Psalm 119 - Isaiah 49 - Isaiah 50 - Isaiah 51

Psalm 119

1> Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, Who walk according to Yahweh's law.

2Blessed are those who keep his statutes, Who seek him with their whole heart.

3Yes, they do nothing wrong. They walk in his ways.

4You have commanded your precepts, That we should fully obey them.

5Oh that my ways were steadfast To obey your statutes!

6Then I wouldn't be disappointed, When I consider all of your commandments.

7I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart, When I learn your righteous judgments.

8I will observe your statutes. Don't utterly forsake me.

9How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

10With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don't let me wander from your commandments.

11I have hidden your word in my heart, That I might not sin against you.

12Blessed are you, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes.

13With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth.

14I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, As much as in all riches.

15I will meditate on your precepts, And consider your ways.

16I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.

17Do good to your servant. I will live and I will obey your word.

18Open my eyes, That I may see wondrous things out of your law.

19I am a stranger on the earth. Don't hide your commandments from me.

20My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.

21You have rebuked the proud who are cursed, Who wander from your commandments.

22Take reproach and contempt away from me, For I have kept your statutes.

23Though princes sit and slander me, Your servant will meditate on your statutes.

24Indeed your statutes are my delight, And my counselors.

25My soul is laid low in the dust. Revive me according to your word!

26I declared my ways, and you answered me. Teach me your statutes.

27Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works.

28My soul is weary with sorrow: Strengthen me according to your word.

29Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously!

30I have chosen the way of truth. I have set my heart on your law.

31I cling to your statutes, Yahweh. Don't let me be disappointed.

32I run in the path of your commandments, For you have set my heart free.

33Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your statutes. I will keep them to the end.

34Give me understanding, and I will keep your law. Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart.

35Direct me in the path of your commandments, For I delight in them.

36Turn my heart toward your statutes, Not toward selfish gain.

37Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.

38Fulfill your promise to your servant, That you may be feared.

39Take away my disgrace that I dread, For your ordinances are good.

40Behold, I long for your precepts! Revive me in your righteousness.

41Let your loving kindness also come to me, Yahweh, Your salvation, according to your word.

42So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in your word.

43Don't snatch the word of truth out of my mouth, For I put my hope in your ordinances.

44So I will obey your law continually, Forever and ever.

45I will walk in liberty, For I have sought your precepts.

46I will also speak of your statutes before kings, And will not be disappointed.

47I will delight myself in your commandments, Because I love them.

48I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes.

49Remember your word to your servant, Because you gave me hope.

50This is my comfort in my affliction, For your word has revived me.

51The arrogant mock me excessively, But I don't swerve from your law.

52I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh, And have comforted myself.

53Indignation has taken hold on me, Because of the wicked who forsake your law.

54Your statutes have been my songs, In the house where I live.

55I have remembered your name, Yahweh, in the night, And I obey your law.

56This is my way, That I keep your precepts.

57Yahweh is my portion. I promised to obey your words.

58I sought your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful to me according to your word.

59I considered my ways, And turned my steps to your statutes.

60I will hurry, and not delay, To obey your commandments.

61The ropes of the wicked bind me, But I won't forget your law.

62At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you, Because of your righteous ordinances.

63I am a friend of all those who fear you, Of those who observe your precepts.

64The earth is full of your loving kindness, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes.

65Do good to your servant, According to your word, Yahweh.

66Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe in your commandments.

67Before I was afflicted, I went astray; But now I observe your word.

68You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.

69The proud have smeared a lie upon me. With my whole heart, I will keep your precepts.

70Their heart is as callous as the fat, But I delight in your law.

71It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn your statutes.

72The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.

73Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.

74Those who fear you will see me and be glad, Because I have put my hope in your word.

75Yahweh, I know that your judgments are righteous, That in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

76Please let your loving kindness be for my comfort, According to your word to your servant.

77Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For your law is my delight.

78Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts.

79Let those who fear you turn to me. They will know your statutes.

80Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees, That I may not be disappointed.

81My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.

82My eyes fail for your word. I say, "When will you comfort me?"

