Psalm 128-129

English Standard Version

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

128 ^(B)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who ^(C)walks in his ways!
²You ^(D)shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³Your wife will be like ^(E)a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like ^(F)olive shoots
    around your table.
⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

⁵^(G)The Lord bless you ^(H)from Zion!
    May you see ^(I)the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
⁶May you see your ^(J)children's children!
    ^(K)Peace be upon Israel!

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^(L)Ascents.

129 “Greatly^[a] have they ^(M)afflicted me ^(N)from my youth”—
    ^(O)let Israel now say—
²“Greatly have they ^(P)afflicted me ^(Q)from my youth,
    ^(R)yet they have not prevailed against me.
³^(S)The plowers plowed ^(T)upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
⁴The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut ^(U)the cords of the wicked.
⁵May all who hate Zion
    be ^(V)put to shame and turned backward!
⁶Let them be like ^(W)the grass on the housetops,
    which ^(X)withers before it grows up,
⁷with which the reaper does not fill his hand
    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
⁸nor do those who pass by say,
    ^(Y)“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
    We ^(Z)bless you in the name of the Lord!”

Footnotes

Psalm 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2

Isaiah 60

English Standard Version

The Future Glory of Israel

60 ^(A)Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and ^(B)the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
²For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
³^(C)And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴^(D)Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
^(E)your sons shall come from afar,
    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
⁵Then you shall see and ^(F)be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and exult,^[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
    ^(G)the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
⁶A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of ^(H)Midian and ^(I)Ephah;
    all those from ^(J)Sheba shall come.
^(K)They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
⁷All the flocks of ^(L)Kedar shall be gathered to you;
    the rams of ^(M)Nebaioth shall minister to you;
^(N)they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
    ^(O)and I will beautify my beautiful house.

⁸Who are these that fly like a cloud,
    and ^(P)like doves to their windows?
⁹For ^(Q)the coastlands shall hope for me,
    ^(R)the ships of Tarshish first,
^(S)to bring your children from afar,
    their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
    and for the Holy One of Israel,
    because ^(T)he has made you beautiful.

¹⁰^(U)Foreigners shall build up your walls,
    and ^(V)their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you,
    but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
¹¹^(W)Your gates shall be open continually;
    day and night they shall not be shut,
^(X)that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
    with their kings led in procession.
¹²^(Y)For the nation and kingdom
    that will not serve you shall perish;
    those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
¹³^(Z)The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
    the cypress, the plane, and ^(AA)the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
    and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
¹⁴^(AB)The sons of those who afflicted you
    shall come bending low to you,
^(AC)and all who despised you
    shall bow down at your feet;
^(AD)they shall call you the City of the Lord,
    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵^(AE)Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
    with no one passing through,
^(AF)I will make you majestic forever,
    a joy from age to age.
¹⁶^(AG)You shall suck the milk of nations;
    you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that ^(AH)I, the Lord, am your Savior
    and your Redeemer, ^(AI)the Mighty One of Jacob.

¹⁷Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
    and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
    instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
    ^(AJ)and your taskmasters righteousness.
¹⁸^(AK)Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
    devastation or destruction within your borders;
^(AL)you shall call your walls Salvation,
    and your gates Praise.

¹⁹^(AM)The sun shall be no more
    your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
    give you light;^[b]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.^[c]
²⁰Your sun shall no more go down,
    nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and ^(AN)your days of mourning shall be ended.
²¹^(AO)Your people shall all be righteous;
    ^(AP)they shall possess the land forever,
^(AQ)the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
    that I might be glorified.^[d]
²²^(AR)The least one shall become a clan,
    and the smallest one a mighty nation;
^(AS)I am the Lord;
    in its time I will hasten it.

Footnotes

Isaiah 60:5 Hebrew your heart shall tremble and grow wide
Isaiah 60:19 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Targum add by night
Isaiah 60:19 Or your beauty
Isaiah 60:21 Or that I might display my beauty

1 Peter 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ²according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

³^(G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸^(U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹inquiring ^(Y)what person or time^[a] ^(Z)the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹²^(AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[b] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ²¹^(AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³^(BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴for

^(BG)“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
²⁵^(BH)but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.