Isaiah 1

 ¹  These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He saw these visions during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. [1] 

A Message for Rebellious Judah
 ²  Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth!
  This is what the LORD says:
"The children I raised and cared for
  have rebelled against me.
 ³  Even an ox knows its owner,
  and a donkey recognizes its master's care—
but Israel doesn't know its master.
  My people don't recognize my care for them."
 ⁴  Oh, what a sinful nation they are—
  loaded down with a burden of guilt.
They are evil people,
  corrupt children who have rejected the LORD.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel
  and turned their backs on him.

 ⁵  Why do you continue to invite punishment?
  Must you rebel forever?
Your head is injured,
  and your heart is sick.
 ⁶  You are battered from head to foot—
  covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—
  without any soothing ointments or bandages.
 ⁷  Your country lies in ruins,
  and your towns are burned.
Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes
  and destroy everything they see.
 ⁸  Beautiful Jerusalem [8]  stands abandoned
  like a watchman's shelter in a vineyard,
like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest,
  like a helpless city under siege.
 ⁹  If the LORD of Heaven's Armies
  had not spared a few of us, [9] 
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
  destroyed like Gomorrah.

 ¹⁰  Listen to the LORD, you leaders of "Sodom."
  Listen to the law of our God, people of "Gomorrah."
 ¹¹  "What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?"
  says the LORD.
"I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
  and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
  of bulls and lambs and goats.
 ¹²  When you come to worship me,
  who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
 ¹³  Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
  the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
  and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
  I want no more of your pious meetings.
 ¹⁴  I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
  They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
 ¹⁵  When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
  Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
  for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
 ¹⁶  Wash yourselves and be clean!
  Get your sins out of my sight.
  Give up your evil ways.
 ¹⁷  Learn to do good.
  Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
  Defend the cause of orphans.
  Fight for the rights of widows.

 ¹⁸  "Come now, let's settle this," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool."  ¹⁹  If you will only obey me,
  you will have plenty to eat.
 ²⁰  But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
  you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
  I, the LORD, have spoken!"

Unfaithful Jerusalem
 ²¹  See how Jerusalem, once so faithful,
  has become a prostitute.
Once the home of justice and righteousness,
  she is now filled with murderers.
 ²²  Once like pure silver,
  you have become like worthless slag.
Once so pure,
  you are now like watered-down wine.
 ²³  Your leaders are rebels,
  the companions of thieves.
All of them love bribes
  and demand payoffs,
but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans
  or fight for the rights of widows.

 ²⁴  Therefore, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven's Armies,
  the Mighty One of Israel, says,
"I will take revenge on my enemies
  and pay back my foes!
 ²⁵  I will raise my fist against you.
  I will melt you down and skim off your slag.
  I will remove all your impurities.
 ²⁶  Then I will give you good judges again
  and wise counselors like you used to have.
Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice
  and the Faithful City."

 ²⁷  Zion will be restored by justice;
  those who repent will be revived by righteousness.
 ²⁸  But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed,
  and those who desert the LORD will be consumed.

 ²⁹  You will be ashamed of your idol worship
  in groves of sacred oaks.
You will blush because you worshiped
  in gardens dedicated to idols.
 ³⁰  You will be like a great tree with withered leaves,
  like a garden without water.
 ³¹  The strongest among you will disappear like straw;
  their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire.
They and their evil works will burn up together,
  and no one will be able to put out the fire.

Isaiah 2

The LORD's Future Reign
 ¹  This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

 ²  In the last days, the mountain of the LORD's house
  will be the highest of all—
  the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
  and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
 ³  People from many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
  to the house of Jacob's God.
There he will teach us his ways,
  and we will walk in his paths."
For the LORD's teaching will go out from Zion;
  his word will go out from Jerusalem.
 ⁴  The LORD will mediate between nations
  and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
  and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
  nor train for war anymore.

A Warning of Judgment
 ⁵  "Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD!"  ⁶  For the LORD has rejected his people,
  the descendants of Jacob,
because they have filled their land with practices from the East
  and with sorcerers, as the Philistines do.
  They have made alliances with pagans.
 ⁷  Israel is full of silver and gold;
  there is no end to its treasures.
Their land is full of warhorses;
  there is no end to its chariots.
 ⁸  Their land is full of idols;
  the people worship things they have made
  with their own hands.
 ⁹  So now they will be humbled,
  and all will be brought low—
  do not forgive them.
 ¹⁰  Crawl into caves in the rocks.
  Hide in the dust
from the terror of the LORD
  and the glory of his majesty.
 ¹¹  Human pride will be brought down,
  and human arrogance will be humbled.
Only the LORD will be exalted
  on that day of judgment.

 ¹²  For the LORD of Heaven's Armies
  has a day of reckoning.
He will punish the proud and mighty
  and bring down everything that is exalted.
 ¹³  He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon
  and all the mighty oaks of Bashan.
 ¹⁴  He will level all the high mountains
  and all the lofty hills.
 ¹⁵  He will break down every high tower
  and every fortified wall.
 ¹⁶  He will destroy all the great trading ships [16] 
  and every magnificent vessel.
 ¹⁷  Human pride will be humbled,
  and human arrogance will be brought down.
Only the LORD will be exalted
  on that day of judgment.

 ¹⁸  Idols will completely disappear.
 ¹⁹  When the LORD rises to shake the earth,
  his enemies will crawl into holes in the ground.
They will hide in caves in the rocks
  from the terror of the LORD
  and the glory of his majesty.
 ²⁰  On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols
  they made for themselves to worship.
They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,
 ²¹    while they crawl away into caverns
  and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.
They will try to escape the terror of the LORD
  and the glory of his majesty
  as he rises to shake the earth.
 ²²  Don't put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?

<<  1:1 These kings reigned from 792 to 686 <%=ftSC%>B.C.
<<  1:8 Hebrew The daughter of Zion.
<<  1:9 Greek version reads a few of our children. Compare Rom 9:29.
<<  2:16 Hebrew every ship of Tarshish.

Galatians 5

Freedom in Christ
 ¹  So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.    ²  Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.  ³  I'll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.  ⁴  For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.
   ⁵  But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.  ⁶  For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.    ⁷  You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?  ⁸  It certainly isn't God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.  ⁹  This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!  ¹⁰  I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
   ¹¹  Dear brothers and sisters, [11]  if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended.  ¹²  I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. [12] 
   ¹³  For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  ¹⁴  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  ¹⁵  But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

Living by the Spirit's Power
 ¹⁶  "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves."  ¹⁷  The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.  ¹⁸  But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
   ¹⁹  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,  ²⁰  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,  ²¹  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
   ²²  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ...  ²³  ... gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!    ²⁴  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  ²⁵  Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.  ²⁶  Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

<<  5:11 Greek Brothers; similarly in 5:13.
<<  5:12 Or castrate themselves, or cut themselves off from you; Greek reads cut themselves off.
<<  5:14 Lev 19:18.