83For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. I don't forget your statutes.

84How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me?

85The proud have dug pits for me, Contrary to your law.

86All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me!

87They had almost wiped me from the earth, But I didn't forsake your precepts.

88Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, So I will obey the statutes of your mouth.

89Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever.

90Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains.

91Your laws remain to this day, For all things serve you.

92Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

93I will never forget your precepts, For with them, you have revived me.

94I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts.

95The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me. I will consider your statutes.

96I have seen a limit to all perfection, But your commands are boundless.

97How love I your law! It is my meditation all day.

98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For your commandments are always with me.

99I have more understanding than all my teachers, For your testimonies are my meditation.

100I understand more than the aged, Because I have kept your precepts.

101I have kept my feet from every evil way, That I might observe your word.

102I have not turned aside from your ordinances, For you have taught me.

103How sweet are your promises to my taste, More than honey to my mouth!

104Through your precepts, I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

105Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light for my path.

106I have sworn, and have confirmed it, That I will obey your righteous ordinances.

107I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word.

108Accept, I beg you, the willing offerings of my mouth. Yahweh, teach me your ordinances.

109My soul is continually in my hand, Yet I won't forget your law.

110The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I haven't gone astray from your precepts.

111I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, For they are the joy of my heart.

112I have set my heart to perform your statutes forever, Even to the end.

113I hate double-minded men, But I love your law.

114You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word.

115Depart from me, you evildoers, That I may keep the commandments of my God.

116Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be ashamed of my hope.

117Hold me up, and I will be safe, And will have respect for your statutes continually.

118You reject all those who stray from your statutes, For their deceit is in vain.

119You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love your testimonies.

120My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments.

121I have done what is just and righteous. Don't leave me to my oppressors.

122Ensure your servant's well-being. Don't let the proud oppress me.

123My eyes fail looking for your salvation, For your righteous word.

124Deal with your servant according to your loving kindness. Teach me your statutes.

125I am your servant. Give me understanding, That I may know your testimonies.

126It is time to act, Yahweh, For they break your law.

127Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, Yes, more than pure gold.

128Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way.

129Your testimonies are wonderful, Therefore my soul keeps them.

130The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.

131I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for your commandments.

132Turn to me, and have mercy on me, As you always do to those who love your name.

133Establish my footsteps in your word. Don't let any iniquity have dominion over me.

134Redeem me from the oppression of man, So I will observe your precepts.

135Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes.

136Streams of tears run down my eyes, Because they don't observe your law.

137You are righteous, Yahweh. Your judgments are upright.

138You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy.

139My zeal wears me out, Because my enemies ignore your words.

140Your promises have been thoroughly tested, And your servant loves them.

141I am small and despised. I don't forget your precepts.

142Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth.

143Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight.

144Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.

145I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.

146I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes.

147I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words.

148My eyes stay open through the night watches, That I might meditate on your word.

149Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your ordinances.

150They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law.

151You are near, Yahweh. All your commandments are truth.

152Of old I have known from your testimonies, That you have founded them forever.

153Consider my affliction, and deliver me, For I don't forget your law.

154Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to your promise.

155Salvation is far from the wicked, For they don't seek your statutes.

156Great are your tender mercies, Yahweh. Revive me according to your ordinances.

157Many are my persecutors and my adversaries. I haven't swerved from your testimonies.

158I look at the faithless with loathing, Because they don't observe your word.

159Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your loving kindness.

160All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

161Princes have persecuted me without a cause, But my heart stands in awe of your words.

162I rejoice at your word, As one who finds great spoil.

163I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law.

164Seven times a day, I praise you, Because of your righteous ordinances.

165Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.

166I have hoped for your salvation, Yahweh. I have done your commandments.

167My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.

168I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies, For all my ways are before you.

169Let my cry come before you, Yahweh. Give me understanding according to your word.

170Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word.

171Let my lips utter praise, For you teach me your statutes.

172Let my tongue sing of your word, For all your commandments are righteousness.

173Let your hand be ready to help me, For I have chosen your precepts.

