Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us (A)make a joyful noise to (B)the rock of our salvation!
Let us (C)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us (D)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is (E)a great God,
    and a great King (F)above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for (G)he made it,
    and his hands formed (H)the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us (I)kneel before the Lord, our (J)Maker!
For he is our (K)God,
    and we are the people of his (L)pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
(M)Today, if you (N)hear his voice,
    (O)do not harden your hearts, as at (P)Meribah,
    as on the day at (Q)Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the (R)test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my (S)work.
10 (T)For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known (U)my ways.”
11 Therefore I (V)swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter (W)my rest.”

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

96 (A)Oh sing to the Lord (B)a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    (C)tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For (D)great is the Lord, and (E)greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above (F)all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord (G)made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
    (H)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O (I)families of the peoples,
    (J)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord (K)the glory due his name;
    bring (L)an offering, and (M)come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in (N)the splendor of holiness;[a]
    (O)tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, (P)“The Lord reigns!
    Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
    he will (Q)judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let (R)the heavens be glad, and let (S)the earth rejoice;
    let (T)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12     let (U)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all (V)the trees of the forest sing for joy
13     before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes (W)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 96:9 Or in holy attire

The Lord's Comfort for Zion

51 (A)“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
    and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
    and to Sarah who bore you;
for (B)he was but one when I called him,
    that I might bless him and multiply him.
For the Lord (C)comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like (D)Eden,
    her desert like (E)the garden of the Lord;
(F)joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.

(G)“Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation;
(H)for a law[a] will go out from me,
    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
(I)My righteousness draws near,
    my salvation has gone out,
    and my arms will judge the peoples;
(J)the coastlands hope for me,
    and for my arm they wait.
(K)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
(L)for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;[b]
(M)but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

(N)“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people (O)in whose heart is my law;
(P)fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
(Q)For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
    and the worm will eat them like wool,
(R)but my righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.”

(S)Awake, awake, (T)put on strength,
    O (U)arm of the Lord;
awake, (V)as in days of old,
    the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut (W)Rahab in pieces,
    who pierced (X)the dragon?
10 (Y)Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
    for the redeemed to pass over?
11 (Z)And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, I am he (AA)who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of (AB)man who dies,
    of the son of man who is made (AC)like grass,
13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
    (AD)who stretched out the heavens
    and (AE)laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
    because of the wrath of (AF)the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
    And where is the wrath of (AG)the oppressor?
14 (AH)He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
    he shall not die and go down (AI)to the pit,
    neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the Lord your God,
    (AJ)who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 (AK)And I have put my words in your mouth
    (AL)and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
(AM)establishing[c] the heavens
    and (AN)laying the foundations of the earth,
    and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

17 (AO)Wake yourself, wake yourself,
    stand up, O Jerusalem,
(AP)you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
    the bowl, (AQ)the cup of staggering.
18 (AR)There is none to guide her
    among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
    among all the sons she has brought up.
19 (AS)These two things have happened to you—
    who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
    who will comfort you?[d]
20 (AT)Your sons have fainted;
    they lie at the head of every street
    like an (AU)antelope (AV)in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
    the rebuke of your God.

21 (AW)Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
    who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
    your God (AX)who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand (AY)the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 (AZ)and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
    (BA)who have said to you,
    ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and (BB)you have made your back like the ground
    and like the street for them to pass over.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 51:4 Or for teaching; also verse 7
  2. Isaiah 51:6 Or will die like gnats
  3. Isaiah 51:16 Or planting
  4. Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text how shall I comfort you

Prologue

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (A)gave him (B)to show to his servants[a] the things that must soon take place. (C)He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, (D)who bore witness to the word of God and to (E)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even (F)to all that he saw. (G)Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, (H)for the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from (I)him (J)who is and (K)who was and who is to come, and from (L)the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ (M)the faithful witness, (N)the firstborn of the dead, and (O)the ruler of kings on earth.

To (P)him who loves us and (Q)has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us (R)a kingdom, (S)priests to (T)his God and Father, to him be (U)glory and (V)dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, (W)he is coming with the clouds, and (X)every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail[b] on account of him. Even so. Amen.

(Y)“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, (Z)“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

I, John, your brother and (AA)partner in (AB)the tribulation and (AC)the kingdom and (AD)the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos (AE)on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 (AF)I was in the Spirit (AG)on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice (AH)like a trumpet 11 saying, (AI)“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw (AJ)seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands (AK)one like (AL)a son of man, (AM)clothed with a long robe and (AN)with a golden sash around his chest. 14 (AO)The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. (AP)His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 (AQ)his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and (AR)his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 (AS)In his right hand he held seven stars, (AT)from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and (AU)his face was like the sun shining (AV)in full strength.

17 (AW)When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But (AX)he laid his right hand on me, (AY)saying, “Fear not, (AZ)I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. (BA)I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and (BB)I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 (BC)Write therefore (BD)the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and (BE)the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and (BF)the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for servant later in this verse
  2. Revelation 1:7 Or mourn

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Holy Bible for Kids, Softcover Economy Edition
ESV Holy Bible for Kids, Softcover Economy Edition
Retail: $9.99
Our Price: $4.29
Save: $5.70 (57%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Economy Bible, Softcover
ESV Economy Bible, Softcover
Retail: $4.99
Our Price: $2.29
Save: $2.70 (54%)
4.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Complete Bible on MP3-CD
ESV Complete Bible on MP3-CD
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $7.98
Save: $52.01 (87%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $19.29
Save: $25.70 (57%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV MacArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition--hardcover
ESV MacArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition--hardcover
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $29.62
Save: $30.37 (51%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, TruTone, Navy Blue
ESV Student Study Bible, TruTone, Navy Blue
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $20.68
Save: $24.31 (54%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars