Isaiah 65 - 66, Acts 5 - 6, Psalms 81 - 82

Judgment and Salvation

65“I permitted Myself to be sought by ^athose who did not ask for Me;I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’To a nation which ^bdid not call on My name.²“^aI have spread out My hands all day long to a ^brebellious people,Who walk in the way which is not good, ¹following their own ^cthoughts,³A people who continually ^aprovoke Me to My face,Offering sacrifices in ^bgardens and ^cburning incense on bricks,⁴Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places,Who ^aeat swine’s flesh,And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots,⁵Who say, ‘^aKeep to yourself, do not come near me,For I am holier than you!’These are smoke in My ¹nostrils,A fire that burns all the day.⁶“Behold, it is written before Me:I will ^anot keep silent, but ^bI will repay;I will even repay into their bosom,⁷Both ¹their own ^ainiquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says Yahweh.“Because they have ^bburned incense on the mountainsAnd ^creproached Me on the hills,Therefore I will ^dmeasure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸Thus says Yahweh, “As the new wine is found in the cluster,And one says, ‘Do not make it a ruin, for there is ¹benefit in it,’So I will act on behalf of My slavesIn order ^anot to make ²all of them a ruin.

⁹“I will bring forth a ^aseed from Jacob,And a ^bpossessor of My mountains from Judah;Even ^cMy chosen ones shall possess it,And ^dMy slaves will dwell there.¹⁰“^aSharon will be a pasture land for flocks,And the ^bvalley of Achor a resting place for herds,For My people who ^cseek Me.¹¹“But you who ^aforsake Yahweh,Who forget My ^bholy mountain,Who set a table for ¹Fortune,And who fill cups with mixed wine for ²Destiny,¹²I will destine you for the ^asword,And all of you will bow down to the ^bslaughter,Because I called, but you ^cdid not answer;I spoke, but you did not hear.And you did what was evil in My eyesAnd chose that in which I was not pleased.”

¹³Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, My slaves will ^aeat, but you will be ^bhungry.Behold, My slaves will ^cdrink, but you will be ^dthirsty.Behold, My slaves will ^ebe glad, but you will be ^fput to shame.

¹⁴“Behold, My slaves will ^ashout joyfully with a merry heart,But you will ^bcry out with a pained heart,And you will wail with a broken spirit.¹⁵“You will leave your name for a ¹^,^acurse to My chosen ones,And Lord Yahweh will put you to death.But ²My slaves will be called by ^banother name,¹⁶Because he who ¹is blessed in the earthWill ²be blessed by the ^aGod of truth,And he who swears in the earthWill ^bswear by the God of truth;Because the former distresses are forgotten,And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“For behold, I am creating a ^anew heavens and a new earth;And the ^bformer things will not be remembered or come upon the heart.¹⁸“But be ^ajoyful and rejoice forever in what I create;For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicingAnd her people for joy.¹⁹“I will also ^arejoice in Jerusalem and be joyful in My people;And there will no longer be heard in herThe voice of ^bweeping and the voice of crying.²⁰“No longer will there be ¹in it an infant who lives but a few days,Or an old man who does ^anot fulfill his days;For the youth will die at the age of one hundred,And the ²^,^bone who does not reach the age of one hundredWill be thought accursed.²¹“They will ^abuild houses and inhabit them;They will also ^bplant vineyards and eat their fruit.²²“They will not build and ^aanother inhabit;They will not plant and another eat;For ^bas the ¹lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,And My chosen ones will ^cwear out the work of their hands.²³“They will ^anot labor in vain,Or bear children for terror;For they are the ^bseed of those blessed by Yahweh,And their offspring with them.

²⁴“And it will be that before they call, I will ^aanswer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. ²⁵“The ^awolf and the lamb will graze together, and the ^blion will eat straw like the ox; and ^cdust will be the serpent’s food. They will ^ddo no evil nor act corruptly in all My ^eholy mountain,” says Yahweh.

Heaven Is Yahweh’s Throne

66Thus says Yahweh, “^aHeaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet.Where then is a ^bhouse you could build for Me?And where is a place that ¹I may rest?

²“For ^aMy hand made all these things,Thus all these things came into being,” declares Yahweh.“But to this one I will look,To him who is humble and ^bcontrite of spirit, and who ^ctrembles at My word.³“But he who slaughters an ox is the one who strikes down a man;He who sacrifices a lamb is the one who breaks a dog’s neck;He who offers a grain offering is the one who offers ^aswine’s blood;He who ^boffers a memorial offering of frankincense is the one who blesses wickedness.As they have chosen their ^cown ways,And their soul takes pleasure in their ^ddetestable things,⁴So I will ^achoose their ¹punishmentsAnd will ^bbring on them what they dread,Because I called, but ^cno one answered;I spoke, but they did not listen.And they did what was ^devil in My eyesAnd chose that in which I did not take pleasure.”⁵Hear the word of Yahweh, you who ^atremble at His word:“Your brothers who ^bhate you, who ^cexclude you for My name’s sake,Have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness.’But ^dthey will be put to shame.⁶“A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple,The voice of Yahweh who is ^apaying recompense to His enemies.⁷“Before she was in labor pains, ^ashe gave birth;Before her pangs came, ^bshe delivered a male child.⁸“^aWho has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?Can a land be ¹brought forth through labor pains in one day?Can a nation be born all at once?As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth to her sons.⁹“Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and ^anot cause birth?” says Yahweh.“Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

