ISAIAH 53

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53:1

Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

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

and no beauty that we should desire him. 3

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted. 5

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed. 6

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.
7

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth. 8

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

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

stricken for the transgression of my people? 9

And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

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

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11

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

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities. 12

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

ISAIAH 54

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The Eternal Covenant of Peace54:1

“Sing, 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 the desolate one will be more

than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. 2

“Enlarge 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. 3

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

and your offspring will possess the nations

and will people the desolate cities.
4

“Fear not, for 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. 5

For your Maker is your husband,

the Lord of hosts is his name;

and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,

the God of the whole earth he is called. 6

For 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. 7

For a brief moment I deserted you,

but with great compassion I will gather you. 8

In overflowing anger for a moment

I hid my face from you,

but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”

says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9

“This is like the days of Noah 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 my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,

behold, I will set your stones in antimony,

and lay your foundations with sapphires. 12

I will make your pinnacles of agate,

your gates of carbuncles,

and all your wall of precious stones. 13

All your children shall be taught by the Lord,

and 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

If 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

and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

PROVERBS 30

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The Words of Agur  30:1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.

The man declares, I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and worn out. 2

Surely I am too stupid to be a man.

I have not the understanding of a man. 3

I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4

Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in his fists?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name?

Surely you know!
5

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6

Do not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7

Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me before I die: 8

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9

lest I be full and deny you

and say, “Who is the Lord?”

or lest I be poor and steal

and profane the name of my God.
10

Do not slander a servant to his master,

lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11

There are those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers. 12

There are those who are clean in their own eyes

but are not washed of their filth. 13

There are those—how lofty are their eyes,

how high their eyelids lift! 14

There are those whose teeth are swords,

whose fangs are knives,

to devour the poor from off the earth,

the needy from among mankind.
15

The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give.

Three things are never satisfied;

four never say, “Enough”: 16

Sheol, the barren womb,

the land never satisfied with water,

and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17

The eye that mocks a father

and scorns to obey a mother

will be picked out by the ravens of the valley

and eaten by the vultures.
18

Three things are too wonderful for me;

four I do not understand: 19

the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a serpent on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a virgin.
20

This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21

Under three things the earth trembles;

under four it cannot bear up: 22

a slave when he becomes king,

and a fool when he is filled with food; 23

an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24

Four things on earth are small,

but they are exceedingly wise: 25

the ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer; 26

the rock badgers are a people not mighty,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs; 27

the locusts have no king,

yet all of them march in rank; 28

the lizard you can take in your hands,

yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29

Three things are stately in their tread;

four are stately in their stride: 30

the lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and does not turn back before any; 31

the strutting rooster, the he-goat,

and a king whose army is with him.
32

If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,

or if you have been devising evil,

put your hand on your mouth. 33

For pressing milk produces curds,

pressing the nose produces blood,

and pressing anger produces strife.

PSALM 113

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Who Is like the Lord Our God?113:1

Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!
2

Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore! 3

From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4

The Lord is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens! 5

Who is like the Lord our God,

who is seated on high, 6

who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth? 7

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8

to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people. 9

He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

PSALM 114

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Tremble at the Presence of the Lord114:1

When Israel went out from Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2

Judah became his sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.
3

The sea looked and fled;

Jordan turned back. 4

The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like lambs.
5

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?

O Jordan, that you turn back? 6

O mountains, that you skip like rams?

O hills, like lambs?
7

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,

at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8

who turns the rock into a pool of water,

the flint into a spring of water.