174I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight.

175Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me.

176I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don't forget your commandments.

The Prophets Before the Exile

Isaiah 49

1Listen, isles, to me; and listen, you peoples, from far: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother has he made mention of my name: 2and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he kept me close: 3and he said to me, You are my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely the justice [due] to me is with Yahweh, and my recompense with my God. 5Now says Yahweh who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Yahweh, and my God is become my strength); 6yes, he says, It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth. 7Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, [even] the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. 8Thus says Yahweh, In an acceptable time have I answered you, and in a day of salvation have I helped you; and I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage: 9saying to those who are bound, Go forth; to those who are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights shall be their pasture. 10They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them, even by springs of water will he guide them. 11I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12Behold, these shall come from far; and, behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. 13Sing, heavens; and be joyful, earth; and break forth into singing, mountains: for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14But Zion said, Yahweh has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. 15Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. 17Your children make haste; your destroyers and those who made you waste shall go forth from you. 18Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live, says Yahweh, you shall surely clothe you with them all as with an ornament, and gird yourself with them, like a bride. 19For, as for your waste and your desolate places, and your land that has been destroyed, surely now shall you be too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up shall be far away. 20The children of your bereavement shall yet say in your ears, The place is too small for me; give place to me that I may dwell. 21Then shall you say in your heart, Who has conceived these for me, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering back and forth? and who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they? 22Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. 23Kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers: they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet; and you shall know that I am Yahweh; and those who wait for me shall not be disappointed. 24Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered? 25But thus says Yahweh, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. 26I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah 50

1Thus says Yahweh, Where is the bill of your mother's divorce, with which I have put her away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities were you sold, and for your transgressions was your mother put away. 2Why, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it can't redeem? or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stink, because there is no water, and die for thirst. 3I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. 4The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary: he wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. 5The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward. 6I gave my back to the strikers, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; I didn't hide my face from shame and spitting. 7For the Lord Yahweh will help me; therefore I have not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed. 8He is near who justifies me; who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together: who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. 9Behold, the Lord Yahweh will help me; who is he who shall condemn me? Behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. 10Who is among you who fears Yahweh, who obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness, and has no light, let him trust in the name of Yahweh, and rely on his God. 11Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who gird yourselves about with firebrands; walk you in the flame of your fire, and among the brands that you have kindled. This shall you have of my hand; you shall lie down in sorrow.

Isaiah 51

1Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek Yahweh: look to the rock whence you were hewn, and to the hold of the pit whence you were dug. 2Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many. 3For Yahweh has comforted Zion; he has comforted all her waste places, and has made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Yahweh; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4Attend to me, my people; and give ear to me, my nation: for a law shall go forth from me, and I will establish my justice for a light of the peoples. 5My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and my arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall wait for me, and on my arm shall they trust. 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and those who dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 7Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; don't you fear the reproach of men, neither be you dismayed at their insults. 8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation to all generations. 9Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn't it you who did cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster? 10Isn't it you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? 11The ransomed of Yahweh shall return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy shall be on their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; [and] sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12I, even I, am he who comforts you: who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who shall be made as grass; 13and have forgotten Yahweh your Maker, who stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fear continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he makes ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? 14The captive exile shall speedily be freed; and he shall not die [and go down] into the pit, neither shall his bread fail. 15For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea, so that the waves of it roar: Yahweh of Hosts is his name. 16I have put my words in your mouth, and have covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and tell Zion, You are my people. 17Awake, awake, stand up, Jerusalem, that have drunk at the hand of Yahweh the cup of his wrath; you have drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it. 18There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she has brought forth; neither is there any who takes her by the hand among all the sons who she has brought up. 19These two things have happened to you. Who will bemoan you? Desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort you? 20Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of Yahweh, the rebuke of your God. 21Therefore hear now this, you afflicted, and drunken, but now with wine: 22Thus says your Lord Yahweh, and your God who pleads the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath; you shall no more drink it again: 23and I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and you have laid your back as the ground, and as the street, to those who go over.