Ezr 9:5-15, Neh 9:1-5, Isa 63:15-66:24, Dan 9:3-19 | ESV | STEP | And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting , with my garment and my cloak torn , and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God ,

5 And at the ^aevening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^band my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^cand spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities ^dhave risen higher than our heads, and our ^eguilt has ^fmounted up to the heavens. 7 ^gFrom the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^hguilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, ⁱand to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a ^jremnant and to give us a ^ksecure hold ^{▼▼Hebrew nail, or tent-pin} within his holy place, that our God may ^mbrighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 ⁿFor we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^obut has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection ^{▼▼Hebrew a wall} in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ^qtheir uncleanness. 12 ^rTherefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land ^sand leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^tour great guilt, seeing that you, our ^uGod, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^vremnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and ^wintermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^xuntil you consumed us, so that there should be no ^yremnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^zremnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^aaguilt, ^abfor none can stand before you because of this.”

Nehemiah 9:1-5

The People of Israel Confess Their Sin

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^acthis month the people of Israel were assembled ^adwith fasting ^aeand in sackcloth, ^afand with earth on their heads. 2 ^agAnd the Israelites ^{▼▼Hebrew the offspring of Israel} separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 ^aiAnd they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood ^ajJeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. ^akBlessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

Isaiah 63:15-19

Prayer for Mercy

15 ^alLook down from heaven and see,
^amfrom your holy and beautiful ^{▼▼Or holy and glorious} habitation.
Where are ^aoyour zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
16 For ^apyou are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our Father,
^aqour Redeemer from of old is your name.
17 O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways
and ^arharden our heart, so that we fear you not?
^asReturn for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18 ^atYour holy people held possession for a little while; ^{▼▼Or They have dispossessed your holy people for a little while}
^avour adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 ^awWe have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.

Isaiah 64

1 ^axOh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
^aythat the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 ^{▼▼Ch 64:1 in Hebrew} as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
^bato make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 ^bbWhen you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 ^bcFrom of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
^bdno eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? ^{▼▼Or in your ways is continuance, that we might be saved}
6 ^bfWe have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
^bgWe all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 ^bhThere is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in ^{▼▼Masoretic Text; Septuagint, Syriac, Targum have delivered us into} the hand of our iniquities.
8 ^bjBut now, O Lord, you are our Father;
^bkwe are the clay, and you are our potter;
^blwe are all the work of your hand.
9 ^bmBe not so terribly angry, O Lord,
^bnand remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
10 ^boYour holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 ^bpOur holy and beautiful ^{▼▼Or holy and glorious} house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 ^brWill you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?

Isaiah 65

Judgment and Salvation

1 ^bsI was ready to be sought by ^btthose who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that was not called by ^{▼▼Or that did not call upon} my name.
2 ^bvI spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
3 a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
^bwsacrificing in gardens
and making offerings on bricks;
4 who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
^bxwho eat pig’s flesh,
and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
^byThese are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, ^bzit is written before me:
^ca“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
^cbI will indeed repay into their lap
7 both your iniquities ^ccand your fathers’ iniquities together,

says the Lord;
^cdbecause they made offerings on the mountains
^ceand insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
payment for their former deeds.” ^{▼▼Or I will first measure their payment into their lap}
8 Thus says the Lord:
^cg“As the new 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,
^chand not destroy them all.
9 ^ciI will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
10 ^cjSharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and ^ckthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people ^clwho have sought me.
11 But ^cmyou who forsake the Lord,
who forget ^cnmy holy mountain,
who ^coset a table for Fortune
and ^cpfill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
^cqbecause, when I called, you did not answer;
when I spoke, you did not listen,
^crbut you did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, ^csmy 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;
14 behold, ^ctmy servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart
and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name to ^cumy chosen ^cvfor a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death,
but his servants ^cwhe will call by another name,
16 so that he who ^cxblesses himself in the land
shall bless himself by ^cythe God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
shall swear by ^czthe God of truth;
^dabecause the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “For behold, ^dbI create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, ^dcI create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19 ^ddI will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
^deno more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for ^dfthe young man shall die a hundred years old,
and ^dgthe sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 ^dhThey shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 ^diThey shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
^djfor like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy ^{▼▼Hebrew shall wear out} the work of their hands.
23 ^dlThey shall not labor in vain
^dmor bear children for calamity, ^{▼▼Or for sudden terror}
for ^dothey shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
24 ^dpBefore they call I will answer;
^dqwhile they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 ^drThe wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and ^dsdust shall be the serpent’s food.
^dtThey shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

Isaiah 66

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

1 ^duThus says the Lord:
^dv“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
2 ^dwAll these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.
^dxBut this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
3 ^dy“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers ^dzpig’s blood;
he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
^eaThese have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations;
4 ^ebI also will choose harsh treatment for them
and bring ^ectheir fears upon them,
^edbecause when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen;
^eebut they did what was evil in my eyes
and chose that in which I did not delight.”
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your brothers who hate you
and cast you out for my name’s sake
have said, ^ef‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy’;
but it is they who shall be put to shame.
6 “The sound of an uproar from the city!
A sound from the temple!
The sound of the Lord,
^egrendering recompense to his enemies!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

7 ^eh“Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
8 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 ^eias soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”
says the Lord;
“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”
says your God.
10 ^ej“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance.” ^{▼▼Or breast}
12 For thus says the Lord:
^el“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and ^emyou shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so ^enI will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
^eoyour bones shall flourish like the grass;
and ^epthe hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

15 “For behold, ^eqthe Lord will come in fire,
and ^erhis chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For ^esby fire ^etwill the Lord enter into judgment,
and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 ^eu“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, ^eveating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

18 “For I know ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew lacks know} their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming ^{▼▼Hebrew and it is coming} ^eyto gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them ^ezI will send survivors to the nations, to ^faTarshish, ^fbPul, and ^fcLud, who draw the bow, to ^fdTubal and ^feJavan, ^ffto the coastlands far away, ^fgthat have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 ^fhAnd they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations ^fias an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 ^fjAnd some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

22 “For as ^fkthe new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so ^flshall your offspring and your name remain.
23 ^fmFrom new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.
24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For ^fntheir worm shall not die, ^fotheir fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Daniel 9:3-19

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by ^fpprayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and ^fqmade confession, saying, ^fr“O Lord, the ^fsgreat and awesome God, who ^ftkeeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 ^fuwe have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^fvand rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 ^fwWe have not listened to ^fxyour servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^fyour kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, ^fzO Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, ^gathose who are near and ^gbthose who are far away, in ^gcall the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^gdthe treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because ^gewe have sinned against you. 9 ^gfTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 ^ggand have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ^ghhis servants the prophets. 11 ^giAll Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, ^gjrefusing to obey your voice. ^gkAnd the curse and oath ^glthat are written in the Law of ^gmMoses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ^gnwe have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^goour rulers who ruled us, ^{▼▼Or our judges who judged us} by ^gqbringing upon us a great calamity. ^grFor under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 ^gsAs it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, ^gtturning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 ^guTherefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^gvfor the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^gwwe have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^gxwith a mighty hand, and ^gyhave made a name for yourself, as at this day, ^gzwe have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, ^haaccording to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^hbyour holy hill, ^hcbecause for our sins, and for ^hdthe iniquities of our fathers, ^heJerusalem and your people have become ^hfa byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, ^{▼▼Hebrew for the Lord’s sake} ^hhmake your face to shine upon ^hiyour sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 ^hjO my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^hkour desolations, and ^hlthe city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. ^hmDelay not, ^hnfor your own sake, O my God, because ^hoyour city and ^hpyour people are called by your name.”