9 Be broken,1 you peoples, and be shattered;2
give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
strap on your armor and be shattered.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, but dit will not stand,
for God is with us.3
Fear God, Wait for the Lord
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me ewith his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and fdo not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a gsanctuary and ha istone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall jstumble on it. kThey shall lfall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
16 Bind up the testimony; mseal the teaching4 among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is nhiding his face from the house of Jacob, and oI will hope in him. 18 pBehold, I and the qchildren whom the Lord has given me rare signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, s“Inquire of the tmediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land,5 greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against6 their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but ubehold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
For to Us a Child Is Born
1 7 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt vthe land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.8
2 9 wThe people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 xYou have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yyoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken zas on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For ato us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon10 his shoulder,
and his name shall be called11
bWonderful Counselor, cMighty God,
Everlasting dFather, Prince of ePeace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
fthere will be no end,
on the gthrone of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with hjustice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
iThe zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Stewards of God’s Grace
1 Since therefore sChrist suffered in the flesh,1 tarm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for uwhoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human vpassions but for the will of God. 3 For the wtime that is past suffices for doing what the xGentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will ygive account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the zgospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might alive in the spirit the way God does.
7 The end of all things is bat hand; therefore be self-controlled and csober-minded dfor the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, ekeep loving one another earnestly, since love fcovers a multitude of sins. 9 gShow hospitality to one another hwithout grumbling. 10 iAs each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good jstewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. kTo him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering as a Christian
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to ltest you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But mrejoice insofar as you nshare Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are oinsulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the pSpirit of glory2 and of God rests upon you. 15 qBut let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone rsuffers as a sChristian, let him not be tashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment uto begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for vthose who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
w“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”3
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will xentrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
