Sabtu, 12 Oktober

1.   At that time Merodach–Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2.   And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures––the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory––all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3.   Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?" So Hezekiah said, "They came to me from a far country, from Babylon." 4.   And he said, "What have they seen in your house?" So Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them." 5.   Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6.   ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 7.   ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’" 8.   So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!" For he said, "At least there will be peace and truth in my days."

1.   "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. 2.   "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins." 3.   The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4.   Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5.   The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." 6.   The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7.   The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8.   The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." 9.   O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" 10.   Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand , And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. 11.   He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. 12.   Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13.   Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14.   With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? 15.   Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16.   And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17.   All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18.   To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? 19.   The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. 20.   Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter. 21.   Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22.   It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23.   He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. 24.   Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. 25.   "To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One. 26.   Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things , Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. 27.   Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God"? 28.   Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29.   He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30.   Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31.   But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

1.   Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us , and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2.   looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3.   For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4.   You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5.   And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6.   For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." 7.   If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8.   But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9.   Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us , and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10.   For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11.   Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12.   Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13.   and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14.   Pursue peace with all people , and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15.   looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16.   lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17.   For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. 18.   For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19.   and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20.   (For they could not endure what was commanded: "And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow." 21.   And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.") 22.   But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23.   to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24.   to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25.   See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26.   whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." 27.   Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28.   Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29.   For our God is a consuming fire.