Is. 60:1–22

60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!

The splendor of the Lord shines on you!

2For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor appears over you.

3Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

4Look all around you!

They all gather and come to you—

your sons come from far away,

and your daughters are escorted by guardians.

5Then you will look and smile,

you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride.

For the riches of distant lands will belong to you,

and the wealth of nations will come to you.

6Camel caravans will cover your roads,

young camels from Midian and Ephah.

All the merchants of Sheba will come,

bringing gold and incense

and singing praises to the Lord.

7All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;

the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices.

They will go up on my altar acceptably,

and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.

8Who are these who float along like a cloud,

who fly like doves to their shelters?

9Indeed, the coastlands look eagerly for me;

the large ships are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, for he has bestowed honor on you.

10Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you.

11Your gates will remain open at all times;

they will not be shut during the day or at night

so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,

with their kings leading the way.

12Indeed, nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish;

such nations will definitely be destroyed.

13The splendor of Lebanon will come to you,

its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together,

to beautify my palace;

I will bestow honor on my throne room.

14The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;

all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.

They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,

Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’

15You were once abandoned

and despised, with no one passing through,

but I will make you a permanent source of pride

and joy to coming generations.

16You will drink the milk of nations;

you will nurse at the breasts of kings.

Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your Deliverer,

your Protector, the Powerful One of Jacob.

17Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold;

instead of iron, I will bring you silver;

instead of wood, I will bring you bronze;

instead of stones, I will bring you iron.

I will make prosperity your overseer,

and vindication your sovereign ruler.

18Sounds of violence will no longer be heard in your land,

or the sounds of destruction and devastation within your borders.

You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance’

and your gates, ‘Praise.’

19The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,

nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;

the Lord will be your permanent source of light—

the splendor of your God will shine upon you.

20Your sun will no longer set;

your moon will not disappear;

the Lord will be your permanent source of light;

your time of sorrow will be over.

21All your people will be godly;

they will possess the land permanently.

I will plant them like a shoot;

they will be the product of my labor,

through whom I reveal my splendor.

22The least of you will multiply into a thousand;

the smallest of you will become a large nation.

When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”

Ps. 48

48:1 A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise

in the city of our God, his holy hill.

2It is lofty and pleasing to look at,

a source of joy to the whole earth.

Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;

it is the city of the great king.

3God is in its fortresses;

he reveals himself as its defender.

4For look, the kings assemble;

they advance together.

5As soon as they see, they are shocked;

they are terrified, they quickly retreat.

6Look at them shake uncontrollably,

like a woman writhing in childbirth.

7With an east wind

you shatter the large ships.

8We heard about God’s mighty deeds; now we have seen them,

in the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

in the city of our God.

God makes it permanently secure. (Selah)

9Within your temple

we reflect on your loyal love, O God.

10The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth

is worthy of your reputation, O God.

You execute justice.

11Mount Zion rejoices;

the towns of Judah are happy,

because of your acts of judgment.

12Walk around Zion. Encircle it.

Count its towers.

13Consider its defenses.

Walk through its fortresses,

so you can tell the next generation about it.

14For God, our God, is our defender forever.

He guides us.

Gal. 1:1–24

1:1 From Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead) 2and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. 3Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.

6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel— 7not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! 9As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell! 10Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ!

11Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; instead I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

13For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15But when the one who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from any human being, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus.

18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and get information from him, and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20I assure you that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you! 21Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22But I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24So they glorified God because of me.