Isaiah 63–66; Psalm 102; Acts 27

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Isaiah 63–66

The Lord’s Day of Vengeance

1  dWho is this who comes from Edom,

in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,

he who is splendid in his apparel,

marching in the greatness of his strength?

“It is I, speaking in righteousness,

mighty to save.”

2  Why is your apparel red,

and your garments like his who treads in the ewinepress?

3  “I have trodden the winepress alone,

and from the peoples no one was with me;

I trod them in my anger

and trampled them in my wrath;

their lifeblood1 spattered on my garments,

and stained all my apparel.

4  For the fday of vengeance was in my heart,

and my year of redemption2 had come.

5  I looked, but gthere was no one to help;

I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;

so my own arm brought me salvation,

and my wrath upheld me.

6  I trampled down the peoples in my anger;

I made them drunk in my wrath,

and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

The Lord’s Mercy Remembered

7  I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,

the praises of the Lord,

according to all that the Lord has granted us,

and the great goodness to the house of Israel

that he has granted them according to his compassion,

according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

8  For he said, “Surely they are my people,

hchildren who will not deal falsely.”

And he became their Savior.

9  In all their affliction he was afflicted,3

and the angel of his presence saved them;

in his ilove and in his pity he redeemed them;

he lifted them up and jcarried them all the days of old.

10  But kthey rebelled

and grieved his Holy Spirit;

therefore he turned to be their enemy,

and himself fought against them.

11  Then he remembered the days of old,

of Moses and his people.4

Where is he who brought them up out of the sea

with the shepherds of his flock?

Where is he who put in the midst of them

his Holy Spirit,

12  who caused his glorious arm

to go at the right hand of Moses,

lwho divided the waters before them

to make for himself an everlasting name,

13  who mled them through the depths?

Like a horse in the desert,

they did not stumble.

14  Like livestock that go down into the valley,

the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.

So you led your people,

to make for yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy

15  nLook down from heaven and see,

from your holy and beautiful5 habitation.

Where are your zeal and your might?

The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion

are held back from me.

16  For you are our Father,

though Abraham does not know us,

and Israel does not acknowledge us;

you, O Lord, are our Father,

our Redeemer from of old is your name.

17  O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways

and oharden our heart, so that we fear you not?

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your heritage.

18  Your holy people held possession for a little while;6

our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.

19  We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,

like those who are not called by your name.

1  Oh that you would rend the heavens and pcome down,

that the mountains might quake at your presence—

2  7 as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

to make your name known to your adversaries,

and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

3  When you did awesome things that we did not look for,

you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

4  From of old qno one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for him.

5  You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,

those who remember you in your ways.

Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;

in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?8

6  We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7  There is no one who calls upon your name,

who rouses himself to take hold of you;

for you have rhidden your face from us,

and have made us melt in9 the hand of our iniquities.

8  But now, O Lord, you are our sFather;

we are the tclay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

9  Be not so uterribly angry, O Lord,

and vremember not iniquity forever.

Behold, please look, we are all your people.

10  Your holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

11  Our holy and beautiful10 house,

where our fathers praised you,

whas been burned by fire,

and all our pleasant places have become ruins.

12  Will you xrestrain yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?

Judgment and Salvation

1  yI was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;

I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, “Here I am, here I am,”

to a nation that was not called by11 my name.

2  zI spread out my hands all the day

to a arebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

following their own devices;

3  a people who provoke me

to my face continually,

sacrificing in bgardens

and making offerings on bricks;

4  who sit in tombs,

and spend the night in secret places;

who eat cpig’s flesh,

and broth of dtainted meat is in their vessels;

5  who say, “Keep to yourself,

do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”

These are a smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that burns all the day.

6  Behold, it is written before me:

“I will not ekeep silent, but I will repay;

I will indeed repay into their lap

7  both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together,

says the Lord;

because they made offerings fon the mountains

and insulted me on the hills,

I will measure into their lap

payment for their former deeds.”12

8  Thus says the Lord:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,

for there is a blessing in it,’

so I will do for my servants’ sake,

and not destroy them all.

9  I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,

and from Judah possessors of my mountains;

my chosen shall possess it,

and my servants shall dwell there.

10  Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,

for my people who have gsought me.

11  But you who hforsake the Lord,

who forget my holy mountain,

who set a table for Fortune

and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,

12  I will destine you to the sword,

and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,

because, iwhen I called, you did not answer;

when I spoke, you did not listen,

but you did what was evil in my eyes

and chose what I did not delight in.”

13  Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, my servants shall eat,

but you shall be hungry;

behold, my servants shall drink,

but you shall be thirsty;

behold, my servants shall rejoice,

but you shall be put to shame;

14  behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,

but you shall cry out for pain of heart

and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

15  You shall leave your name to my chosen jfor a curse,

and the Lord God will put you to death,

but his servants khe will call by another name,

16  so that he who blesses himself in the land

shall bless himself by the God of truth,

and he who takes an oath in the land

shall swear by the God of truth;

because the former troubles are forgotten

and are hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17  “For behold, I create lnew heavens

and a new earth,

and mthe former things shall not be remembered

nor come into mind.

18  But be glad and rejoice forever

in that which I create;

for behold, I create Jerusalem to be oa joy,

and her people to be a gladness.

