Isaiah 52–55; Psalm 99; Acts 23

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Isaiah 52–55

The Lord’s Coming Salvation

cAwake, awake,

put on your strength, O Zion;

dput on your beautiful garments,

O Jerusalem, ethe holy city;

ffor there shall no more come into you

the uncircumcised and the unclean.

gShake yourself from the dust and arise;

be seated, O Jerusalem;

hloose the bonds from your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

For thus says the Lord: iYou were sold for nothing, and jyou shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God: kMy people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.1 Now therefore what have I here, declares the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail, declares the Lord, and lcontinually all the day my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name. mTherefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.

nHow beautiful upon the mountains

are the feet of him who brings good news,

who publishes peace, owho brings good news of happiness,

who publishes salvation,

who says to Zion, Your God reigns.

The voice of pyour watchmenthey lift up their voice;

together they sing for joy;

qfor eye to eye they see

the return of the Lord to Zion.

rBreak forth together into singing,

syou waste places of Jerusalem,

for tthe Lord has comforted his people;

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10  uThe Lord has bared his holy arm

before the eyes of all the nations,

vand all the ends of the earth shall see

the salvation of our God.

11  wDepart, depart, go out from there;

touch no unclean thing;

go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,

xyou who bear the vessels of the Lord.

12  For you shall not ygo out in haste,

and you shall not go in flight,

zfor the Lord will go before you,

aand the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

13  Behold, bmy servant shall act wisely;2

he shall be high and lifted up,

and shall be exalted.

14  As many were astonished at you

chis appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,

and his form beyond that of the children of mankind

15  so dshall he sprinkle3 many nations.

eKings shall shut their mouths because of him,

ffor that which has not been told them they see,

and that which they have not heard they understand.

gWho has believed what he has heard from us?4

And to whom has hthe arm of the Lord been revealed?

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

iand like a root out of dry ground;

jhe had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

kHe was despised and rejected5 by men,

a man of sorrows6 and acquainted with7 grief;8

and as one from whom men hide their faces9

he was despised, and lwe esteemed him not.

mSurely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

nsmitten by God, and afflicted.

oBut he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

pand with his wounds we are healed.

qAll we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turnedevery oneto his own way;

rand the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

syet he opened not his mouth;

tlike a ulamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, vwho considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked

wand with a rich man in his death,

although xhe had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10  Yet yit was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;10

zwhen his soul makes11 an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

athe will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see12 and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall bthe righteous one, my servant,

cmake many to be accounted righteous,

dand he shall bear their iniquities.

12  eTherefore I will divide him a portion with the many,13

fand he shall divide the spoil with the strong,14

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

gyet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

hSing, O barren one, who did not bear;

break forth into singing and cry aloud,

you who have not been in labor!

For the children of ithe desolate one jwill be more

than the children of her who is married, says the Lord.

kEnlarge the place of your tent,

and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;

do not hold back; lengthen your cords

and strengthen your stakes.

lFor you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,

and your offspring will possess the nations

and will people the desolate cities.

Fear not, mfor you will not be ashamed;

be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;

for you will forget the shame of your youth,

and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

nFor your Maker is your husband,

the Lord of hosts is his name;

oand the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,

pthe God of the whole earth he is called.

qFor the Lord has called you

like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,

like a wife of youth when she is cast off,

says your God.

rFor a brief moment I deserted you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

rIn overflowing anger for a moment

I hid my face from you,

sbut with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,

says the Lord, your Redeemer.

This is like tthe days of Noah15 to me:

as I swore that the waters of Noah

should no more go over the earth,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,

and will not rebuke you.

10  For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and umy covenant of peace shall not be removed,

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11  vO afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,

behold, wI will set your stones in antimony,

xand lay your foundations with sapphires.16

12  I will make your pinnacles of agate,17

your gates of carbuncles,18

and all your wall of precious stones.

13  yAll your children zshall be taught by the Lord,

aand great shall be the peace of your children.

14  In righteousness you shall be established;

you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;

and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

15  bIf anyone stirs up strife,

it is not from me;

whoever stirs up strife with you

shall fall because of you.

16  Behold, I have created the smith

who blows the fire of coals

and produces a weapon for its purpose.

I have also created the ravager to destroy;

17  no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,

and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

cand their vindication19 from me, declares the Lord.

The Compassion of the Lord

dCome, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

ecome, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

fWhy do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

ghear, that your soul may live;

hand I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

imy steadfast, sure love for jDavid.

kBehold, I made him a witness to the peoples,

la leader and commander for the peoples.

kBehold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,

and ma nation that did not know you shall run to you,

because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,

nfor he has glorified you.

oSeek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

pFor as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10  qFor as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

rgiving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but sit shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12  tFor you shall go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

uthe mountains and the hills before you

shall break forth into singing,

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13  vInstead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;

instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;

and it shall make a name for the Lord,

an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.


Psalm 99

The Lord Our God Is Holy

sThe Lord reigns; tlet the peoples tremble!

He usits enthroned upon the cherubim; vlet the earth quake!

The Lord is wgreat in Zion;

he is xexalted over all the peoples.

Let them praise your ygreat and awesome name!

zHoly is he!

aThe King in his might bloves justice.1

You have established equity;

you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

cExalt the Lord our God;

dworship at his efootstool!

zHoly is he!

fMoses and Aaron were among his gpriests,

Samuel also was among those who hcalled upon his name.

They icalled to the Lord, and he answered them.

In jthe pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;

they kkept his testimonies

and the statute that he gave them.

O Lord our God, you answered them;

you were la forgiving God to them,

but man avenger of their wrongdoings.

Exalt the Lord our God,

and worship at his nholy mountain;

for the Lord our God is holy!


Acts 23

And looking intently at the council, Paul said, Brothers, xI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day. And the high priest yAnanias commanded those who stood by him zto strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God is going to strike you, you awhitewashed bwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ccontrary to the law you corder me to be struck? Those who stood by said, Would you revile dGod’s high priest? And Paul said, eI did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, fYou shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.

Now when Paul perceived that one part were gSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brothers, hI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is iwith respect to the jhope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees ksay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of lthe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, mWe find nothing wrong in this man. What nif a spirit or an angel spoke to him? 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into othe barracks.

11 pThe following night qthe Lord stood by him and said, rTake courage, for sas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ttestify also in Rome.

A Plot to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, uthe Jews made a plot and vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered wthe barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him. 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, Paul xthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you. 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that you have to tell me? 20 And he said, yThe Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who zhave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent. 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.1 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to aFelix bthe governor. 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:

26 Claudius Lysias, to chis Excellency the governor Felix, dgreetings. 27 eThis man was seized by the Jews and fwas about to be killed by them fwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ghaving learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And hdesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused iabout questions of their law, but jcharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 kAnd when it was disclosed to me lthat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, mordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to nthe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what oprovince he was from. And when he learned pthat he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, I will give you a hearing qwhen your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s rpraetorium.