Old/New Testament
53 “Who[a] has believed our message,
and[b] to[c] whom has the arm[d] of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a tender plant,
and like a root out of a dry ground;
he had no form and he had[e] no majesty that we should look at him,[f]
and there is no attractiveness that we should desire him.[g]
3 “He was despised and rejected by others,
and[h] a man of sorrows,
intimately familiar with[i] suffering;
and like one from whom people hide their faces;
and[j] we despised him[k]
and did not value him.
4 “Surely he has borne our sufferings
and carried our sorrows;
yet we considered him stricken,
and[l] struck down by God,
and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
and[m] he was crushed for our iniquities,
and[n] the punishment that made us whole was upon him,
and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned, each of us, to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he didn’t open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
as[o] a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open[p] his mouth.
8 “From detention and[q] judgment he was taken away[r]—
and who can even think about his descendants?[s]
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
he was stricken[t] for the transgression of my people.
9 Then they made[u] his grave with the wicked,
and with rich people[v] in his death,[w]
although he had committed no violence,
nor was there any deceit in his mouth.”
The Exaltation of the Servant
10 “Yet the Lord was willing to crush him,
and he made him suffer.[x]
Although you make his soul an offering for sin,
he[y] will see his offspring,
and[z] he will prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will triumph in his hand.
11 Out of the suffering of his soul he will see light[aa]
and[ab] find satisfaction.
And[ac] through his knowledge his servant,[ad] the righteous one,
will make many righteous,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,[ae]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong;
because he poured out his life to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he carried the sins[af] of many,
and made intercession for their transgressions.”[ag]
The Coming Glory of Israel
54 “Sing, you barren woman,
even the[ah] one who never bore a child!
Burst into song and shout for joy,
even[ai] you who were never in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
than the children of her that is married,”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the location[aj] of your tent,
let the curtains of your dwellings be stretched wide,
and[ak] don’t hold back.
Lengthen your cords;
strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right hand and to the left,
and your descendants[al] will possess[am] the nations
and will populate the deserted towns.
4 “Don’t be afraid,
because you won’t be ashamed;
don’t fear shame,
for you won’t be humiliated—
because you will forget the disgrace of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband;
the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name,
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord has called you back
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,”
says the Lord your God.[an]
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you;
but I’ll gather you with great compassion.
8 I hid my face from you for a moment in a surge of anger,
but I will have compassion on you with my[ao] everlasting gracious love,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.
God’s Reconciliation with Israel
9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to me,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again spread over the earth;
so have I sworn that I won’t be angry with you again[ap]
and that I[aq] won’t rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may collapse
and the hills may reel,
but my gracious love will not depart from you,
neither will my covenant of peace totter,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one,[ar] passed back and forth,[as] and not comforted,
Look! I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 And I’ll make your battlements of rubies,
and your gates of jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be your children’s prosperity.
14 “In righteousness you’ll be established;
you will be far from tyranny,
for you won’t be afraid,
and from terror,
for it won’t come near you.
15 Watch! If anyone does attack you,
it will not be from me;
whoever may attack[at] you will fall[au] because of you.
16 Look! It is I who have created the blacksmith
who fans coals in the fire,
and produces a weapon for his purpose.
It[av] is I who have created the ravager to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon that is forged against you will be effective.[aw]
This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,
and their righteousness from me,”
says the Lord.
An Invitation to Life
55 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,
come to the waters!
Also, you that have no money, come,
buy, and eat!
Come! Buy[ax] wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why spend your money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?[ay]
Listen carefully to me,
and eat what is good,
and let your soul delight itself in rich food.
3 Pay attention[az] to me,
come to me;
and[ba] listen, so that you may live;
then I’ll make[bb] an everlasting covenant with you,
as promised by[bc] my faithful, sure love for David.
4 “Look! I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.
5 “Look! You will call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that does[bd] not know you will run[be] to you,
because of the Lord your God, even[bf] the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.”
Steps to Reconciliation
6 “Seek the Lord while he[bg] may be found,
call upon him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous person his thoughts.
Let him return to the Lord,
So he’ll have mercy upon him,
and to our God,
for he’ll pardon abundantly.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For just as[bh] the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For just as the rain and snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there without watering the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
yielding seed for the sower and bread for eating,[bi]
11 so will my message be that goes out of my mouth—
it won’t return to me empty.
Instead, it will accomplish what I desire,
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 “For you will go out in joy,
and come back[bj] with peace;
the mountains and the hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees in[bk] the fields[bl] will clap their hands.
13 Instead of thornbushes, pine trees will grow,
and[bm] instead of briers, myrtles will grow;
and they[bn] will be a sign for the Lord,
and an everlasting name[bo] that will not be cut off.”
Greetings
1 From:[a] Paul, Silvanus,[b] and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[c]
2 May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[d] be yours!
Endurance in Affliction
3 Brothers, at all times we are obligated to thank God for you. It is right to do this[e] because your faith is growing all the time and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4 As a result, we rejoice about you among God’s churches—about your endurance and faith through all the persecutions and afflictions you are experiencing. 5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment and is intended to make you worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you are suffering. 6 Certainly it is right for God to pay back those who afflict you with affliction, 7 and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in blazing fire. He will take revenge on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 Such people will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction by being separated from the Lord’s presence and from his glorious power 10 when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be regarded with wonder on that day by all who have believed—including you, because you believed our testimony.
11 With this in mind, we always pray for you, asking[f] that our God might make you worthy of his calling and that through his power he might help you accomplish every good desire and faithful action. 12 That way the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus, the Messiah.[g]
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