Crossing again...

Wow. Cross referencing brings whole new light. Over the weekend, I was crossing Isaiah 55:8 and last night, did 9. Reading the specific crosses and text around it brought me the following:

From 8:
Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

It's funny, as I was pulling this next one up, I felt compelled to look at it in the Message translation....wow.

Isaiah 53:6 (The Message)
2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum.But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures.But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him.


From 9:
Job 11:13-15 (The Message)
Reach Out to God 13-20 "Still, if you set your heart on God and reach out to him,If you scrub your hands of sin and refuse to entertain evil in your home,You'll be able to face the world unashamed and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.You'll forget your troubles; they'll be like old, faded photographs.Your world will be washed in sunshine, every shadow dispersed by dayspring.Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again; you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy.Expansive, without a care in the world, you'll be hunted out by many for your blessing.But the wicked will see none of this. They're headed down a dead-end road with nothing to look forward to—nothing."