Isaiah 26 - 27 - Legacy Standard Bible

Isaiah 26 - 27

Yahweh Will Establish Peace

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;

He sets up walls and ramparts for salvation.

Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,

The one that keeps faithfulness.

The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace

Because he trusts in You.

Trust in Yahweh forever,

For in Yah—Yahweh Himself—we have an everlasting Rock.

For He has laid low those who settle on high, the exalted city;

He brings it low, He brings it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

The foot will trample it,

The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the poor.”

The way of the righteous is upright;

O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.

Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Yahweh,

We have hoped for You eagerly;

Your name—the memory of You—is the desire of our souls.

At night my soul longs for You,

Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You earnestly;

For when the earth experiences Your judgments,

The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

Though the wicked is shown favor,

He does not learn righteousness;

He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,

And does not perceive the majesty of Yahweh.

O Yahweh, Your hand is raised up high, yet they do not behold it.

They behold Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;

Indeed, fire will devour Your adversaries.

Yahweh, You will establish peace for us,

Since You have also performed for us all our works.

O Yahweh our God, other masters besides You have ruled us;

But through You alone we bring Your name to remembrance.

The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise;

Therefore You have visited and destroyed them,

And You have made all remembrance of them perish.

You have increased the nation, O Yahweh;

You have increased the nation, You are glorified;

You have extended all the borders of the land.

O Yahweh, they visited You in distress;

They could only whisper a prayer;

Your chastening was upon them.

As the woman with child draws near to the time to give birth,

She writhes and cries out in her pangs of labor,

Thus were we before You, O Yahweh.

We were with child, we writhed in labor;

We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.

We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,

And the inhabitants of the world were not born.

Your dead will live;

Their corpses will rise.

You who dwell in the dust, awake and shout for joy,

For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,

And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Come, my people, enter into your rooms

And close your doors behind you;

Hide for a little while

Until indignation passes by.

For behold, Yahweh is about to come out from His place

To visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth;

And the earth will reveal her bloodshed

And will no longer cover those of hers who were killed.

Yahweh Will Deliver Israel

In that day Yahweh will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,

With His fierce and great and mighty sword,

Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;

And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

In that day,

“A vineyard of delight, sing of it!

I, Yahweh, am its keeper;

I water it every moment.

Lest anyone damage it,

I keep it night and day.

I have no wrath.

Who would ever give Me briars and thorns in the battle?

I would step on them, I would burn them completely.

Or let him rely on My strong defense,

Let him make peace with Me,

Let him make peace with Me.”

In the days to come Jacob will take root,

Israel will blossom and bud,

And they will fill the whole world with produce.

Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has He struck them?

Or like the slaughter of those of His who were killed, have they been killed?

You contended with them by driving them away, by making them forlorn.

With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the east wind.

Therefore through this, Jacob’s iniquity will be atoned for;

And this will be the whole fruit of the turning away of his sin:

When he makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk stones,

When Asherim and incense altars will not stand.

For the fortified city is isolated,

A haunt forlorn and forsaken like the desert;

There the calf will graze,

And there it will lie down and feed on its twigs.

When its limbs are dry, they are broken off;

Women come and light a fire with them,

For they are not a people of discernment,

Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them.

And their Creator will not be gracious to them.

12 And it will be in that day, that Yahweh will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. 13 And it will be in that day, that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were banished in the land of Egypt will come and worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Drachma

8 “Or what woman, if she has ten drachmas and loses one drachma, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost!’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

11 And He said, “A man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. 13 And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate living recklessly. 14 Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he was desiring to be fed with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17 But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18 I will rise up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ 20 So he rose up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet, 23 and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let us eat and celebrate, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And summoning one of the servants, he began inquiring what these things could be. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he became angry and was not wanting to go in, and his father came out and began pleading with him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and never have I neglected a command of yours. And yet never have you given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Child, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive, and was lost and has been found.’”

Psalm 50

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,

And called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God has shone forth.

May our God come and not be silent;

Fire devours before Him,

And a storm whirls around Him.

He calls the heavens above,

And the earth, to render justice to His people:

“Gather My holy ones to Me,

Those who have cut a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

And the heavens declare His righteousness,

For God Himself is judge. Selah.

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you;

I am God, your God.

I do not reprove you for your sacrifices,

And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.

I shall take no young bull out of your house

Nor male goats out of your folds.

For every beast of the forest is Mine,

The cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird of the mountains,

And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

If I were hungry I would not tell you,

For the world is Mine, as well as its fullness.

Shall I eat the flesh of bulls

Or drink the blood of male goats?

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving

And pay your vows to the Most High;

Call upon Me in the day of distress;

I shall rescue you, and you will glorify Me.”

But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to recount My statutes

And to take My covenant in your mouth?

For you hate discipline,

And you cast My words behind you.

When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,

And you associate with adulterers.

You let your mouth loose in evil

And you harness your tongue for deceit.

You sit and speak against your brother;

You slander your own mother’s son.

These things you have done and I kept silent;

You thought that I was just like you;

I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

“Now consider this, you who forget God,

Lest I tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.

He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me;

And he who orders his way,

I shall show the salvation of God.”