ^(BT)mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of ^(BU)the dead on behalf of the living? ^20 (BV)To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no ^(BW)dawn. ²¹ They will pass through the land,^[s] greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against^[t] their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. ^22 (BX)And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into ^(BY)thick darkness.

Warning Against Adultery

Christ's Example of Humility

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from ^(A)love, any ^(B)participation in the Spirit, any ^(C)affection and sympathy, ^2 (D)complete my joy by being ^(E)of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from ^(F)selfish ambition or ^(G)conceit, but in ^(H)humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you ^(I)look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ^5 (J)Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^{[a] 6 (K)}who, though he was in ^(L)the form of God, did not count equality with God ^(M)a thing to be grasped,^{[b] 7} but ^(N)emptied himself, by taking the form of a ^(O)servant,^{[c] (P)}being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^(Q)becoming obedient to the point of death, ^(R)even death on a cross. ^9 (S)Therefore ^(T)God has ^(U)highly exalted him and bestowed on him ^(V)the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(W)every knee should bow, ^(X)in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(Y)every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Z)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

¹² Therefore, my beloved, ^(AA)as you have always ^(AB)obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for ^(AC)it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for ^(AD)his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things ^(AE)without grumbling or ^(AF)disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, ^(AG)children of God ^(AH)without blemish ^(AI)in the midst of ^(AJ)a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine ^(AK)as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast to ^(AL)the word of life, so that in ^(AM)the day of Christ ^(AN)I may be proud that ^(AO)I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be ^(AP)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(AQ)the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus ^(AR)to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. ²⁰ For I have no one ^(AS)like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AT)seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know Timothy's^{[d] (AU)}proven worth, how ^(AV)as a son^[e] with a father ^(AW)he has served with me in the gospel. ²³ I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, ²⁴ and ^(AX)I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

²⁵ I have thought it necessary to send to you ^(AY)Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^(AZ)fellow soldier, and your messenger and ^(BA)minister to my need, ²⁶ for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. ²⁷ Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. ²⁹ So ^(BB)receive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^(BC)honor such men, ³⁰ for he nearly died^{[f] (BD)}for the work of Christ, risking his life ^(BE)to complete what was lacking in your service to me.