Isaiah 8 - 9, Luke 6, Psalm 39 — Legacy Standard Bible

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

8Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and ^awrite on it ¹in ordinary letters: ^bConcerning ²Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ²“And ¹I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, ^aUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” ³Then I drew near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name ¹^,^aMaher-shalal-hash-baz, ⁴for ^abefore the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of ^bDamascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

⁵Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying,

⁶“Inasmuch as these people have ^arejected the gently flowing waters of ShiloahAnd rejoice in ^bRezin and the son of Remaliah;⁷Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the ^amighty and abundant waters of the ¹^,^bRiver—The ^cking of Assyria and all his glory;And it will ^drise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.⁸“Then ^ait will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through;It will ^breach even to the neck;And the spread of its wings will ¹fill the breadth of ²Your land, O ^cImmanuel.

Yahweh, a Sanctuary and a Stumbling Stone

⁹“^aBe broken, O peoples, and be ¹^,^bshattered;And give ear, all remote places of the earth.Gird yourselves, yet be ²shattered;Gird yourselves, yet be ³shattered.¹⁰“^aDevise counsel, but it will be thwarted;Speak a word, but ^bit will not stand,For ¹^,^cGod is with us.”

¹¹For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a ^astrong hand and disciplined me ^bnot to walk in the way of this people, saying,

¹²“You are not to say, ‘It is a ^aconspiracy!’In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;And ^byou are not to fear ¹what they fear, and you shall not tremble.¹³“It is ^aYahweh of hosts ^bwhom you should regard as holy.And He shall be your fear,And He shall be your cause of trembling.¹⁴“Then He shall become a ^asanctuary;But to both the houses of Israel, a ^bstone to strike and a rock to stumble over,And a snare and a ^ctrap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.¹⁵“And many ^awill stumble over them;Then they will fall and be broken;They will even be snared and caught.”

¹⁶^aBind up the testimony, ^bseal the ¹law among ^cmy disciples. ¹⁷And I will ^await for Yahweh ^bwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. ¹⁸^aBehold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for ^bsigns and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who ^cdwells on Mount Zion.

Darkness to Light Through the Prince of Peace

¹⁹Now when they say to you, “^aInquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people ^binquire of their God? Should they ^cinquire of the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰To the ¹^,^alaw and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because ^bthey have no dawn. ²¹And they will pass through ¹the land ^ahard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse ²their king and their God as they face upward. ²²Then they will ^alook to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be ^bbanished into thick darkness.

9¹But there will be no more ^agloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He ^btreated the ^cland of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the ²Gentiles.

²¹^,^aThe people who walk in darknessWill see a great light;Those who live in the land of the shadow of death,The light will shine on them.³^aYou shall multiply the nation,You ^bshall ¹make great ²their gladness;They will be glad in Your presenceAs with the gladness ³of harvest,As ⁴^,^cmen rejoice when they divide the spoil.⁴For ^aYou shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,The rod of their ^btaskmaster, as ¹at the battle of ^cMidian.⁵For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle,And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.⁶For a ^achild will be born to us, a ^bson will be given to us;And the ^cgovernment will ¹rest ^don His shoulders;And His name will be called ^eWonderful Counselor, ^fMighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.⁷There will be ^ano end to the increase of His government or of peace,On the ^bthrone of David and over his kingdom,To establish it and to uphold it with ^cjustice and righteousnessFrom then on and forevermore.^dThe zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.

Yahweh’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

⁸The Lord sends a ¹message against Jacob,And it falls on Israel.⁹And all the people know it,That is, ^aEphraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,Saying in lofty pride and in ^barrogance of heart:¹⁰“The bricks have fallen down,But we will ^arebuild with cut stones;The sycamores have been cut in pieces,But we will replace them with cedars.”¹¹Therefore Yahweh exalts against them adversaries from ^aRezinAnd incites their enemies,¹²The Arameans on the east and the ^aPhilistines on the west;And they ^bdevour Israel with ¹gaping jaws.^cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.¹³Yet the people ^ado not turn back to Him who struck them,Nor do they ^bseek Yahweh of hosts.¹⁴So Yahweh cuts off ^ahead and tail from Israel,Both palm branch and bulrush ^bin a single day.¹⁵The head is ^athe elder and the ¹highly respected man,And the prophet who teaches ^bfalsehood is the tail.¹⁶^aFor those who guide this people are leading them astray;And those who are guided by them are ¹brought to confusion.¹⁷Therefore the Lord ^ais not glad in their choice men,^bNor does He have compassion on their ¹orphans or their widows;For every one of them is ^cgodless and an ^devildoer,And every ^emouth is speaking wicked foolishness.^fIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.¹⁸^aFor wickedness burns like a fire;It consumes briars and thorns;It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame,And they roll upward in a column of smoke.¹⁹By the ^afury of Yahweh of hosts the ^bland is burned up,And the ^cpeople are like fuel for the fire;No ^dman spares his brother.²⁰¹They slice off what is on the right hand but still are ^ahungry,And ²they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;Each of them eats the ^bflesh of his own arm.²¹Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,^aAnd together they are against Judah.^bIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.

