Isaiah 29:1-18; Isaiah 35; Isaiah 42:1-20; Isaiah 43:1-8; Matthew 11:1-5; Luke 7:21-22

Isaiah 29:1-18

1 Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped! Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule.

2 I will bring distress to Ariel, And she will be a city of lamenting and mourning; And she will be like an Ariel to me.

3 I will camp against you encircling you, And I will set siegeworks against you, And I will raise up battle towers against you.

4 Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust.

5 But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust, And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; And it will happen instantly, suddenly.

6 From the LORD of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

7 And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel, Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.

8 It will be as when a hungry man dreams - And behold, he is eating; But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, Or as when a thirsty man dreams - And behold, he is drinking, But when he awakens, behold, he is faint And his thirst is not quenched. Thus the multitude of all the nations will be Who wage war against Mount Zion.

9 Be delayed and wait, Blind yourselves and be blind; They become drunk, but not with wine, They stagger, but not with strong drink.

10 For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers.

11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate , saying, "Please read this," he will say, "I cannot , for it is sealed."

12 Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate , saying, "Please read this." And he will say, "I cannot read ."

13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

15 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD , And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?"

16 You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me"; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding "?

17 Is it not yet just a little while Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field, And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

18 On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

Isaiah 35

1 The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus

2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD , The majesty of our God.

3 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble .

4 Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you."

5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.

7 The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.

8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.

9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there,

10 And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 42:1-20

1 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

2 "He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.

3 "A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

4 "He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

5 Thus says God the LORD , Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,

6 "I am the LORD , I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison .

8 "I am the LORD , that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.

9 "Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

10 Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them.

11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.

12 Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands.

13 The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.

14 "I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant.

15 "I will lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will make the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.

16 "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."

17 They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to molten images, "You are our gods."

18 Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see.

19 Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD ?

20 You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.

Isaiah 43:1-8

1 But now, thus says the LORD , your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.

3 "For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.

4 "Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

5 "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west.

6 "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."

8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears.

Matthew 11:1-5

1 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples

3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"

4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:

5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

Luke 7:21-22

21 At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.

22 And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.