Isaiah 61
1 The aSpirit of the Lord 1God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bbring good news to the 2cafflicted;
He has sent me to dbind up the brokenhearted,
To eproclaim liberty to captives
And 3freedom to prisoners;
2 To aproclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the bday of vengeance of our God;
To ccomfort all who mourn,
3 To agrant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The boil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called 1coaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
4 Then they will arebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 aStrangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And 1foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the apriests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as bministers of our God.
You will eat the cwealth of nations,
And in their 1riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your ashame you will have a bdouble portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
cEverlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, alove justice,
I hate robbery 1in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an beverlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the aoffspring whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will arejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in bmy God;
For He has cclothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And das a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the aearth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord 1God will bcause crighteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.
Isaiah 65–66
1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by athose who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which bdid not call on My name.
2 “aI have spread out My hands all day long to a brebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, 1following their own cthoughts,
3 A people who continually aprovoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in bgardens and cburning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who aeat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 “Who say, ‘aKeep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My 1nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, it is written before Me,
I will anot keep silent, but bI will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
7 Both 1their own ainiquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have bburned incense on the mountains
And cscorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will dmeasure their former work into their bosom.”
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is 1benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order anot to destroy 2all of them.
9 “I will bring forth aoffspring from Jacob,
And an bheir of My mountains from Judah;
Even cMy chosen ones shall inherit it,
And dMy servants will dwell there.
10 “aSharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the bvalley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who cseek Me.
11 “But you who aforsake the Lord,
Who forget My bholy mountain,
Who set a table for 1Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for 2Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the asword,
And all of you will bow down to the bslaughter.
Because I called, but you cdid not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
13 Therefore, thus says the Lord 1God,
“Behold, My servants will aeat, but you will be bhungry.
Behold, My servants will cdrink, but you will be dthirsty.
Behold, My servants will erejoice, but you will be fput to shame.
14 “Behold, My servants will ashout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will bcry out with a 1heavy heart,
And you will wail with a broken spirit.
15 “You will leave your name for a acurse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord 1God will slay you.
But 2My servants will be called by banother name.
16 “Because he who 1is blessed in the earth
Will 1be blessed by the aGod of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Will bswear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!
17 “For behold, I create anew heavens and a new earth;
And the bformer things will not be remembered or come to 1mind.
18 “But be aglad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
19 “I will also arejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of bweeping and the sound of crying.
20 “No longer will there be 1in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does anot 2live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the 3bone who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
21 “They will abuild houses and inhabit them;
They will also bplant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 “They will not build and aanother inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For bas the 1lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will cwear out the work of their hands.
23 “They will anot labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the 1boffspring of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.
24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will aanswer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 “The awolf and the lamb will graze together, and the blion will eat straw like the ox; and cdust will be the serpent’s food. They will ddo no evil or harm in all My eholy mountain,” says the Lord.
1 Thus says the Lord,
“aHeaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a bhouse you could build for Me?
And where is a place that 1I may rest?
2 “For aMy hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and bcontrite of spirit, and who ctrembles at My word.
3 “But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers aswine’s blood;
He who 1bburns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their cown ways,
And their soul delights in their dabominations,
4 So I will achoose their 1punishments
And will bbring on them what they dread.
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