Psalms 22:1-31

Psalm 22

For the music director; according to the tune “Morning Doe;” a psalm of David.

22:1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up.

22:3 You are holy;

you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.

22:4 In you our ancestors trusted;

they trusted in you and you rescued them.

22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;

in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.

22:6 But I am a worm, not a man;

people insult me and despise me.

22:7 All who see me taunt me;

they mock me and shake their heads.

22:8 They say,

“Commit yourself to the Lord!

Let the Lord rescue him!

Let the Lord deliver him, for he delights in him.”

22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out from the womb

and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

22:10 I have been dependent on you since birth;

from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.

22:11 Do not remain far away from me,

for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.

22:12 Many bulls surround me;

powerful bulls of Bashan hem me in.

22:13 They open their mouths to devour me

like a roaring lion that rips its prey.

22:14 My strength drains away like water;

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

22:15 The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums.

You set me in the dust of death.

22:16 Yes, wild dogs surround me –

a gang of evil men crowd around me;

like a lion they pin my hands and feet.

22:17 I can count all my bones;

my enemies are gloating over me in triumph.

22:18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;

they are rolling dice for my garments.

22:19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away!

You are my source of strength! Hurry and help me!

22:20 Deliver me from the sword!

Save my life from the claws of the wild dogs!

22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,

and from the horns of the wild oxen!

You have answered me!

22:22 I will declare your name to my countrymen!

In the middle of the assembly I will praise you!

22:23 You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him!

22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed;

he did not ignore him;

when he cried out to him, he responded.

22:25 You are the reason I offer praise in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.

22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled!

Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!

May you live forever!

22:27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him!

Let all the nations worship you!

22:28 For the Lord is king

and rules over the nations.

22:29 All of the thriving people of the earth will join the celebration and worship;

all those who are descending into the grave will bow before him,

including those who cannot preserve their lives.

22:30 A whole generation will serve him;

they will tell the next generation about the sovereign Lord.

22:31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;

they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.

Psalms 69:1-36

Psalm 69

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck.

69:2 I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground;

I am in deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore;

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me.

They make me repay what I did not steal!

69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,

O sovereign Lord and king!

Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,

O God of Israel!

69:7 For I suffer humiliation for your sake

and am thoroughly disgraced.

69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;

they act as if I were a foreigner.

69:9 Certainly zeal for your house consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you.

69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food,

which causes others to insult me.

69:11 I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me.

69:12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;

drunkards mock me in their songs.

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me!

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance!

69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!

Deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep water!

69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit devour me!

69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good!

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

69:17 Do not ignore your servant,

for I am in trouble! Answer me right away!

69:18 Come near me and redeem me!

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

69:19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;

you can see all my enemies.

69:20 Their insults are painful and make me lose heart;

I look for sympathy, but receive none,

for comforters, but find none.

69:21 They put bitter poison into my food,

and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.

69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!

May it be a snare for that group of friends!

69:23 May their eyes be blinded!

Make them shake violently!

69:24 Pour out your judgment on them!

May your raging anger overtake them!

69:25 May their camp become desolate,

their tents uninhabited!

69:26 For they harass the one whom you discipline;

they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.

69:27 Hold them accountable for all their sins!

Do not vindicate them!

69:28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living!

Do not let their names be listed with the godly!

69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me!

69:30 I will sing praises to God’s name!

I will magnify him as I give him thanks!

69:31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull

with horns and hooves.

69:32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!

You who seek God, may you be encouraged!

69:33 For the Lord listens to the needy;

he does not despise his captive people.

69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,

along with the seas and everything that swims in them!

69:35 For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his people will again live in them and possess Zion.

69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who are loyal to him will live in it.

Isaiah 53:1-12

53:1 Who would have believed what we just heard?

When was the Lord’s power revealed through him?

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,

like a root out of parched soil;

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,

no special appearance that we should want to follow him.

53:3 He was despised and rejected by people,

one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;

people hid their faces from him;

he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.

53:4 But he lifted up our illnesses,

he carried our pain;

even though we thought he was being punished,

attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.

53:5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,

crushed because of our sins;

he endured punishment that made us well;

because of his wounds we have been healed.

53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth.

53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial

but who even cared?

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;

because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals,

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb,

because he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made,

he will see descendants and enjoy long life,

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.

“My servant will acquit many,

for he carried their sins.

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,

because he willingly submitted to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

Daniel 9:24-26

9:24 “Seventy weeks have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to rebellion,

to bring sin to completion,

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual righteousness,

to seal up the prophetic vision,

and to anoint a most holy place.

9:25 So know and understand:

From the issuing of the command to restore and rebuild

Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives,

there will be a period of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.

It will again be built, with plaza and moat,

but in distressful times.

9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,

an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing.

As for the city and the sanctuary,

the people of the coming prince will destroy them.

But his end will come speedily like a flood.

Until the end of the war that has been decreed

there will be destruction.

Zechariah 13:7

13:7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is my associate,”

says the Lord who rules over all.

Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered;

I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.