Israel’s Futile Idolatry

57 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
(A)Merciful men are taken away,
(B)While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [a]evil.
He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in (C)their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.

“But come here,
(D)You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
Inflaming yourselves with gods (E)under every green tree,
(F)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
Among the smooth (G)stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in (H)these?

“On(I) a lofty and high mountain
You have set (J)your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And [b]made a covenant with them;
(K)You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [c]nudity.
(L)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your (M)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
(N)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.

11 “And (O)of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because (P)I have [d]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”

Healing for the Backslider

14 And one shall say,
(Q)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, (R)whose name is Holy:
(S)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
(T)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
(U)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 (V)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls (W)which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of (X)his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
(Y)I hid and was angry,
(Z)And he went on [e]backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and (AA)will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to (AB)his mourners.

19 “I create (AC)the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace (AD)to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20 (AE)But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

21 There(AF) is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”

Fasting that Pleases God

58 “Cry aloud, [f]spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(AG)Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
‘Why(AH) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (AI)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [g]exploit all your laborers.
(AJ)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
Is (AK)it a fast that I have chosen,
(AL)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (AM)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (AN)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(AO)To undo the [h]heavy burdens,
(AP)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not (AQ)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [i]cast out;
(AR)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (AS)your own flesh?
(AT)Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
(AU)The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The [j]pointing of the finger, and (AV)speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your [k]darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
(AW)Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of [l]Streets to Dwell In.

13 “If (AX)you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 (AY)Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to (AZ)ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
(BA)The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 57:1 Lit. the face of evil
  2. Isaiah 57:8 Lit. cut
  3. Isaiah 57:8 Lit. hand, a euphemism
  4. Isaiah 57:11 remained silent
  5. Isaiah 57:17 Or turning back
  6. Isaiah 58:1 do not hold back
  7. Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
  8. Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
  9. Isaiah 58:7 wandering
  10. Isaiah 58:9 Lit. sending out of
  11. Isaiah 58:10 Or gloom
  12. Isaiah 58:12 Lit. Paths

The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel(A)

114 When (B)Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob (C)from a people [a]of strange language,
(D)Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

(E)The sea saw it and fled;
(F)Jordan turned back.
(G)The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
(H)What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
(I)Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 114:1 who spoke unintelligibly

22 The words of a [a]talebearer are like [b]tasty trifles,
And they go down into the [c]inmost body.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:22 gossip or slanderer
  2. Proverbs 26:22 A Jewish tradition wounds
  3. Proverbs 26:22 Lit. rooms of the belly

Walk in Love

Therefore(A) be imitators of God as dear (B)children. And (C)walk in love, (D)as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God (E)for a sweet-smelling aroma.

But fornication and all (F)uncleanness or (G)covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; (H)neither filthiness, nor (I)foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, (J)which are not fitting, but rather (K)giving of thanks. For [a]this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any (L)inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be (M)partakers with them.

Walk in Light

For you were once darkness, but now you are (N)light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for (O)the fruit of the [b]Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 (P)finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have (Q)no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather [c]expose them. 12 (R)For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But (S)all things that are [d]exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

(T)“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

Walk in Wisdom

15 (U)See then that you walk [e]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 (V)redeeming the time, (W)because the days are evil.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 5:5 NU know this
  2. Ephesians 5:9 NU light
  3. Ephesians 5:11 reprove
  4. Ephesians 5:13 reproved
  5. Ephesians 5:15 carefully

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