Is. 55:1–13

55:1 “Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water!

You who have no money, come!

Buy and eat!

Come! Buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

2Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?

Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing!

Enjoy fine food.

3Pay attention and come to me.

Listen, so you can live.

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.

4Look, I made him a witness to nations,

a ruler and commander of nations.”

5Look, you will summon nations you did not previously know;

nations that did not previously know you will run to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

for he bestows honor on you.

6Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;

call to him while he is nearby!

7The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle

and sinful people their plans.

They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.

8“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans,

and my deeds are not like your deeds,” says the Lord,

9“for just as the sky is higher than the earth,

so my deeds are superior to your deeds

and my plans superior to your plans.

10 The rain and snow fall from the sky

and do not return,

but instead water the earth

and make it produce and yield crops,

and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

11In the same way, the promise that I make

does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.

No, it is realized as I desire

and is fulfilled as I intend.”

12Indeed you will go out with joy;

you will be led along in peace;

the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,

and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

13Evergreens will grow in place of thornbushes;

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord,

a permanent reminder that will remain.

Ps. 41

41:1 For the music director, a psalm of David.

How blessed is the one who treats the poor properly.

When trouble comes, may the Lord deliver him.

2May the Lord protect him and save his life.

May he be blessed in the land.

Do not turn him over to his enemies.

3The Lord supports him on his sickbed;

you have healed him from his illness.

4As for me, I said:

“O Lord, have mercy on me!

Heal me, for I have sinned against you.

5My enemies ask this cruel question about me,

‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’

6When someone comes to visit, he pretends to be friendly;

he thinks of ways to defame me,

and when he leaves he slanders me.

7All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another;

they plan ways to harm me.

8They say,

‘An awful disease overwhelms him,

and now that he is bedridden he will never recover.’

9Even my close friend whom I trusted,

he who shared meals with me, has turned against me.

10As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,

so I can pay them back!”

11By this I know that you are pleased with me,

for my enemy does not triumph over me.

12As for me, you uphold me because of my integrity;

you allow me permanent access to your presence.

13The Lord God of Israel deserves praise

in the future and forevermore.

We agree! We agree!

John 19:1–16

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. 2The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. 3They came up to him again and again and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly in the face.

4Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation against him.” 5So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look, here is the man!” 6When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “You take him and crucify him! Certainly I find no reason for an accusation against him!” 7The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die because he claimed to be the Son of God!”

8When Pilate heard what they said, he was more afraid than ever, 9and he went back into the governor’s residence and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10So Pilate said, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know I have the authority to release you and to crucify you?” 11Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

12From this point on, Pilate tried to release him. But the Jewish leaders shouted out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Everyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!” 13When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat in the place called “The Stone Pavement” (Gabbatha in Aramaic). 14(Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover, about noon.) Pilate said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, here is your king!”

15Then they shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!” 16Then Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, (NET Bible)