Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Fourth Servant Song: The Lamb
13 “Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.[a]
14 Just as many were appalled at You—
His appearance was disfigured more than any man,
His form more than the sons of men.
15 So He will sprinkle many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths because of Him,
for what had not been told them they will see,
and what they had not heard they will perceive.
Isaiah 53
53 ‘Who has believed our report?[b]
To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
like a root out of dry ground.
He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him,
nor beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief,
One from whom people hide their faces.
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.[c]
4 Surely He has borne our griefs[d]
and carried our pains.
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced[e] because of our transgressions,
crushed because of our iniquities.
The chastisement for our shalom was upon Him,
and by His stripes we are healed.
6 We all like sheep have gone astray.
Each of us turned to his own way.
So Adonai has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter,[f]
like a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.[g]
8 Because of oppression and judgment He was taken away.
As for His generation, who considered?
For He was cut off from the land of the living,
for the transgression of my people—
the stroke was theirs
9 His grave was given with the wicked,
and by a rich man in His death,[h]
though He had done no violence,
nor was there any deceit in His mouth.[i]
10 Yet it pleased Adonai to bruise Him.
He caused Him to suffer.
If He makes His soul a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,
and the will of Adonai will succeed by His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul
He will see it and be satisfied by His knowledge.
The Righteous One, My Servant will make many righteous
and He will bear their iniquities.[j]
12 Therefore I will give Him a portion with the great,
and He will divide the spoil with the mighty—
because He poured out His soul to death,
and was counted with transgressors.[k]
For He bore the sin of many,
and interceded for the transgressors.[l]
Suffering Servant
Psalm 22
1 For the music director, on “The Doe of the Dawn,” a psalm of David.
2 My God, my God,
why have You forsaken me?
Distant from my salvation
are the words of my groaning.[a]
3 O my God, I cried out by day, but You did not answer,
by night, but there was no rest for me.
4 Yet You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
5 In You our fathers put their trust.
They trusted, and You delivered them.
6 They cried to you and were delivered.
In You they trusted, and were not disappointed.
7 Am I a worm, and not a man?
Am I a scorn of men, despised by people?
8 All who see me mock me.
They curl their lips, shaking their heads:
9 “Rely on Adonai! Let Him deliver him!
Let Him rescue him—since he delights in Him!”[b]
10 Yet You brought me out of the womb,
made me secure at my mother’s breasts.
11 From the womb I was cast on You—
from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
12 Be not far from me!
For trouble is near—
there is no one to help.
13 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls of Bashan encircled me.
14 They open wide their mouths against me,
like a tearing, roaring lion.
15 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed.
My heart is like wax—
melting within my innards.
16 My strength is dried up like a clay pot,
my tongue clings to my jaws.
You lay me in the dust of death.
17 For dogs have surrounded me.
A band of evildoers has closed in on me.
They pierced[c] my hands and my feet.
18 I can count all my bones.
They stare, they gape at me.
19 They divide my clothes among them,
and cast lots for my garment.[d]
20 But You, Adonai, be not far off!
O my strength! Come quickly to my aid!
21 Deliver my soul from the sword—
my only one from the power of the dog.
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth.
From the horns of the wild oxen rescue me.
23 I will declare Your Name to my brothers.
I will praise You amid the congregation.[e]
24 You who fear Adonai, praise Him!
All Jacob’s descendants, glorify Him!
Revere Him, all you seed of Israel.
25 For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the lowly one.
Nor has He hidden His face from him,
but when he cried to Him, He heard.
26 From You is my praise in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear Him.
27 Let the poor eat and be satisfied.
Let them who seek after Him praise Adonai.
May your hearts live forever!
28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Adonai.
All the families of the nations will bow down before You.
29 For the kingdom belongs to Adonai,
and He rules over the nations.
30 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship.
Everyone who goes down to the dust will kneel before Him—
even the one who could not keep his own soul alive.
31 His posterity will serve him, telling
the next generation about my Lord.
