Aug 15 - Isaiah 63-66
Isaiah
1Who is this, who arrives from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? This is the Handsome One in his robe, advancing by the fullness of his strength. It is I, the Speaker of Justice, and I am the Fighter for Salvation2So then, why is your garment red, and why are your vestments like the ones of those who tread the winepress3I have trod the winepress alone. And among the nations, there is no man beside me. I have trampled on them in my fury, and I have tread them down in my wrath. And so, their blood has been sprinkled on my vestments, and I have stained all my garments4For the day of vengeance is in my heart. The year of my redemption has arrived5I gazed around, and there was no one to assist. I sought, and there was no one who would help. And so, my own arm has saved for me, and my own wrath itself has assisted me6And I have trampled the peoples in my fury, and I have inebriated them with my indignation, and I have torn down their strength to the ground7I will remember the compassion of the Lord, the praise of the Lord over all that the Lord has bestowed on us, and over the multitude of his good things for the house of Israel, which he has granted to them according to his leniency, and according to the multitude of his mercies8And he said: "Yet truly, these are my people, sons who have not been disowned." And he became their Savior9Throughout all their tribulation, he was not troubled, for the Angel of his presence saved them. With his love, and by his leniency, he has redeemed them, and he has carried them and lifted them up, throughout all the days of the ages10But they themselves provoked to wrath and afflicted his Holy Spirit, and he was turned to be for them like an enemy, and he himself went to war against them11And he remembered the days of ancient times, the days of Moses and his people. Where is he who led them out of the sea, with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who placed his Holy Spirit in their midst12He led Moses by the right hand, with the arm of his majesty. He split the waters before them, in order to make an everlasting name for himself13He led them through the abyss, like a horse which does not stumble, in the desert14Like an animal who descends to an open field, the Spirit of the Lord was their guide. Thus did you lead your people, in order to make a glorious name for yourself15Gaze down from heaven, and behold from your holy habitation and from your glory. Where is your zeal, and your strength, the fullness of your heart and of your compassion? They have held themselves back from me16For you are our Father, and Abraham has not known us, and Israel has been ignorant of us. You are our Father, O Lord our Redeemer. Your name is beyond all ages17Why have you allowed us to stray from your ways, O Lord? Why have you hardened our heart, so that we do not fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance18They have possessed your holy people as if it were nothing. Our enemies have trampled your sanctuary19We have become as we were in the beginning, when you did not rule over us, and when we were not called by your name
1I wish that you would rend the heavens, and then descend! The mountains would flow away before your face2They would melt, as if thoroughly burned by fire. The waters would burn with fire, so that your name might be made known to your enemies, so that the nations would be stirred up before your face3When you will perform miracles, we will not be able to withstand them. You descended, and the mountains flowed away before your presence4From ages past, they have not heard it, and they have not perceived it with the ears. Apart from you, O God, the eye has not seen what you have prepared for those who await you5You have met with those who rejoice in doing justice. By your ways, they will remember you. Behold, you have been angry, for we have sinned. In this, we have continued, but we will be saved6And we have all become like the unclean. And all our justices are like a rag of menstruation. And we have all fallen away, like a leaf. And our iniquities have carried us away, like the wind7There is no one who calls upon your name, who rises up and holds fast to you. You have concealed your face from us, and you have crushed us with the hand of our own iniquity8And now, O Lord, you are our Father, yet truly, we are clay. And you are our Maker, and we are all the works of your hands9Do not be so angry, O Lord, and no longer call to mind our iniquity. Behold, consider that we are all your people10The city of your sanctuary has become a desert. Zion has become a desert. Jerusalem is desolate11The house of our sanctification and of our glory, where our fathers praised you, has been completely consumed by fire, and all our admirable things have been turned into ruins12Should you restrain yourself, O Lord, concerning these things? Should you remain silent, and afflict us vehemently
1Those who before were not asking for me have sought me. Those who have not sought me have found me. I said, "Behold, it is I! Behold, it is I!" to a nation which was not invoking my name2I have extended my hands all day long to an unbelieving people, who advance along a way that is not good, following their own thoughts3to a people who provoke me to anger before my face continually, who immolate in the gardens, and who sacrifice upon the bricks4They live in sepulchers, and they sleep in the shrines of idols. They eat the flesh of swine, and a profane elixir is in their vessels5They say: "Depart from me! Do not approach me, for you are unclean!" Such as these will be the smoke in my fury, a fire burning all day long6Behold, it has been written in my sight; I will not be silent. Instead, I will render retribution into their sinews7Your iniquities are joined with the iniquities of your fathers, says the Lord. For they have sacrificed upon the mountains, and they have offended me upon the hills. And so, I will measure back to them, from their first work, into their sinews8Thus says the Lord: In the same way as it is said about a grain found in a cluster, "Do not destroy it, because it is a blessing," so will I act for the sake of my servants, so that I may not destroy the whole9And I will lead forth an offspring from Jacob, and a possessor of my mountains from Judah. And my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall live there10And the open plains will become sheepfolds for the flocks, and the valley of Achor will become a domicile for the herds, for my people who have sought me11And you who have forsaken the Lord, who have forgotten my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who offer libations concerning her12I will number you with the sword, and you will all fall by slaughter. For I called and you did not respond; I spoke, and you did not listen. And you did what is evil in my eyes; and what I did not