Give praise, O thou barren, that bearest not: sing forth praise, and make a joyful noise, thou that didst not travail with child: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband, saith the Lord.2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles, spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.3 For thou shalt pass on to the right hand, and to the left: and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and shall inhabit the desolate cities.4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded, nor blush: for thou shalt not be put to shame, because thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember no more the reproach of thy widowhood.5 For he that made thee shall rule over thee, the Lord of hosts is his name: and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, shall be called the God of all the earth.6 For the Lord hath called thee as woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and as a wife cast off from her youth, said thy God.7 For a, small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.8 In a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from thee, but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee, said the Lord thy Redeemer.9 This thing is to me as in the days of Noe, to whom I swore, that I would no more bring in the waters of Noe upon the earth: so have I sworn not to be angry with thee, and not to rebuke thee.10 For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble; but my mercy shall not depart from thee, and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved: said the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
For all the Gentiles were "desolate" of the true God, serving the works of their hands; but the Jews and Samaritans, having the word of God delivered to them by the prophets, and always expecting the Christ, did not recognise Him when He came, except some few, of whom the Spirit of prophecy by Isaiah had predicted that they should be saved.
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b
Ps 29:2-2
I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.4 Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.5 Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness.6 For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.11 The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper.12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:13 To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.
In God's wrath is anger, but in his will is life, because his will is life.… He is led to anger because of our sin. And although mourning will continue all night, in the morning he makes for us a rejoicing, when through repentance we strip off the burden of evil.
The Lord's descent to earth was not useless, for it gained the whole world! Nevertheless, even after his coming in the flesh, sinners would rather be without his flesh than profit by it. You see, he took pleasure in our salvation and thought of it as a distinctive victory for himself. [By contrast], he considered our destruction a sad loss.… He praised those who doubled the grace he gave, both the one who made ten talents from five and the one who made four talents from two. Both of them had done the right thing and had profited from it. But he threw out the one who hid the talent.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak to the multitudes concerning John. What went ye out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind?25 But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately, are in the houses of kings.26 But what went you out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet.27 This is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.†28 For I say to you: Amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet that John the Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the kingdom of God, is greater than he.29 And all the people hearing, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with John’s baptism.30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers despised the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized by him.
Because also they believed, they justified God, for He appeared just to them in all that He did. But the disobedient conduct of the Pharisees in not receiving John, accorded not with the words of the prophet, That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest. (Ps. 51:4.) Hence it follows, But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God, &c.
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)