The Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

91 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish ; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt , but later on He shall make it glorious , by the way of the sea , on the other side of Jordan , Galilee of the Gentiles . 2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light ; Those who live in a dark land , The light will shine on them. 3 You shall multiply the nation , You shall increase their gladness ; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest , As men rejoice when they divide the spoil . 4 For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders , The rod of their oppressor , as at the battle of Midian . 5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult , And cloak rolled in blood , will be for burning , fuel for the fire . 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders ; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor , Mighty God , Eternal Father , Prince of Peace . 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace , On the throne of David and over his kingdom , To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore e . The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this .

The LORD's Anger against Israel

8 The Lord sends a message against Jacob , And it falls on Israel . 9 And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria , Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart : 10 "The bricks have fallen down , But we will rebuild with smooth stones ; The sycamores have been cut down , But we will replace them with cedars ." 11 Therefore the Lord raises against them adversaries from Rezin And spurs their enemies on, 12 The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west ; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws . In spite of all this , His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out. 13 Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts . 14 So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel , Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day . 15 The head is the elder and honorable e man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail . 16 For those who guide this people are leading them astray ; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion . 17 Therefore e the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men , Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows ; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer , And every mouth is speaking foolishness . In spite of all this , His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out. 18 For wickedness burns like a fire ; It consumes briars and thorns ; It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame And they roll upward in a column of smoke . 19 By the fury of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for the fire ; No man spares his brother . 20 They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry , And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied ; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm . 21 Manasseh devours Ephraim , and Ephraim Manasseh , And together they are against Judah . In spite of all this , His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

101 Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions , 2 So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights , So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans . 3 Now what will you do in the day of punishment , And in the devastation which will come from afar ? To whom will you flee for help ? And where will you leave your wealth ? 4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives Or fall among the slain . In spite of all this , His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

The LORD's Use of Assyria

5 Woe to Assyria , the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation , 6 I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture booty and to seize plunder , And to trample them down like mud in the streets . 7 Yet it does not so intend , Nor does it plan so in its heart , But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to cut off many e nations . 8 For it says , "Are not my princes all kings ? 9 "Is not Calno like Carchemish , Or Hamath like Arpad , Or Samaria like Damascus ? 10 "As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols , Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria , 11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols ?" 12 So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem , He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness ." 13 For he has said , "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding ; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures , And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants , 14 And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest , And as one gathers abandoned eggs , I gathered all the earth ; And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped ." 15 Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood . 16 Therefore the Lord , the GOD of hosts , will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors ; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame . 17 And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame , And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day . 18 And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden , both soul and body , And it will be as when a sick man wastes away . 19 And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down .

20 Now in that day the remnant of Israel , and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped , will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord , the Holy One of Israel . 21 A remnant will return , the remnant of Jacob , to the mighty God . 22 For though your people , O Israel , may be like the sand of the sea , Only a remnant within them will return ; A destruction is determined , overflowing with righteousness . 23 For a complete destruction , one that is decreed , the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land .

24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts , "O My people who dwell in Zion , do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25 "For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction ." 26 The Lord of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb ; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt . 27 So it will be in that day , that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck , and the yoke will be broken because e of fatness . 28 He has come against Aiath , He has passed through Migron ; At Michmash he deposited his baggage . 29 They have gone through the pass , saying, " Geba will be our lodging place ." Ramah is terrified , and Gibeah of Saul has fled away. 30 Cry aloud with your voice , O daughter of Gallim ! Pay attention , Laishah and wretched Anathoth ! 31 Madmenah has fled . The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge . 32 Yet today he will halt at Nob ; He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion , the hill of Jerusalem . 33 Behold , the Lord , the GOD of hosts , will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash ; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down And those who are lofty will be abased . 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One .

Paul's Ministry to the Gentiles

31 For this reason I, Paul , the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles - 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery , as I wrote before in brief . 4 By referring to this , when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ , 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men , as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit ; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body , and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel , 7 of which I was made a minister , according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power . 8 To me, the very least of all saints , this grace was given , to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ , 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things ; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord , 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf , for they are your glory .

Prayer for Love Which Surpasses Knowledge

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father , 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name , 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory , to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man , 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith ; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love , 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth , 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge , that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God . 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think , according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever . Amen .