Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
6 You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings.
You have dug out two ears for me.
You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
8 I am happy to do your will, O my God.”
Your teachings are deep within me.
9 I will announce the good news of righteousness
among those assembled for worship.
I will not close my lips.
You know that, O Lord.
10 I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart.
I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not hidden your mercy and your truth
from those assembled for worship.
11 Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Lord.
May your mercy and your truth always protect me.
12 Countless evils have surrounded me.
My sins have caught up with me so that I can no longer see.
They outnumber the hairs on my head.
I have lost heart.
13 O Lord, please rescue me!
Come quickly to help me, O Lord! [a]
14 Let all those who seek to end my life
be confused and put to shame.
Let those who want my downfall
be turned back and disgraced.
15 Let those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be stunned by their own shame.
16 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you.
Let those who love your salvation continually say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But I am oppressed and needy.
May the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my savior.
O my God, do not delay!
53 Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord’s power been revealed?
2 He grew up in his presence like a young tree,
like a root out of dry ground.
He had no form or majesty that would make us look at him.
He had nothing in his appearance that would make us desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by people.
He was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.
He was despised like one from whom people turn their faces,
and we didn’t consider him to be worth anything.
4 He certainly has taken upon himself our suffering
and carried our sorrows,
but we thought that God had wounded him,
beat him, and punished him.
5 He was wounded for our rebellious acts.
He was crushed for our sins.
He was punished so that we could have peace,
and we received healing from his wounds.
6 We have all strayed like sheep.
Each one of us has turned to go his own way,
and the Lord has laid all our sins on him.
7 He was abused and punished,
but he didn’t open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He was like a sheep that is silent
when its wool is cut off.
He didn’t open his mouth.
8 He was arrested, taken away, and judged.
Who would have thought that he would be removed
from the world?
He was killed because of my people’s rebellion.
9 He was placed in a tomb with the wicked.
He was put there with the rich when he died,
although he had done nothing violent
and had never spoken a lie.
10 Yet, it was the Lord’s will to crush him with suffering.
When the Lord has made his life a sacrifice for our wrongdoings,
he will see his descendants for many days.
The will of the Lord will succeed through him.
11 He will see and be satisfied
because of his suffering.
My righteous servant will acquit many people
because of what he has learned ⌞through suffering⌟.
He will carry their sins as a burden.
12 So I will give him a share among the mighty,
and he will divide the prize with the strong,
because he poured out his life in death
and he was counted with sinners.
He carried the sins of many.
He intercedes for those who are rebellious.
We Can Enter the Most Holy Place because of Christ’s Superior Work
10 Moses’ Teachings with their yearly cycle of sacrifices are only a shadow of the good things in the future. They aren’t an exact likeness of those things. They can never make those who worship perfect. 2 If these sacrifices could have made the worshipers perfect, the sacrifices would have stopped long ago. Those who worship would have been cleansed once and for all. Their consciences would have been free from sin. 3 Instead, this yearly cycle of sacrifices reminded people of their sins. 4 (The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins.)
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