Cheer for Prostrate Zion

52 (A)Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, Zion;
Clothe yourself with your (B)beautiful garments,
Jerusalem, the (C)holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the (D)unclean
Will no longer come into you.
Shake yourself (E)from the dust, (F)rise up,
Captive Jerusalem;
(G)Release yourself from the chains around your neck,
Captive daughter of Zion.

For this is what the Lord says: “You were (H)sold for nothing, and you will be (I)redeemed (J)without money.” For this is what the Lord [a]God says: “My people (K)went down to Egypt first to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without reason. And now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My (L)name is continually reviled all day long. Therefore, My people shall (M)know My name; therefore on that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

How delightful on the mountains
Are the feet of one who brings (N)good news,
Who announces [b]peace
And brings good news of [c]happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your (O)God [d]reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen raise their (P)voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see [e]with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
(Q)Be cheerful, shout joyfully together,
You (R)ruins of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has (S)redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared His holy (T)arm
In the sight of all the nations,
[f]So that (U)all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.

11 (V)Depart, depart, go out from there,
(W)Do not touch what is unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, (X)purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 But you will not go out in (Y)a hurry,
Nor will you go [g]as fugitives;
For the (Z)Lord will go before you,
And (AA)the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

13 Behold, My (AB)Servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and [h]greatly (AC)exalted.
14 Just as many were appalled at you, My people,
So His (AD)appearance was marred beyond that of a man,
And His form beyond the sons of mankind.
15 So [i]He will (AE)sprinkle many nations,
Kings will (AF)shut their mouths on account of Him;
For (AG)what they had not been told, they will see,
And what they had not heard, they will understand.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Isaiah 52:7 Or well-being
  3. Isaiah 52:7 Lit good
  4. Isaiah 52:7 Or is King
  5. Isaiah 52:8 Lit eye to eye
  6. Isaiah 52:10 Or And all...will see
  7. Isaiah 52:12 Lit in flight
  8. Isaiah 52:13 Or very high
  9. Isaiah 52:15 LXX many nations will wonder at Him

17 A (A)merciful person does [a]himself good,
But the cruel person [b]does himself harm.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
But one who (B)sows righteousness gets a true reward.
19 One who is steadfast in (C)righteousness attains life,
But (D)one who pursues evil attains his own death.
20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the (E)blameless in their [c]walk are His (F)delight.
21 [d]Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished,
But the [e]descendants of the righteous will be rescued.
22 As a (G)ring of gold in a pig’s snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the (H)expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:17 Lit his soul
  2. Proverbs 11:17 Lit ruins his flesh
  3. Proverbs 11:20 Lit way
  4. Proverbs 11:21 Lit Hand to hand
  5. Proverbs 11:21 Lit seed

Preparing the Passover

22 (A)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the (B)Passover, was approaching. And the chief priests and the scribes (C)were trying to find [a]a way to put Him to death, since they were afraid of the people.

(D)And (E)Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, [b]who belonged to the number of the twelve. And he left and discussed with the chief priests and (F)officers how he was to betray Him to them. And they were delighted, and agreed to give him money. And so he consented, and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him to them [c]away from the crowd.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 22:2 Lit how they were to
  2. Luke 22:3 Or possibly since he belonged; lit being of the
  3. Luke 22:6 Or without a disturbance

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