rsv Isaiah:64-66 SEEK
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O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down ,
that the mountains might quake at thy presence --
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as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil --
to make thy name known to thy adversaries ,
and that the nations might tremble at thy presence !
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When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for ,
thou camest down ,
the mountains quaked at thy presence .
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From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear ,
no eye has seen a God besides thee ,
who works for those who wait for him .
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Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness ,
those that remember thee in thy ways .
Behold ,
thou wast angry ,
and we sinned ;
in our sins we have been a long time ,
and shall we be saved ?
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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 .
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There is no one that calls upon thy name ,
that bestirs himself to take hold of thee ;
for thou hast hid thy face from us ,
and hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities .
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Yet ,
O LORD ,
thou art our Father ;
we are the clay ,
and thou art our potter ;
we are all the work of thy hand .
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Be not exceedingly angry ,
O LORD ,
and remember not iniquity for ever .
Behold ,
consider ,
we are all thy people .
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Thy holy cities have become a wilderness ,
Zion has become a wilderness ,
Jerusalem a desolation .
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Our holy and beautiful house ,
where our fathers praised thee ,
has been burned by fire ,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins .
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Wilt thou restrain thyself at these things ,
O LORD ?
Wilt thou keep silent ,
and afflict us sorely ?
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I 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 am I ,
here am I ,"
to a nation that did not call on my name .
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I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people ,
who walk in a way that is not good ,
following their own devices ;
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a people who provoke me to my face continually ,
sacrificing in gardens and burning incense upon bricks ;
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who sit in tombs ,
and spend the night in secret places ;
who eat swine '
s flesh ,
and broth of abominable things is in their vessels ;
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who say , "
Keep to yourself ,
do not come near me ,
for I am set apart from you ."
These are a smoke in my nostrils ,
a fire that burns all the day .
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Behold ,
it is written before me : "
I will not keep silent ,
but I will repay ,
yea ,
I will repay into their bosom
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their iniquities and their fathers '
iniquities together ,
says the LORD ;
because they burned incense upon the mountains and reviled me upon the hills ,
I will measure into their bosom payment for their former doings ."
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Thus says the LORD : "
As the 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 .
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I will bring forth descendants from Jacob ,
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains ;
my chosen shall inherit it ,
and my servants shall dwell there .
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Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks ,
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down ,
for my people who have sought me .
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But you who forsake the LORD ,
who forget my holy mountain ,
who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny ;
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I will destine you to the sword ,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter ;
because ,
when 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 ."
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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 ;
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behold ,
my servants shall sing for gladness of heart ,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart ,
and shall wail for anguish of spirit .
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You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse ,
and the Lord GOD will slay you ;
but his servants he will call by a different name .
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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 hid from my eyes .
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For behold ,
I create new heavens and a new earth ;
and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind .
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But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create ;
for behold ,
I create Jerusalem a rejoicing ,
and her people a joy .
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I will rejoice in Jerusalem ,
and be glad in my people ;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress .
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No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days ,
or an old man who does not fill out his days ,
for the child shall die a hundred years old ,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed .
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They shall build houses and inhabit them ;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit .
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They shall not build 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 enjoy the work of their hands .
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They shall not labor in vain ,
or bear children for calamity ;
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD ,
and their children with them .
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Before they call I will answer ,
while they are yet speaking I will hear .
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The wolf and the lamb shall feed together ,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox ;
and dust shall be the serpent '
s food .
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain ,
says the LORD ."
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Thus says the LORD : "
Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool ;
what is the house which you would build for me ,
and what is the place of my rest ?
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All these things my hand has made ,
and so all these things are mine ,
says the LORD .
But this is the man to whom I will look ,
he that is humble and contrite in spirit ,
and trembles at my word .
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He who slaughters an ox is like him who kills a man ;
he who sacrifices a lamb ,
like him who breaks a dog '
s neck ;
he who presents a cereal offering ,
like him who offers swine '
s blood ;
he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense ,
like him who blesses an idol .
These have chosen their own ways ,
and their soul delights in their abominations ;
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I also will choose affliction for them ,
and bring their fears upon them ;
because ,
when 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 ."
