ISAIAH 11-13

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The Righteous Reign of the Branch11:1

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3

And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them. 7

The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9

They shall not hurt or destroy

in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.
    10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
    11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
12

He will raise a signal for the nations

and will assemble the banished of Israel,

and gather the dispersed of Judah

from the four corners of the earth. 13

The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,

and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;

Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,

and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14

But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,

and together they shall plunder the people of the east.

They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites shall obey them. 15

And the Lord will utterly destroy

the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,

and will wave his hand over the River

with his scorching breath,

and strike it into seven channels,

and he will lead people across in sandals. 16

And there will be a highway from Assyria

for the remnant that remains of his people,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from the land of Egypt. The Lord Is My Strength and My Song12:1

You will say in that day:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,

for though you were angry with me,

your anger turned away,

that you might comfort me.
2

“Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.”
    3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,

call upon his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples,

proclaim that his name is exalted.
5

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

let this be made known in all the earth. 6

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” The Judgment of Babylon  13:1 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2

On a bare hill raise a signal;

cry aloud to them;

wave the hand for them to enter

the gates of the nobles. 3

I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,

and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,

my proudly exulting ones.
4

The sound of a tumult is on the mountains

as of a great multitude!

The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,

of nations gathering together!

The Lord of hosts is mustering

a host for battle. 5

They come from a distant land,

from the end of the heavens,

the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,

to destroy the whole land.
6

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;

as destruction from the Almighty it will come! 7

Therefore all hands will be feeble,

and every human heart will melt. 8

They will be dismayed:

pangs and agony will seize them;

they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at one another;

their faces will be aflame.
9

Behold, the day of the Lord comes,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,

to make the land a desolation

and to destroy its sinners from it. 10

For the stars of the heavens and their constellations

will not give their light;

the sun will be dark at its rising,

and the moon will not shed its light. 11

I will punish the world for its evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity;

I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,

and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. 12

I will make people more rare than fine gold,

and mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will be shaken out of its place,

at the wrath of the Lord of hosts

in the day of his fierce anger. 14

And like a hunted gazelle,

or like sheep with none to gather them,

each will turn to his own people,

and each will flee to his own land. 15

Whoever is found will be thrust through,

and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. 16

Their infants will be dashed in pieces

before their eyes;

their houses will be plundered

and their wives ravished.
17

Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,

who have no regard for silver

and do not delight in gold. 18

Their bows will slaughter the young men;

they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;

their eyes will not pity children. 19

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them. 20

It will never be inhabited

or lived in for all generations;

no Arab will pitch his tent there;

no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. 21

But wild animals will lie down there,

and their houses will be full of howling creatures;

there ostriches will dwell,

and there wild goats will dance. 22

Hyenas will cry in its towers,

and jackals in the pleasant palaces;

its time is close at hand

and its days will not be prolonged.

PSALM 118

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His Steadfast Love Endures Forever118:1

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!
2

Let Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.” 3

Let the house of Aaron say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.” 4

Let those who fear the Lord say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

the Lord answered me and set me free. 6

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

What can man do to me? 7

The Lord is on my side as my helper;

I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in man. 9

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in princes.
10

All nations surrounded me;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 11

They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 12

They surrounded me like bees;

they went out like a fire among thorns;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 13

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,

but the Lord helped me.
14

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation. 15

Glad songs of salvation

are in the tents of the righteous:

“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, 16

the right hand of the Lord exalts,

the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
17

I shall not die, but I shall live,

and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18

The Lord has disciplined me severely,

but he has not given me over to death.
19

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the Lord. 20

This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it. 21

I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation. 22

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone. 23

This is the Lord’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes. 24

This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25

Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27

The Lord is God,

and he has made his light to shine upon us.

Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,

up to the horns of the altar!
28

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God; I will extol you. 29

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

MATTHEW 27

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Jesus Delivered to Pilate  27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. 2 And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Judas Hangs Himself3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” Jesus Before Pilate11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. The Crowd Chooses Barabbas15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Jesus Is Mocked27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. The Crucifixion32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. The Death of Jesus45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
    51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
    55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Jesus Is Buried57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The Guard at the Tomb62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.