32 They will come and declare His righteousness
to a people yet to be born—
because He has done it!
16 “This is the covenant that I will cut with them:
‘After those days,’ says Adonai,
‘I will put My Torah upon their hearts,
and upon their minds I will write it,’”[a]
then He says,
17 “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”[b]
18 Now where there is removal of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Let Us Pray Boldly in God’s Presence
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have boldness to enter into the Holies by the blood of Yeshua. 20 He inaugurated a new and living way for us through the curtain—that is, His flesh. 21 We also have a Kohen Gadol over God’s household.
22 So let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and body washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the unwavering confession of hope, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds.
25 And do not neglect our own meetings, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another—and all the more so as you see the Day[c] approaching.
Yeshua, Our Compassionate Kohen Gadol
14 Therefore, since we have a great Kohen Gadol who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua Ben-Elohim, let us hold firmly to our confessed allegiance. 15 For we do not have a kohen gadol who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all the same ways—yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near to the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need.
7 In the days of His life on earth,[a] Yeshua offered up both prayers and pleas, with loud crying and tears, to the One able to save Him from death; and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Though He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. 9 And once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him—
Betrayed and Arrested
18 When Yeshua had said these things, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley,[a] where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 Now Judah, who was betraying Him, also knew the place, because Yeshua had often met there with His disciples. 3 So Judah, having taken a band of soldiers and some officers from the ruling kohanim and Pharisees, comes there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Then Yeshua, knowing all the things coming upon Him, went forward. He said to them, “Who are you looking for?”
5 “Yeshua ha-Natzrati,” they answered Him.
Yeshua tells them, “I am.” Now Judah, the one betraying Him, was also standing with them. 6 So when Yeshua said to them, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 So again He asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
And they said, “Yeshua ha-Natzrati.”
8 Yeshua answered, “I told you, I am! If you’re looking for Me, let these men go their way.” 9 This was so the word would be fulfilled that He spoke: “I did not lose one of those You have given Me.”[b]
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the servant of the kohen gadol, and cut off his right ear. Now the servant’s name was Malchus. 11 So Yeshua said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath! The cup the Father has given Me—shall I never drink it?”
Interrogated and Tried
12 Then the band of soldiers, with the captain and the officers of the Judeans, seized Yeshua and tied Him up. 13 They led Him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the kohen gadol that year. 14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Judean leaders that it was better for one man to die on behalf of the people.
15 Simon Peter was following Yeshua with another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the kohen gadol, so he went with Yeshua into the court of the kohen gadol. 16 But Peter was left standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the kohen gadol, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper and brought Peter in.
17 The maidservant at the door says to Peter, “Aren’t you one of this Man’s disciples too?”
He says, “No, I’m not.” 18 The servants and officers were standing around a fire they had made, because it was cold and they were warming themselves. And Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.
19 The kohen gadol then questioned Yeshua about His disciples and His teaching. 20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Yeshua answered him. “I always taught in the synagogues and the Temple, where all the Jewish people come together. I spoke nothing in secret. 21 Why question Me? Ask those who have heard what I spoke to them. Look, they know what I said.”
22 When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby gave Yeshua a slap, saying, “Is that the way you answer the kohen gadol?”
23 Yeshua answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, give evidence of the wrong; but if rightly, why hit Me?” 24 Then Annas sent Him, still tied up, to Caiaphas, the kohen gadol.
25 Now Simon Peter was standing outside and warming himself. So they said to him, “Aren’t you one of His disciples too?”
He denied it and said, “No, I’m not!”
26 One of the servants of the kohen gadol, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with Him?”
27 Again Peter denied it, and immediately a rooster crowed.
28 Then they led Yeshua from Caiaphas to the Praetorium.[c] It was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so they would not become unclean but might eat the Passover. 29 Therefore Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered, “If He weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”
31 Then Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him by your Torah!”
The Judean leaders responded, “We are not authorized to put anyone to death.” 32 This happened so that the word Yeshua spoke would be fulfilled, signifying what kind of death He was about to die.
