Isaiah 25-27

New International Version

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;^(A)
    I will exalt you and praise your name,^(B)
for in perfect faithfulness^(C)
    you have done wonderful things,^(D)
    things planned^(E) long ago.
²You have made the city a heap of rubble,^(F)
    the fortified^(G) town a ruin,^(H)
the foreigners’ stronghold^(I) a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.^(J)
³Therefore strong peoples will honor you;^(K)
    cities of ruthless^(L) nations will revere you.
⁴You have been a refuge^(M) for the poor,^(N)
    a refuge for the needy^(O) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm^(P)
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless^(Q)
    is like a storm driving against a wall
⁵    and like the heat of the desert.
You silence^(R) the uproar of foreigners;^(S)
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless^(T) is stilled.

⁶On this mountain^(U) the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast^(V) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.^(W)
⁷On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud^(X) that enfolds all peoples,^(Y)
the sheet that covers all nations;
⁸    he will swallow up death^(Z) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears^(AA)
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace^(AB)
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.^(AC)

⁹In that day^(AD) they will say,

“Surely this is our God;^(AE)
we trusted^(AF) in him, and he saved^(AG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice^(AH) and be glad in his salvation.”^(AI)

¹⁰The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;^(AJ)
    but Moab^(AK) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
¹¹They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down^(AL) their pride^(AM)
    despite the cleverness^[a] of their hands.
¹²He will bring down your high fortified walls^(AN)
    and lay them low;^(AO)
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

A Song of Praise

26 In that day^(AP) this song will be sung^(AQ) in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;^(AR)
    God makes salvation
    its walls^(AS) and ramparts.^(AT)
²Open the gates^(AU)
    that the righteous^(AV) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³You will keep in perfect peace^(AW)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust^(AX) in you.
⁴Trust^(AY) in the Lord forever,^(AZ)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock^(BA) eternal.
⁵He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground^(BB)
    and casts it down to the dust.^(BC)
⁶Feet trample^(BD) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,^(BE)
    the footsteps of the poor.^(BF)

⁷The path of the righteous is level;^(BG)
    you, the Upright One,^(BH) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(BI)
⁸Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^[b]^(BJ)
    we wait^(BK) for you;
your name^(BL) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
⁹My soul yearns for you in the night;^(BM)
    in the morning my spirit longs^(BN) for you.
When your judgments^(BO) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.^(BP)
¹⁰But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(BQ)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(BR)
    and do not regard^(BS) the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹Lord, your hand is lifted high,^(BT)
    but they do not see^(BU) it.
Let them see your zeal^(BV) for your people and be put to shame;^(BW)
    let the fire^(BX) reserved for your enemies consume them.

¹²Lord, you establish peace^(BY) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done^(BZ) for us.
¹³Lord our God, other lords^(CA) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name^(CB) alone do we honor.^(CC)
¹⁴They are now dead,^(CD) they live no more;
    their spirits^(CE) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(CF)
    you wiped out all memory of them.^(CG)
¹⁵You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^(CH)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders^(CI) of the land.

¹⁶Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(CJ)
    when you disciplined^(CK) them,
    they could barely whisper^(CL) a prayer.^[c]
¹⁷As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(CM)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth^(CN) to wind.
We have not brought salvation^(CO) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.^(CP)

¹⁹But your dead^(CQ) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust^(CR)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew^(CS) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.^(CT)

²⁰Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors^(CU) behind you;
hide^(CV) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath^(CW) has passed by.^(CX)
²¹See, the Lord is coming^(CY) out of his dwelling^(CZ)
    to punish^(DA) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood^(DB) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Deliverance of Israel

27 In that day,^(DC)

the Lord will punish with his sword^(DD)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan^(DE) the gliding serpent,^(DF)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster^(DG) of the sea.

²In that day^(DH)—

“Sing^(DI) about a fruitful vineyard:^(DJ)
³    I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water^(DK) it continually.
I guard^(DL) it day and night
    so that no one may harm^(DM) it.
⁴    I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
    I would march against them in battle;
    I would set them all on fire.^(DN)
⁵Or else let them come to me for refuge;^(DO)
    let them make peace^(DP) with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶In days to come Jacob will take root,^(DQ)
Israel will bud and blossom^(DR)
and fill all the world with fruit.^(DS)

⁷Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck^(DT) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
⁸By warfare^[d] and exile^(DU) you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind^(DV) blows.
⁹By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned^(DW) for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^(DX)
When he makes all the altar stones^(DY)
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles^[e]^(DZ) or incense altars^(EA)
    will be left standing.
¹⁰The fortified city stands desolate,^(EB)
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken^(EC) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,^(ED)
    there they lie down;^(EE)
    they strip its branches bare.
¹¹When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^(EF)
    and women come and make fires^(EG) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;^(EH)
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator^(EI) shows them no favor.^(EJ)

¹²In that day the Lord will thresh^(EK) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,^(EL) and you, Israel, will be gathered^(EM) up one by one. ¹³And in that day^(EN) a great trumpet^(EO) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled^(EP) in Egypt^(EQ) will come and worship^(ER) the Lord on the holy mountain^(ES) in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

Luke 9:18-36

New International Version

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah^(A)^(B)

¹⁸Once when Jesus was praying^(C) in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;^(D) others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”^(E)

²⁰“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”^(F)

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.^(G) ²²And he said, “The Son of Man^(H) must suffer many things^(I) and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,^(J) and he must be killed^(K) and on the third day^(L) be raised to life.”^(M)

²³Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.^(N) ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.^(O) ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them^(P) when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.^(Q)

²⁷“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration^(R)

²⁸About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James^(S) with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.^(T) ²⁹As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹They spoke about his departure,^[a]^(U) which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³²Peter and his companions were very sleepy,^(V) but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master,^(W) it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen;^(X) listen to him.”^(Y) ³⁶When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.^(Z)