Jeremiah 31:1-13

New American Standard Bible

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the ^(A)God of all the ^(B)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

²This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survived the sword
^(C)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to ^(D)find its rest.”
³The Lord appeared to ^[a]him ^[b]long ago, saying,
“I have ^(E)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(F)kindness.
⁴^(G)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
You will ^[c]take up your ^(H)tambourines again,
And go out to the dances of the ^(I)revelers.
⁵Again you will ^(J)plant vineyards
On the ^[d]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will ^[e]enjoy the fruit.
⁶For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and ^(K)let’s go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”

⁷For this is what the Lord says:
“^(L)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
And be joyful with the ^[f]^(M)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘Lord, ^(N)save Your people,
The ^(O)remnant of Israel!’
⁸Behold, I am ^(P)bringing them from the north country,
And I will ^(Q)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them those who are ^(R)blind and those who ^(S)limp,
The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
They will return here as a great assembly.
⁹^(T)They will come with weeping,
And by pleading I will bring them;
I will lead them by ^(U)streams of waters,
On a straight path on which they will ^(V)not stumble;
For I am a ^(W)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is ^(X)My firstborn.”

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
And declare it in the ^(Y)coastlands far away,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will ^(Z)gather him,
And He will keep him as a ^(AA)shepherd keeps his flock.”
¹¹For the Lord has ^(AB)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(AC)stronger than he.
¹²“They will ^(AD)come and shout for joy on the ^(AE)height of Zion,
And they will be ^(AF)radiant over the ^[g]bounty of the Lord—
Over the ^(AG)grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the ^(AH)flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a ^(AI)watered garden,
And they will ^(AJ)never languish again.
¹³Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(AK)dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will ^(AL)turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them ^(AM)joy for their sorrow.

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 31:3 Lit me
Jeremiah 31:3 Or from far away
Jeremiah 31:4 Lit adorn yourself with
Jeremiah 31:5 Or mountains
Jeremiah 31:5 Lit defile
Jeremiah 31:7 Lit head
Jeremiah 31:12 Lit goodness

Isaiah 62

New American Standard Bible

Zion’s Glory and New Name

62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her ^(A)righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her ^(B)salvation like a torch that is burning.
²The ^(C)nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new ^(D)name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
³You will also be a ^(E)crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal headband in the hand of your God.
⁴It will no longer be said to you, “^[a]^(F)Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “^[b]Desolate”;
But you will be called, “^[c]My delight is in her,”
And your land, “^[d]^(G)Married”;
For the ^(H)Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
⁵For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the ^[e]groom rejoices over the bride,
So your ^(I)God will rejoice over you.

⁶On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed ^(J)watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who ^(K)profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
⁷And ^(L)give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes ^(M)Jerusalem an object of praise on the earth.
⁸^(N)The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm:
“I will ^(O)never again give your grain as food for your enemies,
Nor will ^[f]foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
⁹But those who ^(P)harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courtyards of My sanctuary.

¹⁰Go through, ^(Q)go through the gates,
Clear a way ^[g]for the people!
^(R)Build up, build up the ^(S)highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a ^(T)flag over the peoples.
¹¹Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the ^(U)end of the earth:
^(V)Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your ^(W)salvation is coming;
^(X)Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”
¹²And they will call them, “^(Y)The holy people,
The ^(Z)redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City ^(AA)Not Abandoned.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 62:4 I.e., Azubah
Isaiah 62:4 I.e., Shemamah
Isaiah 62:4 I.e., Hephzibah
Isaiah 62:4 I.e., Beulah
Isaiah 62:5 Lit joy of the groom is over
Isaiah 62:8 Lit sons of foreigners
Isaiah 62:10 Lit of

Ephesians 5:1-14

New American Standard Bible

Be Imitators of God

5 ^(A)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ²and ^(B)walk in love, just as Christ also ^(C)loved ^[a]you and ^(D)gave Himself up for us, an ^(E)offering and a sacrifice to God ^[b]as a ^(F)fragrant aroma.

