Isaiah 32 - 33, Luke 18, Psalm 55 — Legacy Standard Bible

A King Will Reign Righteously

32Behold, a ^aking will reign righteouslyAnd princes will rule justly.²Each will be like a ^arefuge from the windAnd a shelter from the storm,Like ¹^,^bstreams of water in a dry country,Like the ^cshade of a ²huge rock in ³a weary land.³Then ^athe eyes of those who see will not be ¹blinded,And the ears of those who hear will pay attention.⁴And the heart of the ^ahasty will discern knowledge,And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.⁵No longer will the ^awicked fool be called noble,Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.⁶For a wicked fool speaks wicked folly,And his heart ^adoes wickedness:To do ^bungodliness and to speak error against Yahweh,In order to ^cmake the hungry person empty;He even causes the thirsty to lack a drink.⁷As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;He ^acounsels wicked schemesTo ^bwreak destruction on the afflicted with lying words,^cEven though the needy one speaks justly.⁸But ^athe noble man counsels noble plans;And by noble plans he rises up.⁹Rise up, you ^awomen who are at ease,And hear my voice;^bGive ear to my word,You complacent daughters.¹⁰Within a year and a few daysYou will quake, O complacent daughters;^aFor the grape harvest is ended,And the fruit gathering will not come.¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease;^aQuake, you complacent daughters;^bStrip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,¹²^aBeat your breasts for the desirable fields, for the fruitful vine,¹³^aFor the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up,Indeed, against all the joyful houses and the ^bexultant city.¹⁴Because ^athe palace has been abandoned, the ¹populated ^bcity forsaken.²Hill and watchtower have become ^ccaves forever,A joy for ^dwild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,¹⁵Until the ^aSpirit is poured out upon us from on high,And the wilderness becomes a ^bfruitful orchard,And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest.¹⁶Then ^ajustice will dwell in the wilderness,And righteousness will live in the fruitful orchard.¹⁷And the ^awork of righteousness will be peace,And the service of righteousness, ^bquietness and security forever.¹⁸Then my people will live in a ^apeaceful abode,And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed ^bresting places;¹⁹And it will ^ahail when the ^bforest comes down,And ^cthe city will be utterly laid low.²⁰How ^ablessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,Who ¹let out freely the ox and the donkey.

The King in His Beauty

33Woe ^ato you, O destroyer,While you were not destroyed;And he ^bwho is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.As soon as you finish destroying, ^cyou will be destroyed;As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ^ddeal treacherously with you.²O Yahweh, ^abe gracious to us; we have ^bhoped in You.Be ¹their ²^,^cstrength every morning,Our salvation also in the ^dtime of distress.³At the sound of the tumult ^apeoples flee;At the ^blifting up of Yourself nations scatter.⁴Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.⁵Yahweh is ^aexalted, for He dwells on high;He has ^bfilled Zion with justice and righteousness.⁶And He will be the ¹^,^astability of your times,A ^bwealth of salvation, wisdom, and ^cknowledge;The ^dfear of Yahweh is his treasure.⁷Behold, their brave men cry in ¹the streets;The ^amessengers of peace weep bitterly.⁸The highways are desolate, ¹the ^atraveler has ceased;He has ^bbroken the covenant, he has rejected the cities;He has no regard for man.⁹^aThe land mourns and languishes,^bLebanon is humiliated and withers;^cSharon is like a desert plain,And Bashan and Carmel ¹lose their foliage.¹⁰“Now ^aI will be on high,” says Yahweh,“Now I will be lifted up, now I will be lifted up.¹¹“You have ^aconceived ¹chaff, you will give birth to stubble;²My ^bbreath will consume you like a fire.¹²“The peoples will be burned to lime,^aLike cut thorns which are burned in the fire.¹³“You who are far away, ^ahear what I have done;And you who are near, ¹acknowledge My might.”¹⁴^aSinners in Zion are in dread;^bTrembling has seized the godless.“Who among us can sojourn with ^cthe consuming fire?Who among us can sojourn with ¹continual ^dburning?”¹⁵He who ^awalks righteously and speaks uprightly;He who rejects greedy gain of ¹oppression,And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshedAnd ^bshuts his eyes from looking upon evil;¹⁶He will dwell on the heights,^aHis refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs;^bHis bread will be given him,His water will be sure.¹⁷Your eyes will behold ^athe King in His beauty;They will see ^ba far-distant land.¹⁸Your heart will meditate on ^aterror:“Where is ^bhe who counts?Where is he who weighs?Where is he who counts the towers?”¹⁹You will no longer see a fierce people,A people of ¹^,^aunintelligible speech ²which no one comprehends,Of a stammering tongue ³which no one understands.²⁰^aBehold Zion, the city of our appointed times;Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ^babode at ease,^cA tent which will not be folded;Its stakes will never be pulled up,Nor any of its cords ever be torn apart.²¹But there the Mighty One, Yahweh, will be for usA place of ^arivers and wide canalsOn which no boat with oars will go,And on which no mighty ship will pass—²²For Yahweh is our ^ajudge,Yahweh is ^bour lawgiver,Yahweh is ^cour king;^dHe will save us—²³Your cords hang slack;They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,Nor spread out the sail.Then the ^aprey of an abundant spoil will be divided;^bThe lame will take the plunder.²⁴And no one who dwells there will say, “I am ^asick”;The people who inhabit ¹there will be ^bforgiven their iniquity.

