Is. 27:1–13

27:1 At that time the Lord will punish

with his destructive, great, and powerful sword

Leviathan the fast-moving serpent,

Leviathan the squirming serpent;

he will kill the sea monster.

2When that time comes,

sing about a delightful vineyard!

3“I, the Lord, protect it;

I water it regularly.

I guard it night and day,

so no one can harm it.

4I am not angry.

I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!

Then I would march against them for battle;

I would set them all on fire,

5unless they became my subjects

and made peace with me;

let them make peace with me.”

6The time is coming when Jacob will take root;

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce will fill the surface of the world.

7Has the Lord struck down Israel as he did their oppressors?

Has Israel been killed like their enemies?

8When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her;

he drives her away with his strong wind in the day of the east wind.

9So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven,

and this is how they will show they are finished sinning:

They will make all the stones of the altars

like crushed limestone,

and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand.

10For the fortified city is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the wilderness.

Calves graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare.

11When its branches get brittle, they break;

women come and use them for kindling.

For these people lack understanding,

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

12At that time the Lord will shake the tree, from the Euphrates River to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. 13At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

Ps. 2

2:1 Why do the nations rebel?

Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?

2The kings of the earth form a united front;

the rulers collaborate

against the Lord and his anointed king.

3They say, “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us.

Let’s free ourselves from their ropes.”

4The one enthroned in heaven laughs in disgust;

the Lord taunts them.

5Then he angrily speaks to them

and terrifies them in his rage, saying,

6“I myself have installed my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

7The king says, “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me:

‘You are my son. This very day I have become your father.

8Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

9You will break them with an iron scepter;

you will smash them like a potter’s jar.’”

10So now, you kings, do what is wise;

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction.

11Serve the Lord in fear.

Repent in terror.

12Give sincere homage.

Otherwise he will be angry,

and you will die because of your behavior,

when his anger quickly ignites.

How blessed are all who take shelter in him!

John 1:43–51

1:43 On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44(Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.) 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”

47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!” 50Jesus said to him, “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51He continued, “I tell all of you the solemn truth—you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”