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Israel Freed
12 “Listen(A) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(B)
I am he;(C)
I am the first and I am the last.(D)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(E)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(F)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(G)
14 “Come together,(H) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(I) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(J)
will carry out his purpose(K) against Babylon;(L)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[a]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(M) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(N) in his mission.
16 “Come near(O) me and listen(P) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(Q)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(U) the Holy One(V) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(W) you what is best for you,
who directs(X) you in the way(Y) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(Z) to my commands,
your peace(AA) would have been like a river,(AB)
your well-being(AC) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(AD) would have been like the sand,(AE)
your children like its numberless grains;(AF)
their name would never be blotted out(AG)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(AH) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(AI)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(AJ)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(AK) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(AL) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(AM) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(AN)
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen(AQ) to me, you islands;(AR)
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(AS) the Lord called(AT) me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(AU)
2 He made my mouth(AV) like a sharpened sword,(AW)
in the shadow of his hand(AX) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(AY)
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,(AZ)
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(BA)”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;(BB)
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(BC)
and my reward(BD) is with my God.”(BE)
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb(BF) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel(BG) to himself,
for I am[b] honored(BH) in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength(BI)—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(BJ)
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(BK)
I will also make you a light(BL) for the Gentiles,(BM)
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(BN)
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(BO)—
to him who was despised(BP) and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(BQ) will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,(BR)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(BS)
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(BT) you.”
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor(BU) I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;(BV)
I will keep(BW) you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,(BX)
to restore the land(BY)
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(BZ)
9 to say to the captives,(CA) ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,(CB) ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(CC)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(CD)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(CE)
He who has compassion(CF) on them will guide(CG) them
and lead them beside springs(CH) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(CI) will be raised up.(CJ)
12 See, they will come from afar(CK)—
some from the north, some from the west,(CL)
some from the region of Aswan.[c]”
13 Shout for joy,(CM) you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;(CN)
burst into song, you mountains!(CO)
For the Lord comforts(CP) his people
and will have compassion(CQ) on his afflicted ones.(CR)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(CU) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(CV)
16 See, I have engraved(CW) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(CX) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(CY) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(CZ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(DA)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(DB) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(DC)
and your land laid waste,(DD)
now you will be too small for your people,(DE)
and those who devoured(DF) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’(DG)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(DH)
I was bereaved(DI) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(DJ)
Who brought these(DK) up?
I was left(DL) all alone,(DM)
but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(DN) says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner(DO) to the peoples;
they will bring(DP) your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.(DQ)
23 Kings(DR) will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.(DS)
They will bow down(DT) before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust(DU) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(DV)
those who hope(DW) in me will not be disappointed.(DX)”
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives(DZ) will be taken from warriors,(EA)
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(EB)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(EC)
and your children I will save.(ED)
26 I will make your oppressors(EE) eat(EF) their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood,(EG) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(EH)
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(EI)
your Redeemer,(EJ) the Mighty One of Jacob.(EK)”
Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(EL)
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sell(EM) you?
Because of your sins(EN) you were sold;(EO)
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?(EP)
Was my arm too short(EQ) to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength(ER) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(ES) I dry up the sea,(ET)
I turn rivers into a desert;(EU)
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness(EV)
and make sackcloth(EW) its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lord(EX) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(EY)
to know the word that sustains the weary.(EZ)
He wakens me morning by morning,(FA)
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(FB)
5 The Sovereign Lord(FC) has opened my ears;(FD)
I have not been rebellious,(FE)
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat(FF) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(FG)
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.(FH)
7 Because the Sovereign Lord(FI) helps(FJ) me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(FK)
and I know I will not be put to shame.(FL)
8 He who vindicates(FM) me is near.(FN)
Who then will bring charges against me?(FO)
Let us face each other!(FP)
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord(FQ) who helps(FR) me.
Who will condemn(FS) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths(FT) will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears(FU) the Lord
and obeys(FV) the word of his servant?(FW)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,(FX)
trust(FY) in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(FZ)
go, walk in the light of your fires(GA)
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(GB)
You will lie down in torment.(GC)
Instructions for Christian Living
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer(A) live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.(B) 18 They are darkened in their understanding(C) and separated from the life of God(D) because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.(E) 19 Having lost all sensitivity,(F) they have given themselves over(G) to sensuality(H) so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off(I) your old self,(J) which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;(K) 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;(L) 24 and to put on(M) the new self,(N) created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.(O)
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully(P) to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.(Q) 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]:(R) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.(S) 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,(T) doing something useful with their own hands,(U) that they may have something to share with those in need.(V)
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,(W) but only what is helpful for building others up(X) according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,(Y) with whom you were sealed(Z) for the day of redemption.(AA) 31 Get rid of(AB) all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.(AC) 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,(AD) forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.(AE)
Psalm 69[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1 Save me, O God,
for the waters(A) have come up to my neck.(B)
2 I sink in the miry depths,(C)
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;(D)
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,(E)
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me(F) without reason(G)
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,(H)
those who seek to destroy me.(I)
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
6 Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
7 For I endure scorn(L) for your sake,(M)
and shame covers my face.(N)
8 I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;(O)
9 for zeal for your house consumes me,(P)
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.(Q)
10 When I weep and fast,(R)
I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,(S)
people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate(T) mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.(U)
13 But I pray to you, Lord,
in the time of your favor;(V)
in your great love,(W) O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.(X)
15 Do not let the floodwaters(Y) engulf me
or the depths swallow me up(Z)
or the pit close its mouth over me.(AA)
Saying 22
5 The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6 Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.(A)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.