Isaiah 33:10-36:22

New International Version

¹⁰“Now will I arise,^(A)” says the Lord.
    “Now will I be exalted;^(B)
    now will I be lifted up.
¹¹You conceive^(C) chaff,
    you give birth^(D) to straw;
    your breath is a fire^(E) that consumes you.
¹²The peoples will be burned to ashes;^(F)
    like cut thornbushes^(G) they will be set ablaze.^(H)”

¹³You who are far away,^(I) hear^(J) what I have done;
    you who are near, acknowledge my power!
¹⁴The sinners^(K) in Zion are terrified;
    trembling^(L) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?^(M)
    Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
¹⁵Those who walk righteously^(N)
    and speak what is right,^(O)
who reject gain from extortion^(P)
    and keep their hands from accepting bribes,^(Q)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
    and shut their eyes^(R) against contemplating evil—
¹⁶they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,^(S)
    whose refuge^(T) will be the mountain fortress.^(U)
Their bread will be supplied,
    and water will not fail^(V) them.

¹⁷Your eyes will see the king^(W) in his beauty^(X)
    and view a land that stretches afar.^(Y)
¹⁸In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:^(Z)
    “Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
    Where is the officer in charge of the towers?^(AA)”
¹⁹You will see those arrogant people^(AB) no more,
    people whose speech is obscure,
    whose language is strange and incomprehensible.^(AC)

²⁰Look on Zion,^(AD) the city of our festivals;
    your eyes will see Jerusalem,
    a peaceful abode,^(AE) a tent^(AF) that will not be moved;^(AG)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
    nor any of its ropes broken.
²¹There the Lord will be our Mighty^(AH) One.
    It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.^(AI)
No galley with oars will ride them,
    no mighty ship^(AJ) will sail them.
²²For the Lord is our judge,^(AK)
    the Lord is our lawgiver,^(AL)
the Lord is our king;^(AM)
    it is he who will save^(AN) us.

²³Your rigging hangs loose:
    The mast is not held secure,
    the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
    and even the lame^(AO) will carry off plunder.^(AP)
²⁴No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;^(AQ)
    and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.^(AR)

Judgment Against the Nations

34 Come near, you nations, and listen;^(AS)
    pay attention, you peoples!^(AT)
Let the earth^(AU) hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!^(AV)
²The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath^(AW) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy^[a]^(AX) them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.^(AY)
³Their slain^(AZ) will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies^(BA) will stink;^(BB)
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.^(BC)
⁴All the stars in the sky will be dissolved^(BD)
    and the heavens rolled up^(BE) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall^(BF)
    like withered^(BG) leaves from the vine,
    like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

⁵My sword^(BH) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,^(BI)
    the people I have totally destroyed.^(BJ)
⁶The sword^(BK) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
    it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
    fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice^(BL) in Bozrah^(BM)
    and a great slaughter^(BN) in the land of Edom.
⁷And the wild oxen^(BO) will fall with them,
    the bull calves and the great bulls.^(BP)
Their land will be drenched with blood,^(BQ)
    and the dust will be soaked with fat.

⁸For the Lord has a day^(BR) of vengeance,^(BS)
    a year of retribution,^(BT) to uphold Zion’s cause.
⁹Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;^(BU)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
¹⁰It will not be quenched^(BV) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.^(BW)
From generation to generation^(BX) it will lie desolate;^(BY)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
¹¹The desert owl^[b]^(BZ) and screech owl^[c] will possess it;
    the great owl^[d] and the raven^(CA) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom^(CB)
    the measuring line of chaos^(CC)
    and the plumb line^(CD) of desolation.
¹²Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes^(CE) will vanish^(CF) away.
¹³Thorns^(CG) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(CH)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(CI)
    a home for owls.^(CJ)
¹⁴Desert creatures^(CK) will meet with hyenas,^(CL)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures^(CM) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
¹⁵The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;^(CN)
there also the falcons^(CO) will gather,
    each with its mate.

