Aug 13 - Isaiah 60-64
Isaiah
1"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.2See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.3Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.4"Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.5Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.6Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.7All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.8"Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?9Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.10"Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.11Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations- their kings led in triumphal procession.12For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.13"The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.14The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.15"Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.16You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.17Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.18No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.19The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.20Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.21Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.22The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."
1The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,3and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.4They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.5Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.6And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.7Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.8"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.9Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."10I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
1For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.2The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.3You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.4No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.5As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.6I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest,7and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.8The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled;9but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."10Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.11The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.'"12They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."2Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?3"I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing.4For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.5I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.6I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground."7I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us- yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.8He said, "Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me"; and so he became their Savior.9In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.10Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.11Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people- where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them,12who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses' right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown,13who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble;14like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD. This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name.15Look down from heaven and see from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.16But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.17Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.18For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.19We are yours from of old; but you have not ruled over them, they have not been called by your name.
1Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!2As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you!3For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.4Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.5You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?6All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.7No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.8Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.9Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.10Your sacred cities have become a desert; even Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a desolation.11Our holy and glorious temple, where our fathers praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins.12After all this, O LORD, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?