Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 8:19-20  (New Living Translation) 19 Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead? These verses seem silly. […]

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Isaiah 1:24-26 (New Living Translation) Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “I will take revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes! 25 I will raise my fist against you. I will melt you down and skim off your slag. I will remove all your impurities. […]

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Isaiah 5:7 (New Living Translation) The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence. Wonderful poetry here. The content is […]

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Isaiah 58:13 (New Living Translation) “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. The Jews tripped […]

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Isaiah 53:8 (New Living Translation) Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. This verse is from what some people call the Song of the Suffering Servant. I believe this […]

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Isaiah 56:1 (New Living Translation) This is what the Lord says: “Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you. Life can be complicated. I can make my life complicated. Life can be simple. Look at what […]

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Isaiah 55:8-9 (New Living Translation) “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. How much higher are […]

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Isaiah 58:6-7 (New Living Translation) 6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. […]

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Isaiah 53:3 (New Living Translation) He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. This is a prophecy from Isaiah. The “He” discussed is Jesus (some believe otherwise, but I read this […]

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Isaiah 65:14 (New International Version 2011) My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, Singing has changed over the 30 centuries since Isaiah wrote this. What we call “music” has changed over the 30 centuries since Isaiah wrote this. I think that the “singing” mentioned here bears little resemblance to the four-part […]

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