Isaiah 54:1-57:14
New King James Version
A Perpetual Covenant of Peace
54 “Sing, O (A)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge(B) the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will (C)inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
4 “Do(D) not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 (E)For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called (F)the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord (G)has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
7 “For(H) a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies (I)I will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
(J)But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of (K)Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with (L)you, nor rebuke you.
10 For (M)the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
(N)But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with (O)colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be (P)taught by the Lord,
And (Q)great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall (R)fall for your sake.
16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an [a]instrument for his work;
And I have created the [b]spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall (S)prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
(T)And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 “Ho! (U)Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
(V)Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you [c]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and (W)come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
(X)And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The (Y)sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as (Z)a witness to the people,
(AA)A leader and commander for the people.
5 (AB)Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
(AC)And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
(AD)For He has glorified you.”
6 (AE)Seek the Lord while He may be (AF)found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (AG)Let the [d]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man (AH)his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
(AI)And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For(AJ) My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For(AK) as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For (AL)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (AM)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [e]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (AN)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(AO) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (AP)break forth into singing before you,
And (AQ)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (AR)Instead of (AS)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (AT)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for the Gentiles
56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(AU)For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
(AV)Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Do not let (AW)the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the Lord
Speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the (AX)eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in (AY)My house
And within My walls a place (AZ)and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [f]them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
6 “Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
7 Even them I will (BA)bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My (BB)house of prayer.
(BC)Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be (BD)accepted on My altar;
For (BE)My house shall be called a house of prayer (BF)for all nations.”
8 The Lord God, (BG)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
(BH)“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 (BI)All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are (BJ)blind,
They are all ignorant;
(BK)They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
[g]Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are (BL)greedy[h] dogs
Which (BM)never[i] have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating (BN)drink;
(BO)Tomorrow will be (BP)as today,
And much more abundant.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
(BQ)Merciful men are taken away,
(BR)While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [j]evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in (BS)their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3 “But come here,
(BT)You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods (BU)under every green tree,
(BV)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth (BW)stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in (BX)these?
7 “On(BY) a lofty and high mountain
You have set (BZ)your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And [k]made a covenant with them;
(CA)You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [l]nudity.
9 (CB)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your (CC)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
(CD)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And (CE)of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because (CF)I have [m]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Backslider
14 And one shall say,
(CG)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:16 Or weapon
- Isaiah 54:16 destroyer
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit. weigh out silver
- Isaiah 55:7 Lit. man of iniquity
- Isaiah 55:11 empty, without fruit
- Isaiah 56:5 Lit. him
- Isaiah 56:10 Or Dreaming
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. strong of soul
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. do not know satisfaction
- Isaiah 57:1 Lit. the face of evil
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. cut
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. hand, a euphemism
- Isaiah 57:11 remained silent
Ephesians 6
New King James Version
Children and Parents(A)
6 Children, (B)obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 (C)“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
4 And (D)you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but (E)bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Bondservants and Masters
5 (F)Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, (G)with fear and trembling, (H)in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 (I)not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 (J)knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that [a]your own (K)Master also is in heaven, and (L)there is no partiality with Him.
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 (M)Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against (N)principalities, against powers, against (O)the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 (P)Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand (Q)in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, (R)having girded your waist with truth, (S)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 (T)and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking (U)the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And (V)take the helmet of salvation, and (W)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 (X)praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, (Y)being watchful to this end with all perseverance and (Z)supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, (AA)that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which (AB)I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
A Gracious Greeting
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, (AC)Tychicus, a beloved brother and (AD)faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 (AE)whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may (AF)comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ephesians 6:9 NU He who is both their Master and yours is
- Ephesians 6:11 schemings
- Ephesians 6:12 NU this darkness,
Psalm 70
New King James Version
Prayer for Relief from Adversaries(A)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. (B)To bring to remembrance.
70 Make haste, (C)O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!
2 (D)Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be [a]turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
3 (E)Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, [b]“Aha, aha!”
4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 (F)But I am poor and needy;
(G)Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.
Footnotes
- Psalm 70:2 So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. appalled (cf. 40:15)
- Psalm 70:3 An expression of scorn
Proverbs 24:8
New King James Version
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:8 Lit. master of evil plots
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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