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Isaiah 61 - 62

Exaltation of the Afflicted

The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me
Because Yahweh has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners,
2
To proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh
And the day of vengeance of our God,
To comfort all who mourn,
3
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a headdress instead of ashes,
The oil of rejoicing instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory.

4
Then they will rebuild the ancient waste places;
They will raise up the former desolations;
And they will make new the ruined cities,
The desolations from generation to generation.
5
Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6
But you will be called the priests of Yahweh;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their glories you will boast.
7
Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of dishonor they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land;
Everlasting gladness will be theirs.
8
For I, Yahweh, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And in truth I will give them their recompense
And cut an everlasting covenant with them.
9
Then their seed will be known among the nations,
And their offspring in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the seed whom Yahweh has blessed.

10
I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh;
My soul will rejoice in my God,
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11
For as the earth brings forth its branches,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to branch out,
So Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise
To branch out before all the nations.

Zion’s Glory and New Name

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
2
The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of Yahweh will designate.
3
You will also be a crown of glory in the hand of Yahweh,
And a turban of royalty in the hand of your God.
4
It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For Yahweh takes pleasure in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
5
For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

6
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who remind Yahweh, take no rest for yourselves;
7
And give Him no rest until He establishes
And sets Jerusalem as a praise in the earth.
8
Yahweh has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm,
“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies;
Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
9
But those who collect it will eat it and praise Yahweh;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

10
Go through, go through the gates,
Clear the way for the people;
Build up, build up the highway,
Remove the stones, raise up a standard over the peoples.
11
Behold, Yahweh has announced to the end of the earth,
Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes;
Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”
12
And they will call them, “The holy people,
The redeemed of Yahweh”;
And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

Acts 1 - 2

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

The first account, O Theophilus, I composed, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over forty days and speaking about the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 But He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”

The Ascension

9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
13 And when they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one accord were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers. 15 And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (a crowd of about 120 persons was there together), and said, 16 “Men, brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his unrighteousness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms,
Let his residence be made desolate,
And let no one dwell in it’;
and,
Let another man take his office.’
21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to take the place of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues like fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. 5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 So they were astounded and marveling, saying, “Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the district of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And they all continued in astonishment and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others, mocking, were saying, “They are full of new wine.”

Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost

14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17
And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
18
Even on My male slaves and female slaves,
I will in those days pour out My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
19
And I will put wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
20
The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
21
And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 25 For David says of Him,
‘I saw the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.
26
Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;
Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
27
Because You will not forsake my soul to Hades,
Nor give Your Holy One over to see corruption.
28
You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’
29 “Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to set one of the fruit of his body on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither forsaken to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says:
The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at My right hand,
35
Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”’
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

About Three Thousand Souls Saved

37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men, brothers, what should we do?”
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly bore witness and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were dividing them up with all, as anyone might have need. 46 And daily devoting themselves with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

Psalm 79

How Long, O Yahweh?

A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your holy temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2
They have given the dead bodies of Your slaves for food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your holy ones to the beasts of the earth.
3
They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;
And there was no one to bury them.
4
We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A mockery and derision to those around us.
5
How long, O Yahweh? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
6
Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name.
7
For they have devoured Jacob
And laid waste his abode.

8
Do not remember our former iniquities against us;
Let Your compassion quickly approach us,
For we are brought very low.
9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
And deliver us and atone for our sins for Your name’s sake.
10
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let it be known among the nations before our eyes:
Vengeance for the blood of Your slaves which has been poured out.
11
Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are doomed to die.
12
And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom
The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
13
But as for us, as Your people and the sheep of Your pasture,
We will give thanks to You forever;
From generation to generation we will recount Your praise.