¹⁶Look in the scroll^(CP) of the Lord and read:

None of these will be missing,^(CQ)
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth^(CR) that has given the order,^(CS)
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
¹⁷He allots their portions;^(CT)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.^(CU)

Joy of the Redeemed

35 The desert^(CV) and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.^(CW)
Like the crocus,^(CX) ²it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.^(CY)
The glory of Lebanon^(CZ) will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel^(DA) and Sharon;^(DB)
they will see the glory^(DC) of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.^(DD)

³Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees^(DE) that give way;
⁴say^(DF) to those with fearful hearts,^(DG)
    “Be strong, do not fear;^(DH)
your God will come,^(DI)
    he will come with vengeance;^(DJ)
with divine retribution
    he will come to save^(DK) you.”

⁵Then will the eyes of the blind be opened^(DL)
    and the ears of the deaf^(DM) unstopped.
⁶Then will the lame^(DN) leap like a deer,^(DO)
    and the mute tongue^(DP) shout for joy.^(DQ)
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams^(DR) in the desert.
⁷The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground^(DS) bubbling springs.^(DT)
In the haunts where jackals^(DU) once lay,
    grass and reeds^(DV) and papyrus will grow.

⁸And a highway^(DW) will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;^(DX)
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean^(DY) will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹No lion^(DZ) will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;^(EA)
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed^(EB) will walk there,
¹⁰    and those the Lord has rescued^(EC) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;^(ED)
    everlasting joy^(EE) will crown their heads.
Gladness^(EF) and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(EG)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(EH)

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s^(EI) reign, Sennacherib^(EJ) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.^(EK) ²Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish^(EL) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,^(EM) ³Eliakim^(EN) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,^(EO) Shebna^(EP) the secretary,^(EQ) and Joah^(ER) son of Asaph the recorder^(ES) went out to him.

⁴The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? ⁵You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel^(ET) against me? ⁶Look, I know you are depending^(EU) on Egypt,^(EV) that splintered reed^(EW) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. ⁷But if you say to me, “We are depending^(EX) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,^(EY) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?^(EZ)

⁸“‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses^(FA)—if you can put riders on them! ⁹How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt^(FB) for chariots^(FC) and horsemen^[e]?^(FD) ¹⁰Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told^(FE) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

¹¹Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah^(FF) said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(FG) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

¹²But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?^(FH)”

¹³Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,^(FI) “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!^(FJ) ¹⁴This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive^(FK) you. He cannot deliver you! ¹⁵Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver^(FL) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’^(FM)

¹⁶“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree^(FN) and drink water from your own cistern,^(FO) ¹⁷until I come and take you to a land like your own^(FP)—a land of grain and new wine,^(FQ) a land of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸“Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?^(FR) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?^(FS) Have they rescued Samaria^(FT) from my hand? ²⁰Who of all the gods^(FU) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”^(FV)

²¹But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”^(FW)

²²Then Eliakim^(FX) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder^(FY) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,^(FZ) and told him what the field commander had said.

Footnotes

Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers

Galatians 5:13-26

New International Version

Life by the Spirit

¹³You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.^(A) But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a];^(B) rather, serve one another^(C) humbly in love. ¹⁴For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b]^(D) ¹⁵If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit,^(E) and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.^(F) ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.^(G) They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want.^(H) ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit,^(I) you are not under the law.^(J)

¹⁹The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,^(K) impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.^(L) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.^(M)

²²But the fruit^(N) of the Spirit is love,^(O) joy, peace,^(P) forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control.^(Q) Against such things there is no law.^(R) ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh^(S) with its passions and desires.^(T) ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit,^(U) let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited,^(V) provoking and envying each other.

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Footnotes

Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18
Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

Psalm 64

New International Version

Psalm 64^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;^(A)
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.^(B)

²Hide me from the conspiracy^(C) of the wicked,^(D)
    from the plots of evildoers.
³They sharpen their tongues like swords^(E)
    and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.^(F)
⁴They shoot from ambush at the innocent;^(G)
    they shoot suddenly, without fear.^(H)

⁵They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;^(I)
    they say, “Who will see it^[b]?”^(J)
⁶They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

⁷But God will shoot them with his arrows;
    they will suddenly be struck down.
⁸He will turn their own tongues against them^(K)
    and bring them to ruin;
    all who see them will shake their heads^(L) in scorn.^(M)
⁹All people will fear;^(N)
    they will proclaim the works of God
    and ponder what he has done.^(O)