19  pI will rejoice in Jerusalem

and be glad in my people;

qno more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping

and the cry of distress.

20  No more shall there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not fill out his days,

for the young man shall die a hundred years old,

and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

21  rThey shall build houses and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22  They shall not sbuild and another inhabit;

they shall not plant and another eat;

for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,

and my chosen shall long enjoy13 the work of their hands.

23  They shall not labor in vain

or bear children for calamity,14

for they shall be the toffspring of the blessed of the Lord,

and their descendants with them.

24  uBefore they call I will answer;

vwhile they are yet speaking I will hear.

25  wThe wolf and the lamb shall graze together;

the lion shall eat straw like the ox,

and xdust shall be the serpent’s food.

They shall not hurt or destroy

in all ymy holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

1  Thus says the Lord:

z“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the ahouse that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

2  All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.

But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and bcontrite in spirit

and ctrembles at my word.

3  d“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;

he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers epig’s blood;

he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.

These have chosen their own ways,

and their soul delights in their abominations;

4  I also will choose harsh treatment for them

and bring their fears upon them,

because fwhen I called, no one answered,

when I spoke, they did not listen;

but they did what was evil in my eyes

and chose that in which I did not delight.”

5  Hear the word of the Lord,

you who tremble at his word:

“Your brothers who ghate you

and cast you out for my name’s sake

have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified,

that we may see your joy’;

but it is they who shall be put to shame.

6  “The sound of an uproar from the city!

A sound from the temple!

The sound of the Lord,

rendering recompense to his enemies!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

7  “Before she was in labor

she gave birth;

before her pain came upon her

she delivered a son.

8  Who has heard such a thing?

Who has seen such things?

Shall a land be born in one day?

Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?

For as soon as Zion was in labor

she brought forth her children.

9  Shall I bring hto the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”

says the Lord;

“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”

says your God.

10  “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,

all you who love her;

rejoice with her in joy,

all you who mourn over her;

11  that you may nurse and be satisfied

from her consoling breast;

that you may drink deeply with delight

from her glorious abundance.”15

12  For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, I will extend ipeace to her like a river,

and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and you shall nurse, you shall be jcarried upon her hip,

and bounced upon her knees.

13  As one whom his mother comforts,

so kI will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

14  You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

your bones shall flourish like the grass;

and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,

and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

15  “For behold, the Lord will come in fire,

and his lchariots like the whirlwind,

to render his anger in fury,

and his rebuke with flames of fire.

16  For by fire will the Lord menter into judgment,

and by his sword, with all flesh;

and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the ngardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and omice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

18 “For I know16 their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming17 to gather all nations and tongues. And pthey shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an qoffering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to rmy holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And some of them also I will take for spriests and for Levites, says the Lord.

22  “For as the tnew heavens and the new earth

that I make

shall remain before me, says the Lord,

so shall your offspring and your name remain.

23  From new moon to new moon,

and from Sabbath to Sabbath,

all flesh shall come to worship before me,

declares the Lord.

24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For utheir worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”


Psalm 102

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of one afflicted, wwhen he is faint and xpours out his complaint before the Lord.

1  yHear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry come to you!

2  Do not zhide your face from me

in the day of my distress!

Incline your ear to me;

aanswer me speedily in the day when I call!

3  For my days pass away like bsmoke,

and my cbones burn like a furnace.

4  My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;

I forget to eat my bread.

5  Because of my loud groaning

dmy bones cling to my flesh.

6  I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,

like an owl1 of the waste places;

7  I lie awake;

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

8  All the day my enemies taunt me;

those who deride me use my name for a curse.

9  For eI eat ashes like bread

and mingle tears with my drink,

10  because of your indignation and anger;

for you have taken me up and thrown me down.

11  My days are like an evening fshadow;

I wither away like grass.

12  But you, O Lord, are genthroned forever;

you are remembered throughout all generations.

13  You will arise and have pity on Zion;

it is the time to favor her;

the appointed time has come.

14  For your servants hold her stones dear

and have pity on her dust.

15  Nations will hfear the name of the Lord,

and iall the kings of the earth will fear your glory.

16  For jthe Lord builds up Zion;

khe appears in his glory;

17  he regards the prayer of the destitute

and does not despise their prayer.

18  Let this be recorded for a generation to come,

so that a people lyet to be created may praise the Lord:

19  that he looked down from his holy height;

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20  to mhear the groans of the prisoners,

to set free those who were doomed to die,

21  that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,

and in Jerusalem his praise,

22  when peoples gather together,

and nkingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23  He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he has oshortened my days.

24  “O my God,” I say, “take me not away

in the midst of my days—

you pwhose years endure

throughout all generations!”

25  qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26  rThey will perish, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

27  but syou are the same, and your years have no end.

28  The children of your servants shall dwell secure;

their offspring shall be established before you.


Acts 27

Paul Sails for Rome

1 And when it was decided that cwe should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him dleave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the eFast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a ftempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda,2 we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,3 and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to gjettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very hnight there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, i‘Do not be afraid, Paul; jyou must kstand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,6 for lnot a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving mthanks to God in the presence of all he nbroke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 2767 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

The Shipwreck

39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But ostriking a reef,8 they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 pThe soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.