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Isaiah 40

The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.
2
“Speak to the heart of Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled,
That her iniquity has been removed,
That she has received from the hand of Yahweh
Double for all her sins.”

3
A voice is calling,
“Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4
Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5
Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
6
A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.
7
The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of Yahweh blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

9
Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Raise up your voice powerfully,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10
Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11
Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock;
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And encompassed the heavens by the span,
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13
Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
14
With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And made Him know the way of understanding?
15
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are counted as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.
16
Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17
All the nations are as nothing before Him;
They are counted by Him as non‑existent and utterly formless.

18
To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19
As for the graven images, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20
He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution
Chooses a tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman
To prepare a graven image that will not be shaken.

21
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22
It is He who inhabits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
It is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to inhabit.
23
It is He who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth utterly formless.
24
Scarcely have they been planted;
Scarcely have they been sown;
Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25
“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His vigor and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

27
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from Yahweh,
And the justice due me passes by my God”?
28
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29
He gives power to the weary,
And to him who lacks vigor He increases might.
30
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And choice young men stumble badly,
31
Yet those who hope in Yahweh
Will gain new power;
They will mount up with wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary.

John 5:25 - 6:71

Two Resurrections

25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing from Myself. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 31 “If I alone bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He gives about Me is true.

Witnesses to Jesus: The Father and the Scriptures

33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
34 But the witness I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from men; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).
2 Now a large crowd was following Him, because they were seeing the signs which He was doing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He was sitting down with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where should we buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 And this He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had done, they were saying, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Sea

15 So Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 And the sea *was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 22 On the next day, the crowd which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other small boats came from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

I Am the Bread of Life

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What should we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 Now this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Words to the Jews

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also the bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Words to the Disciples

59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ

66 As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore.
67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71 Now He was speaking of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

Psalm 67 - 68

Cause Your Face to Shine upon Us

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah.
2
That Your way may be known on the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will judge the peoples with uprightness
And lead the nations on the earth. Selah.
5
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6
The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
7
God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

Let God’s Enemies Be Scattered

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish before God.
3
But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
And let them rejoice with gladness.
4
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is Yah, and exult before Him.

5
A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
6
God causes the lonely to inhabit a home;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7
O God, when You went forth before Your people,
When You marched through the wasteland, Selah.
8
The earth quaked;
The heavens also dripped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9
You caused abundant rain to sprinkle down, O God;
You established Your inheritance when it was parched.
10
Your creatures inhabited it;
You established it in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

11
The Lord gives the word;
The women who proclaim the good news are a great host:
12
“Kings of armies retreat, they retreat,
And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!”
13
If you men lie down among the sheepfolds,
You all would be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14
When the Almighty dispersed the kings there,
It was snowing in Zalmon.

15
A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16
Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has prized for His habitation?
Surely Yahweh will dwell there forever.
17
The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands;
The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18
You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that Yah—God—may dwell there.

19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation. Selah.
20
God is to us a God of salvation;
And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death.
21
Surely God will crush the head of His enemies,
The hairy skull of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23
That your foot may crush them in blood,
The tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

24
They have seen Your procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25
The singers went on, the musicians after them,
In the midst of the maidens beating tambourines.
26
Bless God in the congregations,
Yahweh, the fountain of Israel.
27
There is Benjamin, the youngest, having dominion over them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28
Your God has commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, who has worked on our behalf.
29
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
Kings will bring gifts to You.
30
Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has cast out the peoples who delight in war.
31
Envoys will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

32
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
33
To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, He gives forth His voice, a voice that is strong.
34
Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And His strength is in the skies.
35
O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself gives strength and might to the people.
Blessed be God!