Isaiah 65-66

New King James Version

The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65 “I was ^(A)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that ^(B)was not called by My name.
²^(C)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a ^(D)rebellious people,
Who ^(E)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
³A people ^(F)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
^(G)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
⁴^(H)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
^(I)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of ^[a]abominable things is in their vessels;
⁵^(J)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These ^[b]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.

⁶“Behold, ^(K)it is written before Me:
^(L)I will not keep silence, ^(M)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
⁷Your iniquities and ^(N)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
^(O)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
^(P)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸Thus says the Lord:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For ^(Q)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them ^(R)all.
⁹I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My ^(S)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
¹⁰^(T)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And ^(U)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have ^(V)sought Me.

¹¹“But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget ^(W)My holy mountain,
Who prepare ^(X)a table for ^[c]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for ^[d]Meni.
¹²Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
^(Y)Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, My servants shall eat,
But you shall be hungry;
Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice,
But you shall be ashamed;
¹⁴Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And ^(Z)wail for ^[e]grief of spirit.
¹⁵You shall leave your name ^(AA)as a curse to ^(AB)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And ^(AC)call His servants by another name;
¹⁶^(AD)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And ^(AE)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.

The Glorious New Creation

¹⁷“For behold, I create ^(AF)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or ^[f]come to mind.
¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
¹⁹^(AG)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The ^(AH)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.

²⁰“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
^(AI)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹^(AJ)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and ^(AK)another eat;
For ^(AL)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And ^(AM)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³They shall not labor in vain,
^(AN)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For ^(AO)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.

²⁴“It shall come to pass
That ^(AP)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will ^(AQ)hear.
²⁵The ^(AR)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
^(AS)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.

True Worship and False

66 Thus says the Lord:

^(AT)“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
²For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
^(AU)“But on this one will I look:
^(AV)On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.

³“He^(AW) who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he ^(AX)breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
⁴So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
^(AY)Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

The Lord Vindicates Zion

⁵Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who ^(AZ)hated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
^(BA)‘Let the Lord be glorified,
That ^(BB)we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”

⁶The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies!

⁷“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
⁸Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
⁹Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
¹⁰“Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
¹¹That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”

¹²For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, ^(BC)I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall ^(BD)feed;
On her sides shall you be ^(BE)carried,
And be dandled on her knees.
¹³As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will ^(BF)comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

The Reign and Indignation of God

¹⁴When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And ^(BG)your bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
¹⁵^(BH)For behold, the Lord will come with fire
And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶For by fire and by ^(BI)His sword
The Lord will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the Lord shall be ^(BJ)many.

¹⁷“Those^(BK) who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
^[g]After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall ^[h]be consumed together,” says the Lord.

¹⁸“For I know their works and their ^(BL)thoughts. It shall be that I will ^(BM)gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹^(BN)I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and ^[i]Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. ^(BO)And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. ²⁰Then they shall ^(BP)bring all your brethren ^(BQ)for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. ²¹And I will also take some of them for ^(BR)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For as ^(BS)the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
²³And ^(BT)it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
^(BU)All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

²⁴“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their ^(BV)worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 65:4 Unclean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7
Isaiah 65:5 Cause My wrath to smoke
Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pagan deity
Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Number or Destiny; a pagan deity
Isaiah 65:14 Or a broken spirit
Isaiah 65:17 Lit. come upon the heart
Isaiah 66:17 Lit. After one
Isaiah 66:17 come to an end
Isaiah 66:19 So with MT, Tg.; LXX Put (cf. Jer. 46:9)

Psalm 62

New King James Version

A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God

To the Chief Musician. To ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 Truly ^(B)my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
²He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my ^[a]defense;
I shall not be greatly ^(C)moved.^[b]

³How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
^(D)Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
⁴They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They ^(E)delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah

⁵My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my ^[c]expectation is from Him.
⁶He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be ^[d]moved.
⁷^(F)In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

⁸Trust in Him at all times, you people;
^(G)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹^(H)Surely men of low degree are ^[e]a vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than vapor.
¹⁰Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
^(I)If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.

¹¹God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
¹²Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
For ^(J)You ^[f]render to each one according to his work.

Footnotes

Psalm 62:2 strong tower
Psalm 62:2 shaken
Psalm 62:5 hope
Psalm 62:6 shaken
Psalm 62:9 vanity
Psalm 62:12 reward

John 3

New King James Version

The New Birth

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²^(A)This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for ^(B)no one can do these signs that You do unless ^(C)God is with him.”

³Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(D)unless one is born ^[a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(E)unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is ^(F)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸^(G)The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ^(H)“How can these things be?”

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹^(I)Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and ^(J)you do not receive Our witness. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³^(K)No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ^[b]who is in heaven. ¹⁴^(L)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so ^(M)must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever ^(N)believes in Him should ^[c]not perish but ^(O)have eternal life. ¹⁶^(P)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten ^(Q)Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷^(R)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

¹⁸^(S)“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, ^(T)that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For ^(U)everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been ^(V)done in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

²²After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them ^(W)and baptized. ²³Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near ^(X)Salim, because there was much water there. ^(Y)And they came and were baptized. ²⁴For ^(Z)John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. ²⁶And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, ^(AA)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all ^(AB)are coming to Him!”

²⁷John answered and said, ^(AC)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(AD)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ^(AE)‘I have been sent before Him.’ ²⁹^(AF)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but ^(AG)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ³⁰^(AH)He must increase, but I must decrease. ³¹^(AI)He who comes from above ^(AJ)is above all; ^(AK)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. ^(AL)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³²And ^(AM)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. ³³He who has received His testimony ^(AN)has certified that God is true. ³⁴^(AO)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit ^(AP)by measure. ³⁵^(AQ)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶^(AR)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the ^(AS)wrath of God abides on him.”