On the Road to Emmaus
13 That very day ytwo of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles1 from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 zBut their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was aa prophet bmighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and chow our chief priests and drulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was ethe one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now fthe third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. gThey were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and hwhen they did not find his body, they came back saying that ithey had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 jSome of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 kWas it not necessary that lthe Christ should suffer these things and enter into mhis glory?” 27 And nbeginning with oMoses and pall the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and wsin which clings so closely, and xlet us run ywith endurance the race that is zset before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, awho for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising bthe shame, and cis seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Do Not Grow Weary
3 dConsider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or efainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
f“My son, gdo not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For hthe Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. iGod is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, jin which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to kthe Father of spirits land live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, mthat we may share his holiness. 11 nFor the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields othe peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore plift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and qmake straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint rbut rather be healed.
1 zHe who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,
will suddenly be abroken bbeyond healing.
2 When cthe righteous increase, the people rejoice,
but when dthe wicked rule, the people groan.
3 He who eloves wisdom makes his father glad,
but fa companion of prostitutes gsquanders his wealth.
4 By justice a king hbuilds up the land,
but he who exacts gifts1 tears it down.
5 iA man who flatters his neighbor
spreads ja net for his feet.
6 An evil man is kensnared in his transgression,
but a righteous man lsings and rejoices.
7 A righteous man mknows the rights of the poor;
a wicked man does not nunderstand such knowledge.
8 oScoffers set a city aflame,
but the wise turn away wrath.
9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool,
the fool only rages and laughs, and there is pno quiet.
10 Bloodthirsty men qhate one who is blameless
and seek the life of the upright.2
11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
but a wise man quietly holds it back.
12 If a ruler listens to falsehood,
all his officials will be wicked.
13 The poor man and the oppressor rmeet together;
the Lord sgives light to the eyes of both.
14 If a king tfaithfully judges the poor,
his throne will ube established forever.
Salvation for Foreigners
1 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
wfor soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
xwho keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not ythe foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am za dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs xwho keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
5 aI will give in my house and within my walls
a bmonument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
cI will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “And ythe foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone xwho keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 dthese I will bring to emy holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
ftheir burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for gmy house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8 The Lord God,
hwho gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
i“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 jAll you beasts of the field, come to devour—
all you beasts in the forest.
10 kHis watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent ldogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
11 mThe dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But nthey are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
oeach to his own gain, one and all.
12 p“Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
qand tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
1 The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
rdevout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
2 she enters into peace;
they rest tin their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
3 But you, draw near,
sons of the sorceress,
uoffspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom vdo you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of wtransgression,
xthe offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among ythe oaks,1
under every green tree,
zwho slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of athe valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things?
7 bOn a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, cyou have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
dyou have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness.2
9 You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
eyou sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
fbut you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint.3
11 gWhom did you dread and fear,
hso that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
iHave I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
13 jWhen you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
kBut he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit lmy holy mountain.
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it shall be said,
m“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”
15 For thus says nthe One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is oHoly:
p“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also qwith him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
rto revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 sFor I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his tunjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, ubut I will heal him;
I will lead him vand restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19 wcreating xthe fruit of the lips.
yPeace, peace, zto the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
u“and I will heal him.
20 aBut the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21 bThere is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
True and False Fasting
1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
clift up your voice like a trumpet;
ddeclare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 eYet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 f‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,4
gand oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 hIs such the fast that I choose,
ia day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
jto loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps kof the yoke,
to let the oppressed5 go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not lto share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
mand not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 nThen shall your light break forth like the dawn,
oand your healing shall spring up speedily;
pyour righteousness shall go before you;
qthe glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away rthe yoke from your midst,
sthe pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 tif you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
nthen shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be ulike a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 vAnd your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
13 w“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure6 on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking xyour own pleasure,7 or talking idly;8
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
yand I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;9
zI will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
afor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”