Today’s Scripture:

Who would have believed[a] what we[b] just heard?[c]When[d] was the Lord’s power[e] revealed through him?2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,[f]like a root out of parched soil;[g]he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,[h]no special appearance that we should want to follow him.[i]3 He was despised and rejected by people,[j]one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;people hid their faces from him;[k]he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.[l]4 But he lifted up our illnesses,he carried our pain;[m]even though we thought he was being punished,attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.[n]5 He was wounded because of[o] our rebellious deeds,crushed because of our sins;he endured punishment that made us well;[p]because of his wounds we have been healed.[q]6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;each of us had strayed off on his own path,but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.[r]7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,[s]but he did not even open his mouth.Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,like a sheep silent before her shearers,he did not even open his mouth.[t]8 He was led away after an unjust trial[u]—but who even cared?[v]Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;[w]because of the rebellion of his own[x] people he was wounded.9 They intended to bury him with criminals,[y]but he ended ...