Parables on Prayer

18Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^aought to pray and not to ^blose heart, ²saying, “In a certain city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and did not ^arespect man. ³“Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my opponent.’ ⁴“And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor ^arespect man, ⁵yet ^abecause this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she ¹^,^bwears me out.’” ⁶And ^athe Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge *said. ⁷“Now, will God not ^abring about justice for His ^belect who cry to Him day and night, ¹and will He ^cdelay long over them? ⁸“I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^awill He find that faith on the earth?”

⁹And He also told this parable to some people who ^atrusted in themselves that they were righteous, and ^bviewed others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men ^awent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹“The Pharisee ^astood and was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²‘I ^afast twice a week; I ^bpay tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³“But the tax collector, ^astanding some distance away, ^bwas even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but ^cwas ¹beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be ²merciful to me, the sinner!’ ¹⁴“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, ^afor everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁵^aAnd they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they were rebuking them. ¹⁶But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷“Truly I say to you, ^awhoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

The Rich Young Ruler

¹⁸^aAnd a ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰“You know the commandments, ‘^aDo not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” ²²And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack: ^asell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have ^btreasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.” ²³But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴And Jesus looked at him and said, “^aHow hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵“For ^ait is easier for a camel to ¹go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶And those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷But He said, “^aThe things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸And Peter said, “Behold, ^awe have left all that is our own and followed You.” ²⁹And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, ^athere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who will not receive many times more at this time and in ^athe age to come, eternal life.”

³¹^aBut when He took the twelve aside, He said to them, “Behold, ^bwe are going up to Jerusalem, and ^call things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be ¹completed. ³²“^aFor He will be ¹delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, ³³and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him, and the third day He will rise again.” ³⁴But ^athe disciples understood none of these things, and this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

Bartimaeus Regains His Sight

³⁵^aNow it happened that as ¹^,^bJesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. ³⁶Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. ³⁷They reported to him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸And he called out, saying, “Jesus, ^aSon of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹And those who went ahead were rebuking him so that he would be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “^aSon of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him, and when he came near, He questioned him, ⁴¹“What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” ⁴²And Jesus said to him, “¹Receive your sight; ^ayour faith has ²saved you.” ⁴³Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, ^aglorifying God. And when ^ball the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A ¹Maskil of David.

^aGive ear to my prayer, O God;And ^bdo not hide Yourself from my supplication.²Give ^aheed to me and answer me;I am restless in my ^bcomplaint and ¹^,^cam surely distracted,³Because of the voice of the enemy,Because of the ^apressure of the wicked;For they ^bshake wickedness down upon meAnd in anger they ^cbear a grudge against me.⁴My ^aheart is in anguish within me,And the terrors of ^bdeath have fallen upon me.⁵Fear and ^atrembling come upon me,And ¹^,^bhorror has covered me.⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!I would fly away and ¹^,^abe at rest.⁷“Behold, I would wander far away,I would ^alodge in the wilderness. ¹ Selah.⁸“I would hasten to my place of refugeFrom the ^astormy wind and tempest.”⁹¹Confuse, O Lord, ^adivide their tongues,For I have seen ^bviolence and strife in the city.¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls,And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.¹¹^aDestruction is in her midst;^bOppression and deceit do not depart from her ¹streets.¹²For it is ^anot an enemy who reproaches me,Then I could bear it;Nor is it one who hates me who ^bhas magnified himself against me,Then I could hide myself from him.¹³But it is you, a man ¹my equal,My ^aclose companion and my ²^,^bfamiliar friend;¹⁴We who had sweet counsel together^aWalked in the house of God in the throng.¹⁵Let ¹death come ^adeceitfully upon them;Let them ^bgo down alive to Sheol,For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.¹⁶As for me, I shall ^acall upon God,And Yahweh will save me.¹⁷^aEvening and ^bmorning and at ^cnoon, I will bring my complaint and moan,And He will hear my voice.¹⁸He will ^aredeem my soul in peace ¹from the battle which is against me,For they are ^bmany who strive with me.¹⁹God will ^ahear and ¹answer them—Even the one ^bwho ²sits enthroned from of old— Selah.Because they ³do not change,And ^cdo not fear God.²⁰¹My companion has put forth his hands against ^athose who were at peace with him;He has ²^,^bviolated his covenant.²¹His ¹speech was ^asmoother than butter,But his heart was war;His words were ^bsofter than oil,Yet they were drawn ^cswords.²²^aCast ¹your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you;^bHe will never allow the righteous to ²^,^cbe shaken.²³But You, O God, will bring them down to the ¹^,^apit of corruption;^bMen of bloodshed and deceit will ^cnot live out half their days.But I will ^dtrust in You.