33 So Pilate went back into the Praetorium, called for Yeshua, and asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 “Are you saying this on your own,” Yeshua answered, “or did others tell you about Me?”
35 Pilate answered, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and ruling kohanim handed You over to me! What have You done?”
36 Yeshua answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Judean leaders. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here.”
37 So Pilate said to Him, “Are you a king, then?”
Yeshua answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, so that I might testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” After he said this, he went out again to the Judean leaders. He said to them, “I find no case against Him. 39 But it’s your custom that I release someone for you at Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 They shouted back, “Not this One, but Bar-Abba!” Now Bar-Abba[d] was a revolutionary.
Bound and Sentenced
19 Then Pilate took Yeshua and had Him scourged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him over and over.
4 Pilate came out again. He said to them, “Look, I’m bringing Him out to you, to let you know that I find no case against Him.” 5 So Yeshua came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. “Behold, the Man!” Pilate said to them.
6 When the ruling kohanim and officers saw Him, they yelled out, “Execute Him! Execute Him!”[e]
Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and execute Him! For I don’t find a case against Him.”
7 The Judean leaders answered him, “We have a law,[f] and according to the Torah He must die, because He claimed to be Ben-Elohim!”
8 When Pilate heard this word, he became even more fearful. 9 He went into the Praetorium again and said to Yeshua, “Where are You from?” But Yeshua gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “You aren’t speaking to me? Don’t You know that I have the authority to release You, and I have the authority to crucify You?”
11 Yeshua answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it hadn’t been given to you from above. For this reason, the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 Pilate tried to let Him go after this; but the Judean leaders cried out, saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”
13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Yeshua out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic,[g] Gabbatha). 14 It was the Day of Preparation for Passover, about the sixth hour.[h] And Pilate said to the Judean leaders, “Behold, your king!”
15 They shouted back, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Execute Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I execute your king?”
The ruling kohanim answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
16 Finally, Pilate handed Yeshua over to be crucified.
A Sacrificial Death
17 Then they took Yeshua. He went out, carrying His own crossbar, to the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic[i] is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side and Yeshua in between.
19 Pilate also wrote a sign and put it on the execution stake. It was written, “YESHUA HA-NATZRATI, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 Many Judeans read this sign, because the place where Yeshua was executed was near the city; it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21 The ruling kohanim of the Judeans were saying to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”
22 “What I have written, I have written,” Pilate answered.
23 So the soldiers, when they executed Yeshua, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier. They took His tunic also, but it was seamless, woven top to bottom in one piece. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be.” This was so the Scripture would be fulfilled,
“They divided My garments among them,
and for My clothing they cast lots.”[j]
So the soldiers did these things.
25 Standing near the execution stake of Yeshua were His mother, His mother’s sister, Miriam the wife of Clopas, and Miriam from Magdala. 26 Yeshua saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby. He tells His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then He tells the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that very hour, the disciple took her into his own home.
28 After this, when Yeshua knew that all things were now completed, to fulfill the Scripture He said, “I am thirsty.” [k] 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there, so they put a sponge soaked with the sour wine on a hyssop branch and brought it to His mouth. 30 When Yeshua tasted the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
31 It was the Day of Preparation, and the next day was a festival Shabbat. So that the bodies should not remain on the execution stake during Shabbat, the Judean leaders asked Pilate to have the legs broken and to have the bodies taken away.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then the other who had been executed with Yeshua. 33 Now when they came to Yeshua and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 He who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of His shall be broken.” [l] 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.”[m]
Buried in a Rich Man’s Tomb
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take Yeshua’s body away. Joseph was a disciple of Yeshua, but secretly for fear of the Judean leaders. Pilate gave permission, so Joseph came and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, who had first visited Yeshua at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. [n] 40 Then they took the body of Yeshua and wrapped it in linen with the spices, as is the Jewish burial custom.
41 Now in the place where He was executed, there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb[o] where no one had yet been buried. 42 Because it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Yeshua there.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.