Lord of the Sabbath

6^aNow it happened that on a Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields, and His disciples ^bwere picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ²But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what ^ais not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you never read ^awhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, ⁴how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the ¹consecrated bread which ^ais not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” ⁵And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath

⁶^aNow it happened that on another Sabbath He entered ^bthe synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there ¹whose right hand was withered. ⁷And the scribes and the Pharisees ^awere watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. ⁸But He ^aknew ¹what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and ²come forward!” And he stood up and ³came forward. ⁹And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰And after ^alooking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹But they themselves were filled with ¹rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

¹²Now it happened that ¹at this time He went off to ^athe mountain to ^bpray, and He was spending the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³And when day came, ^aHe called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ^bapostles: ¹⁴Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵and ^aMatthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷And Jesus ^acame down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ^ba large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of ^cTyre and Sidon, ¹⁸who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd was trying to ^atouch Him, for ^bpower was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “^aBlessed are the poor, for ^byours is the kingdom of God.

²¹Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are those who cry now, for you shall laugh. ²²^aBlessed are you when men hate you, and ^bexclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

²³“Be glad in that day and ^aleap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For ^btheir fathers were doing the same things to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

²⁴“But woe to ^ayou who are rich, for ^byou are receiving your comfort in full. ²⁵Woe to you who ¹are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry. ²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the ^afalse prophets.

Love Your Enemies

²⁷“But I say to you who hear, ^alove your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, ^apray for those who disparage you. ²⁹“^aWhoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your garment, do not withhold your ¹tunic from him either. ³⁰“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ³¹“And ¹^,^atreat others the same way you want ²them to treat you. ³²“^aAnd if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³“And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴“^aAnd if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. ³⁵“But ^alove your enemies, and do good, and lend, ¹expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^bsons of ^cthe Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil. ³⁶“¹Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Do Not Judge

³⁷“^aAnd do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; ¹^,^bpardon, and you will be ²pardoned. ³⁸“Give, and it will be given to you. They will ¹pour ^ainto your lap a ^bgood measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹And He also spoke a parable to them: “^aCan a blind man guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰“^aA ¹student is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will ²be like his teacher. ⁴¹“And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴²“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. ⁴³“^aFor there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, ¹on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. ⁴⁴“^aFor each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵“^aThe good man out of the good ¹treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil. ^bFor his mouth speaks from the abundance of his heart.

Build Your House on the Rock

⁴⁶“^aNow why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷“^aEveryone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹“But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Yahweh, Make Me Know My End

For the choir director. For ¹Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

I said, “I will ^akeep watch over my waysThat I ^bmay not sin with my tongue;I will keep watch over ^cmy mouth as with a muzzleWhile the wicked are in my presence.”²I was ^amute with silence,I even kept silent from speaking good,And my anguish grew worse.³My ^aheart was hot within me,While I meditated the fire was burning;Then I spoke with my tongue:⁴“Yahweh, cause me to know ^amy endAnd what is the extent of my days;Let me know how ^btransient I am.⁵“Behold, You have made ^amy days as ¹handbreadths,And my ^blifetime as nothing before You;Surely every man, even standing firm, is ²altogether ^cvanity. ³ Selah.⁶“Surely every man ^awalks about as ¹a shadow;Surely they make an ^buproar in vain;He ^cpiles up riches and does not know who will gather them.⁷“And now, Lord, what do I hope in?My ^aexpectation is in You.⁸“^aDeliver me from all my transgressions;Make me not the ^breproach of the wicked fool.⁹“I have become ^amute, I do not open my mouth,Because it is ^bYou who have done it.¹⁰“^aRemove Your plague from me;Because of ^bthe opposition of Your hand I am wasting away.¹¹“With ^areproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;You ^bconsume as a moth what is precious to him;Surely ^cevery man is vanity. Selah.¹²“^aHear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear to my cry for help;Do not be silent ^bat my tears;For I am ^ca sojourner with You,A ^dforeign resident like all my fathers.¹³“^aTurn Your gaze away from me, that I may ¹smile againBefore I go and am no more.”