¹⁰“Be ^aglad with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^blove her;Be exceedingly ^cjoyful with her, all you who mourn over her,¹¹That you may nurse and ^abe satisfied with her comforting breasts,That you may suck and be delighted with her ^bbountiful bosom.”¹²For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I stretch out ^apeace to her like a river,And the ^bglory of the nations like an overflowing stream;And you will ¹be nursed; you will be ^ccarried on the ²hip and played with on the knees.¹³“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^acomfort you;And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”¹⁴Then you will ^asee this, and your ^bheart will be joyful,And your ^cbones will flourish like the new grass;And the ^dhand of Yahweh will be made known to His slaves,But He will be ^eindignant toward His enemies.¹⁵For behold, Yahweh will come in ^afireAnd His ^bchariots like the whirlwind,To return His anger with wrath,And His rebuke with flames of fire.¹⁶For Yahweh will execute judgment by ^afireAnd by His ^bsword on all flesh,And those slain by Yahweh will be many.¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^agardens,¹Following one in the center,Who eat ^bswine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,Will ^ccome to an end altogether,” declares Yahweh.

¹⁸“And I ¹know their works and their ^athoughts; ²the time is coming to ^bgather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹“I will set a ^asign among them and will send those who have escaped from them to the nations: ^bTarshish, ¹Put, ^cLud, ²Meshech, ^dTubal, and ³Javan, to the distant ^ecoastlands that have neither heard My report nor seen My glory. And they will ^fdeclare My glory among the nations. ²⁰“Then they shall ^abring all your brothers from all the nations as a grain offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My ^bholy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^cclean vessel to the house of Yahweh. ²¹“I will also take some of them for ^apriests and for Levites,” says Yahweh.

²²“For just as the ^anew heavens and the new earthWhich I make will endure before Me,” declares Yahweh,“So your ^bseed and your ^cname will endure.²³“And it shall be from ^anew moon to new moonAnd from sabbath to sabbath,All ¹mankind will come to ^bworship before Me,” says Yahweh.²⁴“Then they will go forth and lookOn the ^acorpses of the menWho have ¹^,^btransgressed against Me.For their ^cworm will not die^dAnd their fire will not be quenched;And they will be an object of ^econtempt to all ²mankind.”

Ananias and Sapphira

5But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ²and ^akept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s ¹full knowledge. And bringing a portion of it, he ^blaid it at the apostles’ feet. ³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^aSatan filled your heart to lie ^bto the Holy Spirit and to ^ckeep back some of the price of the land? ⁴“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not ¹under your authority? Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but ^ato God.” ⁵And as he heard these words, Ananias ^afell down and breathed his last; and ^bgreat fear came over all who heard. ⁶And the young men rose up and ^awrapped him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

⁷Now there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you were paid ^athis much for the land?” And she said, “Yes, that much.” ⁹Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to ^aput ^bthe Spirit of the ¹Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” ¹⁰And immediately she ^afell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹And ^agreat fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard these things.

¹²Now ¹at the hands of the apostles many ^asigns and wonders were happening among the people, and they were all with one accord in ^bSolomon’s Portico. ¹³But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, ^athe people were holding them in high esteem. ¹⁴And more than ever ^abelievers in the Lord were ^badded to their number, multitudes of men and women, ¹⁵to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that when Peter came by ^aat least his shadow might fall on any one of them. ¹⁶Also the multitude from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick ¹or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

The Apostles Jailed and Freed

¹⁷But the high priest rose up and those with him (that is ^athe sect of ^bthe Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸And they laid hands on the apostles and ^aput them in a public jail. ¹⁹But during the night ^aan angel of the ¹Lord opened the doors of the prison, and taking them out, he said, ²⁰“Go, stand and ¹speak to the people in the temple ²^,^athe whole message of this Life.” ²¹Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple ^aabout daybreak and began to teach. Now when ^bthe high priest and those with him came, they called ^cthe Sanhedrin together, even all the Council of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the jailhouse for them to be brought. ²²But ^athe officers who came did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported back, ²³saying, “We found the jailhouse locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors, but we opened it and found no one inside.” ²⁴Now when ^athe captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what ¹would come of this. ²⁵But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” ²⁶Then ^athe captain went along with ^bthe officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for ^cthey were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).

