Isaiah 9:1-4

English Standard Version

For to Us a Child Is Born

9 ^[a] But there will be no ^(A)gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he ^(B)brought into contempt the land of ^(C)Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he ^(D)has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.^[b]

²^[c] ^(E)The people ^(F)who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of ^(G)deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
³^(H)You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with ^(I)joy at the harvest,
    as they ^(J)are glad ^(K)when they divide the spoil.
⁴^(L)For the yoke of his burden,
    ^(M)and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as ^(N)on the day of Midian.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
Isaiah 9:1 Or of the Gentiles
Isaiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew

Psalm 27

English Standard Version

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(A)light and my ^(B)salvation;
^(C)whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold^[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

²When evildoers assail me
to ^(D)eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³^(E)Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet^[b] I will be confident.

⁴^(F)One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may ^(G)dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon ^(H)the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire^[c] in his temple.

⁵For he will ^(I)hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will ^(J)lift me high upon a rock.

⁶And now my ^(K)head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of ^(L)joy;
^(M)I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷^(N)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸You have said, ^(O)“Seek^[d] my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”^[e]
⁹    ^(P)Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    ^(Q)O God of my salvation!
¹⁰For ^(R)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will ^(S)take me in.

¹¹^(T)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on ^(U)a level path
    because of my enemies.
¹²^(V)Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for ^(W)false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they ^(X)breathe out violence.

¹³I believe that I shall look^[f] upon ^(Y)the goodness of the Lord
    in ^(Z)the land of the living!
¹⁴^(AA)Wait for the Lord;
    ^(AB)be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

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Footnotes

Psalm 27:1 Or refuge
Psalm 27:3 Or in this
Psalm 27:4 Or meditate
Psalm 27:8 The command (seek) is addressed to more than one person
Psalm 27:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 27:13 Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

English Standard Version

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰I appeal to you, brothers,^[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^(A)divisions among you, but that you be united ^(B)in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is ^(C)quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹²What I mean is that ^(D)each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^(E)Apollos,” or “I follow ^(F)Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ¹³^(G)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^(H)baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^(I)Crispus and ^(J)Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(I did baptize also ^(K)the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and ^(L)not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸For the word of the cross is ^(M)folly to ^(N)those who are perishing, but to us ^(O)who are being saved it is ^(P)the power of God.

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Footnotes

1 Corinthians 1:10 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 11, 26

Matthew 4:12-25

English Standard Version

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹²Now when he heard that ^(A)John had been arrested, ^(B)he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³And leaving ^(C)Nazareth he went and lived in ^(D)Capernaum by ^(E)the sea, in the territory of ^(F)Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴^(G)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵^(H)“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶^(I)the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and ^(J)shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

¹⁷^(K)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ^(L)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[a]

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

¹⁸^(M)While walking by ^(N)the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you ^(O)fishers of men.”^[b] ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds

²³^(P)And he went throughout all Galilee, ^(Q)teaching in their synagogues and ^(R)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and ^(S)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴So his fame spread throughout all ^(T)Syria, and ^(U)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ^(V)pains, ^(W)those oppressed by demons, ^(X)those having seizures, and ^(Y)paralytics, and he healed them. ²⁵^(Z)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the ^(AA)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.