A reading from the book of Isaiah.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon

him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street, a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly

burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint

or be discouraged, till he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his law.

Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth

and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it.

I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will

give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are

blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison, those who sit in darkness.

I am the Lord. That is my name. My glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Behold the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare, before they spring

forth, I tell you of them. Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the end of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants,

let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Keater inhabits,

let the habitants of

Celah sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord

and declare his praise in the coastlands. The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war,

he stirs up his zeal, he cries out, he shouts aloud. He shows himself mighty against his foes.

For a long time, I have held my peace. I have kept still and restrained myself. Now I will cry out

like a woman in labor. I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste, mountains and hills, and dry up

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