Evil and Oppression
1 Behold, bthe Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 cbut your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 dFor your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 eNo one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
fthey conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
jwe hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 kWe grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
lamong those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
mwe moan and moan like doves;
nwe hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
ospeaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Judgment and Redemption
14 pJustice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him1
that there was no justice.
16 qHe saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 rHe put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in szeal as a cloak.
18 tAccording to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
uto the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 vSo they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
wfor he will come like a rushing stream,2
which the wind of the Lord drives.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again dthe basic principles of the oracles of God. You need emilk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is fa child. 14 But solid food is for gthe mature, for those who have their powers hof discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
1 Therefore ilet us leave jthe elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance kfrom dead works and of faith toward God,
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For zGod is not unjust so as to overlook ayour work and the love that you have shown for his name in bserving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance cof hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but dimitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46 xAnd they came to Jericho. And yas he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, za blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was aJesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many brebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, c“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his dcloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, e“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, f“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; gyour faith has hmade you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
