1 gWho has believed what he has heard from us?1
And to whom has hthe arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
iand like a root out of dry ground;
jhe had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 kHe was despised and rejected2 by men,
a man of sorrows3 and acquainted with4 grief;5
and as one from whom men hide their faces6
he was despised, and lwe esteemed him not.
4 mSurely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
nsmitten by God, and afflicted.
5 oBut he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
pand with his wounds we are healed.
6 qAll we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
rand the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
syet he opened not his mouth;
tlike a ulamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, vwho considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
wand with a rich man in his death,
although7 xhe had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet yit was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;8
zwhen his soul makes9 an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
athe will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see10 and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall bthe righteous one, my servant,
cmake many to be accounted righteous,
dand he shall bear their iniquities.
12 eTherefore I will divide him a portion with the many,11
fand he shall divide the spoil with the strong,12
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
gyet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Eternal Covenant of Peace
1 h“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of ithe desolate one jwill be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 k“Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 lFor you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, mfor you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 nFor your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
oand the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
pthe God of the whole earth he is called.
6 qFor the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 rFor a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 rIn overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
sbut with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “This is like tthe days of Noah13 to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and umy covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11 v“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, wI will set your stones in antimony,
xand lay your foundations with sapphires.14
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,15
your gates of carbuncles,16
and all your wall of precious stones.
13 yAll your children zshall be taught by the Lord,
aand great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 bIf anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
The Compassion of the Lord
1 d“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
ecome, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 fWhy do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
ghear, that your soul may live;
hand I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
imy steadfast, sure love for jDavid.
4 kBehold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
la leader and commander for the peoples.
5 kBehold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and ma nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
nfor he has glorified you.
6 o“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 pFor as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 q“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
rgiving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but sit shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 t“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
uthe mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 vInstead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
A Life Pleasing to God
1 Finally, then, brothers,1 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you dreceived from us ehow you ought to walk and fto please God, just as you are doing, that you gdo so more and more. 2 For hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, iyour sanctification:2 jthat you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own kbody3 in holiness and lhonor, 5 not in mthe passion of lust nlike the Gentiles owho do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For rGod has not called us for simpurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning vbrotherly love wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been xtaught by God yto love one another, 10 for that indeed is what zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ado this more and more, 11 and to aspire bto live quietly, and cto mind your own affairs, and dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may ewalk properly before foutsiders and be dependent on no one.
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, gthat you may not grieve as others do hwho have no hope. 14 For isince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him jthose who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you kby a word from the Lord,4 that lwe who are alive, who are left until mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For nthe Lord himself will descend ofrom heaven pwith a cry of command, with the voice of qan archangel, and rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And sthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be tcaught up together with them uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so vwe will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.