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Hear the word of the LORD ,
you who tremble at his word : "
Your brethren who hate 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 .
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Hark ,
an uproar from the city !
A voice from the temple !
The voice of the LORD ,
rendering recompense to his enemies !
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Before she was in labor she gave birth ;
before her pain came upon her she was delivered of a son .
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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 sons .
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Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth ?
says the LORD ;
shall I ,
who cause to bring forth ,
shut the womb ?
says your God .
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Rejoice with Jerusalem ,
and be glad for her ,
all you who love her ;
rejoice with her in joy ,
all you who mourn over her ;
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that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts ;
that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory ."
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For thus says the LORD : "
Behold ,
I will extend prosperity to her like a river ,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream ;
and you shall suck ,
you shall be carried upon her hip ,
and dandled upon her knees .
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As one whom his mother comforts ,
so I will comfort you ;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem .
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You shall see ,
and your heart shall rejoice ;
your bones shall flourish like the grass ;
and it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants ,
and his indignation is against his enemies .
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For behold ,
the LORD will come in fire ,
and his chariots like the stormwind ,
to render his anger in fury ,
and his rebuke with flames of fire .
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For by fire will the LORD execute judgment ,
and by his sword ,
upon all flesh ;
and those slain by the LORD shall be many .
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Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens ,
following one in the midst ,
eating swine '
s flesh and the abomination and mice ,
shall come to an end together ,
says the LORD .
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For I know their works and their thoughts ,
and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues ;
and they shall come and shall see my glory ,
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and I will set a sign among them .
And from them I will send survivors to the nations ,
to Tarshish ,
Put ,
and Lud ,
who draw the bow ,
to Tubal and Javan ,
to the coastlands afar off ,
that have not heard my fame or seen my glory ;
and they shall declare my glory among the nations .
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And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the LORD ,
upon horses ,
and in chariots ,
and in litters ,
and upon mules ,
and upon dromedaries ,
to my holy mountain Jerusalem ,
says the LORD ,
just as the Israelites bring their cereal offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD .
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And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites ,
says the LORD .
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For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me ,
says the LORD ;
so shall your descendants and your name remain .
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From new moon to new moon ,
and from sabbath to sabbath ,
all flesh shall come to worship before me ,
says the LORD .
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And they shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men that have rebelled against me ;
for their worm shall not die ,
their fire shall not be quenched ,
and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh ."
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For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said , "
The voice of one crying in the wilderness :
Prepare the way of the Lord ,
make his paths straight ."
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that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled :
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This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah , "
He took our infirmities and bore our diseases ."
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This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah :
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With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says : `
You shall indeed hear but never understand ,
and you shall indeed see but never perceive .
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You hypocrites !
Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ,
when he said :
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As it is written in Isaiah the prophet , "
Behold ,
I send my messenger before thy face ,
who shall prepare thy way ;
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And he said to them , "
Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites ,
as it is written , `
This people honors me with their lips ,
but their heart is far from me ;
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As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet , "
The voice of one crying in the wilderness :
Prepare the way of the Lord ,
make his paths straight .
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and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah .
He opened the book and found the place where it was written ,
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He said , "
I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness , `
Make straight the way of the Lord ,'
as the prophet Isaiah said ."
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it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled : "
Lord ,
who has believed our report ,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed ?"
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Therefore they could not believe .
For Isaiah again said ,
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Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him .
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and was returning ;
seated in his chariot ,
he was reading the prophet Isaiah .
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So Philip ran to him ,
and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet ,
and asked , "
Do you understand what you are reading ?"
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So ,
as they disagreed among themselves ,
they departed ,
after Paul had made one statement : "
The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet :
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And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel : "
Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea ,
only a remnant of them will be saved ;
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And as Isaiah predicted , "
If the Lord of hosts had not left us children ,
we would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomor '
rah ."
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But they have not all obeyed the gospel ;
for Isaiah says , "
Lord ,
who has believed what he has heard from us ?"
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Then Isaiah is so bold as to say , "
I have been found by those who did not seek me ;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me ."
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and further Isaiah says , "
The root of Jesse shall come ,
he who rises to rule the Gentiles ;
in him shall the Gentiles hope ."