Sunday, 13 October

1.   "Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment. 2.   "Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow? 3.   Who pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet? 4.   Who has performed and done it , Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.’" 5.   The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came. 6.   Everyone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, "Be of good courage!" 7.   So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying, "It is ready for the soldering"; Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter. 8.   "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. 9.   You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: 10.   Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 11.   "Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. 12.   You shall seek them and not find them––Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. 13.   For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ 14.   "Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you," says the LORD And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15.   "Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff. 16.   You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the LORD, And glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17.   "The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I , the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18.   I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. 19.   I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, 20.   That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. 21.   "Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring forth your strong reasons ," says the King of Jacob. 22.   "Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were , That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. 23.   Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together. 24.   Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. 25.   "I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay. 26.   Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘ He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words. 27.   The first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. 28.   For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29.   Indeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion.

1.   "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2.   He will not cry out, nor raise His voice , Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3.   A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4.   He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law." 5.   Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6.   "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, 7.   To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8.   I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9.   Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them." 10.   Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11.   Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice , The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12.   Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13.   The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. 14.   "I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. 15.   I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. 16.   I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. 17.   They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’ 18.   "Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. 19.   Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the LORD’S servant? 20.   Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear." 21.   The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable. 22.   But this is a people robbed and plundered; All of them are snared in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They are for prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says, "Restore!" 23.   Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come? 24.   Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the LORD, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law. 25.   Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger And the strength of battle; It has set him on fire all around, Yet he did not know; And it burned him, Yet he did not take it to heart.

1.   Let brotherly love continue. 2.   Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3.   Remember the prisoners as if chained with them––those who are mistreated––since you yourselves are in the body also. 4.   Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5.   Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6.   So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" 7.   Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8.   Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9.   Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. 10.   We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11.   For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12.   Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13.   Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14.   For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15.   Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16.   But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 17.   Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 18.   Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19.   But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. 20.   Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21.   make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 22.   And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. 23.   Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly. 24.   Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25.   Grace be with you all. Amen.