Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
6 You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings—
you have prepared my ears to listen—[a]
you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “Here I am! I have come!
In the scroll of the book it is written about me.
8 I delight to do your will, my God.
Your Law is part of my inner being.”
9 In the great congregation I have proclaimed the righteous good news.
Behold, I did not seal my lips, Lord, as you know.
10 I have not ignored[b] your righteousness in my heart;
instead, I have proclaimed your faithfulness and deliverance.
I have not concealed your gracious love and truthfulness
from the great congregation.
11 Lord, do not withhold your mercy[c] from me,
for your gracious love and truthfulness will keep me safe continuously.
12 Innumerable evils have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me so that I cannot see.
They are more in number than the hair on my head,
and my courage[d] has forsaken me.
13 Be pleased, Lord, to deliver me;
Lord, hurry up and help me!
14 May those who seek to destroy my life be ashamed and confounded;
let them be driven backwards and humiliated,
particularly those who wish me evil.
15 Let shame be the reward for those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
16 Let all who seek you shout for joy and be glad in you.
May those who love your deliverance say,
“The Lord be magnified!” continuously.
17 But I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think about me.
You are my help and deliverer.
My God, do not tarry too long!
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 Law is a Reflection
10 For the Law, being only[a] a reflection[b] of the blessings to come and not their substance, can never make perfect those who come near by the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins? 3 Instead, through those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year, 4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
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