Isaiah 59

Warnings against Sin
 ¹  "Listen! The LORD's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call."  ²  It's your sins that have cut you off from God.
  Because of your sins, he has turned away
  and will not listen anymore.
 ³  Your hands are the hands of murderers,
  and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
  and your mouth spews corruption.

 ⁴  No one cares about being fair and honest.
  The people's lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
  and then give birth to sin.
 ⁵  They hatch deadly snakes
  and weave spiders' webs.
Whoever falls into their webs will die,
  and there's danger even in getting near them.
 ⁶  Their webs can't be made into clothing,
  and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
  and violence is their trademark.
 ⁷  Their feet run to do evil,
  and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
  Misery and destruction always follow them.
 ⁸  They don't know where to find peace
  or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
  and no one who follows them knows a moment's peace.

 ⁹  So there is no justice among us,
  and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
  We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
 ¹⁰  We grope like the blind along a wall,
  feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
  we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
  we are like the dead.
 ¹¹  We growl like hungry bears;
  we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
  We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
 ¹²  For our sins are piled up before God
  and testify against us.
  Yes, we know what sinners we are.
 ¹³  We know we have rebelled and have denied the LORD.
  We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
  carefully planning our deceitful lies.
 ¹⁴  Our courts oppose the righteous,
  and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
  and honesty has been outlawed.
 ¹⁵  Yes, truth is gone,
  and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The LORD looked and was displeased
  to find there was no justice.
 ¹⁶  He was amazed to see that no one intervened
  to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
  and his justice sustained him.
 ¹⁷  He put on righteousness as his body armor
  and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance
  and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.
 ¹⁸  He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds.
  His fury will fall on his foes.
  He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.
 ¹⁹  In the west, people will respect the name of the LORD;
  in the east, they will glorify him.
For he will come like a raging flood tide
  driven by the breath of the LORD. [19] 

 ²⁰  "The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem
  to buy back those in Israel
who have turned from their sins," [20] 
  says the LORD.

   ²¹  "And this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children's children forever. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

Isaiah 60

Future Glory for Jerusalem
 ¹  "Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
  For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you.
 ²  Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
  but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you.
 ³  All nations will come to your light;
  mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

 ⁴  "Look and see, for everyone is coming home!
  Your sons are coming from distant lands;
  your little daughters will be carried home.
 ⁵  Your eyes will shine,
  and your heart will thrill with joy,
for merchants from around the world will come to you.
  They will bring you the wealth of many lands.
 ⁶  Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,
  the camels of Midian and Ephah.
The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense
  and will come worshiping the LORD.
 ⁷  The flocks of Kedar will be given to you,
  and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars.
I will accept their offerings,
  and I will make my Temple glorious.

 ⁸  "And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel,
  like doves to their nests?
 ⁹  They are ships from the ends of the earth,
  from lands that trust in me,
  led by the great ships of Tarshish.
They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away,
  carrying their silver and gold.
They will honor the LORD your God,
  the Holy One of Israel,
  for he has filled you with splendor.

 ¹⁰  "Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns,
  and their kings will serve you.
For though I have destroyed you in my anger,
  I will now have mercy on you through my grace.
 ¹¹  Your gates will stay open day and night
  to receive the wealth of many lands.
The kings of the world will be led as captives
  in a victory procession.
 ¹²  For the nations that refuse to serve you
  will be destroyed.

 ¹³  "The glory of Lebanon will be yours—
  the forests of cypress, fir, and pine—
to beautify my sanctuary.
  My Temple will be glorious!
 ¹⁴  The descendants of your tormentors
  will come and bow before you.
Those who despised you
  will kiss your feet.
They will call you the City of the LORD,
  and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

 ¹⁵  "Though you were once despised and hated,
  with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
  a joy to all generations.
 ¹⁶  Powerful kings and mighty nations
  will satisfy your every need,
as though you were a child
  nursing at the breast of a queen.
You will know at last that I, the LORD,
  am your Savior and your Redeemer,
  the Mighty One of Israel. [16] 
 ¹⁷  I will exchange your bronze for gold,
  your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
  and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
  and righteousness your ruler.
 ¹⁸  Violence will disappear from your land;
  the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
  and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

 ¹⁹  "No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
  nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light,
  and your God will be your glory.
 ²⁰  Your sun will never set;
  your moon will not go down.
For the LORD will be your everlasting light.
  Your days of mourning will come to an end.
 ²¹  All your people will be righteous.
  They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with my own hands
  in order to bring myself glory.
 ²²  The smallest family will become a thousand people,
  and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.
  At the right time, I, the LORD, will make it happen."

Isaiah 61

Good News for the Oppressed
 ¹  "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed."  ²  He has sent me to tell those who mourn
  that the time of the LORD's favor has come, [2] 
  and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies.
 ³  To all who mourn in Israel, [3] 
  he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
  festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
  that the LORD has planted for his own glory.

 ⁴  They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
  repairing cities destroyed long ago.
They will revive them,
  though they have been deserted for many generations.
 ⁵  Foreigners will be your servants.
  They will feed your flocks
and plow your fields
  and tend your vineyards.
 ⁶  You will be called priests of the LORD,
  ministers of our God.
You will feed on the treasures of the nations
  and boast in their riches.
 ⁷  Instead of shame and dishonor,
  you will enjoy a double share of honor.
You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land,
  and everlasting joy will be yours.

 ⁸  "For I, the LORD, love justice.
  I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering
  and make an everlasting covenant with them.
 ⁹  Their descendants will be recognized
  and honored among the nations.
Everyone will realize that they are a people
  the LORD has blessed."

 ¹⁰  I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God!
  For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
  and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit
  or a bride with her jewels.
 ¹¹  The Sovereign LORD will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.

<<  59:19 Or When the enemy comes like a raging flood tide, / the Spirit of the L<%=ftSC%>ORD will drive him back.
<<  59:20 Hebrew The Redeemer will come to Zion / to buy back those in Jacob / who have turned from their sins. Greek version reads The one who rescues will come on behalf of Zion, / and he will turn Jacob away from ungodliness. Compare Rom 11:26.
<<  60:16 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
<<  61:1 Greek version reads and the blind will see. Compare Luke 4:18.
<<  61:2 Or to proclaim the acceptable year of the L<%=ftSC%>ORD.
<<  61:3 Hebrew in Zion.

2 Thessalonians 3

Paul's Request for Prayer
 ¹  Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.  ²  Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.  ³  But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.  ⁴  And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you.  ⁵  May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. An Exhortation to Proper Living
 ⁶  And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers [6]  who live idle lives and don't follow the tradition they received [6]  from us.  ⁷  For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you.  ⁸  We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you.  ⁹  We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.  ¹⁰  Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "Those unwilling to work will not get to eat."
   ¹¹  Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people's business.  ¹²  We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living.  ¹³  As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
   ¹⁴  Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed.  ¹⁵  Don't think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister. [15] 

Paul's Final Greetings
 ¹⁶  Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
   ¹⁷  HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL. I DO THIS IN ALL MY LETTERS TO PROVE THEY ARE FROM ME.
   ¹⁸  May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

<<  3:1 Greek brothers; also in 3:6, 13.
<<  3:3 Or from evil.
<<  3:6a Greek from every brother. 3:6b Some manuscripts read you received.
<<  3:15 Greek as a brother.