will, you have chosen13Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, my servants will eat, and you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, and you will be thirsty14Behold, my servants will rejoice, and you will be confounded. Behold, my servants will give praise in exultation of heart, and you will cry out in sorrow of heart, and you will wail in contrition of spirit15And you will leave behind your name to my elect as a curse. And the Lord God will put you to death, and he will call his servants by another name16By that name, whoever is blessed on earth, will be blessed in God. Amen! And whoever swears on earth, will swear by God. Amen! For the past anguishes have been delivered into oblivion, and they have been hidden from my eyes17For behold, I create the new heavens and the new earth. And the former things will not be in memory and will not enter into the heart18But you will be glad and exult, even forever, in these things that I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as an exultation, and its people as a joy19And I will exult in Jerusalem, and I will rejoice in my people. And neither a voice of weeping, nor a voice of outcry, will be heard in her anymore20There will no longer be an infant of only a few days there, nor an elder who does not complete his days. For a mere child dies at a hundred years of age, and a sinner of a hundred years will be accursed21And they will build houses, and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards, and will eat their fruits22They will not build, so that another may inhabit. They will not plant, so that another may eat. For according to the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people. And the works of their hands will be long-standing23My elect will not labor in vain, and they will not bring forth in disorder. For they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity are with them24And this shall be: before they call out, I will perceive; while they are still speaking, I will hear25The wolf and the lamb will pasture together. The lion and the ox will eat hay. And dust will be the food of the serpent. They will not harm, and they will not kill, on all my holy mountain, says the Lord
1Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What is this house that you would build for me? And what is this place of my rest2My hand has made all these things, and all these things have been made, says the Lord. But upon whom will I look with favor, except upon a poor little one, who is contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my words3Whoever immolates an ox, it is as if he slaughters a man. Whoever sacrifices a sheep, it is as if he is smashing the head of a dog. Whoever offers an oblation, it is as if he is offering swine’s blood. Whoever makes remembrance with incense, it is as if he is blessing an idol. All these things, they have chosen according to their own ways, and their soul has taken delight in their own abominations4Therefore, I also will choose their illusions, and I will lead over them the things that they feared. For I called, and there was no one who would respond. I have spoken, and they have not listened. And they have done evil in my eyes; and what I did not will, they have chosen5Listen to the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word. Your brothers, who hate you and who cast you out because of my name, have said: "Let the Lord be glorified, and we will see by your rejoicing." But they themselves will be confounded6A voice of the people from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord repaying retribution to his enemies7Before she was in labor, she gave birth. Before her time arrived for delivery, she gave birth to a male child8Who has ever heard of such a thing? And who has seen anything like this? Will the earth give birth in one day? Or will a nation be born all at once? For Zion has been in labor, and she has given birth to her sons9Will I, who causes others to give birth, not also give birth myself, says the Lord? Will I, who bestows generation upon others, be barren myself, says the Lord your God10Rejoice with Jerusalem, and exult in her, all you who love her! Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her11So may you nurse and be filled, from the breasts of her consolations. So may you receive milk and overflow with delights, from every portion of her glory12For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will turn a river of peace toward her, with an inundating torrent: the glory of the Gentiles, from which you will nurse. You will be carried at the breasts, and they will caress you upon the knees13In the manner of one whom a mother caresses, so will I console you. And you will be consoled in Jerusalem14You will see, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like a plant, and the hand of the Lord will be known to his servants, and he will be angry with his enemies15For behold, the Lord will arrive with fire, and his four-horse chariots will be like a whirlwind: to render his wrath with indignation, and his rebuke with flames of fire16For the Lord will divide with fire, and with his sword among all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many17Those who were sanctified, who thought themselves to be clean in the gardens behind the inner gate, who were eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse: they will be consumed all at once, says the Lord18But I know their works and their thoughts. I am arriving, so that I may gather them together with all nations and languages. And they will approach, and they will see my glory19And I will set a sign among them. And I will send some of those who will have been saved to the Gentiles in the sea, to Africa, and to those who draw the bow in Lydia, to Italy and Greece, to islands far away, to those who have not heard of me, and to those who have not seen my glory. And they will announce my glory to the Gentiles20And they will lead all of your brothers from all of the Gentiles as a gift to the Lord, on horses, and in four-horse chariots, and on stretchers, and on mules, and in coaches, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, in the same manner that the sons of Israel would carry an offering in a pure vessel into the house of the Lord21And I will take from them to be priests and Levites, says the Lord22For in like manner as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will cause to stand before me, says the Lord, so will your offspring and your name stand23And there will be month after month, and Sabbath after Sabbath. And all flesh will approach, so as to adore before my face, says the Lord24And they will go out, and they will view the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against me. Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be extinguished. And they will be a sight to all flesh even unto revulsion