22 Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and hraise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall ibring your sons in their arms,1
jand your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your knursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground lthey shall bow down to you,
and mlick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who nwait for me shall not be put to shame.”
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant2 be rescued?
25 For thus says the Lord:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that I am the Lord oyour Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
4 The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 wI gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and xspitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face ylike a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 qNow the birth of Jesus Christ1 took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been rbetrothed2 to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child sfrom the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to tdivorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an uangel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall vcall his name Jesus, for he will wsave his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place xto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 y“Behold, the zvirgin ashall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name bImmanuel”
(which means, cGod dwith us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but eknew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
