The Mountain of the Lord
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 lIt shall come to pass in the latter days
that mthe mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and nall the nations shall flow to it,
3 and omany peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For pout of Zion shall go forth the law,1
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
qand they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
rnation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in sthe light of the Lord.
The Day of the Lord
6 For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things tfrom the east
and uof fortune-tellers vlike the Philistines,
and they wstrike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is xfilled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is yfilled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is zfilled with idols;
they bow down to athe work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man bis humbled,
and each one bis brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 cEnter into the rock
and hide in the dust
dfrom before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 eThe haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 fFor the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the gcedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the hoaks of Bashan;
14 against all ithe lofty mountains,
and against all the uplifted hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all jthe ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
17 kAnd the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 lAnd the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 mAnd people shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,2
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
nwhen he rises to terrify the earth.
20 In that day omankind will cast away
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to the moles and to the pbats,
21 mto enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
nwhen he rises to terrify the earth.
22 qStop regarding man
rin whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
1 For behold, the sLord God of hosts
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,3
all tsupport of bread,
and all support of water;
2 uthe mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
and the expert in charms.
4 vAnd I will make boys their princes,
and infants4 shall rule over them.
5 wAnd the people will oppress one another,
every one his fellow
and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.
6 For xa man will take hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
7 in that day he will speak out, saying:
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their zspeech and their deeds are against the Lord,
9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin blike Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
cFor they have brought evil on themselves.
10 dTell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
efor they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 fWoe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
12 My people—ginfants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, hyour guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up7 the course of your paths.
13 The Lord ihas taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the jelders and princes of his people:
“It is you who khave devoured8 the vineyard,
lthe spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by mcrushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of hosts.
16 The Lord said:
nBecause othe daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
ptinkling with their feet,
17 therefore the Lord qwill strike with a scab
the heads of othe daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away rthe finery of the anklets, the sheadbands, and the tcrescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the uheaddresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and vnose rings; 22 the wfestal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
24 Instead of xperfume there will be rottenness;
and instead of a ybelt, a rope;
and instead of zwell-set hair, abaldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a bskirt of sackcloth;
and cbranding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
and your mighty men in battle.
26 And dher gates shall lament and mourn;
empty, she shall esit on the ground.
1 fAnd seven women gshall take hold of fone man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; htake away our reproach.”
The Branch of the Lord Glorified
2 In that day ithe branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and jthe fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 kAnd he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called lholy, everyone who has mbeen recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when nthe Lord shall have washed away the filth of othe daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by pa spirit of burning.9 5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies qa cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be ra canopy. 6 sThere will be a tbooth for shade by day from the heat, and ufor a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
Rescue the Weak and Needy
A Psalm of lAsaph.
1 mGod nhas taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of pthe gods he qholds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and rshow partiality to sthe wicked? Selah
3 tGive justice to uthe weak and the fatherless;
vmaintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 wRescue the weak and the needy;
xdeliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 yThey have neither knowledge nor understanding,
zthey walk about in darkness;
6 cI said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men dyou shall die,
and fall like any prince.”1
8 eArise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall finherit all the nations!
Ananias and Sapphira
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge vhe kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and wlaid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has xSatan filled your heart to lie yto the Holy Spirit and zto keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but ato God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he bfell down and breathed his last. And cgreat fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and dwrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you1 sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together eto test fthe Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And ggreat fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Many Signs and Wonders Done
12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people hby the hands of the apostles. And they were all itogether in jSolomon’s Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but kthe people held them in high esteem. 14 And lmore than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 mso that they even ncarried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by oat least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, pbringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
The Apostles Arrested and Freed
17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of qthe Sadducees), and filled with rjealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and sput them in the public prison. 19 But during the night tan angel of the Lord uopened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all vthe words of wthis xLife.” 21 And when they heard this, ythey entered the temple zat daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when athe captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison bare standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then cthe captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for dthey were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, e“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you fintend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, g“We must obey God rather than men. 30 hThe God of our fathers iraised Jesus, jwhom you killed by hanging him on ka tree. 31 God exalted lhim at his right hand as mLeader and nSavior, oto give prepentance to Israel and oforgiveness of sins. 32 And qwe are witnesses to these things, and rso is the Holy Spirit, swhom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they twere enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named uGamaliel, va teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For wbefore these days Theudas rose up, xclaiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ythe census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for zif this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but aif it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You bmight even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and cwhen they had called in the apostles, dthey beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, erejoicing that they were counted worthy fto suffer dishonor for gthe name. 42 And every day, hin the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ipreaching jthat the Christ is Jesus.