²⁷And when they had brought them, they stood them ¹before ^athe Sanhedrin. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸saying, “We ^astrictly commanded you not to continue teaching in this name, and ¹yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and ^bintend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “^aWe must obey God rather than men. ³⁰“^aThe God of our fathers ^braised up Jesus, ¹whom you ^cput to death by hanging Him on a tree. ³¹“^aThis One God exalted ¹to His right hand as ²a ^bLeader and a ^cSavior, to grant ^drepentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. ³²“And we are ^awitnesses ¹of these things, and ^bso is the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Counsel

³³But when they heard this, they became ^afurious and intended to kill them. ³⁴But a Pharisee named ^aGamaliel, a ^bteacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in ^cthe Sanhedrin and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. ³⁵And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. ³⁶“For some time ago Theudas rose up, ^aclaiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. ¹But he was killed, and all who ²were following him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷“After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ^athe census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all those who ¹were following him were scattered. ³⁸“So in the present case, I also say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or ¹action ^ais of men, it will be overthrown; ³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or you may even be found ^afighting against God.”

⁴⁰So they ¹followed his advice. And after calling the apostles in and ^abeating them, they commanded them not to ²speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. ⁴¹So they went on their way from the presence of the ^aSanhedrin, ^brejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame ^cfor the Name. ⁴²^aAnd every day, in the temple and ¹from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ^bproclaiming the good news that Jesus is the ²Christ.

Selection of the Seven

6Now in those days, while the ^adisciples were ^bmultiplying in number, there was grumbling from the ¹^,^cHellenists against the ^dHebrews, because their ^ewidows were being overlooked in ^fthe daily serving of food. ²So the twelve summoned the ¹congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. ³“Therefore, ^abrothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, ^bfull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. ⁴“But we will ^adevote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” ⁵And this word pleased the whole ¹congregation, and they chose ^aStephen, a man ^bfull of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and ^cPhilip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a ²^,^dproselyte from ^eAntioch. ⁶And these they stood before the apostles, and after ^apraying, they ^blaid their hands on them.

⁷^aAnd the word of God kept on spreading, and ^bthe number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great ¹many of the priests were becoming obedient to ^cthe faith.

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy

⁸And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great ^awonders and ¹signs among the people. ⁹But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both ^aCyrenians and ^bAlexandrians, and some from ^cCilicia and ¹^,^dAsia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. ¹⁰But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. ¹¹Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹²And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they ^acame up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to ^bthe Sanhedrin. ¹³And they put forward ^afalse witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this ^bholy place and the Law; ¹⁴for we have heard him say that ^athis Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter ^bthe customs which Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the ^aSanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.

Oh That My People Would Listen to Me

For the choir director. According to the Gittith. Of Asaph.

^aSing for joy to God our ^bstrength;Make a loud ^cshout to the ^dGod of Jacob.²Lift up a song of praise, strike ^athe tambourine,The sweet sounding ^blyre with the ^charp.³Blow the trumpet at the ^anew moon,At the full moon, on our ^bfeast day.⁴For it is a statute for Israel,^aA judgment of the God of Jacob.⁵He established it for a testimony in JosephWhen he ^awent forth over the land of Egypt.I heard a ^blanguage that I did not know:⁶“I ¹^,^arelieved his shoulder of the burden,His hands were freed from the ²basket.⁷“You ^acalled in distress and I rescued you;I ^banswered you in the hiding place of thunder;I tested you at the ^cwaters of Meribah. ¹ Selah.⁸“^aHear, O My people, and I will testify against you;O Israel, if you ^bwould listen to Me!⁹“Let there be no ^astrange god among you;And you shall not worship a foreign god.¹⁰“^aI am Yahweh your God,Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;^bOpen your mouth wide and I will ^cfill it.¹¹“But My people ^adid not listen to My voice,And Israel was not willing to obey Me.¹²“So I ^areleased ¹them over to the stubbornness of their heart,That they would walk in their own devices.¹³“Oh that My people ^awould listen to Me,That Israel would ^bwalk in My ways!¹⁴“I would quickly ^asubdue their enemiesAnd I would ^bturn My hand against their adversaries.¹⁵“^aThose who hate Yahweh would ^bcower before Him,And their time of punishment would be forever.¹⁶“¹But I would feed you with the ²^,^afinest of the wheat,And with ^bhoney from the rock I would satisfy you.”

God Stands in Judgment

A Psalm of Asaph.

God takes His ^astand in the congregation of ¹God;He ^bjudges in the midst of ²^,^cgods.²How long will you ^ajudge unrighteouslyAnd ^bshow partiality to the wicked? ¹ Selah.³^aGive justice to the poor and the orphan;Justify the afflicted and destitute.⁴^aProtect the poor and needy;Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.⁵They ^ado not know and do not understand;They ^bwalk about in darkness;All the ^cfoundations of the earth are shaken.⁶¹I ^asaid, “You are gods,And all of you are ^bsons of the Most High.⁷“Nevertheless ^ayou will die like menAnd you will fall like any ^bone of the princes.”⁸^aArise, O God, ^bjudge the earth!For it is You who ^cwill inherit all the nations.