³But ^(G)sexual immorality ^[c]or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among ^[d]saints; ⁴and there must be no ^(H)filthiness ^[e]or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which ^(I)are not fitting, but rather ^(J)giving of thanks. ⁵For this you know with certainty, that ^(K)no sexually immoral or ^[f]impure or greedy person, which ^[g]amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom ^(L)of Christ and God.

⁶^(M)See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things ^(N)the wrath of God comes upon ^(O)the ^[h]sons of disobedience. ⁷Therefore do not become ^(P)partners with them; ⁸for ^(Q)you were once ^(R)darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as ^(S)children of light ⁹(for ^(T)the fruit of the light consists in all ^(U)goodness, righteousness, and truth), ¹⁰^[i]^(V)as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹^(W)Do not participate in the useless ^(X)deeds of ^(Y)darkness, but instead even ^(Z)expose them; ¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. ¹³But all things become visible ^(AA)when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. ¹⁴For this reason ^[j]it says,

“^(AB)Awake, sleeper,
And arise from ^(AC)the dead,
And Christ ^(AD)will shine on you.”

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Footnotes

Ephesians 5:2 One early ms us
Ephesians 5:2 Lit for an odor of fragrance
Ephesians 5:3 Lit and all
Ephesians 5:3 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
Ephesians 5:4 Lit and
Ephesians 5:5 I.e., morally impure
Ephesians 5:5 Lit is
Ephesians 5:6 I.e., people opposed to God
Ephesians 5:10 Lit putting to the test what
Ephesians 5:14 Or He

Revelation 5

New American Standard Bible

The Scroll with Seven Seals

5 I saw ^[a]in the right hand of Him who ^(A)sat on the throne a ^[b]^(B)scroll written inside and on the back, ^(C)sealed up with seven seals. ²And I saw a ^(D)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” ³And no one ^(E)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁴Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵And one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the ^(F)Lion that is ^(G)from the tribe of Judah, the ^(H)Root of David, has overcome so as to be able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶And I saw ^[c]between the throne (with the four living creatures) and ^(I)the elders a ^(J)Lamb standing, as if ^(K)slaughtered, having seven ^(L)horns and ^(M)seven eyes, which are ^[d]^(N)the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷And He came and took ^(O)the scroll out of the right hand of Him who ^(P)sat on the throne. ⁸When He had taken the scroll, the ^(Q)four living creatures and the ^(R)twenty-four elders ^(S)fell down before the ^(T)Lamb, each one holding a ^(U)harp and ^(V)golden bowls full of incense, which are the ^(W)prayers of the ^[e]saints. ⁹And they *sang a ^(X)new song, saying,

“^(Y)Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were ^(Z)slaughtered, and You ^(AA)purchased people for God with Your blood from ^(AB)every tribe, language, people, and nation.

¹⁰You have made them into a ^(AC)kingdom and ^(AD)priests to our God, and they will ^(AE)reign upon the earth.”

Angels Exalt the Lamb

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels ^(AF)around the throne and the ^(AG)living creatures and the ^(AH)elders; and the number of them was ^[f]^(AI)myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice,

“^(AJ)Worthy is the ^(AK)Lamb that was ^(AL)slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing.”

¹³And I heard ^(AM)every created thing which is in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, or on the sea, and all the things in them, saying,

“To Him who ^(AN)sits on the throne and to the ^(AO)Lamb ^(AP)be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever.”

¹⁴And the ^(AQ)four living creatures were saying, “^(AR)Amen.” And the ^(AS)elders ^(AT)fell down and worshiped.

Footnotes

Revelation 5:1 Lit upon
Revelation 5:1 Or book, and so throughout the ch
Revelation 5:6 Lit in the middle of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders
Revelation 5:6 Possibly a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit in His fullness, or to seven key angels
Revelation 5:8 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
Revelation 5:11 Gr for 10,000s of 10,000s